Second Session, 42nd Parliament

(2021) OFFICIAL REPORT

OF DEBATES

(HANSARD)

Thursday, April 22, 2021

Morning Sitting

Issue No. 55

ISSN 1499-2175

The HTML transcript is provided for informational purposes only.

The PDF transcript remains the official digital version.

CONTENTS

Routine Business

Introductions by Members

Introduction and First Reading of Bills

Bill M201 — Assessment (Split Assessment Classification) Amendment Act, 2021

T. Stone

Statements (Standing Order 25B)

West Vancouver Streamkeeper Society

K. Kirkpatrick

Community Savings Credit Union

J. Routledge

Mark Deeley and student projects at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School

M. Bernier

Physicians and health care professionals

H. Yao

Volunteers

S. Furstenau

Earth Day and action on climate change

B. Anderson

Ministerial Statements

Earth Day and transition to clean economy

Hon. G. Heyman

E. Ross

A. Olsen

Oral Questions

COVID-19 travel restrictions and enforcement

P. Milobar

Hon. M. Farnworth

M. Bernier

Budget provisions for protection of old-growth forests

A. Olsen

Hon. S. Robinson

COVID-19 travel restrictions and enforcement

R. Merrifield

Hon. M. Farnworth

T. Stone

B. Banman

S. Cadieux

G. Kyllo

Petitions

A. Olsen

Tabling Documents

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

247/2021, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor

General

Orders of the Day

Budget Debate

(continued)

A. Mercier

L. Doerkson

THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2021

The House met at 10:05 a.m.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Routine Business

Prayers and reflections: N. Letnick.

Introductions by Members

Hon. A. Dix: Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to acknowledge members of the

Armenian-Canadian community in B.C., who are joining us, virtually, this

morning.

This year April 24 marks the 106th anniversary of the beginning of the

Armenian genocide, an event that obviously affected every member of the

Armenian-Canadian community and that profoundly affected the world in the

20th century. On April 24, 1915, 2,400 Armenian community leaders and

intellectuals were rounded up in what was then the Ottoman Empire and

killed. In the eight years that followed, 1.5 million Armenians were killed

because of who they were — an event that was made worse, if that seems

possible, by decades of denial by the Ottoman and successive governments

that the genocide had even occurred.

In April 2006, members on both sides of the House unanimously passed a

motion recognizing the Armenian genocide as a crime against humanity and

designating April 24 as a day of remembrance. The Armenian community has

joined other groups to promote understanding of the Armenian genocide and to

educate the community on the ongoing need to oppose crimes against humanity

everywhere. A crime against humanity that occurs on our planet is a crime

against humanity, against all of us. We must take action, and the Armenian

community, in the midst of ongoing grief, has been a leader around the world

in doing just that. I am so honoured that they’re with us today.

Tomorrow I will be joined by the Leader of the Opposition and other

members of the House, with the Armenian community, for a virtual event to

commemorate the Armenian genocide. This year especially, in light of events

in Armenia and in Artsakh, it is important to show our solidarity with the

Armenian people. I welcome everyone to join us tomorrow at 4:30.

H. Yao: I’d like to take a moment and ask the House to help me celebrate the

belated birthday for one of my constituency assistants. For us to be MLAs

and to be able to serve in this House, we definitely need a staff to

represent us, to serve our constituents, to represent our government and our

interests, to help in supporting our population.

Please join in wishing

David Yang, my constituency assistant, a belated happy birthday.

Hon. H. Bains: It gives me a great deal of pleasure to wish a happy birthday to my

executive assistant Jasmeet Sangha.

I have worked with my staff since 2005, and I’ll tell you that she

comes to work every day full of energy, full of advice. She gives everything

she has in order to make me look good, and she does a really good job in the

community, helping those who have issues with our ministry.

So to Jasmeet — as her birthday is tomorrow, it’s early — I say happy

birthday. Enjoy the day tomorrow. You can actually take a day off

tomorrow.

Introduction and

First Reading of Bills

BILL M201 — ASSESSMENT

(SPLIT ASSESSMENT

CLASSIFICATION)

AMENDMENT ACT, 2021

T. Stone presented a bill intituled Assessment (Split Assessment

Classification) Amendment Act, 2021.

T. Stone: I move that the bill intituled the Assessment (Split Assessment

Classification) Amendment Act, 2021, of which notice has been given in

my name on the order paper, be introduced an read a first time

now.

I’m pleased to introduce this bill today for the fourth time.

While businesses are struggling to stay alive amid the third wave of the

pandemic, they are also being hit hard with dramatically increasing

property taxes on the airspace over their heads. Adding insult to

injury, this is the last straw for many small businesses as they make

the painful decision to lay off employees and close their doors

permanently. Mom-and-pop cafés, restaurants and retailers in communities

such as Vancouver, Surrey and Coquitlam, to name a few, are

disappearing, changing our neighbourhoods forever.

[10:10 a.m.]

A number of years ago a working group, including Vancouver,

Burnaby, North Van, Richmond, Surrey, West Van and Coquitlam, among

others, came up with a solution to this problem. These local governments

are supported by a broad coalition of stakeholders, including arts,

cultural, neighbourhood and small business organizations, as well as the

UBCM and the B.C. chamber.

The solution proposed includes two parts: the creation of a new

commercial subclass for the airspace above small businesses and other

affected organizations, and maximum flexibility for local governments to

set the property tax rate on this new subclass as they see fit, from

zero dollars to just below the existing commercial property tax

rate.

This bill provides for the exact solution that local governments

and small business organizations have asked for, an optional tool that

they can choose to use or not at a rate that they determine makes the

most sense for each unique situation they’re trying to address. It will

also eliminate the nonsensical application of the speculation tax on the

airspace over the heads of the same struggling small businesses, unlike

the government’s interim permissive tax exemption tool that, one year

since implementation, has not been used by a single one of the 162

municipalities in B.C.

We urge the government to call our bill for debate so a lifeline

can be thrown to small businesses hit hard with skyrocketing property

taxes now.

Mr. Speaker: Members, the question is first reading of the bill.

Motion approved.

T. Stone: I move that the bill be placed on the orders of the day for second

reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

Bill M201, Assessment (Split Assessment Classifica­tion)

Amendment Act, 2021, introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed

on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House

after today.

Statements

(Standing Order 25B)

WEST VANCOUVER

STREAMKEEPER

SOCIETY

K. Kirkpatrick: I’m honoured to address the House today, on Earth Day 2021, to

speak about a group doing great work in my riding of West

Vancouver–Capilano, although the work that they do extends far beyond

the borders of our riding.

The West Vancouver Streamkeeper Society is a voluntary-based

organization, with its members actively engaged in streamkeeping

projects to work on programs in the 22 creeks and tributaries in the

district of West Vancouver. The society manages a fish hatchery

producing approximately 180,000 coho and chum fry each year, which they

then stock in the local streams.

Streamkeeper targets the community at large with a broad range of

engagement and education programs. Their goal is to raise awareness of

the importance of local creeks for salmon spawning and rearing and of

the hazards that threaten those creeks. Several programs that they do….

They’ve got an adopt-a-fish program, a community day, and many of you

may have heard of our Coho Festival, which attracts people from across

the Lower Mainland. These events are all designed to raise awareness of

the sensitivity of our streams and fish stocks, as well as to encourage

active participation and conservation through education.

The society manages the Nelson Creek hatchery and as­sembles

a large team for fry releases. Just to clarify, these aren’t the kinds

of fries that you have beside your burger. When salmon have developed to

the point when they can feed themselves, they are called fry.

Other undertakings are the monitoring and gathering of data on the

number of returning adult salmon and surveys on spawning salmon and

emerging fry. This information is imperative for us to understand how to

keep our creeks healthy and safe. As well as being a traditional food

source, Pacific salmon plays an important role in providing nutrients to

our forests.

I’d like to extend my appreciation to Mike Perley, Keith Pelletier

and John Barker, to the 250 society members and to hundreds of

volunteers.

COMMUNITY SAVINGS CREDIT UNION

J. Routledge: Community Savings Credit Union has been serving working people in

British Columbia since 1944. There’s a branch in Burnaby North on

Hastings Street. It was created by members of the IWA, and its founding

mission was “to serve those neglected by big banks.”

[10:15 a.m.]

The New Westminster credit union, as it was known then, lent my

father-in-law the $400 he needed to buy the lot in Coquitlam on which he

built the family home. In 1978, it took over the Federal Civil Servants

Credit Union, where my father banked in Ontario, and it’s where I opened

an account when I moved to B.C.

Today Community Savings continues to lead the way in ensuring that

the B.C. economy works for working people. For example, concerned about

the looming skills gap, Community Savings conducted a study about

community benefits agreements. It was able to confirm that CBAs are an

effective way to upskill the underrepresented workforce. Groups such as

women, Indigenous people, youth and local residents already account for

46 percent of employment so far at CBA sites.

Community Savings launched the 7:01 movement last summer to ask

those who banged pots for our health care workers at 7 p.m. to sign a

petition at 7:01 p.m. to support fair and equal pay for all health care

workers. It was the first financial institution to offer an

interest-free emergency line of credit to laid-off workers, months

before the federal pandemic stimulus packages were initiated. It also

set a standard by providing paid leave to its own staff if they need to

self-isolate or get their COVID-19 vaccines.

I want to thank them for all they’ve done to support generations

of working families, as well as the ones they will be supporting in the

future.

MARK DEELEY AND STUDENT PROJECTS AT

TUMBLER RIDGE

SECONDARY SCHOOL

M. Bernier: We can all remember that one teacher who make an impact in our

lives, the one that inspired us to reach for our goals or maybe think

outside the box while we’re reaching for the stars. We’re lucky to have

one of those teachers at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School: Mark Deeley.

Every year Mark gets creative and looks for ways to inspire his students

by bringing unique, hands-on programs into the classroom.

For the last few years, Mark has started up a fish farm in the

school, using large tanks and assigning different duties to every

student, from feeding to cleaning to testing the water, changing the

water, investigating why a fish might have died or monitoring the growth

progress for other fish. The main lesson was that every student had a

job, but if one person neglected that job, hundreds of fish would die

and you would let your class down.

This year the idea came to try something a little bit different,

with the idea of working together continuing for classroom success. Mark

and his students have created their own broadcasting show — a radio show

similar to the ones that we’ve seen in the ’40s and the ’50s. They’ve

named it That Little Bit ExTRa . Again, in order to be

successful, everyone has a job, from being an interviewer to being the

set-up tech, the recorder or the mixer to sound effects or producing.

This creates positive peer pressure and absolute teamwork to be

successful.

Last week I was lucky enough to be interviewed for one of their

radio shows, and what I saw was that students are now learning about

things that they never thought they would be a part of — an opportunity

to show students a variety of what’s possible.

I want to thank those students — Destiny, Taylor, Vincent, Kyra,

Nick, Brady, Zaina and Kokoa — for welcoming me to their classroom last

week and for the chance to be interviewed. And a special thanks to their

amazing teacher Mark, a teacher that students will always

remember.

PHYSICIANS AND

HEALTH CARE

PROFESSIONALS

H. Yao: May 1 is National Physicians Day in Canada. More than ever, we are

reminded of the dedication, sacrifice and contributions of the

physicians and all health care professionals who are fighting the

COVID-19 pandemic and supporting the largest vaccine rollout in B.C.’s

history alongside our government and the public. This pandemic has been

a stark reminder of the dangers and uncertainties physicians and health

care professionals place themselves in to perform their professional

skills and care for our neighbours, our friends and our loved

ones.

Thanks to our robust health care system in B.C., we often walk

into a physician’s office and receive top-notch services without a

second thought. For example, on a weekly basis, I go visit my family

doctor, whom I consider as just a general practitioner, to get my

allergy shots. However, thanks to my conversation with Dr. Matthew Chow,

president of Doctors of B.C., I’ve developed a deeper appreciation of

family doctors.

[10:20 a.m.]

As technology improves in the medical field, physicians and health

care professionals are also forced to keep up and adapt to all the new

challenges and advancements. Due to the ever-increased complexity,

expanded protocols and advancing knowledge that family doctors must keep

up with, we should no longer consider them just as general

practitioners. Instead, let us all acknowledge that family doctors today

are primary care specialists.

Let us, as the recipients of their great care and commitment,

continue to modernize our health care system and express our

appreciation and gratitude for physicians and health care

professionals.

Finally, I hope that all my colleagues in this House can find

their own unique ways to say thank you to our physicians and health care

professionals on May 1, National Physicians Day in Canada. I know I will

express my sincere gratitude to my primary care specialist at my

appointment this Friday.

VOLUNTEERS

S. Furstenau: Where do we find identity, meaning and purpose, a sense of

autonomy, pride and utility? The answer, according to British writer and

philosopher George Monbiot, is in volunteering. Monbiot came to this

conclusion after spending time serving in Britain’s National Health

Service. He found that there are two national health systems, as he puts

it — the official one, performing daily miracles, and the voluntary

network that supports it.

I’m sure many of you will recognize the same structure in your own

communities as I can in mine. We have two social support networks — the

official one, performing daily miracles, and the volunteer network that

supports it.

I can recall no other year when volunteers rose to the enormous

and risky challenge of providing services to our community. Last year,

within minutes of the province imposing restrictions to mitigate COVID,

the volunteer Cowichan networks went to work. They partnered with

service providers to create a task force that organized food hamper

delivery, elder care and housing for the most vulnerable, among

countless other acts of kindness that kept our community members safe,

connected and well.

Volunteers are quiet heroes who put service above self, and they

contribute enormously to all of our communities. Yet our economic

framework doesn’t measure the positive value that unpaid work has on

society. However, when we apply genuine progress indicators where social

and environmental impacts are included in measuring economic success,

volunteerism is recognized and valued as an essential component,

improving the quality of life for the community as a whole and the

individual volunteer.

Monbiot suggests we turn on its head the idea that work defines us

and volunteering is something we do on the side. He says: “I would love

to hear people reply, when asked what they do: ‘I volunteer at the food

bank…. In my time off, I work for money.’”

The volunteers in Cowichan inspire me to want to see their work

valued and recognized as essential. All of our lives are made better for

it.

EARTH DAY AND

ACTION ON CLIMATE

CHANGE

B. Anderson: Today is Earth Day. The theme this year for Earth Day is “Restore

our Earth.” I find this call to action both necessary and hopeful.

According to scientists, we’re currently in the sixth mass extinction.

Wildlife is dying due to habitat destruction and climate change. We also

know that COVID-19, which has caused the global pandemic, jumped into

the human population via the wildlife trade.

We know that environmental destruction has serious economic and

social consequences, but ultimately, the cause of all of these factors

is overconsumption, especially by the wealthy. That is us. We are the

problem, not as individuals but as a collective. That is why it is

critically important that we work aggressively to reduce our GHG

emissions while we work on adaptation efforts.

The time is now — not tomorrow, not next year or next decade. The

time is now. I am hearing this clearly from scientists and from young

people — young people who are desperately worried about their future.

But despite all of that, I have hope, and I draw my hope from the young

people of this province that are standing up and demanding ambitious

action on climate change.

We have seen groups, like Fridays for Future, who held the largest

rally I have ever seen in my life in Nelson. We also have the youth

climate corps that is working on wildfire risk reduction, food security

and riparian restoration.

[10:25 a.m.]

We used to talk about sustainability. We cannot just sustain what

we currently have. We need to regenerate — regenerative farming,

regenerative forestry. We need to regenerate our fish stocks as we phase

out fossil fuels. Recycling or saying no to plastic straws is not going

to cut it. We need each sector to achieve their GHG emission reduction

targets as we phase out fossil fuels.

With CleanBC, we have the most ambitious climate action plan in

North America. It is going to take all of us, across every ministry and

every business and every NGO, to ensure we are ambitiously working to

make the changes we need to make on climate action in this province. We

must do this work. We owe it to today’s youth and to the generations to

come.

Happy Earth Day.

Mr. Speaker: I recognize the Minister of Environment and Climate Change

Strategy to make a ministerial state­ment.

Ministerial Statements

EARTH DAY AND TRANSITION

TO CLEAN

ECONOMY

Hon. G. Heyman: Today we join with people across British Columbia and around the

world to celebrate Earth Day 2021. While this year’s celebrations

reflect the requirement that we all have to stay apart due to COVID-19,

today is a day to recommit to the work ahead, tackling the threats of

climate change and unlocking the twin benefits of cleaner communities

and clean energy economies that will determine the future of our

planet.

As world leaders commit to further action on climate change, we,

in British Columbia, remain more committed than ever to protecting and

enhancing our environment and building a cleaner, better future for

everyone.

This past year has seen remarkable changes in the clean economy,

despite the global pandemic. Major automakers have increased their

commitments to produce electric vehicles, pledging to phase out fossil

fuel cars. Global investors are moving trillions of dollars to build a

net-zero economy, and more than 110 countries have already pledged to

meet net-zero emissions.

In B.C., our government continues our significant investments in

our CleanBC plan to build a cleaner, stron­ger economic recovery

and reach net-zero emissions by 2050. We’re expanding clean

transportation options that are affordable and convenient. We’re helping

people, businesses and communities build energy-efficient homes,

buildings and schools. We’re working with B.C. industry and clean tech

companies to reduce emissions, support good jobs and build on our

advantages for the clean economy of the future.

COVID-19 has highlighted just how interconnected we all are, both

within and beyond our borders. It has also shown how much can be

accomplished when we work together to achieve a common purpose. These

are important lessons in our work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and

build a better future for our kids and our grandkids.

Climate change knows no borders. By working to­gether, we

can help make sure we’re ready for the enormous opportunities ahead as

the world makes the necessary transition to a cleaner economy that

supports the biodiversity and healthy ecosystems we need to survive and

to thrive.

Happy Earth Day 2021.

E. Ross: I am the official opposition critic for Environment and Climate

Change Strategy. I rise to commemorate the 51st annual celebration of

Earth Day, an opportunity to celebrate the natural beauty of the wonders

of this great planet and a chance to reaffirm our commitment to

protecting that for future generations to cherish and enjoy.

That commitment is something that all parties in this House

uphold. Today, billions of people in 193 countries around the world now

participate in Earth Day, in activities all shared by everybody,

recognizing the collective responsibility we all have to this planet,

our shared heritage and bond to the pale blue dot that we call

Earth.

In 2009, April 22 was also proclaimed by the United Nations

General Assembly as International Mother Earth Day. After a year of

people all around the world staying home and not travelling, those of us

who call British Columbia home have more reasons than ever to be

thankful to Mother Earth and to live in this great province, one of the

most beautiful places on earth. We all recognize the importance of

combatting climate change, reducing emissions and working to secure a

clean future for our children and grandchildren.

[10:30 a.m.]

As the MLA for Skeena, representing one of the most stunning areas

of the planet, my constituents and I care deeply for the environment.

And as former chief councillor of the Haisla people, my people have a

deep reverence for the natural world. We know what it means to be

stewards of the land in the 21st century and how to work towards

balancing economic development with environmental protection. We are

practical and know that progress isn’t measured in terms of months when

it comes to humanity’s relationship with nature. Progress takes time,

but stewardship is a lifelong commitment.

Taking care of the land we call home is our collective

responsibility, no matter your race, religion, gender or ethnicity. We

can practise environmentally friendly habits, not just today but every

day. Even small acts of conservation can add up to big impacts over time

and support initiatives to reduce emissions, including supporting and

encouraging innovation and research into lessening our carbon footprint.

Together, we can make a difference.

Many of us on both sides of the House started in local government

because we wanted to make a difference and find common solutions to make

life better for everyone. I believe, in spite of the past year that

we’ve all experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and perhaps even

because of it, we’ve grown to appreciate what really matters and how

vital it is that we find those common solutions at the international

level as well as the local level.

Since 2004, I’ve come to see the sincerity and good work that B.C.

has done to mitigate and remediate our impacts to our lands, and we

should be sharing our best practices with the world and vice versa to

make progress on a worldwide scale, step by step, to continue protecting

our environment for the future while achieving prosperity for all. That

should be the goal we all seek: to be united to safeguard this planet

for the next generation and to bring prosperity to our loved ones and

neighbours who call this planet home.

This is the fight that I joined in on in 2003 as an elected

councillor in Kitamaat Village, and I am proud to be able to continue

that fight every single day in this House. I know British Columbians

will, as they have in the past, rise up to this fight again.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and happy Earth Day, B.C.

A. Olsen: Today on Earth Day national governments are meeting to announce

new climate targets. They ac­knowledge that a certain amount of

global warming is already locked in. This is already having devastating

effects, especially for less wealthy nations experiencing increased

events like flooding, droughts and storms. Here in Canada, we’re warming

at twice the natural average. But we have already had climate targets

for decades.

Canada remains the only G7 nation that has increased emissions

since signing the Paris climate agreement, lar­gely because of our

continued expansion of the fossil fuel sector. Here in B.C., our

emissions are growing as well. This is simply incompatible with halting

global warming and the devastating impacts that go along with it. We

need to seize the moment to build a clean economy and embrace a just

transition that takes care of every community.

Today we join people around the world in recognizing this amazing

planet we call home, which gives us every­thing we need. As I

reflect on the importance of this day to focus our attention on the

global effort, I return back closer to home to the

W̱SÁNEĆ teachings about how we

relate to each other, how we relate to our planet and to all other

species that live here, big and small.

Last week I shared a core

W̱SÁNEĆ teaching describing the

responsibility that we have to look after each other. I have in the past

and will continue to in the future demand that we do better. We cannot

take refuge in rhetoric. What’s missing here is action.

As my ancestors well knew, everything here on earth is

interconnected, creating a beautifully diverse web of life. It’s that

biodiversity that this government promised, with their words, to protect

in legislation — now, silence. So what will future generations say about

their ancestors?

As we celebrate Earth Day, let’s remember that the people elected

to sit in this chamber — the policy-makers, the decision-makers, the

lawmakers who make the decisions — will shape our future. We must, with

urgency, make better decisions that preserve our natural

ecosystems.

HÍSW̱ḴE SIÁM. Thank

you.

[10:35 a.m.]

Oral Questions

COVID-19 TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS

AND

ENFORCEMENT

P. Milobar: The Premier has completely failed to explain the basic elements of

his travel ban since his botched announcement on Monday.

Yesterday 11 legal and First Nations groups wrote to express their

outrage — groups like the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, Union of

B.C. Indian Chiefs, B.C. First Nations Justice Council, British Columbia

Assembly of First Nations, First Nations Summit society and Pivot Legal

Society, to name a few. I quote from the letter: “The lack of

information and details about the order has raised many alarm bells,

especially in the middle of a global and local reckoning about systemic

racism in policing and policing powers.”

Can the Premier explain exactly what he announced four days ago,

or does the Premier still not know?

Hon. M. Farnworth: I appreciate the question from the member. As the member knows,

there is a pandemic going on, and one of the issues around the

transmission of the virus has been travel. What was indicated on Monday

is that we would be needing to bring in travel restrictions. We have

made it clear that there would be information coming out later this

week, which will be tomorrow.

The opposition has already been informed that they will be being

briefed on the proposed changes that are taking place. We are very

mindful of the issues that have been raised in that letter and by

others, and I note that many of those concerns have been raised at

earlier points in the pandemic when government has had to put in place

health orders.

We will be doing everything that we need to do to ensure that not

only are those concerns addressed, but we’ve already made it clear that

there will be…. And I note that the opposition, when the measure of the

need for travel restrictions came out, automatically jumped the gun and

said: “Oh, they’re going to be preventing people from going about their

business, going to work.” Nothing could be further from the

truth.

As I’ve said, we will have more details coming out on Friday, and

the opposition has already been scheduled for a fulsome briefing on the

issues involved.

Mr. Speaker: The Opposition House Leader on a supplemental.

P. Milobar: The letter points out exactly what concerns many in the province

have been expressing this week, including many constituents, to our

office, because an announcement on Monday about measures that will take

effect on Friday — but no information till Friday — leads to

confusion.

Again, this letter from the 11 legal societies as well as First

Nations groups points out that announcing orders to regulate the

movement of people should have the consent of First Nations. But, once

again, this Premier has completely ignored UNDRIP. This is what the

letter from those 11 groups has to say: “It is concerning to us that the

government would make two public announcements…in such a vague way and

with no accompanying details.” The comments of the Premier and the

Solicitor General “are different from one another, which adds to the

confusion.”

Again, can the Premier tell British Columbians why there are

conflicting comments and total confusion coming from him and his

government?

Hon. M. Farnworth: There are no conflicting comments coming from the Solicitor

General or from the Premier or from this government. What has been made

clear right from the very beginning is that there are health orders that

need to be in place to deal with the spread of the virus. That means

limiting travel between health authorities as one of the most effective

ways to do that. That’s what has been announced. What was also made

clear….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members, a question was asked. Let’s listen to the

answer.

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

I think that illustration of not wanting to hear the answer just

confirms, in fact, what took place on Monday, when the opposition went

out right away on Twitter to say: “Oh, the government intends to prevent

people from being able to go to work.” Nothing could be further from the

truth.

[10:40 a.m.]

They’re clearly not really interested in wanting to try and

control a pandemic when they make statements like that.

We have made it clear (1) that they will be briefed tomorrow and

(2) that that will be before the order goes out. But most importantly,

there is a need to be able to control transmission, and that means

recognizing that travel restrictions have to be put in place.

We have also made it clear that essential travel will still take

place, and this will also be coming out on Friday. But use some common

sense on the other side of the House. That does not mean preventing

people from being able to go to work. That does not mean preventing

people from going and getting groceries, for example.

What it means is asking people to do what we are already asking

them to do, which is to stay in their own health authority, stay local.

That’s what the travel restrictions are about. The details will be

announced on Friday. The Premier, on Monday, as myself, foreshadowed

what is to come. It’s been made clear that that’s what’s taking place.

It’s unfortunate that the opposition is choosing to play politics on

such a serious and important matter.

M. Bernier: I mean, the messaging coming from this minister and the Premier

and this government is about as clear as mud. I mean, there is endless

flip-flopping that has taken place from the Premier on travel

restrictions.

First he said he needed legal advice. Then he said he couldn’t do

it. Then he let skiers travel here from all across the continent to go

skiing. Then two weeks ago, he shrugged and said: “Well, what are we

going to do? Arrest them?”

Now the flip-flopping Premier is at it again, announcing essential

travel only, with police-enforced travel bans, with no details. But

worse, he caught the police completely off guard, and they knew nothing

about this. It’s no wonder every time the Premier opens up his mouth,

everybody in the province gets confused with his comments.

Can the Premier define easily today: what does he mean by

essential travel?

Hon. M. Farnworth: Well, I must admit the only flip-flopping is coming from that side

of the House. Clearly, they’ve decided they’re not really interested in

working with this side of the House or the House together in terms of

dealing with the pandemic. That’s what….

Interjections.

Hon. M. Farnworth: I can inform….

Mr. Speaker: It’s important that we hear the question….

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

I can also inform the member that he is factually wrong on one of

his statements in his question. That is, we have been working very

closely with police in terms of how an order on travel between health

authorities could be enforced. That work has been ongoing.

Like I said, you’re being briefed tomorrow. You knew you were

being briefed tomorrow. So it’s unfortunate…. But I guess it’s to their

advantage, in a way, to say, “Oh well, we don’t know any details, so

we’ll go in there and play politics,” as opposed to waiting until the

scheduled briefing they’re supposed to be getting tomorrow.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Okay. One question at a time.

The member for Peace River South.

M. Bernier: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The confusion starts because of the flip-flopping that has taken

place on that side of the House. The confusion starts every time the

Premier opens up his mouth. We asked for a briefing, an explanation,

starting Monday. Instead, they wait until a few minutes before question

period today. “Don’t worry. We’ll brief you tomorrow as we’re making the

public announcements to the province.”

Here’s the confusion the government is causing. Last Friday the

Minister of Health claimed that there would be no travel restrictions in

British Columbia. Then on Monday the Premier announced full travel ban,

complete with police checkpoints. He said: “These will be conducted

through random audits, not unlike any roadside checks.”

Ever since then, this Solicitor General has been trying to clean

up the Premier’s mess with different messaging yet again, adding more

confusion for the people of British Columbia who are trying to

understand the direction this province is trying to go.

[10:45 a.m.]

Can the Premier let the people of B.C. know who is right? Is it

the Minister of Health, is it the Solicitor General, or is it the

Premier? Who should they be listening to?

Hon. M. Farnworth: As the members on that side of the House well know, the pandemic

creates a very fluid situation. We respond to the needs that happen as

that pandemic is evolving and that pandemic is changing. We listen to

the advice of the provincial health officer.

It has become clear that what needs to be in place are travel

restrictions. We have indicated that that is what is going to take

place. That work on how that will happen has been underway. It has

involved police agencies, for example, on how something could take

place. What tools are required? It’s involved working with B.C. Ferries,

for example. Again, that work has been taking place.

I want to again correct the member across the way. They were

informed yesterday — not a few minutes before question period today —

that you would be getting briefed, and we will brief you when there’s

information in place.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Hon. M. Farnworth: You were told yesterday, and your opposition leader asked me. She

said: “I’ve written you a letter, and I want to have a briefing.” I

said: “We are setting one up for you.” Your critic was also informed.

Once again, they proved that they’re only interested in playing

politics.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: The member for Saanich North and the Islands.

Members, that part of the question-and-answer is over, please.

Let’s continue with the next question.

BUDGET PROVISIONS FOR

PROTECTION OF OLD-GROWTH

FORESTS

A. Olsen: The Premier promised during the recent snap election to implement

all the old growth review panel’s recommendations, including immediate

protections for at-risk old growth and a paradigm shift with fully

funded transition plans for communities.

As the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs and conservation groups have

made extremely clear, a shift away from old-growth logging simply will

not happen without adequate funding, including conservation financing

and funding for Indigenous-led protected areas. Yet there is nothing in

this budget. The Wilderness Committee called this lack of funding “a

recipe to increase division and conflict over old-growth forests in this

province.”

My question is to the Minister of Finance, who ultimately is

responsible for what is and what is not in the budget. Where is the

funding needed to support the promises made to protect old growth and

support communities through a shift in our forestry sector?

Hon. S. Robinson: I want to thank the member for the question.

Our government is committed and dedicated to implementing the

recommendations of the independent panel on old growth. You will see in

the budget that we have increased forestry’s budget by $44 million this

year, over the previous budget.

Again, I want to say that this important work has already begun.

The important work of engaging with all interested parties is absolutely

critical. We want to have a solution that works for everybody. And

making sure that we engage with Indigenous governments across the

regions is absolutely critical to making sure that we can do this

important work.

Mr. Speaker: The member for Saanich North and the Islands on a

supplemental.

A. Olsen: The Minister of Finance, when pressed by the media on how they

would fund enhanced old-growth protection, said it would come from

within FLNRO’s budget. This morning the Finance Minister, on CBC, said

the forestry budget was increased but just not highlighted. But the

Finance Minister knows that the FLNRO budget is actually decreasing $41

million this year, $30 million next year.

As Andrea Inness from the Ancient Forest Alliance said: “Despite

promising a complete paradigm shift in the way B.C. forests are managed,

the NDP government’s 2021 budget is bereft of meaningful solutions to

make it happen.” This budget confirms what many have been worried about:

that the B.C. NDP’s promises to do things differently on land use, on

forestry and on old-growth protection are just empty words.

My question is actually Andrea’s question, from their press

release yesterday. Again to the Minister of Finance, who is responsible

for these decisions: “How does the province expect to protect ancient

forest ecosystems, support communities and overhaul its forest

management regime with less funding than it had before?”

[10:50 a.m.]

Hon. S. Robinson: Again, I want to point out just how important that work is and

that the work has already begun. The Forests Minister is diligently

engaging with all interested parties. We have increased the forestry

budget by $44 million this year over last year. It is in the

budget.

I also want to point out that we did provide — and perhaps this

might be helpful to the discussion — emergency funding for an additional

$85 million last year in the midst of the pandemic, because it was a

pandemic. I do want to point out that we do have a significant pandemic

and recovery contingency should we need to continue to support the

forestry sector as part of the pandemic and as part of our

recovery.

COVID-19 TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS

AND

ENFORCEMENT

R. Merrifield: The Premier has flipped, flopped and bungled when it comes to

travel restrictions for B.C. The Solicitor General, the Health Minister

and the public health officer have all provided advice to the public

that directly contradicts him. But the Premier just keeps blowing

it.

People are wondering: “Can we go to work? Can we visit ailing

parents? What if I have a medical appointment?” How are people expected

to provide evidence that their travel is essential? Will people have to

produce sensitive personal information at these checkstops?

Hon. M. Farnworth: No.

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

R. Merrifield: Well, that’s the first straight answer we’ve received.

This is what the Premier said on Monday: “Everybody who goes by

will be asked where they’re going and where they came from.” The words

of the Premier. But according to the B.C. Civil Liberties Association,

they say: “Police do not have the legal authority to ask questions like:

‘Where are you going? Where are you coming from? For what

purpose?’”

Can the Premier explain what specific powers, then, the police

will have to enforce this order at a checkpoint?

Hon. M. Farnworth: As has been made clear on Monday, this is about restricting travel

to deal with the pandemic and the spread of the virus, and in

particular, what we’ve seen over the last while, which is the increase

in variants in this province. Now, the opposition is all of a sudden

opposed to dealing with that? Let the public of British Columbia

know.

If the opposition doesn’t believe that the government should be

doing everything it can to deal with this virus and the spread of this

virus…

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members, the Chair would like to listen to the answer,

please.

Hon. M. Farnworth: …by keeping British Columbians safe, let the public know

now.

T. Stone: What the public is looking for, what British Columbians are

looking for, is clarity and honesty, not a bungling Premier and a

blustering Solicitor General.

This is what the Premier said on Monday: “The Minister of Public

Safety will be using the Emergency Program Act to restrict people’s

ability to move from one health authority to another. It will be done in

a way that includes everyone, and there will be consequences if you are

outside of your area on non-essential business.”

Since the Premier winged it on Monday, our constituency offices

have been flooded with calls from frustrated and confused constituents.

British Columbians want to know what the Premier actually meant, but we

don’t know what to tell them.

The question is this. Can the Premier explain why, four days

later, he still can’t explain what’s happening with checkpoints and

travel restrictions?

Hon. M. Farnworth: It’d be nice if the opposition would be honest with its

constituents when they call in, because the provincial health officer

has already said a travel advisory is in place, which is: “Stay in your

own community.” If you have to ask about going somewhere else, don’t do

it.

If that’s the kind of misinformation that they’re giving their

constituents when they phone their office, then I say shame on them. The

travel restrictions…

Interjections.

[10:55 a.m.]

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members.

Hon. M. Farnworth: …that we have been talking about, that we have indicated, need to

be put in place. We’ve made clear those will be announced on

Friday.

What the Premier did, appropriately, was to foreshadow that we are

having to take this step. We don’t want…. You know, he would rather not

have to take this step, but the virus and the variants are spreading

through this province. Travel is one of the ways in which they are

transmitted, and one of the most effective ways to deal with that is to

bring in travel restrictions.

The provincial health officer has indicated that between health

authorities is the most effective way to do that. That will ensure that

in the Lower Mainland, you stay in the Lower Mainland. If you’re in the

Interior and Northern Health, that’s where you need to stay. It is not

about….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members, let’s listen to the answer.

Hon. M. Farnworth: It has been clear it is not going to impact on essential travel,

such as medical appointments and going to work or commuting, you know,

between Burnaby and Vancouver.

It is unfortunate that, once again, they’re not interested in

working together. They’re more interested in playing

politics.

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

supplemental.

T. Stone: I would say the definition of playing politics is calling an

election in the middle of a pandemic. That’s on all of you. I would also

say to the Solicitor General that I know it must be frustrating that the

Premier’s press conferences these days can basically be summed up as:

show up and screw up. He shows up, and then he puts stuff out there and

leaves it to the Solicitor General to come in behind and clean up the

Premier’s mess.

I understand that that must be frustrating, but it’s also

frustrating for British Columbians to have no idea what the Premier

meant when he said, again: “The Minister of Public Safety will be using

the Emergency Program Act to restrict people’s ability to move from one

health authority to another.” That’s the Premier’s quote. That’s not

something that we said, and we also know that that’s not something that

the Solicitor General said.

Does the Premier think it’s essential for people to get to their

jobs that cross a boundary that he’s drawn? Does the Premier think it’s

essential for people to take care of their frail elderly parents in

another health authority? The Premier can’t define “essential.” He can’t

explain the consequences, and he can’t explain why there’s one set of

rules in the Lower Mainland and, apparently, another set of rules in

other parts of British Columbia.

Again, the question to the Premier is this. Will the Premier tell

British Columbians more about these checkpoints that they can expect,

and what they can and can’t do when it comes to travel within British

Columbia?

Hon. M. Farnworth: I’ll resist the temptation to say that if you want to talk about

screwups, let’s just consider the former member’s record when it came

to….

Interjections.

Hon. M. Farnworth: The Premier and the health officer have been very clear. People

need to stay local. They need to stay in their own community. At the

same time, right from the get-go with this pandemic, there has been put

in place what is essential, what is essential travel, and there is a

long and exhaustive list. That is still in place. That has not changed,

and it’s not going to change.

I wish the opposition would just stop this fearmongering and get

on with the fact that we are working as hard as we can to keep British

Columbians safe. That is the job of this side of the House, and we will

continue to do that.

[11:00 a.m.]

B. Banman: In spite of what we’ve just heard in this House a few minutes ago,

the police are not pleased with the Premier’s bungling and lack of

consultation. These officers are in the middle of fighting a deadly and

escalating gang war. But what does this Premier do? He tells the police

to divert their focus from fighting crime to fighting

campers.

This is what the National Police Federation says: “Participating

in enforcement roadblocks puts even greater pressure on limited

resources.”

To the Premier, how many police resources will be diverted away

from stopping this dangerous gang war in the Lower Mainland?

Hon. M. Farnworth: None.

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

B. Banman: So the Premier was mistaken, then. This Premier has no idea what

he’s doing.

Just yesterday there was a targeted shooting on the front steps of

an ice rink in Langley, right next to families and children who were

using the play area inside. To make matters worse, most of the officers

enforcing the Premier’s checkpoints have not been vaccinated yet. The

New Westminster Police Officers Association says, “We would certainly

ask that the government make us a priority for vaccination before they

start asking us” to enforce their public health orders.

Question to the Premier, how many unvaccinated police officers

will be put at risk on the front lines of the Premier’s

checkpoints?

Hon. M. Farnworth: If any question wanted to show that this opposition is not even

interested in the facts or working with people, it is that kind of

approach that we are just seeing right now.

We have been working with police in terms of how travel

restrictions could be put in place and what would be the most effective

way to ensure that they work. We have been engaged with ferries to

ensure how that would work at terminals, for example. We have been

engaged with the tourism industry in terms of dealing with bookings and

how that would work. We have been working with the people who actually

know what needs to happen and what needs to take place.

What the Premier has said is that there will be travel

restrictions coming and that we need to have them. We need to have them

to control the virus. We need to have them to help keep British

Columbians safe. That’s what we are doing. That’s what we’re going to

continue to do. They will be briefed tomorrow, and there will be further

announcements on what exactly will be taking place tomorrow.

S. Cadieux: Since the Premier surprised the province with his police

checkpoints, people are worried that Black, Indigenous and people of

colour will be racially profiled. The head of the B.C. Civil Liberties

Association, Harsha Walia, has raised concerns. “The concern is that

BIPOC people will face more questioning, more interrogation, have to

produce more proof and will be more likely to face fines in this

process.”

That’s the problem. Absolutely no one knows what the Premier was

thinking, including the Solicitor General and the Minister of Health.

That leaves everybody wondering which BIPOC organizations were consulted

on this measure and which ones signed off on the Premier’s

checkpoints.

These groups want to know who has been consulted. Will the Premier

answer their very legitimate questions?

Hon. M. Farnworth: I thank the member for the question. I understand very much the

concerns of the BIPOC community. As a matter of fact, after question

period, I will be meeting with a number of groups and organizations, in

terms of hearing from them on the issues around the implementation of

travel restrictions.

G. Kyllo: It appears that no one in government understands what the Premier

meant to say, including him. The Solicitor General had to try and walk

back his comments. Both Dr. Bonnie Henry and the Health Minister have

given different advice.

[11:05 a.m.]

The police have no idea what the Premier is talking about. Now we

have the Vancouver police objecting to enforcing the checkpoints they’ve

been told they will be running: “The VPD is not conducting random checks

for compliance with travel restrictions. We have not seen specific

details of these pending restrictions.” British Columbians who want to

do the right thing are confused.

It is the Premier who has created this mass confusion. Will the

Premier stand up and apologize to British Columbians for creating this

unnecessary stress and anxiety?

Hon. M. Farnworth: I think that opposition needs to stand up and apologize. Stand up

and apologize to British Columbians for some of the most fearmongering

questions that we have seen. What has been made clear right from the

beginning is that this is about ensuring the safety of British

Columbians by limiting the spread of the virus.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Order.

Hon. M. Farnworth: It is not about checkpoints in downtown Vancouver. Nobody has told

the VPD that they will be doing checkpoints at any point. To suggest

that they have is simply wrong.

What has also been clear…. This opposition knows full well that

they were going to be briefed tomorrow. They were told yesterday that

they were going to be briefed. The bottom line is this.

Interjections.

Hon. M. Farnworth: You most certainly were. Your leader said to me: “I’ve written you

a letter.” I said: “What’s it about?” “I want a briefing,” she said. I

said: “Don’t worry. It’s in the works. You’re going to be briefed. My

office contacted your critic.” You were told yesterday.

Mr. Speaker: Through the Chair.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Order. Order, Members.

Hon. M. Farnworth: Hon. Speaker, this is about public safety. This is about keeping

British Columbians healthy and safe and stopping the virus. They may not

want to do that. We will. We are going to do it right.

[End of question period.]

Mr. Speaker: The member for Saanich North and the Islands is seeking leave to

present a petition. Is leave granted?

Leave granted.

Mr. Speaker: Please proceed.

Petitions

A. Olsen: I’ve got a petition of 180 signatures, I believe, with respect to a

situation on Saltspring Island, on Beddis Road. Residents of the

neighbourhood are requesting the Ministry of Transportation to address a

long-standing issue with respect to the road and road ownership. This has

been going on for a long, long period of time. This is the neighbourhood

asking MOTI to step in and assist the neighbourhood.

Tabling Documents

Mr. Speaker: Hon. Members, I have the honour to table a report pursuant to the

COVID-19 Related Measures Act.

Orders of the Day

Hon. L. Beare: I call continued budget debate.

Budget Debate

(continued)

A. Mercier: It’s an honour to stand up and rise in this House and continue my

speech on the debate on the budget.

[N. Letnick in the chair.]

I left off by speaking about the previous Liberal approach to

budgeting, which was to sell the furniture, pretend you have a balanced

budget, and to make sure, above and beyond all else, that you address the

issues that are of primarily of concern to your friends and not the people

of British Columbia. That’s an approach that led us to land fire sales, that

led the government to reach into the pockets of working British Columbians

and families with things like MSP fee increases.

We’ve heard, throughout this budget debate so far, from the members of

the opposition…. I call them the Wild West coalition, but from the members

of the Wild West coalition, the opposition… We’ve heard from them so far in

this debate, in question period and in this House, that they are more

concerned with the fact that they lost an election than they are with

delivering services to British Columbians in a pandemic.

This is a good budget. This is a pandemic budget. It is a breath of

fresh air compared to what we’ve seen in the past. I’d like to take a little

walk down memory lane. I know for our friends in the opposition, they’ve

done a lot of things that they don’t really want to remember or talk about.

But I think it’s important that we remember the history of how we got to

here.

I want to talk about the fudge-it budget of 2009. That’s the budget

that Gordon Campbell’s Finance Minister, Colin Hansen, introduced right

before an election, in the middle of an economic crisis, that said that

there was going to be a $495 million deficit. Fast-forward a few weeks

later, after the election, and the deficit was actually 3½ times greater

than that. It was $1.8 billion.

[11:10 a.m.]

I can understand the disbelief coming from the other side of the

House. Here’s a government that went through an election in the middle of a

crisis and came through with a budget deficit that’s actually significantly

less than forecast. So it’s not a surprise they want to know how it was

done.

It’s not a surprise that they’re asking to see a jobs plan so they can

see how we’re going to create all these jobs. What is somewhat surprising,

as I mentioned previously, is the outrage from the member for Peace River

South on the fact that we’re creating so many jobs.

This is a budget that’s going to serve the interests of British

Columbians. It is a credit to the Minister of Finance and her team — the

Deputy Minister of Finance, the staff at Treasury Board and everyone that

has done the hard work to make this budget happen — because it hasn’t

happened in isolation. It has happened while this government has been

creating a plethora of new programs to address issues that we’d never

dreamed existed 12 months ago.

The B.C. recovery benefit went from an idea to cheques in people’s

hands and in their bank accounts in record time. To do all of that while

also preparing all of the necessary work for a budget like this, that has

come out this soundly, is really a credit to their professionalism, to their

talent and to the civil service here in British Columbia — and to the

oversight of the Minister of Finance. I should add that it’s not a surprise,

because that’s the approach that we’ve taken to governance in this province

in the past 3½ years.

It’s not a surprise that we’re able to attract record-setting private

sector investment like LNG Canada, the largest private sector investment in

the history of Canada, right here in B.C., and all of the jobs that that’s

creating, all throughout this supply chain. That is a direct result of the

work that we have done. Now, the opposition, the B.C. Liberals, spent a lot

of time, a lot of hot air, talking about liquefied natural gas. We got it

done. We didn’t just talk about it.

I’d like to move now to the budget, and to the issues that this budget

addresses, for the people of British Columbia. This is a pandemic budget,

and at its core, at the centre of it, is public health and the health care

system. We are in the final push of COVID-19. We cannot let up. We need to

listen to the restrictions, listen to our public health officers and the

Minister of Health, and make sure that we’re doing everything we can to bend

the curve, to break the circuit and to get this virus under control while we

roll out the largest vaccination program in B.C. history, in Canadian

history, with the work and partnership of so many.

I am so thrilled to have heard yesterday that Fraser Health is rolling

out vaccinations for all school-based employees in K to 12 in school

district 35 in Langley — here in my and my colleague the member for Langley

East’s constituencies. That’s just a credit to how well the vaccination

program is going and how well the nurses, the civil service and all of the

health care workers that are behind that program of public health are doing

in getting that done and making sure that we’re getting as many shots in

people’s arms as we can, as fast as we can.

Ultimately, that is going to be what helps get us through to the other

side. We’re doing this. What we’re doing is putting 1,400 people, previously

working in tourism and hospitality, who have lost their jobs because of this

crisis — this is an economic crisis, but first and foremost, this is a

public health crisis — to work during the rollout, through these community

partnerships and partnerships with businesses and the industry. That is just

phenomenal. It’s not something this province has ever seen before, and it is

a hallmark of our government’s approach.

Managing the public health crisis is the key to resolving the economic

crisis. Before we can talk about supports to businesses — and we are…. We’re

supporting businesses in more ways than any other region in North America

right now, but before we can even talk about that, we need to talk about

what we’re doing to get the public health crisis under control.

[11:15 a.m.]

It is easy to come up with manufactured outrage over public health

orders that are sensible and reasonable and that react to the situation as

it evolves. It is easy to stand up and to yell and scream about those kinds

of things, but what we need to do is have cool heads, to make sure that

we’re setting a good example for the public, and to make sure that we get

beyond this crisis so that we can start focusing on what comes

next.

Budget 2021 includes $900 million for our ongoing COVID-19 response.

That’s the vaccination program making sure that everyone who wants a vaccine

will be able to get a vaccine. That goes to fund all of the contact tracers

and all of the testing that we’ve been doing, which has just been

phenomenal. You know, the Kwantlen Polytechnic University parking lot and

the Langley Events Centre in Langley and Langley East have been turned into

mass testing centres. It’s just totally remarkable.

It also includes

increased capacity for the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, the BCCDC,

because if this has taught us anything, it’s that we need to build capacity

in organizations like the BCCDC so that we’re ready when situations like

this occur.

That $900 million also includes ongoing supports for increasing safety

for our seniors in long-term care — for making sure that there’s screening,

additional personal protective equipment and all types of measures. That’s

not to mention the $585 million put aside for the health career access

program, a program that I’m proud to be a part of in my mandate from the

Premier as the Parliamentary Secretary for Skills Training, a program that

is helping folks become health care workers and health care assistants,

including in long-term care.

We’re doing this by targeting folks who have lost their jobs as a

consequence of the pandemic. We are putting people back to work, and we are

putting them back to work in a way that is going to help improve the system

and help paper over the cracks that we have seen emerge as a result of this

pandemic.

I can say something that my constituents are very happy about in this

budget is the new Surrey hospital. That piece of land that the government

has acquired…. We had to acquire a piece of land, of course, after the B.C.

Liberals sold off the land set aside for a Surrey hospital so they could pay

for tax breaks for their friends. But that piece of land is five minutes

away from Langley city hall. It is going to serve the people of Langley, the

people of Langley city and the people in Brookswood, and it is going to take

pressure off Langley Memorial Hospital. That’s just incredible.

This is such a contrast — this approach to health care of building

hospitals, of investing in people, of creating training opportunities and of

coordinating the labour market to maximize value for the community. This

approach is so different than the approach that we saw in the B.C. Liberals’

16 years of bungling on this file. Sixteen bungled years.

The Liberal approach to health care was about ripping up collective

agreements, ripping up contracts and laying people off — outsourcing work.

The B.C. Liberals, the last time they were in, laid off more women in a

single day in health care than any government in the history of this

country. That is the approach that the B.C. Liberals took to this file. That

is the approach that the B.C. Liberals have taken to health care. We’re

investing in people. They did the opposite.

This budget, in particular in terms of health care, is building on the

work that we have already been doing in Langley. I can’t say how thrilled I

am with the amount of times that my friend the Minister of Health has come

out to Langley and come out to Langley East. There have been so many funding

announcements for Langley Memorial Hospital, for the MRI suite, on issues

that were ignored by the previous government.

We were, just the other day — my colleague the member for Langley East

and I — announcing the substantial completion of the Langley Memorial

Hospital upgrades: $29.3 million from the provincial government combined

with funding from the Langley Memorial Hospital Foundation and funding from

the Langley Memorial Auxiliary to substantially upgrade our emergency

department, which is going to be open this coming May.

I can tell you that it is a credit to the professionalism of the folks

at Fraser Health — of Jason Cook and his team; of the folks at the Langley

Memorial Hospital Foundation — Heather Scott; and all of the construction

workers — that that work continued throughout the pandemic. This is so

needed for our growing community. And that’s in addition to our new MRI

suite, which is running 16 hours a day for two shifts.

[11:20 a.m.]

That’s an NDP investment. That’s an NDP government investment in

Langley. It just wasn’t a priority for the B.C. Liberals.

This isn’t just a pandemic budget. This is a recovery budget. This is

an economic recovery budget.

There are $26 billion of capital investments in this budget. We are

building more hospitals right now than I think any government in the history

of British Columbia has ever done at one time. It’s just phenomenal. We’re

upgrading hospitals all over the place. We’re building new towers, and we’re

building new hospitals. Over 16 years, there was so little movement on the

file and, particularly in the Lower Mainland, so much growth that these

projects are desperately needed right now.

That’s not the only thing that’s going on with the capital plan. Of

course, we’ve got community benefit agreements, so that a whole generation

of young people can get skilled apprenticeship opportunities and complete

their apprenticeships. It’s so that there is value-added from our capital

plan into the labour market.

You’re just seeing those projects now really start to take off. The

Pattullo Bridge, something that should have been done decades ago, is

something that we’re funding in this budget. The Broadway corridor —

increasing transit access in the busiest bus corridor in North America, down

Broadway, extending the SkyTrain down there. Cowichan Hospital, making sure

that the people of the Cowichan Valley have access to a new hospital in the

same way that Surrey is going to have — desperately needed.

The Massey Tunnel replacement. I’d just like to say a word here. We’ve

heard a lot of talk from the members of the Wild West coalition about the

Massey Tunnel replacement — how far along it could have been and how all the

work was ready to go, etc. Well, I can tell you, I was talking to some pile

drivers just this morning about that project. The reality of the test piling

was that they were not able to find the type of foundation that they needed

in the water to put a bridge on the engineering specs that they had. So the

idea that that was a shovel-ready project, ready to go, is just, frankly,

laughable and not in accordance with the reality of it.

Most importantly, as the MLA for Langley and as a Langley boy, and for

my constituents in Langley, SkyTrain to Langley is in this budget. This has

been something that has been floated since the late ’90s: extending the

SkyTrain down King George and all the way to Langley Centre. We’re going to

make it happen. We’re going to make this a reality, and this is going to be

a game-changer for Langley. It is going to be a game-changer for Langley

city. It is going to be transformative.

I had a great talk at Kwantlen Polytechnic University the other day

about their Langley campus and their plans, and the changes that are going

to happen there as a consequence of SkyTrain, which are going to be so

positive and so beneficial to the community.

Right now Langley city is passing its new official community plan,

which is going to see a very intentional and coordinated approach to zoning,

particularly around SkyTrain stations, to add density but also to focus on

affordability and livability, so that we don’t just get this kind of urban

sprawl that happens around SkyTrain stations but that it actually happens in

a very deliberate way that builds on the changes that are already occurring

in Langley.

I am so proud to be part of a government that is funding that kind of

investment, and I know our municipal partners are too. I know that the mayor

of Langley city, Val Van den Broek, and the mayor of Langley township, Jack

Froese, have done so much work on the SkyTrain file, in terms of pushing it

ahead, with the Mayors Council. I’m so proud of that work, and their

communities are going to benefit. Our community is going to benefit so much

from this investment.

That’s an investment that the B.C. Liberals, the Wild West coalition,

just couldn’t get done. Hearing from the other side and hearing the comments

during this debate and in question period by the members from the

opposition, it is very clear that the B.C. Liberals do not understand the

communities south of the Fraser River. They didn’t invest in them. When they

did, their solution was tolls — tolling roads, putting unfair mobility taxes

on commuters south of the Fraser, without other options and without other

investment options or ways to move around.

[11:25 a.m.]

They tolled the Port Mann Bridge. They tolled the Golden Ears, which

meant that if you were a single mom in Maple Ridge, trying to cross the

bridge to take your son to football — I’ve talked to folks in that situation

— you were just paying through the nose in tolls to pay for B.C. Liberal

contracts. That’s not right. It’s not an approach we agree with, and it’s

not an approach we’re taking. I’m happy to say the new Pattullo Bridge is

going to be toll-free. The first thing we did when we got into office, in

addition to eliminating MSP, was eliminating tolls on those

bridges.

Now, an issue that’s near and dear to my heart and in going about my

life in Langley — and to so many people in my age demographic and younger —

is child care. Investments in child care are absolutely critical. Langley is

a growing community. Langley is a young community. In order for young

families, for women and men, for parents to participate in the labour

market, to go to work every day, they need to know that they have a way for

their children to be taken care of, so that they can go out, earn an income,

support their family and create a better life for their kids.

We are investing in that, and Budget 2021 builds on the work that we

have already done in this sector. We have supported a $1 billion child care

plan. My friend, the Minister of State for Child

Care, has done tremendous work on that, funding nearly 26,000 new spaces.

We’ve reduced parent fees by up to $350 a month, for almost 70,000 children

and their families. That’s through the child care fee reduction initiative.

We’ve reduced fees by up to $1,250 a month through affordable child care

benefits for low- and middle-income families.

In total, over the last four years, in my constituency of Langley

alone, we have spent $25 million either creating new spaces or putting money

back into the pockets of families, through child care benefits, rebates and

incentives, so that people can put their head on the pillow at night and

rest assured that their children are taken care of during the day. We are

building on that work right now.

We’d also introduced a $2-an-hour wage increase for early childhood

educators, for ECEs in licensed facilities, to make that a more competitive

place to work, with stable employment. The work that people are doing,

taking care of our children and teaching our children — we’re moving that

from the Ministry of Children

and Family Development to the Ministry of

Education, because early childhood learning is so critical. That’s what

child care is. It’s not just a place to drop off your kids. It’s a place for

your child to go and grow and self-actualize and become socially accultured.

We need to value that work.

This budget invests in child care by doubling the $10-a-day program,

by doubling the wage enhancement for ECEs, for early childhood educators,

from $2 an hour to $4 an hour. We’re giving early childhood educators a

raise. That’s not just good for child care centres that are going to have an

easier time attracting ECEs and preventing turnover. It’s good for those

families that depend on those wages to go out and make their living and to

support their own kids. It’s the right thing to do economically, and it’s

the right thing to do morally. I am so proud to be part of a government

that’s doing that.

We also include here, in investment, 400 new Aboriginal Head Start

spaces and thousands of new spaces through the childcare B.C. new spaces

fund. So in many ways, this is a budget focused on economic recovery and a

capital plan that is going to create tons of jobs. But we’re also creating

more jobs in child care and investing in child care, so that people can go

and work in those jobs, so that we can allow for more participation by women

and by equity-seeking groups and by parents in the workforce.

That’s very important, because we have a skilled-trades shortage in

this province. By 2029, we’re forecast to have 73,000 job openings in the

skilled trades — 77 percent, or 55,800, of which are from retiring trade

workers. We are working hard to make sure that people can access skills

training and complete their apprenticeships, and child care is a part of

that. But making sure that there are apprenticeship opportunities and

funding is a part of that as well.

[11:30 a.m.]

We’re building a future workforce by advancing technology and trades

training, investing in Indigenous skills-training development, supporting

programs that encourage women in the building trades and partnering with

colleges and other levels of government to ensure 21st-century training

facilities and tools to support our students.

Those are students that attend university colleges and teaching

universities like Kwantlen Polytechnic in my riding who are studying to

become millwrights, industrial mechanics, studying carpentry and all kinds

of trades programs, or students at the University of the Fraser Valley

Trades and Technology campus, a university that has an amazing team, an

amazing president in Joanne MacLean. I used to sit on the board there, and I

can tell you that the leadership there is very strong. You’ve got students

that are studying electrical trades, joinery, plumbing and all types of

programs.

The investments we are making in skills training are going to benefit

apprentices, like my friend Chelsea French, who’s studying to become a

commercial transportation mechanic. This is what employers want to see in

our economy. They want to see investment in skills training. When you get

large companies that are looking to invest…. And I know we heard from the

member for Peace River South that he doesn’t want to invest in British

Columbia. He said, during his response to the budget, that he would look

elsewhere to put his money. I don’t think that’s a confidence-building thing

to say about the province of British Columbia.

I know that LNG Canada looked at B.C. Then a consortium of

companies involved in that said: “Hey, this is

somewhere we want to invest.” It’s because we invest in our people. They

look to whether or not we have a workforce that is capable of doing the

work, and that’s our comparative advantage in an economy based on global

investment.

In this budget, the 2021 budget, we’re going to continue building on

that, with $96 million over three years for new training spaces to build out

the health workforce, for instance. We’ve got $32 million in one-time

funding for continued training initiated by the StrongerBC restart plan and

$17 million for partnering with Indigenous communities and organizations to

expand access to programs through Indigenous skills-training

programs.

Because we’ve got a changing economy, we need to have a resilient

workforce. We’ve got $5 million set aside to expand micro-credentialing to

allow training to help workers looking to retrain.

I was fortunate to be able to do an announcement with my friend the

Minister for Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation on micro-credentialing

programs for auto techs looking to upgrade so that they could work on

electric vehicles. As we’ve heard from the Minister of Environment and

Climate Change Strategy today, we are becoming a world leader in electric

vehicle sales. Well, we need mechanics that know how to deal with those

kinds of vehicles.

I was heartened to see Scott Waddle, from Precision Auto, an

automotive mechanic, an automotive technician, in my friend the member for

Langley East’s constituency, in Aldergrove, who is carving out a business

exclusively focusing on electric vehicles. He’s doing that so that he can

have a business that he can leave to his son, realizing that the world is

changing and that he needs to get ahead of it. He is a red seal automotive

tech. He’s benefiting from that retraining. It’s just an example of how the

entrepreneurial spirit can thrive, if we support it.

There is so much more I’d like to say about the budget, and obviously,

there’s only so much time I can take. But to conclude, I would like to say

that I strongly support this budget. I think it is a breath of fresh air

over the land fire sales and what I would characterize as highway robbery

that happened in the past, in the 16 years of Liberal bungling when the Wild

West coalition was in power. I think that this is exactly what B.C. needs at

this time. I think that’s why the voters told us that in October.

L. Doerkson: It’s indeed a pleasure to be here to represent the riding of

Cariboo-Chilcotin and, of course, our constituents. I did want to just

clarify one thing right off the bat. As much as I appreciate the previous

member’s comments, I certainly wanted to clarify that the B.C. Liberals, for

certain, have the interests of all British Columbians in mind.

[11:35 a.m.]

I did also pick up on one other thing that seemed a little confusing

to me. I think the previous member referred to record timing of delivery of

the B.C. recovery benefit. I can assure you that constituents in my riding

are still waiting for that $500 benefit that was promised by Christmas time.

Certainly, the small business recovery has not come off exactly flawless. So

thank you for those comments.

I want to start by saying that I’m not surprised, but I can’t help but

be somewhat disappointed by the budget speech that we all heard this week.

Honestly, I feel a little bit frustrated. I think that every taxpayer in

this province was hoping for greater things. I know that, personally, I was

shocked to see the plan of our debt rising by $39.5 billion to a staggering

$127 billion by the plan’s end. I’m not as shocked by the debt as much as I

am shocked at what we will receive in exchange for this debt.

As critic for Rural Development in this province, I must say that I’m

shocked at the disconnect that this government has with rural B.C. While

there are numbers of projects planned throughout the province, none appear

to be the size of what the people in rural parts of this province were

hoping for. We heard, in the budget, promises for funding models that I

sincerely hope will work this time and will work — unlike the last failed

attempts — before we see success, getting dollars where they are needed to

be most in this province.

I was disappointed to hear the word “rural” only one time in the

speech. There were other words that were not mentioned often, words like

“forestry” and “mining” — a small oversight, I’m sure. This has been dubbed

a big-spending budget, but certainly, from my perspective, it doesn’t look

that way in my riding. There are certainly things that were hoped for and

certainly hundreds of millions of dollars that could have helped rural B.C.

and the Cariboo-Chilcotin.

On a number of occasions, I’ve spoken to this House with respect to

flooding in my riding. I spoke at length about areas like Dog Creek, Frizzi

Road, Canim Lake and other areas. I have referred to specific people, like

the Kuttnicks, Bette McLennan, the Bednars and others that are paying the

price for this government’s inaction. When I refer to Dog Creek, in case you

haven’t heard it before, there is a culvert there that was placed decades

ago and is flowing water that is causing so much damage to taxpayers that it

is absolutely astonishing.

I will continue to try and have these issues heard, as will, I’m

certain, my colleagues who are suffering similar issues. It’s not just that

this damage continues to happen that is so frustrating, but that it

continues to cost the taxpayers of this province so much in repairs, and it

never solves the actual problem. It might surprise you to know that we have

repaved Dog Creek Road and Highway 20 multiple times in the last year alone.

The cost over the years would have to be absolutely mind-blowing, rather

than just fixing the problem.

Last year the province helped Williams Lake in another moment of need

with respect to flooding and damage caused by a massive landslide in the

river valley system. This slide caused severe damage to infrastructure and

the environment. I think that the contribution was around $10 million. Trust

me, we were grateful for that help. I will always give credit where credit

is due. But at the time, experts warned that more slides in this area were

imminent and that there was a need for more help. But after applications by

the city of Williams Lake were denied, those predicted slides actually did

occur. As a matter of fact, they happened two weeks ago.

Much of the recent damage has been ignored. It’s just been left at the

base of this cliff. I never heard about any funding for this major project

that will likely cause severe losses to businesses and to personal property.

Trust me, I listened very closely and pored over the books presented as

well, and there was nothing.

This isn’t unique to the Cariboo-Chilcotin. This is happening all over

rural B.C. While more severe throughout the Cariboo, there is broken and

ignored road all over this province. It’s pleasing to me to see that that

ten-mile slide area has been slated, finally, for repair as well. But much

work is needed for the balance of rural B.C.

[11:40 a.m.]

It’s not just culverts that have got my focused attention. The roads

of our riding in the Cariboo-Chilcotin are absolutely appalling. Again, this

isn’t unique to my riding. I’m not sure how to even paint a clear picture of

how bad the roads are, but I’ll try. Last week I had to alert the Ministry

of Transportation and Infrastructure that we had a school bus stuck on a

paved road at a place in my riding called Frost Creek.

When a constituent has exhausted all avenues by reaching out to

offices and can’t get an answer or action, that is generally when we hear

from these individuals. One such constituent has reached out to me,

expressing his concern that he feels could cause a serious accident. I have

to say, I don’t disagree.

The situation here is another culvert that has not

received service. What has happened in this case is that rather than the

culvert break free from the pressure of a lake that has built up behind it,

it’s the earth and rock under the culvert that has actually let go. Of

course, what that’s done is remove all of the support for the culvert in

question.

This culvert is at the base of a hill on a highway that often has

logging trucks and other heavy trucks, like fuel, cattle, hay, etc. Of

course, this constituent worries, and rightly so, that a heavy load going

over this culvert could cause it to collapse.

As serious as this is, it’s one of so many serious problems. I

listened and scoured the budget books, but I can’t see any major projects

for the riding I represent of Cariboo-Chilcotin with respect to roads and/or

slide areas, even though we have spoken at length on this

subject.

Trust me when I say that we need these projects. We need major help

with some of these problems. We have areas where we are using what MOTI

would describe as rig mats on some of our roads. In case you don’t know,

these are rubber mats that are laid across broken road to help vehicles

navigate over the damaged area. Other roads are simply

impassable.

As we speak, it appears to me that in this budget, the capital

expenditures are actually going down in this ministry, from $5.3 billion to

$3.5 billion. Out of the major projects, while we completed some of them in

2020 and we’ll start a handful of projects this year, there are very few

projects in rural B.C.

I am pleased to see that West Fraser Road is finally on the list,

which has been a nightmare for the residents there. After local politicians

and different governments met last week to discuss rising levels of water in

our creeks and have issued warnings for swift water and potential flood

conditions….

I know at this point I’m going to sound like a broken record, but it’s

almost unbelievable what the residents of the Cariboo-Chilcotin have had to

endure since 2017 as a result of the most serious fires our province has

seen, in 2017 and ’18. It has truly changed our landscape, and it’s changed

in a way that will not be repaired for decades. The change has brought very

serious issues. Those issues are flooding, from Sheridan Lake and Bridge

Creek in the south to Borland and Valley Creeks to the San Jose River —

which, by the way, now looks more like a lake at points along its path into

Williams Lake — and, of course, west to the Chilcotin.

There are not enough trees in the area to absorb all of the water.

They’re all flooding as we are present here, and I heard nothing significant

in the budget speech for Cariboo-Chilcotin with respect to this, even though

we’ve reached out to ministries and ministers, even though our local

governments have applied for funding. In some cases, our local governments

have simply acknowledged that some of these projects are simply beyond their

ability to repair, beyond their financial ability.

At the taxpayers’ level, when they suffer damage to their own property

due to things well beyond their control, they’re often referred to the DFA,

which is the disaster financial assistance funding application. With all due

respect, it doesn’t, in most cases, work. Even when the stars align

perfectly for one of these applications, the funding often doesn’t come

through.

[11:45 a.m.]

This is federally funded money, administered by the province, which

has to be related to a declaration of disaster made by a local government

and linked to a weather event in a location of the incident. I can’t imagine

what could go wrong with that process. I hope you understand that the

program has multiple levels of complexity that, in the end, serve very few

people.

As I said before, I will give credit where it’s due. I am also happy

to see the announced upgrade to Cariboo Memorial Hospital, which, of course,

serves our entire region. This project was announced by our government years

ago, and I’m happy to see it finally come to fruition. We will see an

investment of more than $200 million into this facility. I’m thankful that

the project will start this year, and I look forward to lobbying for a local

workforce to be the recipients of millions of dollars of wages and income

for local businesses.

I want to be sure that these funds get every opportunity to flow

through our community, rather than seeing big labour forces coming from

outside of the area to complete the work that our very skilled residents are

completely capable of completing at far less cost than having workforces be

compensated for living-out expenses, along with travel expenses and delays

of lost time due to that travel. We have a very abundant supply of capable

contractors and workers that can, for sure, complete much of the work on a

project like this at a great savings to our province. But make no mistake

about it, we are all very excited about this overdue project.

Loss of timber supply has also been an effect of the multiple fires.

This will result and has resulted in not only the start of losses in our

economy and our jobs market but will also translate to the loss of revenue

for this province. I had also hoped to hear something more significant with

respect to our forestry industry.

Don’t get me wrong. I was happy to hear about the planting of 300

million trees. But this is an economy that benefits the entire province and,

particularly, rural B.C. While the budget remains pretty much flat —

approximately a 5 percent increase in spending — it’s clear to me that this

government does not see this industry as an investment.

Economically, I can’t imagine that in this province, other than the

effect that COVID is playing on our economy, there is a more important and

concerning industry. The pressure this industry has experienced over the

past half decade is alarming. It’s not just the loss of cuts, but loss of

forests also. These losses are not just from fires but also from the

ravaging effects of mountain pine beetle and also spruce beetle.

To add to this, of course, there has been very volatile pressure of

world lumber markets, which at this point are very strong, but that was not

the case a year or so ago. It has been a struggle, and we rely, very much

so, for the economy that this industry provides in our

communities.

I have heard about the loss of tenure for forestry companies over the

past weeks. I’ve heard about reductions in tenures and cuts for these

companies so important to the well-being of our residents and our

communities. As critic for Rural Development, I had hoped for more — and,

believe me, the residents had hoped for very much more — in this budget for

Cariboo-Chilcotin, particularly with respect to such an important

industry.

The budget had suggestions of added connectivity throughout the

province. Our government referred to hundreds of added kilometres of

connectivity in last week’s throne speech. I can’t even begin to suggest how

little of an impact that could have on a riding and, for that matter, for

rural B.C.

I have concerns with respect to my role as critic for Rural

Development as well. There has only been $40 million dedicated to this very

important and much-needed project. It will affect all of rural B.C., but

that amount has also been spread out over four years.

Connectivity, in recent meetings of our rural committee, has been

identified as our number one issue. It trumps all other issues. But this

does not seem to be a priority in any way to this government. I will be very

interested to understand what hundreds of kilometres actually means, because

in my riding, it’s very close to 500 kilometres from Deka Lake to Anahim

Lake. That is only from the southeast corner to the northwest corner. I

would say that that is hundreds of kilometres that need to be

serviced.

[11:50 a.m.]

My riding is massive, but when you look at the rest of the province,

we need to be talking about improving connectivity to thousands of

kilometres of roads, if not tens of thousands. Honestly, it’s not enough to

do hundreds of kilometres.

Not only is this connectivity important for those businesses that are

trying to conduct commerce from rural locations for their home-based

businesses — their ranches, tourism operations — but this connectivity has a

need for improvements in some of our larger communities, like 100 Mile

House, which has actually had businesses struggle with this connectivity

issue for years, right downtown. This community is anything but remote, but

they have had big struggles when it comes to connectivity.

Also, for independent learning — this is learning that would be

similar to our distance education program. I heard nothing about this, and

this is a budget item that has actually received cuts to it in 2020, if you

can imagine, during a time of COVID. But because of the vastness of my

riding, there are a great many people that have relied on independent

education programs. This is not something new in my riding or, for that

matter, in rural B.C. But the need has never been greater than during these

trying times.

As well, this is of great importance to our emergency workers in the

region, and of course, once again, throughout rural British Columbia.

Currently our emergency responders must rely on ham radios and satellite

phones to communicate in the Chilcotin and other remote areas. When I say

that, I’m somewhat tongue-in-cheek, because this isn’t really remote. It’s

15 minutes or so west of Williams Lake, which is a major area in our

riding.

Noting the hour, I would move for adjournment and would ask to reserve

my spot after lunch.

L. Doerkson moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Hon. L. Beare moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

Mr. Speaker: This House stands adjourned until 1:30 this afternoon.

The House adjourned at 11:53 a.m.

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