British Columbia Hansard — 15 October 2018, p.m., Issue 157 (41st Parliament, 3rd Session)

20181015pm-Hansard-n157

British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)

Third Session, 41st Parliament OFFICIAL REPORT OF DEBATES (HANSARD) Monday, October 15, 2018 Afternoon Sitting Issue No. 157 THE HONOURABLE DARRYL PLECAS, SPEAKER ISSN 1499-2175

PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Entered Confederation July 20, 1871) LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR Her Honour the Honourable Janet Austin, OBC Third Session, 41st Parliament SPEAKER OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Honourable Darryl Plecas EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Premier and President of the Executive Council ............................................................................................................... Hon. John Horgan Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance............................................................................................................................Hon.

Carole James Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Training..................................................................................................... Hon. Melanie Mark Minister of Agriculture.........................................................................................................................................................Hon. Lana Popham Attorney General.................................................................................................................................................................Hon.

David Eby, QC Minister of Children and Family Development ............................................................................................................ Hon. Katrine Conroy Minister of State for Child Care...................................................................................................................................... Hon. Katrina Chen Minister of Citizens’ Services.................................................................................................................................................... Hon.

Jinny Sims Minister of Education ............................................................................................................................................................ Hon. Rob Fleming Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources ...............................................................................................Hon. Michelle Mungall Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy............................................................................................. Hon.

George Heyman Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development ..............................................Hon. Doug Donaldson Minister of Health .....................................................................................................................................................................Hon. Adrian Dix Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation ......................................................................................................... Hon.

Scott Fraser Minister of Jobs, Trade and Technology............................................................................................................................ Hon. Bruce Ralston Minister of State for Trade...............................................................................................................................................Hon. George Chow Minister of Labour ...................................................................................................................................................................Hon.

Harry Bains Minister of Mental Health and Addictions............................................................................................................................ Hon. Judy Darcy Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.................................................................................................................. Hon. Selina Robinson Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General ........................................................................................................... Hon.

Mike Farnworth Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction..............................................................................................Hon. Shane Simpson Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture.....................................................................................................................................Hon. Lisa Beare Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure................................................................................................................ Hon.

Claire Trevena LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Leader of the Official Opposition................................................................................................................................Andrew Wilkinson, QC Leader of the Third Party ....................................................................................................................................................Dr. Andrew Weaver Deputy Speaker................................................................................................................................................................................

Raj Chouhan Assistant Deputy Speaker................................................................................................................................................................... Linda Reid Deputy Chair, Committee of the Whole ................................................................................................................

Spencer Chandra Herbert Clerk of the Legislative Assembly ....................................................................................................................................................Craig James Deputy Clerk and Clerk of Committees.................................................................................................................................

Kate Ryan-Lloyd Clerk Assistant — Committees and Interparliamentary Relations ..........................................................................................Susan Sourial Sessional Law Clerk...............................................................................................................................................Loredana Catalli-Sonier, QC Sergeant-at-Arms ................................................................................................................................................................................. Gary Lenz

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF MEMBERS Ashton, Dan (BC Liberal) ........................................................................ Penticton Bains, Hon. Harry (NDP)...............................................................Surrey-Newton Barnett, Donna (BC Liberal) ................................................... Cariboo-Chilcotin Beare, Hon. Lisa (NDP).............................................Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows Begg, Garry (NDP) ..................................................................... Surrey-Guildford Bernier, Mike (BC Liberal) .......................................................

Peace River South Bond, Shirley (BC Liberal)......................................... Prince George–Valemount Brar, Jagrup (NDP)..................................................................... Surrey-Fleetwood Cadieux, Stephanie (BC Liberal)....................................................... Surrey South Chandra Herbert, Spencer (NDP) ..................................... Vancouver–West End Chen, Hon. Katrina (NDP).....................................................Burnaby-Lougheed Chouhan, Raj (NDP) ............................................................... Burnaby-Edmonds Chow, Hon.

George (NDP)............................................... Vancouver-Fraserview Clovechok, Doug (BC Liberal) ................................ Columbia River–Revelstoke Coleman, Rich (BC Liberal) ...............................................................Langley East Conroy, Hon. Katrine (NDP)......................................................... Kootenay West Darcy, Hon.

Judy (NDP) ............................................................New Westminster Davies, Dan (BC Liberal) ..........................................................Peace River North de Jong, Michael, QC (BC Liberal) ............................................ Abbotsford West Dean, Mitzi (NDP)...............................................................Esquimalt-Metchosin D’Eith, Bob (NDP) ...............................................................Maple Ridge–Mission Dix, Hon. Adrian (NDP)......................................................Vancouver-Kingsway Donaldson, Hon.

Doug (NDP).....................................................................Stikine Eby, Hon. David, QC (NDP)............................................. Vancouver–Point Grey Elmore, Mable (NDP)....................................................... Vancouver-Kensington Farnworth, Hon. Mike (NDP) ...................................................... Port Coquitlam Fleming, Hon. Rob (NDP) .....................................................Victoria–Swan Lake Foster, Eric (BC Liberal)........................................................... Vernon-Monashee Fraser, Hon.

Scott (NDP) ................................................ Mid Island–Pacific Rim Furstenau, Sonia (BC Green Party) ........................................... Cowichan Valley Gibson, Simon (BC Liberal) ................................................. Abbotsford-Mission Glumac, Rick (NDP)........................................................Port Moody–Coquitlam Heyman, Hon. George (NDP) .............................................. Vancouver-Fairview Horgan, Hon. John (NDP) ...............................................

Langford–Juan de Fuca Hunt, Marvin (BC Liberal) .......................................................Surrey-Cloverdale Isaacs, Joan (BC Liberal) .........................................Coquitlam–Burke Mountain James, Hon. Carole (NDP)...................................................Victoria–Beacon Hill Johal, Jas (BC Liberal)...............................................

Richmond-Queensborough Kahlon, Ravi (NDP)..............................................................................Delta North Kang, Anne (NDP)..................................................................Burnaby–Deer Lake Krog, Leonard Eugene (NDP) ..................................................................Nanaimo Kyllo, Greg (BC Liberal)............................................................................ Shuswap Larson, Linda (BC Liberal) .............................................Boundary-Similkameen Lee, Michael (BC Liberal) ......................................................

Vancouver-Langara Leonard, Ronna-Rae (NDP) ....................................................Courtenay-Comox Letnick, Norm (BC Liberal)............................................Kelowna–Lake Country Ma, Bowinn (NDP) ................................................... North Vancouver–Lonsdale Mark, Hon. Melanie (NDP) ..................................... Vancouver–Mount Pleasant Martin, John (BC Liberal)...................................................................... Chilliwack Milobar, Peter (BC Liberal)....................................

Kamloops–North Thompson Morris, Mike (BC Liberal) ..........................................Prince George–Mackenzie Mungall, Hon. Michelle (NDP).................................................... Nelson-Creston Oakes, Coralee (BC Liberal) ...........................................................Cariboo North Olsen, Adam (BC Green Party)........................... Saanich North and the Islands Paton, Ian (BC Liberal)......................................................................... Delta South Plecas, Hon.

Darryl (Ind.) ..........................................................Abbotsford South Polak, Mary (BC Liberal) ............................................................................ Langley Popham, Hon. Lana (NDP)..............................................................Saanich South Ralston, Hon. Bruce (NDP) .......................................................... Surrey-Whalley Redies, Tracy (BC Liberal) ..................................................... Surrey–White Rock Reid, Linda (BC Liberal) ................................................

Richmond South Centre Rice, Jennifer (NDP) ............................................................................ North Coast Robinson, Hon. Selina (NDP) ....................................... Coquitlam-Maillardville Ross, Ellis (BC Liberal)..................................................................................Skeena Routledge, Janet (NDP) .................................................................. Burnaby North Routley, Doug (NDP) ................................................Nanaimo–North Cowichan Rustad, John (BC Liberal) ..............................................................

Nechako Lakes Shypitka, Tom (BC Liberal) .............................................................Kootenay East Simons, Nicholas (NDP) ........................................Powell River–Sunshine Coast Simpson, Hon. Shane (NDP)................................................ Vancouver-Hastings Sims, Hon.

Jinny (NDP) .............................................................Surrey-Panorama Singh, Rachna (NDP) ........................................................Surrey–Green Timbers Stewart, Ben (BC Liberal) ................................................................Kelowna West Stilwell, Michelle (BC Liberal)..............................................Parksville-Qualicum Stone, Todd (BC Liberal)........................................

Kamloops–South Thompson Sturdy, Jordan (BC Liberal).......................................West Vancouver–Sea to Sky Sullivan, Sam (BC Liberal)...............................................Vancouver–False Creek Sultan, Ralph (BC Liberal) ......................................... West Vancouver–Capilano Tegart, Jackie (BC Liberal) ................................................................ Fraser-Nicola Thomson, Steve (BC Liberal)..................................................... Kelowna-Mission Thornthwaite, Jane (BC Liberal) .............................

North Vancouver–Seymour Throness, Laurie (BC Liberal) ..................................................... Chilliwack-Kent Trevena, Hon. Claire (NDP) .............................................................. North Island Wat, Teresa (BC Liberal) ................................................Richmond North Centre Weaver, Dr. Andrew (BC Green Party) ......................... Oak Bay–Gordon Head Wilkinson, Andrew, QC (BC Liberal) .............................. Vancouver-Quilchena Y ap, John (BC Liberal)..........................................................

Richmond-Steveston LIST OF MEMBERS BY RIDING Abbotsford-Mission ..........................................................................Simon Gibson Abbotsford South ..................................................................... Hon. Darryl Plecas Abbotsford West .................................................................... Michael de Jong, QC Boundary-Similkameen.....................................................................

Linda Larson Burnaby–Deer Lake ...............................................................................Anne Kang Burnaby-Edmonds ..............................................................................Raj Chouhan Burnaby-Lougheed................................................................... Hon. Katrina Chen Burnaby North................................................................................

Janet Routledge Cariboo-Chilcotin ............................................................................Donna Barnett Cariboo North .................................................................................. Coralee Oakes Chilliwack.............................................................................................. John Martin Chilliwack-Kent..............................................................................Laurie Throness Columbia River–Revelstoke........................................................

Doug Clovechok Coquitlam–Burke Mountain................................................................. Joan Isaacs Coquitlam-Maillardville..................................................... Hon. Selina Robinson Courtenay-Comox ................................................................. Ronna-Rae Leonard Cowichan Valley ............................................................................

Sonia Furstenau Delta North ...........................................................................................Ravi Kahlon Delta South.................................................................................................Ian Paton Esquimalt-Metchosin.............................................................................Mitzi Dean Fraser-Nicola........................................................................................

Jackie Tegart Kamloops–North Thompson............................................................Peter Milobar Kamloops–South Thompson ................................................................Todd Stone Kelowna–Lake Country....................................................................Norm Letnick Kelowna-Mission.............................................................................

Steve Thomson Kelowna West.........................................................................................Ben Stewart Kootenay East .....................................................................................Tom Shypitka Kootenay West ...................................................................... Hon. Katrine Conroy Langford–Juan de Fuca............................................................. Hon. John Horgan Langley....................................................................................................

Mary Polak Langley East .......................................................................................Rich Coleman Maple Ridge–Mission ............................................................................ Bob D’Eith Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows ..........................................................Hon. Lisa Beare Mid Island–Pacific Rim .............................................................. Hon. Scott Fraser Nanaimo ...............................................................................

Leonard Eugene Krog Nanaimo–North Cowichan.............................................................. Doug Routley Nechako Lakes ...................................................................................... John Rustad Nelson-Creston.................................................................. Hon. Michelle Mungall New Westminster ......................................................................... Hon. Judy Darcy North Coast..........................................................................................

Jennifer Rice North Island ............................................................................ Hon. Claire Trevena North Vancouver–Lonsdale ................................................................. Bowinn Ma North Vancouver–Seymour ......................................................Jane Thornthwaite Oak Bay–Gordon Head ..........................................................Dr.

Andrew Weaver Parksville-Qualicum .....................................................................Michelle Stilwell Peace River North.................................................................................. Dan Davies Peace River South ............................................................................... Mike Bernier Penticton................................................................................................ Dan Ashton Port Coquitlam .................................................................... Hon.

Mike Farnworth Port Moody–Coquitlam .....................................................................Rick Glumac Powell River–Sunshine Coast ..................................................... Nicholas Simons Prince George–Mackenzie ..................................................................Mike Morris Prince George–Valemount.................................................................

Shirley Bond Richmond North Centre ........................................................................Teresa Wat Richmond-Queensborough .......................................................................Jas Johal Richmond South Centre........................................................................ Linda Reid Richmond-Steveston..................................................................................

John Y ap Saanich North and the Islands............................................................Adam Olsen Saanich South............................................................................Hon. Lana Popham Shuswap .................................................................................................... Greg Kyllo Skeena ......................................................................................................... Ellis Ross Stikine ..................................................................................Hon.

Doug Donaldson Surrey-Cloverdale............................................................................... Marvin Hunt Surrey-Fleetwood ...................................................................................Jagrup Brar Surrey–Green Timbers ......................................................................Rachna Singh Surrey-Guildford ....................................................................................Garry Begg Surrey-Newton.............................................................................Hon.

Harry Bains Surrey-Panorama........................................................................... Hon. Jinny Sims Surrey South............................................................................... Stephanie Cadieux Surrey-Whalley........................................................................ Hon. Bruce Ralston Surrey–White Rock ............................................................................. Tracy Redies Vancouver-Fairview ............................................................ Hon.

George Heyman Vancouver–False Creek....................................................................... Sam Sullivan Vancouver-Fraserview .............................................................Hon. George Chow Vancouver-Hastings .............................................................. Hon. Shane Simpson Vancouver-Kensington ..................................................................... Mable Elmore Vancouver-Kingsway ................................................................... Hon.

Adrian Dix Vancouver-Langara .............................................................................. Michael Lee Vancouver–Mount Pleasant ................................................... Hon. Melanie Mark Vancouver–Point Grey...........................................................Hon.

David Eby, QC Vancouver-Quilchena ......................................................Andrew Wilkinson, QC Vancouver–West End....................................................Spencer Chandra Herbert Vernon-Monashee...................................................................................Eric Foster Victoria–Beacon Hill ................................................................ Hon. Carole James Victoria–Swan Lake .................................................................. Hon. Rob Fleming West Vancouver–Capilano .................................................................

Ralph Sultan West Vancouver–Sea to Sky ..............................................................Jordan Sturdy Party Standings: BC Liberal 42; NDP 41; BC Green Party 3; Independent 1

CONTENTS Monday, October 15, 2018 Afternoon Sitting Page Routine Business Introductions by Members..................................................................................................................................................... 5529 Introduction and First Reading of Bills................................................................................................................................ 5530 Bill 42 — Assessment Amendment Act, 2018 Hon. S. Robinson Bill 43 — Miscellaneous Statutes (Minor Corrections) Amendment Act, 2018 Hon. D.

Eby Statements (Standing Order 25B) ......................................................................................................................................... 5531 Registered disability savings plans M. Elmore Small Business Week C. Oakes Referendum on electoral reform R. Singh Music Heals Foundation and music therapy L. Reid Burnaby Central Railway J. Routledge Rosedale Harvest Festival and agricultural parade L.

Throness Oral Questions......................................................................................................................................................................... 5533 Cannabis store openings S. Bond Hon. M. Farnworth M. Stilwell Impact of employer health tax on businesses A. Olsen Hon. C. James Cannabis store openings J. Johal Hon. M. Farnworth Cannabis regulation P . Milobar Hon. M. Farnworth Illegal cannabis store operations M. Morris Hon. M.

Farnworth Motions Without Notice......................................................................................................................................................... 5538 Legislative sittings until 9 p.m. on Mondays Hon. M. Farnworth Tabling Documents................................................................................................................................................................. 5538 B.C.

Ferry Commissioner, annual report, fiscal year ending March 31, 2018 Orders of the Day Second Reading of Bills .......................................................................................................................................................... 5538 Bill 39 — Poverty Reduction Strategy Act(continued) Hon. J. Sims Hon. J. Darcy Hon. S. Robinson N. Simons D. Routley A. Kang J. Rice Hon. S. Simpson

Committee of the Whole House............................................................................................................................................ 5558 Bill 37 — Land Statutes Amendment Act, 2018(continued) Report and Third Reading of Bills......................................................................................................................................... 5558 Bill 37 — Land Statutes Amendment Act, 2018 Second Reading of Bills .......................................................................................................................................................... 5559 Bill 40 — Electoral Reform Referendum 2018 Amendment Act, 2018 Hon.

D. Eby M. Lee S. Furstenau B. D’Eith Tabling Documents................................................................................................................................................................. 5569 B.C. Arts Council, annual report, 2017-18 Second Reading of Bills .......................................................................................................................................................... 5569 Bill 40 — Electoral Reform Referendum 2018 Amendment Act, 2018(continued) T. Stone A. Olsen R. Coleman A. Weaver R. Glumac D. Barnett

MONDAY , OCTOBER 15, 2018 The House met at 1:35 p.m. [Mr. Speaker in the chair.] Routine Business Introductions by Members Mr. Speaker:We will begin with the Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, who is going to introduce us to one of the cutest little people on the planet. Hon. M. Mungall:Thank you very much. I don’t disagree with that, hon. Speaker. I want to introduce the House to the newest addition to my family. This is Zavier Andrew Roman Matieschyn. He came into the world on July 21 at 10:04 in the morning, after a mere 12 hours of labour.

He came in at 8 pounds 9 ounces, and he’s been growing like a weed ever since. He is, of course, the light of my life and the light of his father’s life, Zak Mati- eschyn, who is just up in the gallery this afternoon. Zavier, his dad and I would like to thank, of course, our midwife, Catherine Ruskin; Dr. Moola; the maternity nurses; and everyone at Kootenay Lake Hospital. Him coming into the world was just a wonderful experience. It was a difficult experience, but it was wonderful. Of course, I want to say a special thank-you.

A lot of people look over and don’t know about it, but our mater- nity services at Kootenay Lake Hospital didn’t come without a little bit of a fight. The parents who led that fight — I want to thank them, because I got to benefit from all of their hard work. Of course, I want to thank everybody in this House for making this moment possible and for making our demo- cratic institutions more family-friendly so that anybody can run, and they don’t have to choose between parenthood and being an effective MLA. I think that makes our democracy stronger.

I’m so glad that the support for that came unanim- ously from this House. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you for welcom- ing Zavier with such open arms. L. Larson:I’ d like to introduce today our good friend, Jason Goertzen. He’s brought with him his parents, Ed and Karen, who live in my riding. Would the House please make them welcome. Hon. B.

Ralston:Here to celebrate CMEBC manufac- turing Day at the Legislature are Andrew Wynn-Williams, divisional president for B.C. of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters; Dennis Darby, who is the president and CEO of the national organization; and a series of business owners and operators: Andrew Booth, chief commercial operator at Stemcell Technologies in Vancouver; Tod Gil- bert, president of Vehicle-Mounted Air Compressors, Nanaimo; and Rob McCurdy, CEO of Pinnacle Renewable Energy from Prince George. Non-resource manufacturing is vital and growing. Manu- facturing contributes to our economy.

In addition, in these times, export development is crucial to the future success of any business in the province. This organization is dedicated to pursuing those objectives. I would ask that the House make all of those people wel- come. G. Kyllo:I, also, would like to extend a warm welcome to the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Association who are joining us today. As mentioned, we’re joined by Andrew Booth, CCO of Stemcell Technologies; Willy Manson, from Stinger Welding of Prince George; Mark Gladstone, com- mercial risk adviser with CapriCMW .

We have Tod Gilbert, president of VMAC, Air Innovated; Gerry Friesen, FreFlyt Industries; Lyle McGladderly with IPC; Jordan Perrault with the Construction Foundation of B.C.; Robert McFarlane with Capri; and Dave Weller of KOSTKLIP . Now, the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Associ- ation is the country’s leading trade and industry association, serving as the voice of 10,000 leading companies. Manu- facturing matters here in B.C., where manufacturing is the fourth-largest contributor to the provincial GDP and the third-largest employer.

Manufacturing contributes 30 per- cent of the business tax revenue paid to government, 42 percent of the private sector research and development and almost 65 percent of British Columbia’s exports. Would the House please make those members from CME very welcome. [1:40 p.m.] T. Wat:It is my pleasure today to welcome a delegation from Hong Kong, the city where I was born, where I was educated and where I started my family and my career. Joining us today are the board of directors and student ambassadors for the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals. Let’s wel- come the chairman, Mr. Vinci Wong; Mr. Gabriel Au; Mr.

Kazaf Tam; Mr. Herman Wai, who was a high school student of my daughter, Tin Lee; and more than 60 students, teach- ers and staff of 18 secondary schools of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals. The Tung Wah Group of Hospitals is the first charitable organization founded in Hong Kong. It was actually estab- lished much longer than B.C. joining Confederation. It was established in 1870 and is a familiar name in the global Chinese community. They started the ambassador student program in 2015.

They travelled to Los Angeles, London and San Francisco, and this year they picked Vancouver as the place for them to widen their horizons, to improve their skills in many respects and to study our Legislature and our political system. Today they had a tour of the Legislature. They had a lot of Q and A to me, asking how tough it is to be an MLA in this Legislature, especially as a woman. 5529

Also joining them is a crew from Fairchild television, the biggest national Chinese TV station, which is located in my beautiful riding of Richmond North Centre. Please, every one of you, give a big round of applause to the delegation from Hong Kong. A. Kang: I would like to welcome some of my friends who are here in the gallery today from the greater Victoria Taiwanese Canadian association, and one of my very spe- cial friends, May Lee. She also brings with her all her friends: Angi Lee, Shelly Hung, Scott Lambert, Alex Kuo, Daniel Hsu, Bihru Chang, Julie Lee, Linda Ho-Lin and Li fen Lin.

They have made my stay in Victoria very special. It’s almost like a home away from home experience. I know that I can come to Victoria, and in the evening, I could actually go home to auntie and someone who would make me a nice rice dinner. Please have the House welcome all my friends here today. R. Kahlon:It’s my honour to welcome some guests here in the House today. Rene Sandhu is a constituent of mine who is here with the B.C. real estate board and here to speak to all the members of this House. He has brought with him today his family: Tarsem Kaur Singh, Sajjan Singh Sandhu and Savalli Kaur Sandhu.

These two young ones will be here, watching question period today and watching our demo- cracy in action. Please make them welcome. D. Barnett:I would like to introduce a friend, a past col- league and a great community gentleman from Williams Lake. He’s involved with the Williams Lake Stampede, with our indoor rodeo, and he is also president of the B.C. North- ern Real Estate Board. Would the House help me welcome Courtney Smith here today. M.

Elmore:I’m very pleased to welcome members of the Rising Up Against Unjust Recruitment coalition who are here in the Legislature to talk about the need to protect temporary foreign workers from abuse and exploitation by recruiters and employers in British Columbia. We have Nat- alie Drolet, the executive director of the Migrant Workers Centre; David Fairey, co-chair of the B.C. Employment Standards Coalition; Erie Maestro, from Migrante B.C.; Irene Lanzinger, the president of the B.C. Federation of Labour; and a number of other folks advocating on behalf of the rights for all workers.

I’ll ask everybody to please make them very welcome. L. Reid:I, too, would like to welcome the newest babe to the floor of this chamber. I’m happy to share with you that my little girl spent her first three years here and is in first year university this year, so absolutely none the worse for having been raised with you lovely souls. Welcome. T. Redies:We have several members of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board with us today, constituents of mine who I’ d like to recognize: Val Berg, AlNoor Teja and the new, incom- ing president of the Fraser Valley real estate association, Dar- in Germyn.

I’ d like the House to make them welcome. [1:45 p.m.] Hon. D. Donaldson:Visiting the Legislature today and in the gallery is the mayor of Telkwa, Darcy Repen. Telkwa is a beautiful and small community in my constituency where the Bulkley and Telkwa rivers meet. Darcy is not seeking re- election, so I want to thank him for his public service over the last four years. Although we’ve not always seen eye to eye, in a true rural cooperative manner, we’ve worked togeth- er for the benefit of the citizens of Telkwa. I would like the members to please make him welcome. D.

Ashton:It gives me great pleasure to introduce a gen- tleman, a very well-known real estate agent in Penticton, James Palanio. James, thanks for coming down today. Introduction and First Reading of Bills BILL 42 — ASSESSMENT AMENDMENT ACT, 2018 Hon. S. Robinson presented a message from Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor: a bill intituled Assessment Amendment Act, 2018. Hon. S. Robinson:I move that Bill 42, the Assessment Amendment Act, 2018, be introduced and read a first time now. I am pleased to introduce the Assessment Amendment Act, 2018.

The proposed legislation aims to protect com- munity-sustaining jobs that major industry properties, class 4, provide to British Columbians. These properties can include saw mills, mines, smelters, large product manufac- turers and other similar operations. Under the Assessment Act, B.C. Assessment is required to value properties based on their actual market value when considering highest, best or future use — the most probable use of a property that would return the highest value. However, the act also requires B.C. Assessment to classify properties based on current or actual use.

Property tax rates for class 4 are significantly higher than residential or com- mercial rates in most municipalities. When local governments adopt or make changes to the official community plans that identify these types of class 4 properties for future redevelopment, typically as residential towers with a commercial component, the properties will be valued at their future highest and best use.

As a result, major industrial properties that are valued based on future devel- opment potential but taxed as industrial facilities can be sub- ject to significant increases in property taxes despite there being no change in their actual use. This increase can be cost prohibitive for continued operations. 5530 British Columbia Debates Monday, October 15, 2018

We are aware of at least one facility, which employs dozens of personnel, that is facing a several-fold increase in property taxes as a result of the discrepancy between valuation and classification, an increase that would put these very import- ant jobs at risk. As many are aware, closure of any major industry facility can have drastic and far-reaching impacts, threatening the economic well-being of individuals, families and entire com- munities. We are taking action to prevent eligible major industry properties from making the decision to cease oper- ations and lay off staff due to high carrying costs.

The proposed legislation would authorize B.C. Assess- ment to continue assessing qualifying properties based on their current industrial use rather than their future highest and best use for a period of two years with the option for extension. Valuation based on classification would result in significant property tax savings prior to redevelopment and support the continued operation of the facility. In return, we’re asking for a commitment to maintain their current use in an equivalent or greater level of productivity for that two- year period, ensuring that these jobs are protected. Mr.

Speaker:The question is first reading of the bill. Motion approved. Hon. S. Robinson: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 42, Assessment Amendment Act, 2018, 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. BILL 43 — MISCELLANEOUS STATUTES (MINOR CORRECTIONS) AMENDMENT ACT, 2018 Hon. D. Eby presented a message from Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor: a bill intituled Miscellaneous Statutes (Minor Corrections) Amendment Act, 2018. Hon.

D. Eby: I move that the bill be introduced and read a first time now. I’m pleased to introduce Bill 43, the Miscellaneous Stat- utes (Minor Corrections) Amendment Act, 2018. This bill is a collection of minor corrections and technical housekeep- ing amendments to various statutes. As part of the statute revision process, the office of legislative counsel routinely identifies and brings forward these types of corrections. The minor corrections in this bill are part of the routine process to ensure that B.C. statutes are orderly and correct. [1:50 p.m.] Mr. Speaker:The question is first reading of the bill.

Motion approved. Hon. D. Eby: I move the bill be placed on the orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today. Bill 43, Miscellaneous Statutes (Minor Corrections) Amendment Act, 2018, 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) REGISTERED DISABILITY SAVINGS PLANS M. Elmore:October is Registered Disability Savings Plan, or RDSP , Awareness Month, and 2018 marks ten years since the federal government launched the RDSP .

I’m happy to say that British Columbia has the highest per-capita enrolment in the country, with more than 31,000 British Columbians with disabilities taking this important step in planning for their future. We want to make sure that every eligible person with a disability knows that this valuable savings plan and the resources and support to sign up for it are available. Right now we’re at about 40 percent uptake in B.C., and there are still tens of thousands of British Columbians who are eligible but don’t yet have an RDSP .

Saving for the future can be a daunting and stressful undertaking, but its importance cannot be overstated. Too often we hear about people with disabilities facing poverty. In fact, people with disabilities are twice as likely to live in poverty as other British Columbians. That’s why RDSPs are such an important poverty reduction tool. They can help provide a safe, secure and independent future for people with disabilities. I want to recognize the work of the RDSP action group in making sure RDSP information and supports are getting to those who need it.

The action group has updated their guide, which is available on line at rdsp.com, to help individuals, families and caregivers. Reducing poverty is a serious challenge for our province. The RDSP program is an opportunity for people with disab- ilities to save for their future, regardless of income level, and have the peace of mind of knowing that they will have sav- ings available as they age. There is still a lot of work to do to ensure that every eli- gible British Columbian has the information that they need to start an RDSP .

I encourage everybody to visit rdsp.com to sign up or to help someone start a registered disability sav- ings plan today. SMALL BUSINESS WEEK C. Oakes: The week of October 15 to 20 marks Small Business Week here in British Columbia. To help show our Monday, October 15, 2018 British Columbia Debates 5531

appreciation for the one million British Columbians who work in the small business sector, let us all demonstrate our support by visiting our favourite small business and posting a picture on social media. We’re also engaging in a social media dialogue about opportunities and challenges facing small businesses. So join the #smallbusinessweek. This culminates on Saturday with an exciting initiative by the Canadian Federation of Inde- pendent Business called #smallbizsaturday.

It can be your favourite corner store, the place where you work or any one of the thousands of businesses that bind our communities together. By showing your support for local businesses, you are not only promoting local entrepreneurs; you are also supporting our own province. In my own riding of Cariboo North, small businesses come in all shapes and sizes, including ranchers, logging contractors, truckers, real estate and manufacturers. As policy-makers, we have a responsibility to ensure a com- petitive business climate to help the small business sector prosper.

I was really encouraged to listen and to hear what busi- nesses have been saying to the government with the Small Business Task Force. They identified the cumulative tax bur- den as the number one impediment to growth. Respondents from all across British Columbia recognize increasing taxes, such as the carbon tax and, in particular, the employer health tax, as challenges that small businesses are concerned about. Participants say that the emerging tax on payroll will drive up their costs of doing business and may result in reductions and general price increases for goods and services.

These are the types of issues that small business owners from all over British Columbia want us to consider. I invite all members of this House and the general public to think about this during Small Business Week and to show your appreciation for the backbone of our provincial economy. REFERENDUM ON ELECTORAL REFORM R.

Singh: One week from today, starting on October 22, over three million referendum ballots will be mailed out to registered voters across British Columbia. [1:55 p.m.] So will begin one of the most important referendums of our time, and on November 30, we’ll find out whether British Columbians will decide to keep our current first-past-the- post voting system or move to a system of proportional rep- resentation. The debate is passionate on both sides.

But whether you believe our system should remain as it is or you believe it is time for a change, there is one thing we can all agree on: that everyone should make sure their voice is heard, and vote. If British Columbians vote for proportional representa- tion, we will make history. B.C. will be the first in North America to do so, the first to adopt a system where a party that gets 25 percent of the vote gets 25 percent of the seats. It’s an important…. Mr. Speaker:Member. Member, if you might be seated, please. MUSIC HEALS FOUNDATION AND MUSIC THERAPY L.

Reid: It is my pleasure today to rise and speak to you about Music Heals, a Canadian charitable foundation that raises funds and awareness for music therapy in Canada. I was delighted to hear Ms. Danielle Rana speak about the organization at a meeting of the Richmond Chinatown Lions Club. She explained the benefits of music therapy with such enthusiasm as she told us about the position and function of the organization she represents. One of the resounding themes to music therapy is testi- mony and narrative.

We were astounded to hear how many different people in our province have had their lives changed by crossing paths with a music therapist. Danielle told us about people who hadn’t spoken in years singing “Let It Be, ” by the chorus. She told us about music therapy in palliative care, to guide a person through the end of life with the kindness and safe familiarity of their favour- ite songs. She told us about music used to heal emotionally, physically, spiritually or mentally, and how music therapy’s benefits are so vast that its full potential is not wholly known yet.

Music therapy is so versatile, as its practice comes from the application of music from an accredited music therapist in whichever direction best serves the patient. Danielle also spoke of the need for increased support and volunteers so that Music Heals may continue to deliver their programming to those who need it most. I would strongly encourage all those present here today to look into music therapy programs in their communities and support this organization however they can. BURNABY CENTRAL RAILW AY J. Routledge:This summer I took a ride on the Burnaby Central Railway. “What’s that?” you might ask.

If you google it, you’ll read that it is a hidden gem, so hidden that most lifelong Vancouverites don’t even know about it. I didn’t really know about it, and I live right down the street. Then, this summer, I was invited to their 25th anniversary. Since then, I’ve been back twice. The Burnaby Central Railway is a unique ride-on mini- ature, lovingly built and operated by the volunteers of the B.C. Society of Model Engineers, located in a charmingly groomed forest just north of Confederation Park. There are two miles of track that wind their way over bridges, through tunnels and around hills.

The engines are steam powered. What is it about train travel that so captures the imagina- tion? Well, we’ve certainly been taught that it was the railway that built this country, that the railway led to industrializa- 5532 British Columbia Debates Monday, October 15, 2018

tion, opened up new markets, tied regions together, created a demand for resources, technology and labour and the com- munities that grew up around them. Or maybe it’s that train travel evokes a simpler time, when we could sit back, watch the ever-changing landscape and find peace in the rhythm of the rails. Some would say that old-fashioned train travel is gone forever. I hope not. But it does mean something that so many children — Internet-savvy children, smartphone- using children — flock to the Burnaby Central Railway every weekend to ride the rails. We owe a debt of thanks to the B.C.

Society of Model Engineers for keeping train travel alive in our hearts. ROSEDALE HARVEST FESTIV AL AND AGRICULTURAL PARADE L. Throness:In the fall of 2015, Chilliwack city councillor Chris Kloot and his wife, Nella, thought it would be a great idea to hold an agricultural parade in Rosedale, just east of Chilliwack, to honour the farm country where they grew up. The community was on board, and within a few weeks, they had enlisted the fire department in Rosedale to put on a pan- cake breakfast and lots of local producers to enter their tract- ors and other equipment in the parade. It was all an imme- diate hit.

Fast forward a few years, and the parade is way longer now. The crowds are bigger. They’ve added blueberries to the pancakes, and there are lots of booths with things to sell and places to eat and activities for kids. Of course, politicians are attracted to parades like moths to a lightbulb, so I was priv- ileged to ride in the parade for the third year, throwing copi- ous amounts of candy to justify my presence. [2:00 p.m.] Rosedale is a tight-knit community of poultry and dairy producers, greenhouse and nursery operators rooted in the rich soil of the Fraser Valley.

Everywhere you look would make a great postcard, from lush, green fields and straight rows of nursery plants to verdant trees and stunning views of Mount Cheam. Rosedale farms are typically large, clean, prosperous and expertly run, using the latest technology by farmers who are aggressive entrepreneurs, many with mul- tiple business lines. At the heart of Rosedale lies community and families, most of whom share Dutch or German heritage.

Many who ride in the parade know those who are watching it, and it’s all one more opportunity to get together, to catch up with each other, sharing their love for their way of life and the beautiful place they call home. I’ d like to pay tribute to Chris and Nella Kloot, Jocelyn Kloot, Jack Klaassen, Kristy Klaassen, Lisa Neels and Laura Terhaar, who work hard to foster an enhanced sense of com- munity in Rosedale, organizing what has already become a fixture of country life in the Fraser Valley, the Rosedale Har- vest Festival. Oral Questions CANNABIS STORE OPENINGS S.

Bond: Cannabis legislation takes effect in two days, which is a delay from the original July time frame. It has been noted that B.C. lags behind many other jurisdictions, with plans to open only a single store on Wednesday. Can the Minister of Public Safety provide the House and British Columbians with a timeline for opening additional stores? Hon. M. Farnworth:As the member will well know, the legalization of cannabis in this country and the province of British Columbia is probably one of the biggest public policy shifts in the last 50 years.

British Columbia has taken very much a collaborative approach in terms of the legalization, and when it comes to the opening of retail outlets, we were very clear right from the beginning that local government would have a crucial say on whether they wanted public stores, private stores or a combination of both, or to have no stores at all. That process has been well received by local government. Local government is responsible for the location and decid- ing on the number of stores in their communities. They have also taken their time to put their policies in place and con- sult with their local communities.

Many of them have indic- ated to me that after the local government elections, we can start to see an increase in the number of stores being opened up right across the province of British Columbia. Over the next few months, you will see a ramping up of both public and private stores. Mr. Speaker:Prince George–Valemount on a supple- mental. S. Bond:Well, we would certainly agree that it is a massive shift in public policy. But that’s true for Alberta as well as British Columbia. And the similar situation in Alberta is that they also require local approval. Here’s the difference.

The Alberta government has said that their approval process takes two to four months and that 100 stores are expected to be open by the end of the month. We concur with the concept of local involvement, but when we look at the rules, they were the same for Alberta as they are for British Columbia. Can the minister follow the example of Alberta and lay his plan and timeline for opening additional stores? Hon. M. Farnworth:We’ve laid out our plan. We’ve laid out the legislation. We have debated that legislation in this House. And I will tell you one thing that we are not going to do.

We are not going to rush the legalization of retail out- lets without making sure we’ve done the proper background checks to make sure that organized crime is not part of any Monday, October 15, 2018 British Columbia Debates 5533

application for any legalized store in the province of British Columbia. Mr. Speaker:Prince George–Valemount on a second sup- plemental. S. Bond: As I said to the minister, we would agree that there is a balance between local decision-making, and we have been very clear about our position on that. We also know that there needs to be a balance in that decision-mak- ing. But let’s be clear. The first step to eliminating a black market is to have sufficient numbers of legal stores open to the public. [2:05 p.m.] Here’s the timeline, to the minister, from Alberta.

Seven- teen stores will open on Wednesday, 100 by the end of Octo- ber and 250 stores within the first year. Again to the minister, a simple question: what is the timeline for opening additional stores in British Columbia? Hon. M. Farnworth:I must admit that I’m a bit fascinated by the response from the member opposite. I’ d like to remind her that at UBCM, the Leader of the Opposition stood up and gave a speech and referenced cannabis. At that time, he made out a number of statements.

I was kind of wondering, “Where has he been for the last year and a half?” because he stood up in front of UBCM delegates and said: “Government should not be forcing Richmond to open a store if they don’t want one. ” Interjections. Hon. M. Farnworth:Oh, I see a nerve has been touched. Y ou know what, hon. Speaker? We made that really clear — that we’re not going to force stores down the throats of communities that don’t want one. The other issue that I would like to put on the table, if they’ d like to hear the answer… Interjections. Mr. Speaker:Members, we shall hear the response. Thank you. Hon. M.

Farnworth:…is that we are in the midst of local government elections, and local government has made it really clear. They want to deal with those applications after those elections have taken place. That’s exactly what is going to happen. While we will have the store open in Kamloops and the public, on-line retail outlet, which will serve the entire province, other stores are going to open up during the months ahead.

As I said, we are going to make sure that it is done properly, and we are going to make sure that we address the issues that the public is concerned about — that we do the proper background checks around organ- ized crime. The member may think that rushing stores and getting things in place is the way to go. We intend to ensure that it’s done properly, that it meets the needs of British Columbi- ans and meets the needs of communities. We’ve been clear on that right from the very beginning, and we’re clear on that going into the future. M.

Stilwell:According to the Minister of Public Safety, there have been 173 retail cannabis licence applications sub- mitted to the province. Can the minister please provide an update on the average length of time to process an application and how many stores will open this month? Hon. M. Farnworth:Well, I thank the member for her question. I would like to remind her of a couple of things. First off, the federal government only finally passed the legis- lation legalizing cannabis, with all the rules and regulations on both Bills C-45 and C-46, at the end of June.

We put in place the application process to start opening in August. The portal went up. We have now received 173 applications. Sixty-five of those applications have been assessed for their completeness and have been found to be complete in every detail. They have been forwarded to the local government that has the approv- ing authority. Thirty-five of those applications are, in fact, in jurisdictions that have said they are ready to deal with can- nabis applications now.

The other issue being done at the same time is the back- ground check on those applications to make sure that there are no links to organized crime, that we know exactly where the money is coming from. If there are any issues that require a much deeper dive, that will also take place. Again, I will say to the member that the approval process for stores comes in place when local government says they’re ready to deal with it. They’re in the midst of local govern- ment elections. I expect stores are going to open up — in fact, I know stores are going to open up — in the months after that. Guess what.

We’re making sure we do it right. It’s not rushed, because we’ve seen what happened when that side of the House was on this side and rushed through applications. Guess what. It ended up being a mess. Mr. Speaker:The member for Parksville-Qualicum on a supplemental. M.

Stilwell:Getting those stores open to displace illicit sellers is a critical step in eliminating that criminal element that the minister is so concerned about. [2:10 p.m.] According to the minister, 35 applications, as he men- tioned, have been sent to willing local governments, who are ready and willing to have the stores in their communities. 5534 British Columbia Debates Monday, October 15, 2018

When did the province refer these applications to the local governments, and how many are expected to open in the next month? Hon. M. Farnworth:I must admit I am quite fascinated by the sudden desire to suddenly have all these stores open on day one from that side of the House. I have to ask you, hon. Speaker, when they sat over here, did any of their ministers go down to Washington and Ore- gon and talk with officials down there? No. Not one did. Not one went down…. Interjections. Hon. M. Farnworth:Oh, the token minister. The point being…. The applications are received by the province.

The applications are assessed for their complete- ness by the province. Approximately two-thirds of applica- tions have been found not to be complete, so they are sent back for the additional information. The remaining one-third of those applications, once they’re deemed to be complete, are then sent to the local gov- ernment responsible, as well as the work being done within my ministry in terms of the background check. That is cur- rently underway and has been since the portal opened, and 173 applications shows there’s considerable interest.

As I’ve said before, we’re making sure it’s done properly, done with local government consent, that the public has had input, that the zoning rules and everything meet the needs of local government — that they’re the ones who decide wheth- er or not they want a public store or private store or no store at all — and that the due diligence is done around links to organized crime or money laundering or fraudulent claims. Only then, once all of those conditions have been satisfied, will a licence be issued. That’s the right approach to take, and we’re sticking to it. IMPACT OF EMPLOYER HEALTH TAX ON BUSINESSES A.

Olsen:Since becoming an MLA, I’ve heard from busi- nesses in my riding that they’re having substantial challenges handling increasing costs — affordability. The Saanich Peninsula is one the largest industrial land bases in the region. It is home to most of the established manufacturers in the CRD. As a result, we benefit from hav- ing many medium-sized businesses in manufacturing, retail, food and tourism. Businesses like Butchart Gardens, Viking Air, Epicure, Schneider Electric and Morinwood — all have reached out to me expressing legitimate concerns.

With skyrocketing housing costs, transportation problems getting to the peninsula, businesses are facing challenges in keeping their operations sustainable, and they don’t feel that government is helping. There is inadequate workforce hous- ing or public transportation in the region. Government’s decision to implement a new payroll tax substantially adds to their operational costs. My question is to the Minister of Finance. What is the government doing to help businesses like these remain viable and keep jobs here, in light of the accumulated chal- lenges they’re facing? Hon. C.

James: Thank you to the member for the ques- tion. As we know on this side of the House, it is important to remain competitive. B.C. ’s economy is strong, and we are going to keep it that way while investing in the people of this province to help build a strong economy. I’m very proud that, in fact, many of the items that have been raised by the member are areas that we have set as a priority for the budget. Business after business after business talks about the challenge they have when it comes to afford- able housing. We have a crisis because it was ignored by the other side.

We are addressing the housing crisis not simply for tenants and families who need to work and live in their communities. We are also addressing it for businesses, for exactly the competitive issue that the member raised. [2:15 p.m.] So investments in housing, investments in child care, investments in remaining competitive. I’m happy to listen to the member talk about businesses and raise those issues with me. I’ve had many conversations with businesses. We’re going to continue our good work to remain competitive and keep our economy strong. Mr.

Speaker:The member for Saanich North and the Islands on a supplemental. A. Olsen:Thank you to the members on the other side for paying attention to the questions. Thank you to the minister for the response. Many businesses in my riding are feeling real impacts on their bottom line from this new tax. Business leaders are worried about whether they can continue to do business on the Saanich Peninsula. Some are unlikely to leave. Take Butchart Gardens, for example. It’s not particularly mobile, but we shouldn’t tempt them. For others, we compete for their business.

Viking Air has manufacturing centres here and in Alberta. If they left for Calgary, it would be devastating. Schneider Electric employs 280 people in Central Saanich. They have a payroll of $20 million. In 2017, they paid $42,000 for their employ- ees’ medical services premiums, and in 2020, they will pay $390,000 for the employer health tax. Schneider’s local man- agement will have to defend to head office… Interjections. Mr. Speaker:Members, we shall hear the question. Thank you. Monday, October 15, 2018 British Columbia Debates 5535

A. Olsen:…why they should stay on the Saanich Penin- sula or even in British Columbia. My question to the Minister of Finance is this. What are you doing to ensure that B.C. businesses remain competitive in the years ahead and that the employer health taxes you have proposed won’t be the final straw, having the effect of driving business off the Saanich Peninsula? Hon. C. James: In fact, right now we have the lowest unemployment rate in the country right here in British Columbia. We are finally, after years of stagnation, seeing wage increases in British Columbia, helping families in our province.

In order to help the very businesses that that member talks about, we are investing in post-secondary education to make sure that members are trained for the businesses, to work in this province. As of 2020, British Columbia, the last province with medical service premiums, will eliminate them so individuals can save $900 a year, and families will save $1,800. We’re investing in health care and keeping our businesses competitive. CANNABIS STORE OPENINGS J. Johal:On October 3, 2017, the Premier said: “We are well advanced in terms of the retail elements of cannabis legalization” — well advanced.

Y et by all accounts, one year later, B.C. lags behind many provinces. Can the Minister of Public Safety explain why, if this file was so well advanced more than a year ago, there’s only one store legally ready to open on day one? Hon. M. Farnworth:Again, I must admit, I am fascinated by the direction that we’re getting here from the opposition. They’re concerned that we haven’t rolled out stores right across the province, and they seem to be all smoked up about that in question period here.

I want to make it clear to the member that one of the things that we made sure we did, in terms that we are well advanced, was working with local government. That’s why we held a consultation process in this province that took place in September, which 48,000 individuals right across this province responded to. That’s why we put together a working group at UBCM to deal with the issues of retail leg- alization in local communities right across the province. In communities like yours, hon. Member, in Richmond, which, when it started out….

Everyone assumed that everybody would either have a government store, a private store or a mix of both. Richmond came to us and said: “No. We’ d like you, Minister, and government to consider that communities such as ours may not want to have a retail store. ” We sat down with Richmond, we worked through the issues, and we agreed. [2:20 p.m.] When the legislation came forward to this House, we made it clear that communities that didn’t want to have a retail outlet — like Richmond, the community that you rep- resent — wouldn’t have to have one.

So I’m a bit puzzled as to why you seem to be up today asking questions as to why we haven’t rolled out more stores fast enough. Mr. Speaker:Richmond-Queensborough on a supple- mental. J. Johal:I don’t disagree with the minister in regards to consultation with local communities. But you had a year to prepare for this week. That’s the point. Here is a headline from October of 2017: “B.C. Premier Touts Marijuana Pre- paredness. ” In October 2018, one year later, the headline reads: “B.C. ’s Pot Shop Licensing System Lagging…. ” Licensing stores is critical to addressing the black market.

Can the minister explain his timeline to match the 100 stores that Alberta anticipates will be open this month? Hon. M. Farnworth:To listen to the member of the oppo- sition, it’s almost like you have to wave a wand, and everything is all done. During this past year, not only have we consulted with British Columbians…. Interjections. Mr. Speaker:Members, we shall hear the response. Thank you. Hon. M.

Farnworth:Not only have we consulted with British Columbians on cannabis policy in general, put together a working group with UBCM, consulted with First Nations, consulted with dozens of industry and trade and professional associations around this province dealing with the myriad issues that come about because of legaliz- ation; we met…. Interjection. Hon. M. Farnworth: Y eah, it’s called governing. It’s something that you’re not doing. For example, local communities had significant questions around issues such as the ability to control the number of plants being grown in a private residence. They do now.

Communities had real concerns. Stratas had real concerns. Businesses such as landlord associations had real concerns about the ability to regulate the smoking of cannabis and the use of cannabis products in private rental dwellings. All of those kinds of policy initiatives have been undertaken in the last year. We have addressed all of them, and nearly all of them to the satisfaction of the people being impacted by the legalization of cannabis. We are not going to apologize for doing this right. I have been really clear that it is going to take time to establish a legal retail market in this province.

It starts on October 17. It is going to ramp up in the coming months. It is going to be one that we can be proud of because it will allow regular 5536 British Columbia Debates Monday, October 15, 2018

British Columbians, not just the big chains, to participate in what will be an exciting new opportunity in this province. CANNABIS REGULATION P . Milobar:That was a very interesting answer, because there seems to be a pretty wide

interpretation of what “doing it right” means from the government. Gerald Thomas is the director of alcohol, tobacco, can- nabis and gambling policy and prevention for the Ministry of Health. Just two weeks ago he said: “Having just spent the last eight months of my life consumed by the cannabis mon- ster, I call it, I would suggest with most of the folks here that we don’t have it right. ” To the minister, this statement was two weeks ago by a senior civil servant. Is it accurate and is it true that this government doesn’t have it right when it comes to the can- nabis file? Hon. M.

Farnworth:Kamloops certainly seems to think we’ve done it right when they’ve got the first government store in the province. The Landlords Association seemed to think we’ve got it done right when we said that landlords in this province will have the right to say who does and does not smoke cannabis and use cannabis in one of their rental units to protect their investment. [2:25 p.m.] The medical community said we got it right, right at the very beginning, when we said that we will not sell cannabis and alcohol in the same outlet, something which you guys said needed to happen. I think we got that right.

I think we got it right when this side of the House was the only juris- diction in this country that led the fight to get clarity at the border, in terms of people who will be working in a legitim- ate and legal business in this country. I can tell you that in the last few months, once that issue came to the fore, there were many entrepreneurs who were saying: “Hang on a second. We were looking at investing in cannabis retail in this province.

We’ve pulled back because of the uncertainty at the border. ” It was this province that got that clarified, it’s this province that’s been doing it right, and it’s this province that will continue to do it right. Mr. Speaker:The member for Kamloops–North Thomp- son on a second supplemental. P . Milobar:It’s no surprise that outside agencies would be singing the praises. They probably got the memo of what happens to you if you dissent with the government. However, internally, Mr. Thomas had much more to say.

Again, two weeks ago: “Please keep us in your hearts, because those of us in the civil service are doing our best to make sense of this insanity, and it’s insanity because we haven’t handled it well to date. That’s the truth. ” Again, from two weeks ago. If civil servants working on this file don’t have the confid- ence in this government’s approach, how does the minister expect British Columbians to have any confidence? Hon. M. Farnworth:Well, I just laid out a whole series of ways in which we’ve got it right. I’ll lay out a few more for the member.

The legalization of cannabis also represents a significant economic opportunity for many regions of this province. Kamloops, with a store, clearly recognized that. But many other communities and regions in this province recognize that. That’s why they were very concerned when the federal government brought out its initial regulations where the only licensed production that was really being considered was large-scale production, which would severely disadvant- age regions in this province where there is a lot of expertise that has the opportunity to become legal.

Well, because of the efforts of this province and my min- istry, we got the federal government to change those regu- lations so that small-scale micro producers — and I know that the Agriculture critic would be really happy to know — were included in those changes so that it will create signific- ant economic opportunities, not just in the Kootenays and on the Island but for First Nations as well. We got that right. One final thing. I’ d like to remind the member from Kam- loops that his predecessor, the former Health Minister, Terry Lake, was on Global the other night saying we got it right. I’ll tell you what.

I’ll take his opinion over yours any day. ILLEGAL CANNABIS STORE OPERATIONS M. Morris:In a couple of days, British Columbians will be faced with marijuana becoming legal in B.C. and Canada. They should have the confidence, when they walk into a retail outlet, that they’ll be buying a legal product from a legal establishment. Instead, many will be buying unsafe products supported by traffickers and illegal activity. To the Minister of Public Safety: how long will you allow legal dispensaries to operate outside the law? Hon. M. Farnworth:I thank the member for his question.

We have put in place a number of enforcement provisions, both in legislation and through regulation. As the member well knows, because we went through this during the legisla- tive part, there will be two key elements of that enforcement. One will be what applies to the legal retail stores.

Much the same as alcohol is right now, there will be licensed can- nabis inspectors whose job it will be to ensure legal opera- tions abide by the laws of the province and of the country. [2:30 p.m.] At the same time, there is a second unit, the community safety unit, located in my ministry whose job it will be to do enforcement around illegal operations that currently do exist and have existed, I might add, in this province for quite some time, especially when that member sat on this side of the House. Monday, October 15, 2018 British Columbia Debates 5537

What I’ve also said, and the member knows this, is that enforcement decisions are made by the police. If it’s criminal activity being involved, they will have the ability to continue criminal investigations, and I have no doubt that they will be doing that. What we’ve also made clear is that the enforcement is not going to be happening overnight — that as legal stores come into being, enforcement is going to be ramped up. That was a position that was also enunciated by the chief of the Van- couver police department just the other day in the media. Mr. Speaker:Prince George–Mackenzie on a supple- mental. M.

Morris:I’ d like to quote the president of the Cannabis Commerce Association of Canada. He says: “It’s all a last- minute disaster. I expect that most of the people operating cannabis dispensaries are going to continue selling their grey-market cannabis, and law enforcement is probably going to turn a blind eye. ” Again to the minister, how long will he allow both a legal and illegal retail system to exist in this province? Hon. M. Farnworth:This is an issue we take extremely seriously. That’s why, when it comes to applications to retail legal cannabis, there are thorough background checks done.

When signals come up, there are deep dives being done, which is why we’re not rushing to approve licences. We’re making sure that it’s done properly. We’ve also been working with the police in terms of the best way to approach the issue, because we are going to get to a fully legal system and deal with the grey market.

When it also comes to that member saying, “We’ve heard nothing from the government, ” all I’ve got to say is this: what were they doing when they sat on this side of the House and dope dealing was taking place in Robson Square market, and not one word was uttered by that side of the House when they sat on this side of the House? [End of question period.] Motions Without Notice LEGISLATIVE SITTINGS UNTIL 9 P .M. ON MONDAYS Hon. M. Farnworth:I’ve got stuff for you. Interjection. Hon. M. Farnworth:And it’s legal. Y es, this is. It’s by the book.

I have shared this with the Opposition House Leader and the House Leader for the Third Party. By leave, I move: [1. That the House will sit until9:00 p.m. on the following dates: Monday, October 15 Monday, October 22 Monday, October 29 Monday, November 5 Monday, November 19 Monday, November 26 2. If at the hour of9:00 p.m. on the dates listed above, and the busi- ness of the day is not concluded and no other hour has been agreed on for the next sitting, the Speaker shall leave the Chair until 10 a.m.

Tuesday.] Before you call the question on that, I also want to assure members that there will be that break from 6:30 to seven. The House will adjourn at 6:30 and reconvene at seven o’ clock. Leave granted. Motion approved. Tabling Documents Hon. D. Eby: I have the honour to present the annual report of the B.C. Ferry Commissioner for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018. Orders of the Day Hon. M. Farnworth:I call continued second reading debate on Bill 39, the Poverty Reduction Strategy Act. [2:35 p.m.] [R. Chouhan in the chair.] Second Reading of Bills BILL 39 — POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY ACT (continued) Hon.

J. Sims: It’s my pleasure today to resume debate on the Poverty Reduction Strategy Act legislation — a pleas- ure in the way that I’m so happy to see this legislation being debated in this House, though I would have been much hap- pier if this legislation had been introduced a long time ago. After years and years of ignoring and, I would say, seriously underfunding social programs, what we’re seeing in British Columbia right now is that we have a poverty rate that is totally unacceptable. B.C. has the second-worst poverty rate.

Usually, we want to celebrate when we’re second in something, but this is not something that we, as British Columbians, want to cel- ebrate. I’m sure that everyone on both sides of the House finds this level of poverty in our beautiful British Columbia unacceptable. Right here in Canada, in B.C., we have 557,000 people liv- 5538 British Columbia Debates Monday, October 15, 2018

ing in poverty. That’s over half a million people, and out of those, a figure that is absolutely staggering is that 99 per- cent of them are children. As you know, we are one of the wealthiest provinces. We are resource rich, and we have, on the average, a fairly high income level. It’s because of all of those things that it is so staggering to have a poverty rate that is so high.

It pleases me that we have, after many, many years, a Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction and a government that is committed to setting real targets so that we can start addressing this very serious issue in our province. I’m a mother. I’m a grandmother. As most of you know, I have been a teacher most of my life. It’s very hard for chil- dren to understand why they do not have food on the table, why they have to go to school hungry. I want to reflect on that for a little bit. Sometimes when we go a long time when we don’t get our regular meals, we com- plain about being hungry.

I’ve heard that even in these hal- lowed halls — talk about hunger because people have been busy. They haven’t had time to eat. Imagine those who live in poverty, who are trying to pay rent, trying to buy clothing or medication, if they need it, and then knowing they have so little, so little that they can spend on food. [2:40 p.m.] All of us know that the cost of shelter and food and trans- portation has gone up incredibly. Our social assistance has not kept pace with the cost of living or with the cost of hous- ing. Because of that, there is a growing number of children living in poverty.

When I talk to people who are not from Canada…. When they look into who we are, they find it hard to believe that even in a country as rich as Canada, we have such dire poverty levels — that the gap between the rich and poor is growing and that here in Canada, we have a growing number of people who are the working poor. It’s where the mom and dad are both working, but despite that, because the cost of living and the cost of housing are so high, they are still con- sidered to be living well below the poverty line. If you want to address an issue, we could all make speeches and then just go home.

But you and I know, Mr. Speaker, that if you want to bring about change, not only do you need good policy but you need to set targets. I’m proud of the targets that our government is setting, targets that will ensure that over the next five years, we will reduce the over- all poverty rate by 25 percent and the child poverty rate by 50 percent. There are those who will be questioning why it is going to take so long. That’s because the previous government so grossly underfunded, for such a long time, social programs and did not keep pace with the cost of living for social assist- ance.

Wages were artificially suppressed. It is hard to make up that deficit of 16 long years in a very short time. What we have taken is a very reasonable approach where there are definite targets, and we are focusing on reducing poverty for children. When you reduce poverty for children, you reduce poverty for their families. We know that to break the poverty cycle takes thoughtful, systematic action. It doesn’t happen by accident. An investment in reducing child poverty — and also poverty, in general — is an economic investment. We hear a lot from the other side about economic investment.

Let me tell you one of the best economic investments you can make for the future is to invest in our children. We know that children living in poverty are not as well prepared for school as those who come from homes that are more comfortable. We know that children who are fed and are not hungry while they’re trying to learn will perform bet- ter at school, therefore improving their chances of having a higher income once they leave school. We also know that there is a very strong correlation between education and health. There will also be savings in the health sector when we invest in reducing child poverty.

The biggest investment and the biggest benefit is to have children who are not hungry living in British Columbia, to have children who are excited about going to school to learn and to play with their friends, not children who are worried that they are hungry, they haven’t had breakfast and even supper was light. We’re talking about nutrition as well. We all know what a critical factor nutrition plays in our health and well-being. All of that is necessary. [2:45 p.m.] I’m so proud to be part of a government that, over the last 14 months, has taken considerable steps to rebuild our social programs.

When I go out into my community or travel around the province as minister, I hear from people. “Y ou’re making a difference. Government is making a difference. ” Whether it comes to child care…. People are saying that now because of the new child care policies in place: “I can actu- ally go out to work, and because of the savings I’m making, I can actually afford to spend more on my children, more at the dinner table. ” And that is a good thing. Over the last year, thousands of people have moved into new affordable homes.

I was in my riding, in my city of Sur- rey, the other day when an event was held to celebrate the work that has been done on homelessness. To have the tent city, which was a real embarrassment and sadness in Sur- rey…. But in Whalley, that tent city — it was just unbearable to walk down there. I visited that many times while I was a Member of Parlia- ment and even after that. To have that area now cleaned up and to know that every one of those people are now in hous- ing where they have a room, where they can close the door, where they have their own bathroom — that’s what our gov- ernment has been doing.

We know that MSP premiums being cut in half is also helping families. And the minimum wage is going to go up. There isn’t one magic pill to address poverty. It’s a multi- faceted approach. Our government is coming at it from that angle. Part of that is having a strategy with firm, firm num- bers to make sure that we do reduce the poverty. It’s always great to have dreams and aspirations because Monday, October 15, 2018 British Columbia Debates 5539

that’s what motivates us. It motivates me that we’re work- ing on a plan to get rid of child poverty and poverty per se. It motivates me more when I know that that plan just isn’t a dream over the next hundred years but that we have concrete targets for the next five years. And it holds all of us to account to make sure that we meet those levels that we have set. I don’t want to have to try to explain to my children and my grandchildren why they are living in beautiful British Columbia and we are not doing anything to address child poverty.

And I want to say to them: “Look, you have a gov- ernment right now that is addressing child poverty, has firm targets. Y ou know what? In five years, we will have reduced child poverty by 50 years. ” My granddaughter still thinks that’s going to take too long, and I agree with her. I agree with her. I won’t go into the situation we were left with by the previ- ous government which, for 16 long years, failed to make the investments — and I would say economic investments — in the people of British Columbia. I know that many people will join me, whether they’re sit- ting at home or across the House.

There is no reason why we would have children living in poverty. Let me share with you a story that was told to me by one of my constituents, who was a teacher. [2:50 p.m.] What this teacher said to me was: “Y ou know, Jinny, what I find one of the hardest things to do every single day” — she teaches in an inner-city school, by the way — “is when I go to school and I know that I haven’t met the needs of the kids. I feel a sense of failure, no matter how hard I try.

And most of my stress comes in because I know that the chil- dren who walk into my class bring with them the impacts of the isms that have hit us, whether it’s poverty, whether it’s racism, whether it’s homophobia. ” She said: “ All of those things are hard, but I have no answer when a child asks me, ‘Why is it that we don’t have enough food?’” She said that there are other children sitting in the class who then write her notes. In her class there are children who bring fruit from home. It’s not so that they can eat it. They bring fruit into the classroom so that their class- mates can eat it.

We have teachers, we have social workers, and we have students who realize what impact hunger has. Y ou just have to go and see the lineups in the food banks. That is why I think that for the sake of our children, we have to all unan- imously support this plan. Hon. J. Darcy: I’m very pleased to rise in my place to discuss the Poverty Reduction Strategy Act legislation. It is, indeed, a historic time in the Legislature of British Columbia.

There are a lot of eyes on this place — people both in British Columbia and people across the country, but especially people in British Columbia and especially people who have been living in poverty. Their eyes are certainly on this Legislature as we debate this bill. After years of the B.C. Liberals ignoring and underfunding social programs, the result has been that British Columbia has the second- worst poverty rate in Canada.

Our government has introduced the poverty reduction strategy precisely because today, in British Columbia, there are 550,000 people who are living in poverty, and 99,000 of them are children. It goes without saying that having over half a million people living in poverty and having 100,000 kids, almost, living in poverty, is not good for children. It’s not good for people. It’s not good for the economy. It’s not good for our province. This poverty reduction bill is long, long overdue. It is indeed a sad statistic for a province as wealthy as British Columbia is.

Despite our strong economy, too many people have been left behind. That’s why we have developed British Columbia’s first poverty reduction strategy. I want to take the opportunity to congratulate the Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, who first introduced legislation in this House through a private member’s bill in 2011. Finally today we have a legislated poverty reduction strategy. It certainly marks a turning point in our province. It is a historic first step that sets out very bold poverty reduction targets.

I’ve had the opportunity, since we were a week not in this House, to be back in the community, and I can tell you that an awful lot of people I’ve spoken with in my com- munity of New Westminster but also other people in the province — people involved with mental health and addic- tions and people involved with housing and homelessness — are very, very moved. They’re very emotional about this step that our government is taking, because it’s been a very, very long time coming. We’ve had 16 years of neglect. We’ve seen bus pass claw- backs.

We’ve seen no help for people living with disabil- ities and people on social assistance. Essentially, the most vulnerable in our society have been ignored by the B.C. Liberals. So it is so exciting that as part of this poverty reduction plan, we’ve set very, very bold targets. They are bold. Our targets are to reduce the overall poverty rate in British Columbia by 25 percent and to reduce the child poverty rate by 50 percent. [2:55 p.m.] These are not just numbers. These are people’s lives.

They are the lives of people in every constituency across this province — whether you sit on the government side, wheth- er you sit on the opposition side or whether you represent the Third Party. How can we expect children to succeed in school if they come to class hungry? That’s happening. That’s happening for almost 100,000 children who are living in poverty. We know that children who live in poverty don’t do nearly as well in life as children who are not living in poverty, that poverty negatively affects their health outcomes, their edu- cation outcomes, and it traps them in a poverty cycle.

We have to begin to break that cycle that keeps people trapped in 5540 British Columbia Debates Monday, October 15, 2018

poverty from one generation to the next. That’s exactly what the poverty reduction strategy aims to do. We also know that poverty disproportionately affects Indi- genous people in this province. This is critically important and has certainly been welcomed by First Nations and Indi- genous organizations across the province, because they know very well that when you lift up children, you lift up the entire family. I think it’s really important — the process that the Min- ister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction under- took, which was an extensive consultation throughout the province of British Columbia.

This strategy was directly informed by listening to people living in poverty across Brit- ish Columbia as well as organizations involved in supporting the most vulnerable people in our society. They held consultations in dozens of communities, and people in my community and others that I’ve spoken with really said — and they’ve said this over and over again, about the poverty reduction strategy consultations but also about other consultations that our government has been involved in — that they are feeling listened to for the first time. They’re feeling listened to for the first time in a very, very long time.

I know that the minister himself and the member for Vancouver-Kensington attended all of those sessions. This strategy, of course, the poverty reduction strategy, is just one component of what we’re doing. We got started really early on. Within weeks of when our government was sworn into office, we were already beginning to act on issues that affect the working poor and that affect people who are living in poverty.

On the medical services premium, which is an issue that I’ve heard about over and over and over again in my con- stituency office — reducing it first by 50 percent, and then it will be eliminated altogether. Raising the minimum wage — because work should lift you out of poverty, not keep you there. Increasing the minimum wage and getting it to $15 an hour is a really important step forward. The work that my colleague the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing has been doing has been truly ground- breaking for British Columbians but also in our country.

As you have heard the minister herself say and as I have had the opportunity to also tell people across this province, we are well on our way to meeting the commitment of 2,000 temporary modular homes for people who were previously homeless. The minister responsible has announced that we will be moving ahead with 2,500 more units of modular housing, and very importantly, those modular housing pro- grams have mental health and addiction supports that are embedded in them. We’ve taken action on MSP .

We’ve taken action on redu- cing the minimum wage, taken action on homelessness as a first step — but tackling affordable housing in a number of ways. We increased support to youth aging out of care, a group in our society that is at great risk of moving into a life of poverty, moving into mental illness and substance use and moving into being homeless. So that was a critical piece. I could go on about this for some time — all of the initiat- ives our government has taken already. Let me mention one last one, and that’s child care. When we have taken….

This is the first new social program in British Columbia in an entire generation. [3:00 p.m.] It’s important for all children. It’s important for families. It’s important for the economy. But it is especially important for vulnerable kids, because it means that those children who are living in poverty, those children who are now severely disadvantaged, will have the same opportunities as other children to universal, affordable, quality child care. That will enable them to get a good start in life.

All of these measures about helping to lift people out of poverty but also breaking the poverty cycle and creating pathways of hope to people who are affected. When I was first elected five years ago, one of the first stor- ies that I heard was from a single mom in my community who was living in poverty. She had three young children. She told me that she couldn’t afford to buy new clothes for them. They had secondhand clothes, hand-me-downs. But one day, as a result of an effort by a local charitable organization in our community, she was able to get a brand-new coat for her son. Her son was so excited.

He put this coat on, and he didn’t want to take it off. He went to bed that night. When he got up the next morn- ing to go to school, he went to put on the coat, and he noticed that the cost of the coat, the price tags, had been taken off. He wept and he wept and he wept, and she couldn’t understand why.

He explained to her, through his tears, that he wanted to go to school wearing the coat with the price tags on so that he could tell the kids in school that he finally had a new coat — because living in poverty was so stigmatiz- ing and always having clothes that were visibly secondhand clothes, hand-me-downs, was stigmatizing. In addition to the direct benefits to kids, to families, about lifting them out of poverty, this issue of stigmatizing people who live with poverty is also huge, because that leads to so many other issues affecting young people and affecting families.

Too often families living in poverty are forced to make unacceptable choices. We’ve all heard them, people who come to our constituency offices and say: “I had to choose this month between paying for medication or having some healthy food in the House. ” Or single moms saying: “Y ou know, I feed my kids first and I eat last, if there’s anything left over, because there’s nothing more important than them having food in their mouths. ” People end up choosing and making what are unacceptable choices. There are many people….

I don’t know who said it first, but the true mark of a society is how it treats its most vul- nerable people. A poverty reduction strategy surely is a sign of our society and about how it’s going to treat the most vul- nerable people in our society. It is about lifting people out of poverty and giving them a leg up so that they can have a pathway to hope. Monday, October 15, 2018 British Columbia Debates 5541

I was looking back at some of the comments that were made by members of the opposition when the House met last. I read some comments from the member for Chilli- wack-Kent, who said — I’m glad that the member opposite is in the House — that he wanted to talk about a fundament- al difference…. Interjection. Hon. J. Darcy:Okay. My apologies.

What the member for Chilliwack-Kent said, on the record, was that he thought there was “a basic difference in perspective” between our two parties. “Our party thinks less about poverty production and more about wealth creation and economic development. ” The phrase “poverty reduc- tion, ” he said, “sort of suggests that we accept poverty as a fact of life, ” and: “We’re just going to reduce its harm by put- ting a few more of taxpayers’ dollars into people’s pockets. ” Nothing could be farther from the truth. We all know about a poverty cycle that can continue from parents to chil- dren and to new generations.

Surely, what’s important is that we give people the opportunity to move out of poverty and to be able to live different lives. [3:05 p.m.] I know that the Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction is working very, very hard on programs that do exactly that: give people who are now living in poverty and who are able to work the opportunity to work. I know that we’ll be hearing more about this in the months to come from the minister responsible. In the Work B.C. program, for instance, there’s an invest- ment of $2 billion over six years in employment supports.

That is focused, in particular, on people who are living with disabilities but also on women who are trying to flee violence. For women to be able to say no, they need to have the opportunity to have economic independence — having roofs over their heads, which is something that the Minis- ter of Municipal Affairs and Housing has been working very hard on doing, including in my community. I’m very proud to say that in my community, our city council has embraced this. They have taken courageous lead- ership in saying that it is critically important that we support women at risk.

We need to have the services and supports there in our community, but they also, first and foremost, need to have roofs over their heads. I know that the Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction — I was just speaking with him about this a little bit earlier — has really expanded the work of the presidents group, which is a group of major CEOs in this province, specifically about how to create more employment opportunities for people who are now living in poverty, for people with disabilities.

Of course, it doesn’t just mean saying: “Y ou have to go and take this job. ” It means working with employers to ensure that workplaces are supportive, are accommodating of people who are living with disabilities — whether those are physical disabilities or whether those are mental health or substance use challenges. All of these are absolutely about lifting people out of poverty, creating pathways to hope. For some people, for as many people as possible, that pathway to hope involves supportive employment.

The other issue that I want to touch on is the very close connection between poverty and mental health and addic- tion. Every survey, every study that has been done on the subject tells us that the overwhelming majority of people who are living in poverty are also struggling with mental illness or addiction and that the overwhelming number of people who are homeless are also struggling with mental health and addictions. There was a report that came out recently, a survey that was done of homeless youth that was related to the home- less count in the Metro Vancouver area. The figures there were really startling.

Between 60 and 70 percent of youth who were homeless were dealing with a mental health issue, and around 50 percent were also struggling with substance use issues. If someone is struggling…. This is a quote that comes directly from the consultation that the Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction was involved in.

One of the people who took part said: “If someone is struggling with addiction and wants help, they seem to have so many overwhelming hoops to jump through before they can get assistance. ” Other people who took part said things to this effect: “Poverty negatively affects everyone, especially the mentally ill. ” At the same time that we offer various housing supports, at the same time as we offer income supports, at the same time as we offer greater opportunities for training and skills development for people to be able to gain employment, we are working hand in hand with the Minister of Social Devel- opment and Poverty Reduction and hand in hand with the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing in order to ensure that the mental health and addictions supports are also there for people.

These issues are integrally linked, and we can’t do one without the other. We know that if people are on long wait-lists — and they have been on long wait-lists because of years of neglect of our system of mental health and addictions — it can only lead to their lives spiralling downward and out of control. I can’t tell you how many people I have met with personally, how many people I’ve spoken with personally, who are today living with opioid addiction, who are today living poor and living homeless, who talk about the struggles that they’re facing with addiction. [3:10 p.m.] Many of these people began….

Some of them worked in trades and transport. Some of them worked in the forestry industry. They worked in a wide variety of industries. Some- times the downward spiral began with a workplace injury, sometimes with a car accident and, at one point or another, turned to street drugs and opioid addiction. These people are now living poor, and many of them are also homeless. 5542 British Columbia Debates Monday, October 15, 2018

It’s absolutely critical that we navigate mental illness and poverty at the same time, and that we navigate mental illness and poverty and substance use and homelessness and the lack of affordable housing at the same time. Certainly, the people that were consulted in the process of developing this strategy talked, over and over again, about how poverty and uncertainty worsened their mental health and made it harder for them to live full lives.

Communities, big and small — communities represented by people on this side of the House, represented by members of the Third Party and represented by members opposite — all contributed in this process, and the message was the same. The message was the same. I’m, frankly, surprised that we aren’t hearing members opposite talking about the stor- ies in their own communities about people who are living in poverty and their calls for help, which our government is finally answering.

In the course of the consultations that the minister responsible was engaged in, he also heard an awful lot about the importance of early identification and intervention ser- vices for youth who experience trauma and mental health issues. That’s one of the pieces that we’re going to be acting on. We have said from the beginning we’re taking a whole- of-government approach to these issues. The Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction works closely with me and other ministers on our mental health and addictions strategy.

We all work very closely with the Min- ister of Municipal Affairs and Housing on the strategy for housing and homelessness. We have to do it in an integrated way. These are not sep- arate issues. These are issues that we need to tackle at one and the same time. I’m very, very proud. I’m very honoured to have the opportunity to rise and to speak to this historic piece of legislation in the province of British Columbia. It is something that is long overdue. It is something that is good for the people affected.

In particular, it will mean that when we reach our goals — and they are ambitious goals — we will finally someday soon be able to have children go to school without being hungry. That means that children will have the opportunity to learn in the same way — have the same opportunities to learn and to thrive and to prosper — as oth- er children do.

The more supports that we can give to people living in poverty today — whether that’s income support, whether that’s housing, whether that’s support for mental health and addictions, whether it’s child care or an increase in the min- imum wage — is good for the economy of British Columbia. This is a win-win, and I would dearly love to see members opposite standing up and joining us and having this entire House unanimously support the need for a poverty reduc- tion strategy and work with us rather than against us in meeting the very ambitious goals — bold goals but goals that we absolutely need to reach. Hon. S.

Robinson:I’m very proud to rise in support of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Act on this second reading debate. I know that all of my colleagues are very proud to stand and to participate in this debate, given that it’s been a long time coming. There have been years of chronic ignoring and underfunding of the social programs that really has led this province to have real significant problems around the poverty rate. [3:15 p.m.] When you think about the fact that we have 100,000 chil- dren in this province who go to bed hungry, I’m mortified. And I know that British Columbians are mortified.

And it’s embarrassing, frankly. We have a lot of work to do because there’s been so much neglect over the years. I’m very proud of my colleague, the Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, for his work in going out and consulting very broadly, right across the province, with people who have lived in poverty and people who serve others who live in poverty, and for making sure that they understood that we understood what it was that people needed, what it is that will make a difference.

Y ou know, in my work as a family therapist, I’ve always queried: “How much of a difference is enough of a differ- ence?” Right? Because when people struggle with whatever it is they’re struggling with, sometimes it’s just a little bit of help that they need to get over that hump. I can think of some of the clients that I have worked with over the years where, in fact, that was true. I can think of…. In my community, in Coquitlam, there was a story of a man who was living in poverty and who found himself homeless.

He participated in a cold/wet weather map program in my community, where the local churches were opening up their doors to allow people who were homeless to have a dry, warm place to stay at night. It was controversial at the time when this program was under- way, but it was a very successful program. There was one particular story that stood out of a gentle- man who was staying out of the elements, staying overnight in a local church. Somebody asked him how he found him- self here in this place, where he didn’t have enough money to pay rent.

He didn’t have enough money to get a bus ticket to visit with his family. He had reached the bottom. He said: “Y ou know, I have two hands. I am strong. I can work. But I can’t go to a worksite without work boots, and I can’t get enough money to buy work boots if I can’t get a job. ” This was the barrier. I remember hearing this story about how this volunteer said, “Well, what size are you?” and went and got this gentleman work boots, and he was soon on a jobsite. For some people, that is what they need.

I can think of another family, a family that I worked with when I worked at SHARE Family and Community Services. I remember getting a referral from this family that said that the daughter, who was going to school, was sort of letting their teacher know that things weren’t well at home — that Dad had lost his job and that their heat, hydro, had been cut off. It was just around Thanksgiving, so it was getting cold. And because they had no lights, it would get dark. By sev- en o’ clock, 7:30, it was getting dark. They were studying by Monday, October 15, 2018 British Columbia Debates 5543

candlelight, and it was really hard. This was a good student, and she wasn’t as prepared as she had been. The teacher contacted the organization. We reached out to find out what it was that this family needed. What was the barrier? Y ou know, it turns out that it was a single dad with three children, and he had lost…. He had gotten injured on the job, and he was in transition in terms of getting Work- Safe, but in the meantime, he had fallen behind on his bills. So hydro was cut off. What it meant, for him…. The barrier for him and his family was $200.

It was $200 that was going to make the difference to this family and keep them from losing everything, everything that they had worked hard for. Again, the organization stepped up. It’s not the mandate of the organization, but they said: “We don’t want you falling into significant poverty. ” If $200 was going to keep the heat and the lights on and make a difference, then that’s what they were going to do. Here are a couple of examples of what I would call short- term interim poverty, where we can actually take action and keep people from having things get worse.

I have another story that I’ d like to share with the House. This one is one that has been near and dear to my heart. It’s a story about Naomi. Naomi came in to see me about coun- selling when I worked at the Jewish Family Service Agency back in the ’90s. She was coming to see me because she was having a hard time parenting her son. She has four children. She would come in, and she would be distant in our coun- selling conversations. She would not be able to focus. [3:20 p.m.] I would ask her how things were going. “Y ou seem to be having a hard time participating.

What’s going on?” She said she hadn’t eaten in 48 hours. “Well, why? Why haven’t you eaten in 48 hours?” She said: “Because there’s no food in the house. ” She didn’t eat so that her kids could eat. This woman did not eat anything substantial because she wanted to make sure that her kids ate. I started to get really curious about her life and about the choices that she had to make so that her four kids could have what they needed. The story of Naomi is long, a story of poverty for a long time. She was raped at a young age and has lived with trauma her entire life, taken advantage of her entire life.

She was married for a short period of time, about eight years, and had four children in those eight years. Her husband was violent. She had the wherewithal not to protect herself but to protect her children. When he turned on her oldest son, she said: “That’s it. We’re out of here. ” Naomi is an amazing mom. She had been struggling every day since. She had taken advantage of the opportunity for subsidized housing. She managed to make that happen.

She had somebody give her a car, but because it’s expensive to insure a car, she would only insure it for the four months of the worst weather so that she could get her kids around. They could not have to be in the wet elements as she was helping them get to whatever programs she could actually identify for them on a very limited income. Here was this woman who was coming for counselling so she could be a better parent for her children, and she was struggling with poverty. The biggest issue for Naomi and for her four children was that they were poor. It wasn’t going to get any easier for her.

All the counselling in the world wasn’t going to take care of the poverty that they were facing. What worries me — and here we are 20 years later, taking a look at this, finally having a poverty reduction strategy — is that it’s too late for Naomi’s children. I suspect that Naomi’s children are old enough now to have families of their own. I have lost touch with Naomi. We know that there’s a cycle of poverty, and it’s very likely that Naomi’s children are poor. I want to make sure that her grandchildren have the opportunities that weren’t afforded to Naomi as a parent and weren’t afforded to Naomi’s children.

It’s important that we have a poverty reduction strategy to address these kinds of issues because it’s not just about numbers. It’s not just about 100,000 children. It’s about their opportunity. It’s their lives — to have a different trajectory, a different course of action. Now, in the interim, given that we are very late to this poverty reduction table…. Y ou know, the rest of Canada seems to recognize, the rest of the provinces seem to recog- nize, that it’s really important to have a coordinated strategy and to have targets because that’s important to move for- ward.

Y ou don’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’re headed, so it’s really important that we know where we’re headed. It’s really been community groups that have filled in the void. I want to give a shout-out to the many community groups that have been filling in the gaps in the interim until they could get a government that actually cared about mak- ing sure that children had enough food in their bellies so they could learn properly. I want to talk about two groups in my community that have done an outstanding job. I want to talk about the Share food bank.

I worked for Share for a number of years before I became an MLA. I think it’s really important to recognize where food banks came from. When things were very diffi- cult in the ’80s, during a recession, they were supposed to be a “temporary” relief for families that were really struggling. They’ve become permanent fixtures in our communities. Frankly, when I worked for Share — I was a fundraiser for the organization — I would get so frustrated about having to beg people to contribute money to the food bank and con- tribute goods to the food bank because it’s not an answer to poverty.

It’s an answer to help fill bellies. But that’s not the answer; the answer is to help people move out of poverty. [3:25 p.m.] Jobs are absolutely a key component, but jobs themselves are not enough. If children can’t learn, if children don’t have the capacity to focus in school, if they’re not getting the nutrition that they need, if they’re hearing their parents fight because the stress of poverty is destroying the fabric of their 5544 British Columbia Debates Monday, October 15, 2018

family, then how are they going to learn the skills to have the job that pays the bills? This is much bigger and much more complex than jobs. We need to make sure that people are ready, that they have the supports they need, that they have the opportunities. I go back to the single dad whose hydro was cut off, right? Here was a dad who had a job. He got injured in the work- place, but there were not enough supports for him to con- tinue to pay his bills. He was at the very, very edge of falling down the poverty rabbit hole, which would grab a hold and suck this family down.

So it’s really important that we have a broad sense of what it means to have a poverty strategy. The food banks have been outstanding. I remember saying I want to put food banks out of business. I don’t want there to be families that have to turn to a food bank because they don’t have enough money in their pockets to go buy food at a grocery store like everybody else. That’s not the answer to poverty. In my community, the firefighters do a gala every year. It’s coming up on October 27, and I look forward to joining them. But I always go with a heavy heart. I go with a heavy heart because they talk about….

What they are doing is rais- ing money to feed children who are poor. They want to feed them with a nutritional breakfast and snack program at four of the schools in my community in Coquitlam. I have tremendous respect for their efforts to make sure that children are eating, but I want to put them out of this business too. It’s not okay that we have children going to school hungry and that our firefighters…. I mean, I’m grate- ful that they are doing charitable work, and I think it’s won- derful that they want to give back to the community but not around this.

They should raise money for lots of other things, but this one, I think, is one that all British Columbians need to rally behind and make sure that it works better. I want to take a few minutes to talk a little bit about what it means to have a poverty reduction strategy. This act sets out the requirements and commitments. But we need to remem- ber, because it’s such a complex problem…. Because of what the minister and the parliamentary secretary heard on the road, we know that it’s about a number of issues.

It’s why I’m so proud of the work that we’re doing in tan- dem with the Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction in recognizing that housing is a key component of poverty reduction. It’s absolutely critical. We’ve certainly heard, from the report that the minister did…. The theme that came up, I think, in every single one of their community meetings was housing. Housing eats up, in some cases, 50, 60, 70 percent of people’s incomes. That is really…. Y ou can’t sustain that. Y ou can’t sustain that for a number of reasons. Y ou can’t, then, take care of your family.

Y ou can’t make sure they’re getting nutritious food. Y ou can’t pay your bills. It also means that you can’t participate in the local eco- nomy. Y ou can’t go out to restaurants. Y ou can’t get haircuts. Y ou can’t buy products. Y ou can’t use services. That means that the local economy starts to suffer too. So it’s really a bad plan to not have a poverty reduction strategy. We need to actually look at this in a much broader perspective. [L. Reid in the chair.] I’m very proud of the work that we’re doing together, recognizing the housing component, that we’ d already started on when we formed government.

We started in September with significant increases, recognizing that we need to address those who are most vulnerable, those who are homeless. I’m very proud of the fact that, in under a year, we were able to commit 2,000 units of modular supportive housing for those who are most vulnerable. We still have more to do. Those programs are…. Many of them have been opened. Hundreds and hundreds of th

Document details

Collection	British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	20181015pm-Hansard-n157
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	20181015pm Hansard n157
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	fc6d2bbb2dede29c791fb954c35a2943e191453f

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