British Columbia Hansard — Wednesday, March 16, 2016

20160316pm-Hansard-v35n7

British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)

Fift h Session, 40th Parliament OFFICIAL REPORT OF DEBATES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY (HANSARD) THE HONOURABLE LINDA REID, SPEAKER ISSN 0709- 1281 (Print) ISSN 1499-2175 (Online) Wednesday, March 16, 2016 Aft ernoon Sitting Volume 35, Number 7

PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Entered Confederation July 20, 1871) LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR Her Honour the Honourable Judith Guichon, OBC Fifth Session, 40th Parliament SPEAKER OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Honourable Linda Reid EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Premier and President of the Executive Council .............................................................................................................. Hon. Christy Clark Deputy Premier and Minister of Natural Gas Development and Minister Responsible for Housing ......................Hon.

Rich Coleman Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation ......................................................................................................... Hon. John Rustad Minister of Advanced Education ............................................................................................................................... Hon. Andrew Wilkinson Minister of Agriculture ........................................................................................................................................................ Hon.

Norm Letnick Minister of Children and Family Development ....................................................................................................... Hon. Stephanie Cadieux Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development and Minister Responsible for TransLink ................ Hon. Peter Fassbender Minister of Education ............................................................................................................................................................Hon.

Mike Bernier Minister of Energy and Mines and Minister Responsible for Core Review .....................................................................Hon. Bill Bennett Minister of Environment ..........................................................................................................................................................Hon. Mary Polak Minister of Finance .................................................................................................................................................. Hon.

Michael de Jong, QC Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations......................................................................................Hon. Steve Th omson Minister of Health ............................................................................................................................................................... Hon. Dr. Terry Lake Minister of International Trade and Minister Responsible for Asia Pacifi c Strategy and Multiculturalism ........................................................................................... Hon.

Teresa Wat Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour ...................................................Hon. Shirley Bond Minister of Justice ...............................................................................................................................................................Hon. Suzanne Anton Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General ................................................................................................................. Hon.

Mike Morris Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction and Minister Responsible for the Liquor Distribution Branch ........................................................................................................ Hon. Coralee Oakes Minister of Social Development and Social Innovation..............................................................................................Hon. Michelle Stilwell Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens' Services ................................................................................................ Hon.

Amrik Virk Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure ......................................................................................................................Hon. Todd Stone Minister of State for Emergency Preparedness .................................................................................................................... Hon.

Naomi Y amamoto LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Leader of the Offi cial Opposition ...................................................................................................................................................John Horgan Deputy Speaker .............................................................................................................................................................................. Richard T. Lee Assistant Deputy Speaker ...............................................................................................................................................................

Raj Chouhan Deputy Chair, Committee of the Whole ............................................................................................................................................ Pat Pimm Clerk of the Legislative Assembly ................................................................................................................................................... Craig James Deputy Clerk and Clerk of Committees .................................................................................................................................

Kate Ryan-Lloyd Sessional Law Clerk ...................................................................................................................................................Roderick MacArthur, QC Sergeant-at-Arms ................................................................................................................................................................................. Gary Lenz

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF MEMBERS Anton, Hon. Suzanne (BC Liberal) .............................. Vancouver-Fraserview Ashton, Dan (BC Liberal).....................................................................Penticton Austin, Robin (NDP) ................................................................................ Skeena Bains, Harry (NDP) ....................................................................Surrey-Newton Barnett, Donna (BC Liberal) ............................................... Cariboo-Chilcotin Bennett, Hon.

Bill (BC Liberal) ...................................................Kootenay East Bernier, Hon. Mike (BC Liberal) ......................................... Peace River South Bing, Dr. Doug (BC Liberal) ................................ Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows Bond, Hon. Shirley (BC Liberal) ........................... Prince George–Valemount Cadieux, Hon. Stephanie (BC Liberal) ................................Surrey-Cloverdale Chandra Herbert, Spencer (NDP) .................................Vancouver–West End Chouhan, Raj (NDP) ...........................................................

Burnaby-Edmonds Clark, Hon. Christy (BC Liberal) ........................................ Westside-Kelowna Coleman, Hon. Rich (BC Liberal) ...........................Fort Langley–Aldergrove Conroy, Katrine (NDP) .............................................................. Kootenay West Corrigan, Kathy (NDP) ..................................................... Burnaby–Deer Lake Dalton, Marc (BC Liberal) ............................................. Maple Ridge–Mission Darcy, Judy (NDP) ..................................................................New Westminster de Jong, Hon.

Michael, QC (BC Liberal) .............................. Abbotsford West Dix, Adrian (NDP)............................................................Vancouver-Kingsway Donaldson, Doug (NDP) ......................................................................... Stikine Eby, David (NDP) ..........................................................Vancouver–Point Grey Elmore, Mable (NDP) ................................................... Vancouver-Kensington Farnworth, Mike (NDP) ............................................................ Port Coquitlam Fassbender, Hon.

Peter (BC Liberal) ................................... Surrey-Fleetwood Fleming, Rob (NDP) .......................................................... Victoria–Swan Lake Foster, Eric (BC Liberal) .......................................................Vernon-Monashee Fraser, Scott (NDP) ............................................................Alberni–Pacifi c Rim Gibson, Simon (BC Liberal) ............................................. Abbotsford-Mission Hamilton, Wm.

Scott (BC Liberal) .................................................Delta North Hammell, Sue (NDP) .................................................... Surrey–Green Timbers Heyman, George (NDP) .................................................... Vancouver-Fairview Hogg, Gordon (BC Liberal) ............................................... Surrey–White Rock Holman, Gary (NDP) .......................................Saanich North and the Islands Horgan, John (NDP) .......................................................................

Juan de Fuca Hunt, Marvin (BC Liberal) ....................................................Surrey-Panorama Huntington, Vicki (Ind.) ..................................................................Delta South James, Carole (NDP) .........................................................Victoria–Beacon Hill Karagianis, Maurine (NDP) ........................................Esquimalt–Royal Roads Krog, Leonard Eugene (NDP) ............................................................. Nanaimo Kyllo, Greg (BC Liberal) ........................................................................ Shuswap Lake, Hon. Dr.

Terry (BC Liberal) ....................Kamloops–North Th ompson Larson, Linda (BC Liberal) .........................................Boundary-Similkameen Lee, Richard T. (BC Liberal) ......................................................Burnaby North Letnick, Hon. Norm (BC Liberal) ..............................Kelowna–Lake Country Macdonald, Norm (NDP) ....................................Columbia River–Revelstoke McRae, Don (BC Liberal) ............................................................ Comox Valley Mark, Melanie (NDP) ...........................................

Vancouver–Mount Pleasant Martin, John (BC Liberal) ..................................................................Chilliwack Morris, Hon. Mike (BC Liberal) ........................... Prince George–Mackenzie Mungall, Michelle (NDP) ..........................................................Nelson-Creston Oakes, Hon. Coralee (BC Liberal) .............................................Cariboo North Pimm, Pat (BC Liberal) .........................................................Peace River North Plecas, Dr. Darryl (BC Liberal) .............................................Abbotsford South Polak, Hon.

Mary (BC Liberal) .............................................................. Langley Popham, Lana (NDP) ...................................................................Saanich South Ralston, Bruce (NDP) ................................................................ Surrey-Whalley Reid, Hon. Linda (BC Liberal) ..................................................Richmond East Reimer, Linda (BC Liberal) ........................................

Port Moody–Coquitlam Rice, Jennifer (NDP) ........................................................................North Coast Robinson, Selina (NDP) .............................................Coquitlam-Maillardville Routley, Bill (NDP) .................................................................. Cowichan Valley Routley, Doug (NDP) ............................................Nanaimo–North Cowichan Rustad, Hon. John (BC Liberal) ................................................

Nechako Lakes Shin, Jane Jae Kyung (NDP) ...............................................Burnaby-Lougheed Simons, Nicholas (NDP) ................................... Powell River–Sunshine Coast Simpson, Shane (NDP) ..................................................... Vancouver-Hastings Stilwell, Hon. Michelle (BC Liberal)............................... Parksville-Qualicum Stilwell, Dr. Moira (BC Liberal) ........................................ Vancouver-Langara Stone, Hon. Todd (BC Liberal) .........................

Kamloops–South Th ompson 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 Th omson, Hon. Steve (BC Liberal) .......................................Kelowna-Mission Th ornthwaite, Jane (BC Liberal) ..........................

North Vancouver–Seymour Th roness, Laurie (BC Liberal).................................................Chilliwack-Hope Trevena, Claire (NDP) .................................................................... North Island Virk, Hon. Amrik (BC Liberal) ............................................. Surrey-Tynehead Wat, Hon. Teresa (BC Liberal) .............................................. Richmond Centre Weaver, Dr. Andrew (Ind.) .......................................... Oak Bay–Gordon Head Wickens, Jodie (NDP) ..........................................Coquitlam–Burke Mountain Wilkinson, Hon.

Andrew (BC Liberal) ........................ Vancouver-Quilchena Y amamoto, Hon. Naomi (BC Liberal) ................ North Vancouver–Lonsdale Y ap, John (BC Liberal) ......................................................Richmond-Steveston LIST OF MEMBERS BY RIDING Abbotsford-Mission ......................................................................Simon Gibson Abbotsford South ..................................................................... Dr. Darryl Plecas Abbotsford West ...................................................... Hon.

Michael de Jong, QC Alberni–Pacifi c Rim .......................................................................... Scott Fraser Boundary-Similkameen ................................................................ Linda Larson Burnaby–Deer Lake ...................................................................

Kathy Corrigan Burnaby-Edmonds ..........................................................................Raj Chouhan Burnaby-Lougheed .............................................................Jane Jae Kyung Shin Burnaby North .............................................................................. Richard T. Lee Cariboo-Chilcotin ........................................................................Donna Barnett Cariboo North .................................................................... Hon.

Coralee Oakes Chilliwack ......................................................................................... John Martin Chilliwack-Hope ....................................................................... Laurie Th roness Columbia River–Revelstoke .................................................. Norm Macdonald Comox Valley.....................................................................................Don McRae Coquitlam–Burke Mountain .......................................................Jodie Wickens Coquitlam-Maillardville...........................................................

Selina Robinson Cowichan Valley ................................................................................ Bill Routley Delta North .........................................................................Wm. Scott Hamilton Delta South...............................................................................Vicki Huntington Esquimalt–Royal Roads .....................................................Maurine Karagianis Fort Langley–Aldergrove ...................................................Hon.

Rich Coleman Fraser-Nicola.................................................................................... Jackie Tegart Juan de Fuca .....................................................................................John Horgan Kamloops–North Th ompson ............................................ Hon. Dr. Terry Lake Kamloops–South Th ompson ..................................................Hon. Todd Stone Kelowna–Lake Country ..................................................... Hon. Norm Letnick Kelowna-Mission .............................................................. Hon.

Steve Th omson Kootenay East .......................................................................... Hon. Bill Bennett Kootenay West ............................................................................ Katrine Conroy Langley.......................................................................................Hon. Mary Polak Maple Ridge–Mission ..................................................................... Marc Dalton Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows ........................................................ Dr. Doug Bing Nanaimo ...........................................................................

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

Judy Darcy North Coast......................................................................................Jennifer Rice North Island .................................................................................. Claire Trevena North Vancouver–Lonsdale ........................................Hon. Naomi Y amamoto North Vancouver–Seymour ..................................................Jane Th ornthwaite Oak Bay–Gordon Head ...................................................... Dr. Andrew Weaver Parksville-Qualicum .......................................................Hon.

Michelle Stilwell Peace River North ................................................................................ Pat Pimm Peace River South ..................................................................Hon. Mike Bernier Penticton............................................................................................ Dan Ashton Port Coquitlam ..........................................................................Mike Farnworth Port Moody–Coquitlam ................................................................Linda Reimer Powell River–Sunshine Coast .................................................

Nicholas Simons Prince George–Mackenzie ....................................................Hon. Mike Morris Prince George–Valemount ................................................... Hon. Shirley Bond Richmond Centre ......................................................................Hon. Teresa Wat Richmond East ..........................................................................Hon. Linda Reid Richmond-Steveston ..............................................................................John Y ap Saanich North and the Islands ....................................................

Gary Holman Saanich South ................................................................................ Lana Popham Shuswap ................................................................................................Greg Kyllo Skeena .............................................................................................. Robin Austin Stikine ....................................................................................... Doug Donaldson Surrey-Cloverdale ....................................................... Hon.

Stephanie Cadieux Surrey-Fleetwood ........................................................... Hon. Peter Fassbender Surrey–Green Timbers .................................................................. Sue Hammell Surrey-Newton ................................................................................. Harry Bains Surrey-Panorama ........................................................................... Marvin Hunt Surrey-Tynehead ......................................................................Hon.

Amrik Virk Surrey-Whalley.............................................................................. Bruce Ralston Surrey–White Rock ....................................................................... Gordon Hogg Vancouver-Fairview ..................................................................George Heyman Vancouver–False Creek ................................................................... Sam Sullivan Vancouver-Fraserview ......................................................Hon.

Suzanne Anton Vancouver-Hastings ....................................................................Shane Simpson Vancouver-Kensington .................................................................Mable Elmore Vancouver-Kingsway..........................................................................Adrian Dix Vancouver-Langara .................................................................Dr. Moira Stilwell Vancouver–Mount Pleasant .........................................................

Melanie Mark Vancouver–Point Grey .........................................................................David Eby Vancouver-Quilchena ................................................ Hon. Andrew Wilkinson Vancouver–West End ...............................................

Spencer Chandra Herbert Vernon-Monashee ...............................................................................Eric Foster Victoria–Beacon Hill .......................................................................Carole James Victoria–Swan Lake.........................................................................Rob Fleming West Vancouver–Capilano ............................................................. Ralph Sultan West Vancouver–Sea to Sky ..........................................................Jordan Sturdy Westside-Kelowna ................................................................

Hon. Christy Clark Party Standings: BC Liberal 48; New Democratic 35; Independent 2

CONTENTS Wednesday, March 16, 2016 Aft ernoon Sitting Page Routine Business Introductions by Members ................................................................................................................................................... 11527 Tributes ................................................................................................................................................................................... 11527 Austin Wang Hon. S.

Anton Introductions by Members ................................................................................................................................................... 11528 Introduction and First Reading of Bills .............................................................................................................................. 11530 Bill 15 — Protected Areas of British Columbia Amendment Act, 2016 Hon. M.

Polak Statements (Standing Order 25B) ....................................................................................................................................... 11531 Dietitians and healthy eating J. Th ornthwaite J. Rice Natural resource development L. Th roness Y outh solutions contest essay on social media D. Donaldson Local tourism and community events in Fraser Valley J. Martin Sexual exploitation of children and youth M.

Mark Oral Questions ....................................................................................................................................................................... 11533 School district funding and comments by Education Minister J. Horgan Hon. C. Clark R. Fleming Hon. M. Bernier Government record-keeping and call for apology to former employee M. Karagianis Hon. S. Anton Sexual assault policy legislation for post-secondary institutions A. Weaver Hon. C. Clark Comptroller general report on Health Ministry investigation A. Dix Hon. T.

Lake Orders of the Day Second Reading of Bills ........................................................................................................................................................ 11538 Bill 2 — Great Bear Rainforest (Forest Management) Act (continued) J. Th ornthwaite C. Trevena Hon. A. Virk J. Rice J. Sturdy G. Holman L. Th roness H. Bains C. James Hon. A. Wilkinson R. Austin D. McRae

Proceedings in the Douglas Fir Room Committee of Supply ............................................................................................................................................................ 11573 Estimates: Ministry of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction (continued) Hon. C. Oakes J. Shin

WEDNESDAY , MARCH 16, 2016 Th e House met at 1:33 p.m. [Madame Speaker in the chair.] Routine Business Madame Speaker: Good aft ernoon, hon. Members. Special guests on the floor today are Chief Clarence Louie of the Osoyoos Indian Band and elder Delphine Armstrong. Delphine will deliver the prayer this aft er- noon in the Okanagan language. [1335] D.

Armstrong: Before I start this prayer, I want to ac- knowledge the people of this territory that we’re on to- day, this historical day. k̓ ʷulncutn ʕapna ʔ sx̌ əlx̌ ʕalt l p əckɬtan k ʷu ʔullus ʔalaʔ x̌ əc̓ x̌ ac̓ t tqʷaʔqʷʔalmintəm uɬ x̌ ast iʔ spuʔustət kʷu nqʷənqʷnaʔmist k̓ an anwi niʕayp kʷu kənkənxtʷixʷ iʔ k̓ əl sck̓ ʷultət, limləmt k̓ ʷulncutn kʷu suxʷɬtəm x̌ əl minəmɬtət iʔ su ʔmulaʔxʷs i ʔ swiws i ʔ sqilx ʷ l t əmxəulaʔxws, u ɬ nixʷ iʔ k̓ ʷiƛ̓ t, way̓ x̌ ast t̓iʔ c̓ x̌ il, limlənt [Creator, this day of March we are gathered here of great importance.

We are to speak together, and to the good of our hearts, we humbly ask to continue to work together with a good heart, happy to have our original place names — swiws, sx̌ ʷəx̌ ʷənitkʷ, n ʕaylintn — lan- guage recognized. Have a good day, thanks.] [Okanagan language text and translation provided by D. Armstrong.] Madame Speaker: On behalf of the assembly, thank you both very, very much. Introductions by Members Hon. M.

Polak: We are welcoming a number of guests from the Osoyoos Indian Band on this historic day, and I will introduce them to the House — Chief Clarence Louie, Councillor Sammy Louie, Councillor Th eresa Gabriel, Councillor Yvonne Weinert, Councillor Veronica McGinnis, Councillor Leona Baptiste, Elder Jane Stelkia, Elder Delphine Armstrong, Sheri Stelkia, Morning Dove Hall and Myra Baptiste. Would the House please make them welcome. In addition, we are joined by members of the B.C.

Parks and Ministry of Environment staff who have worked very hard together with the Osoyoos Indian Band to help to make this possible — Jim Standen, our assist- ant deputy minister, B.C. Parks and conservation offi cer service; Brian Bawtinheimer, executive director, conserv- ation, planning and aboriginal relations; Ken Morrison, manager of planning and acquisitions; and John Trewhitt, regional director, Okanagan-Kootenay region. Would the House please make them welcome. A.

Weaver: It gives me great pleasure to introduce three members from the Camosun College Student Society who are here in the gallery today — Andrea Eggenberger, external executive; Rachael Grant, edu- cation council; and Michel Turcotte, executive director. Would the House please make them feel very welcome. Tributes AUSTIN W ANG Hon. S. Anton: I’ d like to introduce to the House the very talented grade 12 student from David Th ompson Secondary School Austin Wang. Austin is here with his mom and dad, Ms. Astor Yu Ying Lu and Mr. Hopkins Hui Tao Wang.

Now, I want you all to listen carefully, be- cause Austin’s a very smart guy, and he is changing our futures. Austin is developing a procedure to use bacteria to generate electricity. For his science experiments, which he has run through grades 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12, he has won a number of pres- tigious awards. Last year in grade 11, he was awarded the Global Environment Challenge prize at the annual inter- national BioGENEius Challenge fi nal in Philadelphia in June. His project then was titled: “Genes with roles in power output of exoelectrogenic bacteria in microbial fuel cells. ” I hope you’re absorbing this.

He also won last year a Canada-Wide Science Fair gold medal top prize, overall best project, and he was the fi rst student from British Columbia to win that prize. Th is year in grade 12, he’s come back fairly recently from Taiwan, where he won the gold medal in the micro- biology category of the Taiwan International Science Fair. He competed there with 20 countries — joined, by the way, by a Prince George student, who won a bronze med- al.

He won the gold medal for “ A novel method to identify genes in electronic transfer of exoelectrogens” — again, aiming to identify the genes involved in bacterial extra- cellular electron transport to generate power in microbial fuel cells. He’s shaping our future, as I said. He was selected two days ago to join Team Canada to compete at this year’s International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix. David Th ompson high school excels in many ways. Nurturing academic success is one of them. Austin is supported by his parents. He is supported by his school, led by principal Marea Jensen.

He’s also supported by UBC, by Dr. Susan Baldwin, who is his mentor and pro- ject supervisor. She is in the area of chemical and bio- logical engineering. As I said, Austin is a very impressive young man, and I hope the House will make him feel very welcome and 11527

British Columbia Debates11528 Wednesday, March 16, 2016 wish him success. He will go to some great institution next year, but we don’t know which one yet. I’ d like to introduce my new communications direc- tor. Jason Kuzminski is joined by his wife, Megan Parry, and his sons, Benjamin Kuzminski-Parry and Jude Kuzminski-Parry. Th ey are the wife and sons of Jason. Th ey’re visiting from Toronto and they are moving to British Columbia this summer. Would the House please make them very welcome. [1340] Introductions by Members S.

Fraser: I would also like to join the Minister of Environment in welcoming the contingent from Osoyoos, and especially, I’ d like to thank respected elder Delphine Armstrong for making this day so special and for open- ing the session this way. And I recognize, of course, Chief Clarence Louie. For those who have not travelled to the territory, I would just urge everyone to now. It was about seven or eight years ago that I was there for the opening of the cul- tural centre, which is just world-class. Th e setting and the production is amazing.

Since then, of course, the Nk’Mip winery has been winning awards all over the world for its world-class wines — they are wonderful; I have drank, maybe, too much of them — and also the incredible re- sort that exists on the banks of the lake. Please would everyone help to join me in making everyone that came all the way from Osoyoos very, very welcome in this place. Hon. S. Bond: Today I’m very delighted to introduce three incredibly special people to the Legislature. Today is an important day for them.

Th ey fl ew from Prince George to be here for the introduction of the bill that my colleague the Minister of Environment will introduce shortly. Th ey are literally the passion behind the cre- ation of the park that we will introduce today. Th ey are incredible people. I’ll start with Nowell Senior. He began building a trail in the Ancient Forest in 2005 on a part-time basis as a volunteer with the Caledonia Ramblers Hiking Club. Th e trail, once it was open to the public, became popular very quickly, but it wasn’t accessible to visitors with mo- bility challenges.

In 2010, they began work on a solution, which has re- sulted in an absolutely spectacular, more than 400-metre- long boardwalk that would enable everyone to experience this incredible place, the Ancient Forest. In the past ten years, he has made over 500 trips to the Ancient Forest and has driven over 115,000 kilometres to do that work. Dave King has been involved with the Caledonia Ramblers since 1975, including 15 years as president. He worked with Nowell on the original trail.

He and Nowell laid out the plan for the accessible boardwalk and began construction in 2010, and he built more than 90 percent of the foundation. And I mean that they carried in the wood — all of those things that were necessary. Darwyn Coxson is a professor in ecosystems science and management at the University of Northern British Columbia. He was one of the founding faculty members at our university.

His research on wet temperate rain- forests in British Columbia and internationally has been an important factor in recognizing the signifi cance of the Ancient Forest trail area within British Columbia’s Robson Valley. I can’t tell you how proud I am. Th ese and 200 vol- unteers have worked to take this very, very precious part of British Columbia, and today we will recognize it. Believe me, I know that their next step is a UNESCO World Heritage status. I think we have our work cut out for us there.

Congratulations to them, the people of my community who have worked so hard, and thank you to the Minister of Environment for helping us reach this very import- ant place today. C. James: I have two guests in the gallery today. Th e fi rst person probably needs no introduction. She’s be- coming a regular around this place. Sheenagh Morrison is a Special Olympics swimmer. She is a Th rift y’s em- ployee. She is a volunteer at the Beacon Hill Park petting zoo. She’s also an incredible advocate for people with di- verse abilities. Sheenagh brought a friend of hers today, Jean Melvin.

I knew Jean and had the good fortune to work with Jean as an incredible educator in school district 61, both a teach- er and an administrator, a school principal. Jean now, in her retirement, has a whole new career as a jewelry de- signer. I’ d like the House to please make both of these women very welcome. J. Th ornthwaite: Today is Dietitians Day, and I in- vite all members of the House and their staff to go to the Rattenbury Room and check out the dietitians them- selves as well as their ability to give you free nutrition ad- vice. I think they’ve still got the food out there. Th ey’re there all day.

I would like to introduce them, the Dietitians of Canada staff : Sonya Kupka — she’s the regional executive director at Dietitians of Canada; Janice Macdonald, dir- ector of communications; Melissa Baker from the board of directors, Dietitians of Canada. From the College of Dietitians of B.C., Chi Cejalvo. I’m sorry if I’ve pro- nounced that wrong. [1345] From Compass Canada — and thank you, Compass, for the lunch: Anne Holtzman, Karen Hayley. From Island Health Nutrition Services, Monika Leifh ebber. And from private practice, Janelle Hatch, Kristen Y arker, Veronica Kacinik, Lisa Diamond and Joyce Schnetzler.

British Columbia DebatesWednesday, March 16, 2016 11529 From the Ministry of Health, population and public health, Lorrie Cramb, Anna Wren, Sophia Baker-French, and a retired dietitian, Margaret Woodlock. Would the House please make them feel welcome, and go and join them in the Rattenbury Room. S. Simpson: I’m very pleased to introduce a longtime family friend, Wendy Brooks, who’s with us. I’ve known Wendy for many years, but really our friendship goes back to a connection…. Wendy and my wife go back to being in junior high together. Wendy has recently moved back to Victoria from the Mainland.

She’s retired aft er 28 years working in the pub- lic service with the government of British Columbia. It’s appropriate that she be here now in Social Work Week. Wendy is a registered social worker and has worked at Tranquille and worked in child protection and for the last number of years with Community Living B.C. Wendy, I know, was very committed and dedicated to her work in the public service, and I would ask the House to thank Wendy for 28 years working for the people of British Columbia and wish her a long and happy retire- ment here in Victoria. Hon. B.

Bennett: It’s my pleasure to introduce to- day Shannon Stubbs and Amy Lee Leindecker. Shannon Stubbs is a Member of Parliament for Lakeland, Alberta. She’s also the deputy critic for Natural Resources. She’s here to have some meetings with us and discuss natur- al resource issues. Amy Lee Leindecker is her assistant. Please help me make them feel welcome. J. Darcy: I’ d like to join the member opposite in welcoming the dietitians who are in the gallery today. Dietitians, as we know, play an absolutely critical….

We know how important healthy eating is and healthy liv- ing is to all aspects of health, and dietitians really are the front-line advocates and support as far as healthy living goes. We know that healthy food as well as access to clean and safe water as well as income levels and housing are all critical to the social determinants of health, and diet- itians play a critical role in that.

One of the issues that we talk about an awful lot in the area of health is diabetes and diabetes prevention, and I want to just take my hat off to all of you because you play such a critical role in improving people’s health and preventing the worsening of diabetes, which is good for those patients and is good for the health care system. Th ank you, and welcome to this House. Hon. Michelle Stilwell: It gives me great pleasure to- day to introduce former Parksville residents Suzan and John Jennings, who now call Victoria home. Suzan was an active participant in the disability consultation.

She is the former chair of Access Oceanside, an organization that focuses on community inclusion. Most recently she has started up a group called Depression Talks, a peer support group here at the Victoria Disability Resource Centre. John and Suzan are an amazing couple who have faced challenges in overcoming signifi cant illness and adver- sity. Both are strong advocates for people with disabilities, and I was delighted to meet with them today to discuss the many signifi cant changes our government has made in making life for people with disabilities better.

In fact, Suzan carries around our government’s Accessibility 2024 action plan in her briefcase so that she can share it with people wherever she gets the chance. Suzan and John see and live these changes every single day, and I truly appreciate their ongoing support. Th eir advocacy for people with disabilities is really making a diff erence in people’s lives, and I admire them for the work they do in the community to help others. Please help me make them feel welcome. D. Routley: I’m going to be on my best behaviour today… Interjections. D.

Routley: I thought that would be appreciated. …because I’m joined here today by my sweetheart, the lovely Leanne Finlayson, who’s up in the gallery. She’s on the government side. I think she’s practising for a fu- ture role. [1350] Leanne is very active in our community. Her family, the Finlaysons, are very well known in the small business community. She’s been a longtime board member of the Forest Discovery Centre. Th e members should go there and ride the live steam train through the forest.

She’s also, as many here know, a very accomplished Highland dan- cer, and she has been competing and teaching since she was a wee one. Leanne, I’m so proud. A few years ago, we went with her dance studio to Scotland. Th ey competed all over Scotland, and for me, seeing her dance in Scotland would be like seeing a life- long Scottish hockey player come to Canada. It was a really great thing. Some of you might know that I like Scotch, but I ab- solutely love my little Scot. So please help me make her welcome. L. Reimer: At 11:07 a.m., 28 years ago, I gave birth to my wonderful son Gord.

He was an absolute joy to raise. He loves life. He’s a graduate of Th ompson Rivers University and is now accomplished in his profession. Would the House please help me wish him a very happy birthday. M. Hunt: I have three guests in the House today. Th e fi rst one is Mike Callewaert, an innovative Surrey small business man who has created vegetated wall systems that are retaining walls for very steep banks and green walls.

British Columbia Debates11530 Wednesday, March 16, 2016 These are created in B.C., manufactured on Annacis Island and sold around the world. Also, I have two other guests who are with us — Rhiannon Martin who, without a word of prejudice, is the best LA in caucus and quite possibly the world, and her assistant who is with her, who makes — they tell me, at least —the best coff ee in the world. Th at is Kori Altreche. Please make them welcome. L. Th roness: Two more of our legislative assistants are in the gallery today. Th ey haven’t exactly won the Nobel Prize yet, but they’re working on it.

Of course, they are indispensable to our work. Th ey do a great job. Would the House please welcome Simran Sahota and Jeff rey Crone. D. Ashton: I. too, would like to welcome the elders, Chief Clarence Louie, the councillors from the Osoyoos Indian Band, and also pay special recognition to Delphine Armstrong. She has had a long, distinguished career at the En’ owkin Centre in Penticton. I would like to thank her for her prayer today. I’ d also like to thank all the band members from the various tribes in the Okanagan for allowing us to live on those incredible lands and share those resources and lands together.

Also, two friends are here from Penticton — actually, Naramata. I’ll get in trouble for that later. Karla Kozakevich, the electoral area E director, and her good friend Carolyn King are both here visiting. So welcome, both of you. Please, would the House make them all welcome. D. Bing: As we know, a number of legislative assistants are here with us today. I’ d like to particularly recognize the two that work with me in east annex on the second fl oor. Th ey are just amazing people, and I owe a lot to them. I’ d like to recognize Jeffrey Crone and Simran Sahota. Would the House please make them welcome.

Madame Speaker: Hon. Members, I have some guests in the gallery today. Th ey’re lovely folks, I can tell you. We have Tracey and Walter Harms visiting from Richmond. We have Rheta Steer, who helped me with my babies when they were small. Some of you have commented on who taught me the look, when I sometimes employ it in question period. My mom is here, Cathy Reid, and is joined by my son, Will. Introduction and First Reading of Bills BILL 15 — PROTECTED AREAS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA AMENDMENT ACT, 2016 Hon. M.

Polak presented a message from Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor: a bill intituled Protected Areas of British Columbia Amendment Act, 2016. Hon. M. Polak: I move that the bill be introduced and read a fi rst time now. Motion approved. Hon. M. Polak: Th is bill contains amendments to the Protected Areas of British Columbia Act. Th e provisions of this bill will add more than 11,700 hectares of land and marine waters to the protected area system managed by B.C. Parks. [1355] Th e amendments will establ ish one new class A park, the Ancient Forest in the area of Prince George.

It will also add lands to fi ve existing class A parks and one con- servancy. Th e amendments also modify the boundary of one class A park to exclude lands as part of a negotiated settlement with the Boston Bar First Nation to resolve a trespass issue. In addition, there are amendments to rename four parks. Two of the parks being renamed are changing, so they will only be known by their traditional Okanagan language names. For Haynes Point, the name will be changed to sẁiẁs. For Okanagan Falls Park, the name will be changed to sx̌ ʷəx̌ ʷnitkʷ. Th e B.C.

Parks website has been updated with record- ings of the vocalizations of the First Nations names. Th e chief, the councillors and other members of the Osoyoos Indian Band are able to join us today for the introduc- tion of this legislation. Chief Clarence Louie has asked that I read a few words on his behalf respecting the renaming of these two parks. I’m pleased to do so. “Today is a very historic day for the Osoyoos Indian Band and the near extinction of the Okanagan language.

On behalf of the Osoyoos Indian Band chief and council, who are all here today, and our language speakers here today and back at home in the Okanagan, I want to thank the Premier and cabinet and especial- ly the Minister of Environment” — I won’t put in the name; sorry — “and all of those behind the scenes who helped and supported the name changes of two very important historical and cultural sites in the Osoyoos Indian Band and the Okanagan Nation. “sẁiẁs was our people’s crossing area on Osoyoos Lake for thousands of years. sx̌ ʷəx̌ ʷnitkʷ was, and still is, the most im- portant salmon fi shing ground for our people on this side of the U.S.-Canada border. sx̌ ʷəx̌ ʷnitkʷ was set aside as an Osoyoos Indian Band reserve in 1877 and was taken away in 1913 as part of the B.C.-Canada McKenna-McBride royal commission, which reduced Indian reserve lands in B.C. “Reconciliation for First Nations in B.C. must include respect and recognition for all of the critically endangered First Nation languages which are the original languages of this province.

For the last 100 years in residential and public schools, First Nations children were told over and over again how important the English and French languages are to Canadian identity. Today we are offi cially recognizing, in the B.C. Legislature, how important First Nation languages are. “Th ank you to the B.C. government for not only doing what is right but also for officially recognizing and affirming the Okanagan First Nation language. ” Th at is from Chief Clarence Louie.

British Columbia DebatesWednesday, March 16, 2016 11531 I see the time is short. I will only add that maps will be available in the Clerk’s offi ce and also posted on the B.C. Parks website. I move that this bill be placed on the orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House aft er today. Bill 15, Protected Areas of British Columbia Amend- ment Act, 2016, introduced, read a fi rst time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House aft er today. Statements (Standing Order 25B) DIETITIANS AND HEALTHY EATING J.

Th ornthwaite: Every year Canadians dedicate a day to recognizing and celebrating dietitians, the health care professionals who use their specialized skill in food and nutrition to improve our health. Today marks the seventh anniversary of Dietitians Day. As a former dietitian with more than two decades of ex- perience in hospitals, universities and community health, it gives me great pleasure to highlight the work of these dedicated experts and remind all British Columbians that they are the smart choice for credible, nutritional advice on eating well and healthy lifestyles.

Dietitians work with their clients to help them feel their best. Th ey provide tips and healthy recipes to help you plan, shop and cook for healthy meals, show you how to properly read and understand food labels and develop custom meal plans to help you manage weight or digest- ive issues, support your exercise, workout or sports re- gime and prevent and manage chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer. Dietitians are playing an increasingly important role in the health of Canadians, particularly in primary care and the management of chronic diseases.

More than 20 per- cent of all visits to family doctors are for nutrition-related conditions like diabetes. More than 45 percent of seniors admitted to hospitals are suff ering from malnutrition. It’s estimated that more than half of all type 2 diabetes cases can be prevented or delayed with healthier eating habits and increased physical activity. Th rough nutrition intervention, dieticians can also help lower cholesterol and blood pressure and can reduce malnutrition levels in seniors, leading to fewer hospital admissions and shorter stays.

Our dietitians provide the necessary information and education to help British Columbians take charge of their health. [1400] I want to encourage anyone looking for nutritional and dietary assistance to log on to www.dietitians.ca to con- nect with a dietitian in your community so that you can eat your way to better health. J. Rice: I’ d like to follow on from the member opposite. I know she was a former dietitian and is pretty passionate about this topic. Registered dietitians are health profes- sionals who are trained and accredited to provide advice and counselling about diet, food and nutrition.

Th ey of- fer health promotion, disease prevention, treatment and supportive care. Dietitians do more than tell people what to eat. Th ey make recommendations based on the best available sci- ence, coupled with their client’s or their community’s unique values and circumstances. Dietitians are regu- lated health professionals. Just so you know, Canadian dietitians are spelled with two Ts and no Cs — those are the American versions of dietitians. In Prince Rupert, dietitian Arlene Carlson serves not just Prince Rupert but the First Nations communities of Metlakatla, Lax Kw’alaams, Hartley Bay and Gitxaala.

Arlene sees people from birth to death. She may assist a new mom with breastfeeding and help her again when her child transitions to solid foods. She may see someone in the hospital who’s had a stroke and is having a hard time swallowing. One of the important roles Arlene plays is teach- ing healthy cooking and meal planning classes. Arlene tells me that a lot of people don’t know how to cook or they’ve stopped cooking. If you have a hungry family, you want to fi ll them up, but the best food choices aren’t al- ways available.

Arlene says if you don’t know what to do with broccoli, chances are you’re not going to buy some. Teaching people how to prepare healthy foods creates more demand for healthy foods in our suppliers. Th at, in turn, creates healthy people. Shelly Crack is the dietitian on Haida Gwaii. Shelly is spearheading innovative programs such as incorporat- ing traditional foods into the school food programs and health care delivery system. Shelly helps instill a con- nection to food in schoolchildren so that they grow up valuing their food and where it comes from.

In turn, she’s producing healthy eaters, healthy people and establishing food security on Haida Gwaii. She tells me a story of a Haida…. Interjection. J. Rice: Just let me fi nish, hon. Speaker. She tells me a story of a Haida Gwaii student who was hunting recently. He caught a deer, learned how to butch- er a deer, went harvesting foods in the garden and pre- pared a whole meal. He exclaimed: “Wow, I could feed my whole family. ” I just want to fi nish off with this. Tomorrow the Masset hospital will be preparing its fi rst 100 percent locally sourced traditional meal, prepared by a Haida Gwaii chef.

I want to congratulate the community and thank Shelly Crack for her leadership.

British Columbia Debates11532 Wednesday, March 16, 2016 NATURAL RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT L. Th roness: Today the people of B.C. ’s north rallied at noon in Terrace, Fort St. John and Fort Nelson, call- ing for northern jobs for northern people and saying yes to LNG. Th e rallies in these communities saw over 500 businesses, representing thousands of workers, demon- strate their public support for LNG. Th ey understand that without new markets, their livelihoods will be in jeopardy. We in southern B.C. need to remember that over half of all jobs generated by B.C. ’s resource industries are in the Lower Mainland.

Natural resource industries make up 11 percent of our provincial GDP . So we, too, need to say yes to natural resource development. In its considera- tion of current LNG applications, the federal government must also realize just how important the industry is to our entire province and, indeed, our nation. In particular, it must recognize the pivotal role that LNG can play in reducing worldwide emissions and serve the interests of our own province and our own country in allowing credit for the positive global environment- al impact of LNG.

Harvard economist Michael Porter said in Vancouver recently that it’s time to get on with LNG exports. He said: “It’s good for the world. It’s good for China. It’s good for lots of other people in the world who really care about climate. We should be exporting as much LNG as possible. ” So let’s get to yes on responsible resource develop- ment. Th at means yes on Petronas and yes on LNG, but also yes on Kinder Morgan, yes on Enbridge, yes on Site C, yes on mining, yes on logging and agrifoods, yes to the good people rallying in Terrace and Fort St.

John and Fort Nelson today, and yes to jobs and prosperity for all British Columbians. YOUTH SOLUTIONS CONTEST ESSAY ON SOCIAL MEDIA D. Donaldson: Th e winner of Score One for Solutions, this year’s contest for teens that our MLA offi ce has held with the Vancouver Canucks’ Dan Hamhuis, had a message that resonated with judges and, I think, maybe with MLAs. [1405] Here are some excerpts of what grade 10 Bulkley Valley Christian School student Nathan Steenhof wrote: “Walking into a coff ee shop, I take a minute to look around. Th e sight that greets me is very depressing.

Everyone is glued to their phones, and there’s almost no face-to-face interaction. “People start to spend more time in social media life than they do in real life, leading to addiction and living more through social media than in real life. Getting more likes makes them feel more popular, and they spend more and more time trying to achieve this and start losing their real friends.

Social media has become so much a part of our everyday lives, we don’t even notice how much time we spend on it anymore. “Our school is doing something called ‘media-free week. ’ So Monday morning and Friday evening we are not allowed to use media. I thought this week would be really boring, and I wouldn’t be able to handle not using media.

However, it’s been kind of re- freshing not having media to keep me occupied, and it’s forced me to do other things with my spare time like reading a book or playing games with my siblings. “I’m encouraging our school to do more activities like media- free week to help educate people about the dangers of social media. Whenever I go out with my friends, I can encourage so- cial interaction and try to discourage people from withdrawing and going on their phones. ” Well, congrats to Nathan for highlighting an important challenge and a solution or two.

Th anks to our three judg- es; to Smithers’s Dan Hamhuis; to our sponsor, Central Mountain Air; the Gitksan Government Commission; Moose FM and the Interior News. Nathan and his dad are off to a Canucks game Saturday night. Nathan, even if it is the weekend, go easy on social media, enjoy the game and thanks for reminding all of us about what real life is. LOCAL TOURISM AND COMMUNITY EVENTS IN FRASER V ALLEY J. Martin: It’s pretty well springtime, and many British Columbians will be taking a staycation somewhere in this beautiful province.

Whether you’re thinking about camp- ing at Cultus Lake, or maybe heading up Highway 1 to the Okanagan, I encourage travellers to take some time and experience the Fraser Valley. In Y arrow this weekend, it’ s the annual Barn Burner BBQ Competition again. Y eah, I have been waiting 364 days for that. Th is is the fi rst sanctioned contest of this year’s cook-off season. Th e very best teams from through- out the Pacifi c Northwest will be smoking it low and slow, with beef brisket, pulled pork — mmm, pulled pork — chicken and ribs. Come on out to beautiful Y arrow.

Th ere are lots of samples for the public to taste and get an ex- perience of real, genuine, actual barbecue. Th e following weekend, children can enjoy Easter egg hunt events at the Chilliwack Corn Maze in Greendale; at Townsend Park downtown, hosted by City Life Church; or at Peteys Easter Eggstravaganza at Fantasy Farms in East Chilliwack. I’m looking forward, also, to the Family Nature Festival at the Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve near the Vedder Rotary Trail in Chilliwack. All of these events and more provide outstanding op- portunities to explore B.C. and experience the Fraser Valley.

I encourage everyone to be a tourist in your own town or come and visit mine. We use hashtag #sharech- illiwack. Drop by your local visitor centre, connect with your tourism offi ce on social media and fi nd out what’s going on in your backyard. I hope that everyone can sup- port B.C. ’s growing tourism industry and enjoy a stayca- tion this spring. If I may just return to the Barn Burner for one mo- ment, it’s always an honour to have the opportunity to share some words of barbecue wisdom with the House and get that on the record: “When you boil your ribs, the terrorists have already won. ”

British Columbia DebatesWednesday, March 16, 2016 11533 SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH M. Mark: I’ve spent the last 20 years advocating for the rights and best interests of sexually exploited children and youth throughout B.C., across Canada and inter- nationally, with organizations such as Covenant House Vancouver, the Urban Native Y outh Association, the Justice Institute of B.C., Save the Children Canada and the Representative for Children and Y outh. I’ve heard hundreds of heartbreaking stories from sex- ually exploited children and youth.

Without going into too much graphic detail, I know that infants are being sexually assaulted and their images and videos are being traded like baseball cards on the Internet. I know that toddlers are most oft en sexually exploited by people that they know. I know that teens are being exploited by social media, leaving a permanent record on line. I know that this is a diffi cult topic to discuss because we fi nd it hard to admit that today, in all of our backyards, children and youth are being sexually exploited.

Th e re- ality is we are not paying enough attention to this issue, and perpetrators are relying on our apathy and silence. Interjection. [1410] M. Mark: I’m not sure what’s funny over there. We can’t aff ord to be silent. In fact, we should be an- gered, disgusted and outraged that children are being subjected to such violence, trauma and maltreatment. Just this past week, we have learned about another beautiful young person whose life was taken way too soon. Her name was Patricia Evoy. She was 19 years old. My deepest condolences to her family and friends.

While the circumstances of her death have not been confi rmed, we know that she was high risk. She was vul- nerable, and she was sexually exploited. It is so critical that we must take measures, all meas- ures, to protect people like Patricia. Therefore, I am pleased to learn that March 14 to 20 is declared as stop the sexual exploitation awareness week here in British Columbia.

I t is my hope that we take swift and bold measures each and every day as parents, as elected offi cials and as a society to do everything in our power to protect our children and our youth from violence, harm and ex- ploitation within a human rights framework. Th is means that we must report abuse and exploitation to the police and MCFD and hold people legally responsible when they do not. I appreciate that I’m going over time, but it is my hope that we take all measures of action like these children are our sons and our daughters, because their safety is our responsibility.

Oral Questions SCHOOL DISTRICT FUNDING AND COMMENTS BY EDUCATION MINISTER J. Horgan: Recently the Premier set a dangerous pre- cedent when she characterized First Nations leaders and others who were concerned about the environment as a “ragtag group. ” Her offi ce carried that a little bit further when a whistleblower, Tim Duncan, raised issues around access to freedom of information and living within the laws of British Columbia.

He was characterized as “dis- gruntled. ” When we raised in this House, and people on disabilities raised, concerns about the clawback of their bus pass, they were characterized as “confused and wrong. ” Now, we have the Minister of Education speaking to his education partners as “noise…from a few groups. ” Th is is a pattern of disrespect for the people who make up this great province, a pattern of disrespect for those who want to make this place as good as it can possibly be. My question is to the Premier.

Does she agree with her Minister of Education that 60 duly elected school boards are just noise, that 45,000 teachers are just noise, that hundreds of thousands of parents working through their PACs — along with CUPE members and other sup- port workers in the education system in British Columbia — and, indeed, the vast majority of British Columbians concerned about underfunding of our education system are just a few groups making noise? Hon. C. Clark: Well, let me say this. I think that all of the debate that we have in this province and in this country is part of a vigorous democratic process.

We are lucky that we have the freedom of speech that we have in our country, that we fi ght to preserve it, and that we’re allowed to have legitimate debates about public policy, which is what we see in this House every day and which is what we see out on the streets on a regular basis. It’s a good thing, but that doesn’t mean we always agree. For example, when I talk about the folks, the NDP and their members, who sign declarations saying no….

When I talk about the leader of the NDP who op- poses and says no to Site C, who opposes and says no to LNG, who opposes and says no to job creation all over the province, I understand he’s taking a very clear pos- ition. But he needs to understand that on this side of the House, we take a very diff erent position — and that is in support of the people up in the Peace River country, for example, the people in Terrace, who rallied in huge numbers to stand up for saying yes, to stand up for jobs. Y ou can’t stand up…. Interjections. Madame Speaker: Members.

British Columbia Debates11534 Wednesday, March 16, 2016 Hon. C. Clark: Y ou can’t stand up for working people if you don’t want to see them get any work. On this side of the House, that’s exactly what we stand for. Madame Speaker: Recognizing the Leader of the Offi cial Opposition on a supplemental. [1415] J. Horgan: Well, yeah. Th anks for that. It will come as no surprise to those paying attention that we’re in such a sorry state with respect to public education here. Th is was a former Minister of Education who can’t even answer a basic question.

Th is is a former Minister of Education who has had us in court for over a decade be- cause she stripped contracts and took away rights from teachers — duly negotiated contracts. Th e former Minister of Education has clearly forgotten all about the importance…. Interjections. Madame Speaker: Members, I will hear the question. J. Horgan: Well, thank you, hon. Speaker. I know the Premier doesn’t want to hear the question, but we’ll see what we can do about her colleagues as well. It’s okay to have a diff erence of opinion. Everyone gets that.

But you don’t disrespect people by calling them rag- tag, disgruntled or confused. Again, the Minister of Education has an obligation, in our co-governance model, to have a little bit of respect for school boards. Th e school board of district 69, from Qualicum, wrote the following with respect to his com- ments about noise: “Y our comments demonstrate a lack of understanding for those advocating on behalf of our students. Y our remarks marginalize and dismiss hun- dreds of thousands of people in this province.

Th ey show a blatant disregard and a lack of respect for school boards who are working within a co-governance model with the Ministry of Education. ” My question is to the former Minister of Education — thank goodness, not the current one — now the Premier. Does she agree with her Minister of Education that it’s okay to disrespect the partners in education when it comes to school boards and the parents across this province that want better for their kids than they had for themselves? Hon. C.

Clark: I was up in Prince George yesterday announcing the creation of an 11,000-hectare class A park, the fi rst one created in British Columbia in the last three years, to protect this unique forest, Ancient Forest, which we’ll now be seeking UNESCO status for. While I was up there…. I know the Leader of the Opposition had been up the day before and had done exactly what he accuses the government of, saying all kinds of bad things and calling people all kinds of bad names. Th ere were only 15 people there to hear it, though, so I’m not surprised that it wasn’t reported widely.

When it comes to education, let me say this. We have dramatically increased the amount of money that we put in on a per-pupil basis into education in the province. We have with us, as an example of the quality of education we provide in public schools, the top gold medal in sci- ence winner, Austin Wang, who is sitting right here in our Legislature today. Th e six-year completion rate for aboriginal students is at a record high of 63 percent. We are continuing to try and improve that.

Th ere are so many successes in the education system over these last years, and if you look at the results, you’ll certainly see them. I think what members in this House and what the pub- lic would like to see is a lot more discussion about the facts — a lot less politics, a lot less emotional pleas and really have us talk about what’s happening in our edu- cation system, because British Columbia, by almost any standard in the world, is leading. Madame Speaker: The Leader of the Official Opposition on a fi nal supplemental. J. Horgan: To hear the Premier say she wants a lot less politics almost knocked me over.

It almost knocked me over. Most days, whether it’s in the private jet with the videographer, all the Premier does is politics. What we want on this side of the House, and I think what British Columbians want, is a government that recognizes and refl ects the values and diversity of the people of this great province. Here’s a fact for the Premier. Here’s a fact. On the watch of the people on that side, 240 schools are closed, 40 more schools are on the block, and 900 people showed up in the south Interior to protest this government’s underfunding of public education. Th at’s a fact. Larger class sizes.

Increasing challenges with class composition. Commitments made by that Minister of Education, that Minister of Education and that Minister of Education not being met. Families fi rst has been replaced by “millionaires fi rst. ” Th ere was a tax break for the richest people in British Columbia, and school boards are being asked to fi nd more. [1420] My question to the Premier of British Columbia is: why is it okay to call people ragtag, disgruntled, confused or just noise?

Why don’t we put that politics aside and embrace the diversity we have here and work with our school trustees, work with parents and work with teach- ers to make this province as great as we all want it to be? Hon. C. Clark: Well, I’ll tell you, the member accuses me regularly of just photo ops and all politics — accusa-

British Columbia DebatesWednesday, March 16, 2016 11535 tions that women in politics are certainly used to hearing. Let me say this. Four consecutive balanced budgets…. Interjections. Madame Speaker: Members. Th is House will come to order. Nelson-Creston, this House will come to order. Hon. C. Clark: Th at’s not politics. Th at’s looking aft er British Columbia. And 50,000 new jobs created in the last year in a province that is almost doubling the national rate of growth — that is not politics. Th at’s getting the job done. Getting to yes on the Great Bear Rainforest. Getting to yes on LNG.

Getting to yes on Site C, the biggest sin- gle investment that B.C. Hydro has ever made in capital. Getting to yes on 17 new and expanded mines. Getting to yes on job creation all across the province. We have worked hard to get to yes, over the constant noes and the naysaying and the anti-job declarations of the NDP . Th at is not politics. Th at’s working. Th at’s delivering. Th ose are promises made and promises we are keeping. R. Fleming: I see that the Premier’s reputation for someone who has an utter disregard for public educa- tion is perfectly intact here this aft ernoon.

So let me ask the Minister of Education a question.

Let me quote from the Vancouver Island School Trustees Association spring newsletter. “Th e Vancouver Island School Trustees Association, which is made up of 12 boards of education and the largest branch of school boards in the province, discussed a number of issues impacting all boards on Vancouver Island, including the ongoing lack of adequate and sustainable funding that is leading to consideration of school closures, reduction of student supports and the districtwide cancellation of in- novative programs. ” Th e newsletter goes on to note that “the Minister of Education” — the hon. member across the way — “had indicated his desire to attend our branch meetings and was invited to attend but was a no-show. ” He won’t show up to the Vancouver Island School Trustees Association, but then he has the time to go on CBC radio and attack school trustees, parents and every- body else who is advocating for the public education system right now and dismiss them as a bunch of noise.

Th at’s what he did. My question is this. It’s the question that was written to him by Eve Flynn, the district chair of school board 69. Instead of attacking advocates of public education, who he has put in an incredibly diffi cult situation, with his $54 million cuts in this budget…. Will he do as the chair of the Qualicum board has suggested, and instead of in- sulting partner organizations in public education, work with them — and begin repairing that relationship by apologizing to those organizations in the House today? Hon. M. Bernier: Y ou know, I have been invited all around the province.

Every opportunity that I have within my schedule, I actually take those opportunities to meet with the school districts. I have actually toured and visited almost half, 30, of the school districts since becoming the Minister of Education. [1425] Again, one of the main things I’ve heard from all of those school boards is that we need to ensure the auton- omy that they have at the local level, that they are the ones that are making the decisions within those school districts. It’s interesting that the member opposite wants to try to pull out some quotes. I’ve got a couple of my own.

Th e way I’ll end this is by saying that those decisions need to be made at the local level. I’m glad that the mem- ber opposite, also on the radio, yesterday fi nally agreed with this side of the House, with our government, that those decisions need to be made, when the critic himself said: “Whether they vote or not to close schools, that needs to be left up to the school districts. ” Although he’s been standing in the House and saying otherwise all these days, I’m glad the member opposite has fi nally realized what this side of the House has been saying all along.

Madame Speaker: Victoria–Swan Lake on a supple- mental. R. Fleming: I guess the question that school districts around British Columbia are asking themselves right now is: what is the point of the minister touring around the province when he’s not listening to anybody involved in the education sector? What people are trying to understand, whether it’s parents by the hundreds at a meeting in Courtenay last night or thousands in the Okanagan who are attending meetings to try and save their community schools…. Th ey want to know this, and I’ll ask the minister this.

He doesn’t have to give up privileged cabinet discussions, but they need to understand at home. How can a government that says there’s no money for public education and that the government has an imperative to cut $54 million in school district funding…? How can that same cabinet and this minister participate in discussions that allow them to fi nd $230 million in tax cuts for millionaires? Th at’s what people in British Columbia want to know.

I would suggest this to the minister: stop being critical of organizations who are standing up and advocating for public education around B.C., whether they represent parents or trustees or students. Instead, will he begin to advocate for his own ministry, and the 550,000 kids who are involved in our school system, at the cabinet table and begin that by reversing the $54 million cut in the budget? Hon. M. Bernier: I’m pleased that the member op- posite realizes my job is to advocate for the school dis-

British Columbia Debates11536 Wednesday, March 16, 2016 tricts and the people of the province of British Columbia. Since this government has taken over from the mem- bers opposite, we’ve increased our budget 31 percent; $1.2 billion we’ve increased the budget. At the same time, the member opposite doesn’t want to realize that we’ve also had 70,000 fewer students in the province of British Columbia. When you add that up, we have record invest- ment in the province of British Columbia. Th is year alone, did we advocate? Absolutely — $110 million more added this year to the budget for education.

One other thing I’ll mention to try to help the school districts in the province of British Columbia. Coming up in a couple of months, they are going to see $45 mil- lion in relief, on July 1, when the teachers pension plan for the employer contributions are going to be reduced, helping every school district across the province of British Columbia. GOVERNMENT RECORD-KEEPING AND CALL FOR APOLOGY TO FORMER EMPLOYEE M.

Karagianis: On Monday, we asked the Attorney General to apologize to Tim Duncan, the former execu- tive assistant to the Minister of Transportation who blew the whistle on this government’s culture of triple-deleting emails. Th e Attorney General refused to apologize. Mr. Duncan had his keyboard grabbed by a senior staff er in the Transportation Ministry who then deleted emails re- lated to the Highway of Tears. When Mr. Duncan took his concerns to the Liberal caucus director of research, he was told: “We do what it takes to win. ” When this side of the House first spoke about Mr.

Duncan’s story, the Premier’s executive director of com- munications and issues management was outside of this chamber moments later attacking Mr. Duncan’s character and telling members of the media that Mr. Duncan was merely a disgruntled employee. [1430] Today I’ d like to give the Premier a chance to have her say, the opportunity to apologize on behalf of her gov- ernment and the staff in her offi ce to Mr. Duncan for the treatment that she and her government’s culture of delete, delete, delete, have perpetrated to him. Hon. S.

Anton: As the member opposite knows, there is a special prosecutor appointed in this case. Th ere are charges laid. Th e matter is before the courts, and that’s where we should leave it. Madame Speaker: Esquimalt–Royal Roads on a sup- plemental. M. Karagianis: Well, there have been charges against Mr. Gretes, who was the gentleman who took the key- board away, but there is no apology to Mr. Duncan be- fore the courts. As far as we can see, the only people who have failed to acknowledge the serious wrongdoing to Mr.

Duncan — and he has been vindicated on every account — the only ones who have not done the correct and decent thing have been the Attorney General; Mr. Duncan’s former boss, the Minister of Transportation; and the Premier herself. Mr. Duncan blew the whistle on just how far this gov- ernment would go to hide information from the public. In fact, I think he deserves the Premier’s award of excel- lence, not to be subjected to character assassination by the Premier’s staff . In this culture of deleting and hiding information, there are major decisions that start at the very top of this government.

So again, I would like to give the Premier a chance to stand up and do the right thing and please apologize to Mr. Duncan for the treatment that he has undergone at the hands of her and her staff . Hon. S. Anton: Th ings which are for this House are for this House. Th ings which are before the courts are before the courts, and that is where they should be dealt with. SEXUAL ASSAULT POLICY LEGISLATION FOR POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS A. Weaver: Last Tuesday the Premier told News 1130 that she acknowledged more needs to be done to support the survivors of sexual assault on B.C. post-secondary campuses.

Th e Premier stated: “Rape kits need to be available, trained staff need to be available, and some universities and colleges are doing a more thorough job than others. So the Minister of Health is going to go out and have that conversation, because we have to make sure that help is available. ” I fear that the Premier may have missed the larger point about the conversation we need to have. With re- spect, we don’t just need more rape kits.

We need to take this issue head-on, recognize that our post-secondary campuses aren’t always providing a safe environment for B.C. students, and we need to have a plan in place to pre- vent assaults from happening in the fi rst instance. When the University of Ottawa surveyed its student body last year, it found that 44 percent of female students experienced sexual violence or unwanted sexual touch- ing while attending the university. I’m asking the gov- ernment to take a clear leadership role and make a clear statement that this is a responsibility they will act upon.

To the Premier, does she support the need for sexual assault policy legislation for post-secondary institutions? Hon. C. Clark: Being raped is one of the worst things that can happen to any woman, whether that is intim- ate-partner assault, whether that’s sexual abuse at the hands of a family member or whether it’s an assault from a stranger. Any woman who has experienced it will tell you that it leaves a lifetime of scars.

British Columbia DebatesWednesday, March 16, 2016 11537 We hope for women who are raped that they can fi nd a way to heal, and many do. Some will say they became stronger as a result. But all women who have been sex- ually assaulted are changed. It’s something that should not be happening in our so- ciety. Sadly, it appears to be more prevalent on university campuses than most other places in our society. Th ere is more that we can do and more that we should do. Th e Minister of Advanced Education has begun that work. I certainly welcome the interest of the member from Oak Bay.

I’ve had a chance to look at his bill, Bill M205, and I’ d certainly look forward to working with him on fi nding a way that we can either pass this bill or amend it and pass a similar version to it in our Legislature. We need to do more to protect women on campus from sexual assault because these life-changing, trau- matic events don’t need to happen. As a society, we can and we must do more to prevent them. [1435] Madame Speaker: Th e member for Oak Bay–Gordon Head on supplemental. A. Weaver: Th ank you to the Premier for her response. I’m very pleased to hear this.

As the Premier and government will know, without a legislative requirement to develop a policy, we risk continuing the status quo where institutional optics are sometimes allowed to trump student safety. For example, a student at Th ompson Rivers University, who was recently assaulted twice in one term, was told: “Maybe you would be better suited to a diff erent school. ” UBC made headlines last year when it turned out that reported cases of sexual assault on their campus were less than a quarter of those reported by the UBC RCMP detachment.

Just yesterday, at the University of Victoria, a student noted that she felt “completely invalidated and silenced” by a UVic investigation into her sexual assault. Addressing this has to be about our institutions, our students and not post-secondary institutions. My ques- tion to the Premier is this: what is the timeline for gov- ernment to introduce such legislation? Hon. C. Clark: I can’t give a defi nitive timeline today, except to say that I recognize, along with the member, that this is an urgent issue. A rapist’s best friend is silence. A rapist’s best friend is shame.

A rapist’s best friend is the failure of authorities to recognize a complaint when it comes forward and fail to act on it. We will not reduce the prevalence of sexual assault until we strengthen the institutions that are there to pro- tect women, until we ensure that women feel safe coming forward and saying that they have been sexually assaulted. Th ey will only do so when they have the knowledge that someone will act on what they’ve told them and keep them safe. We have much more to do, and I welcome the mem- ber’s active interest in this. I thank him for presenting his bill.

We will work with him on it on an urgent basis and try and get something passed with respect to changing policy as soon as we possibly can. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT ON HEALTH MINISTRY INVESTIGATION A. Dix: Aft er fi ghting to clear their names, aft er being exonerated more than once, health researchers who were wrongfully dismissed are being subjected again to more Liberal-sanctioned attack.

A leaked copy of an inter- nal Finance Ministry report, one leaked from the senior ranks of the government itself, has allowed the govern- ment, in eff ect, to smear those individuals again, either directly or by association. Th e government rejected a public inquiry and acknow- ledged, in settling lawsuits, that the allegations it made against these individuals were not correct. All of the fi rings were withdrawn because the government knew it had wrongfully dismissed the employees.

Now the smears, unfortunately, from the government continue — not in open court, not in a public inquiry for all to see and rebut, but through another high-level government leak. I want to give the Minister of Health the opportunity to clear the air today, as it was his ministry that signed the agreements along with the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Justice that cleared these employees, dis- missed the charges, settled the cases.

Will he, on behalf of the government, keep his word and speak out clearly against a fl awed and prejudicial report, one that is at- tacking current and former employees, public servants in his ministry? Hon. T. Lake: Th e report was completed by the comp- troller general’s offi ce. It is a report that the Ministry of Health had no control over. Th e information was not authorized to be released by government. We have no control over the fact that a reporter got ahold of the unredacted report. Th e redacted version was to obey the law, the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Th is issue is before the Ombudsperson, who is inves- tigating all of the aspects of what occurred, and we look forward to the results of his investigation. Madame Speaker: Vancouver-Kingsway on a supple- mental. [1440] A. Dix: Well, just to be clear, the sworn and signed word of the government seems to mean nothing. I mean, this is truly dishonourable. Th e Ministry of Finance, as the minister will know, both relied on the information from the botched dis-

British Columbia Debates11538 Wednesday, March 16, 2016 credited Health Ministry investigation — which the Finance Ministry itself called a gong show — and then denied people due process, just like the previous inves- tigation, just as they were condemned by the McNeil re- port. In this case, not only did the Ministry of Finance not speak to most of the people involved; it actually re- fused to speak to some who’ d off ered. Let’s recap. Th e government publicly retracts the al- legation. Th e Premier gives what amounts to an apol- ogy over there but produces a report, ready to be leaked, that says the opposite.

It consistently tries to blame lower-level employees for systemic issues on contracts approved by ministers, deputy ministers and assistant deputy ministers. It engages repeatedly in smears and innuendos against its own employees over and over and over and over again — even as it has been forced to acknowledge the allega- tions it made were untrue and even aft er the Premier’s self-said apologies. Th e consequences are clear. Th e dam- ages to public health care and the researchers are well- known.

Will the Minister of Health do the honourable thing: stand by his ministry’s signed word, the signed word they made to those researchers, and apologize today for this continuing dishonourable conduct? Hon. T. Lake: Th e member makes it sound like pol- iticians did an investigation. Th is was an investigation done by professional civil servants, not under the dir- ection or direct control of politicians but carried out by professional public servants. Th e member stands up day aft er day aft er day and accuses the government of smear- ing the reputation of public servants. Th at’s, by inference, what he is doing.

Th ey did their work. Th at work was held private and only released according to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Th e government did not have control over the use of that information. Interjections. Madame Speaker: Members. Members, the Chair will hear the answer. Hon. T. Lake: It is in the hands of the Ombudsperson. Th e member may want to prejudge the outcome of that work. We don’t. We want to see what that work will pro- duce for us so that we can all understand exactly what happened and how we can make sure that we have proper human resource procedures going forward.

Th e member should do what we are doing on this side of the House and wait and support the report of the Ombudsperson that will come later on. [End of question period.] Orders of the Day Hon. T. Stone: I call, in

section B, the second reading of Bill 2, the Great Bear Rainforest (Forest Management) Act, and in

section A, the continuing estimates of the Ministry of Small Business Red Tape Reduction and Ministry Responsible for the Liquor Distribution Branch. [R. Chouhan in the chair.] Second Reading of Bills BILL 2 — GREAT BEAR RAINFOREST (FOREST MANAGEMENT) ACT (continued) J. Th ornthwaite: I’ d like to resume my remarks about Bill 2, the Great Bear Rainforest (Forest Management) Act. [1445] Th e Great Bear Rainforest (Forest Management) Act is a proud moment for British Columbia. We have shown and continue to show environmental leadership in this and other avenues.

Our Premier’s work to bring provinces together very recently for the Vancouver declaration on clean growth and climate change was legendary. Our climate action leadership team is still now receiving recommendations. Y ou can still contribute to the recommendations from the climate leadership team, until March 25, to take

part in helping us build B.C. ’s low-carbon future. Our world- renowned, revenue-neutral carbon tax is something to be very, very proud of. We are recognized leaders when it comes to environ- mental management. We are one of only 14 jurisdictions invited to a closed-door meeting with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in Paris. With one of the bright- est and broadest carbon prices in the world, our Premier was invited to address the G20 Finance Ministers on our revenue-neutral carbon tax in Washington, D.C.

We are the fi rst and still the only jurisdiction in North America to be carbon-neutral across government oper- ations. As a result, the carbon-neutral capital program has allowed us to invest millions of dollars in emission reduction projects in schools, hospitals and universities. Why do I say that? Because I’m very, very proud to stand and support Bill 2, the Great Bear Rainforest (Forest Management) Act. It solidifi es even more our leadership in environment and in forest management.

We now are able to prove that we can move from confl ict to collaboration to collectively working together towards an agreement between environmental groups, industry groups, First Nations and government. We have a shared responsibility to pass on British Columbia to future generations as magnifi cent and pris- tine as we found it, while continuing the ancient trad-

British Columbia DebatesWednesday, March 16, 2016 11539 ition of making a living off the land. The Great Bear Rainforest is a global treasure, covering 6.4 million hec- tares and one-quarter of the world’s coastal temperate rainforest, an area the size of Ireland. I mentioned, in my previous remarks, that I’ d actually visited the Great Bear Rainforest. Th is act will create special forest manage- ment areas: 273,000 hectares where commercial timber- harvesting activities will be prohibited.

Th e ecosystem-based management in the Great Bear Rainforest is the result of the collaboration between 26 First Nations, the province, forest companies and en- vironmental groups to create the policy framework for the proposed legislation. Th is rainforest solutions pro- ject was a combination of environmental groups, forest companies, the Coastal First Nations and Nanwakolas Council. The forest companies include Coast Forest Conservation Initiative, B.C. Timber Sales, Catalyst Paper Corp., Howe Sound Pulp and Paper Corp., Interfor Corp. and Western Forest Products Inc.

Th e environmental groups include ForestEthics Solutions, Greenpeace and Sierra Club B.C. Th e amount of protected old-growth forest in this area will increase from 50 to 70 percent and will include eight new areas set aside for logging. Th e act will establish new timber supply areas and reconfi gure existing ones in or- der to better refl ect the boundaries of the Great Bear Rainforest. Forest companies will have a defi ned forest manage- ment area of 15 percent of the Great Bear Rainforest where logging can occur.

It will provide for the designa- tion of new special forest management areas that pro- hibit commercial timber-harvesting activities. Th e act will create a stable land base that will support an allow- able annual cut of 2.5 million cubic metres over the next ten years but will provide certainty for jobs, investment and markets. Th e annual allowable cut is a decrease from the existing of about 3.2 million cubic metres per year.

Th is means that under the proposed legislation, the annual allow- able cut for all timber supply areas and tree farm licences within the Great Bear Rainforest cannot exceed 2.5 mil- lion cubic metres.

Th e chief forester was involved in the forest analysis that contributed to the recommended annual allowable cut, and the chief forester will continue to participate in these discussions for the Great Bear Rainforest manage- ment area during the ten-year adjustment period and will resume authority for determining annual allowable cuts in the area aft erwards. [1450] In addition, through the agreements reflected in the proposed act, the amount of forest carbon seques- tered in the Great Bear Rainforest is expected to in- crease to 640,000 tonnes per year.

Forest carbon credits will be shared with the Coastal First Nations and the Nanwakolas Council through the atmospheric benefi t sharing agreements. Th e forest carbon credits will be used to off set economic development projects of interest to their communities. I just wanted to summarize in my final remarks a couple of quotes. One from Dallas Smith, who is the president of the Nanwakolas Council: “Th e introduc- tion of the Great Bear Rainforest (Forest Management) Act is welcomed by our communities.

It’s important for all parties that the spirit and intent of this world-class agreement has the legislation behind it to meaningfully support the implementation. ” I met Dallas as well as Chief Marilyn Slett at the an- nouncement a couple weeks ago. Chief Marilyn Slett, president of the Coastal First Nations, said: “Th e Great Bear Rainforest (Forest Management) Act brings in- creased environmental sustainability to all our traditional territories.

It also provides greater access to forestry op- portunities as well as ownership to more carbon tonnes than we currently have and includes special protection areas. ” I’ d like to summarize by saying I do support Bill 2, the Great Bear Rainforest (Forest Management) Act, and I look forward to the comments from the members op- posite. C. Trevena: I stand in my place here to talk about the Great Bear Rainforest Act. Many, many people are very pleased that we’ve fi nally got to the stage where we have

an act before us, a bill before us, that we can discuss and that we can support. I think everybody around our chamber and those who have been working on this acknowledge that it’s been a lot of hard work on many, many people’s parts. It has gone on for many years. We’ve thought a number of times it might have fallen apart. A number of times it has been announced — it’s various sections. So the fact we are now at the stage where we have a bill in front of us is very signifi cant. I’m very aware of the Great Bear Rainforest. I know the member for North Vancouver–Seymour mentioned that she’ d been up there.

Well, part of my constituency is ac- tually in the Great Bear Rainforest. While you see all the wonderful pictures of the mist and the fog going down the inlets, the mother ships, the kayakers, the whales — all these lovely “come to B.C. ” types of images — there are also quite a lot of regular working people who live on the edges of it. Th e Great Bear starts at the north end of Quadra Island, which is very much a working community. We have log- ging there. We’ve got fi shing. We’ve got fi sh processing. It’s very, very active.

It includes Sonora — where you have both a very established community and a lot of tourism there — right the way up, all the way through Johnstone Strait. So I’m very proud that I have the honour to rep- resent that area and to be very conscious that this is part of the Great Bear.

British Columbia Debates11540 Wednesday, March 16, 2016 Th ere is a huge amount of awareness, quite naturally, about the use of our forests from my constituents — and particularly those who live intimately with the coast. Very oft en — and I think the Minister of Forests can attest to this — I bring groups down to meet with him who are concerned about what is happening on the coast: tourist operators who are very worried about what is happening with the viewscapes when they are operating their small businesses, others who are concerned about the impact of various plans.

Th ere is an intimate awareness, an intimate knowledge, of what has been happening and a real concern that this is done right. Many people are going to be watching this and monitoring that this is done right. Th is goes back to the 1990s, when we started working on land use planning and how to ensure that all the in- terests, as much as possible, could be brought together to create the environment where you could make use of the forest without taking away, without degrading from the resource that we have. It’s a massive balancing act. I have to thank….

I know that my colleague from Vancouver-Fairview listed many of the people involved in this, named all their names. [1455] One of the people that I know who’s been involved from the government side is the former district manager for the Ministry of Forests in Campbell River, who took one of the signifi cant leads on this for the ministry. Th at’s Rory Annett. He’s been working very, very hard on this and I know will be very pleased to see this go through. I know that there has been huge and signifi cant input from Greenpeace, ForestEthics, the Sierra Club, all the First Nations, the Nanwakolas Council.

All deserve a lot of acknowledgment. I have to say, though, there are people who are still con- cerned about it. Th ere will be, not just in the long term, the need to monitor it, but there needs to be the recog- nition at the moment. It’s impossible to embrace every- one, but there are some real concerns. While we have had the involvement of the Nanwakolas Council, which is the group of First Nations looking at economic and other development — and we had Mr. Smith here on the day of the announcement — not all First Nations have been involved, and not all First Nations on the coast are thoroughly engaged with it.

I’ d just like to read some concerns from the people who have lived in Kingcome Inlet. I apologize if I mispro- nounce the name of the First Nations, the Dzawada’ enuxw, who are part of the Musgamagw Dzawada’ enuxw Tribal Council. Th ey have lived in Kingcome, in Gwa’yi, for generations. For many hundreds or thousands of years, that has been their home. Kingcome Inlet is right there. Th e member for North Vancouver–Seymour, when she’s imagining what the Great Bear Rainforest looks like and remembering what it looks like…. Kingcome Inlet is one of those places.

A letter to the Premier, from the Chief of the Dzawada’ enuxw. I’ d like to read some of it into the re- cord because it’s important, when we’re talking about bringing people together, to recognize those who are still concerned. Th e letter reads that they did not celebrate the recent Great Bear Rainforest agreement announcement, and they “take exception to the inclusion of our tradition- al territories in the publicly released media coverage.

Th e province continues to engage only with select aggrega- tions of First Nations, while not off ering the same level of engagement or fi nancial resources to engage at the table on a level playing fi eld to all other First Nations. ” It goes on: “Th e tribal councils have, throughout the years, tried to initi- ate the discussion with the province of B.C. that we’re not en- gaged in a meaningful way, and despite the press coverage and tremendous fi nancial support given to the aggregations such as Nanwakolas, you” — meaning the Premier — “have not off ered our nation the same opportunity for meaningful engagement and measurable progress in planning and discussions regarding land- and marine-based decisions regarding our traditional territories. “ As a remote non-treaty First Nation who has not moved from our ancestral lands, we struggle daily to maintain our commun- ity in these changing times.

We feel we are not represented at all or at any of your tables and are at a loss as to why, in 2016, this continues to be the status quo. ” Th en the Chief continues, to quote the Premier about reconciliation, saying: “Reconciliation means talking; talking means meeting. And we’re pleased that you ‘intend to fi nd real reconciliation, and reconciliation requires respect. It requires inclusion.

It requires the recognition that First Nations have their own visions for their own communities, and we have an obligation as a larger society to do everything we can to support them in fi nding that vision. ’” Chief Willie Moon concludes: “We look forward to seeing how you mean to achieve this, and extend an invitation for you to come to discuss this with our community in our home village of Gwa’yi, in Kingcome Inlet. ” Th ey have been excluded.

It’s important to recognize their exclusion when we’re talking about how we are go- ing to properly include people, include everyone, and en- sure that we are bringing people together in a meaningful way. It is very important when we’re talking about EBM, the environmentally based management system, that we are bringing in the traditional knowledge and the people whose land it is — meaningfully — in the plans, in agree- ments and going forward. It is essential that everyone is included — not just feels included — and is defi nitely not excluded.

I would hope that there is some defi nite move to ensure that the people of Kingcome Inlet can have a voice at a table as this goes on. [1500] Th ere is the ability in this legislation, because legislation does give, in the end, a lot of responsibility to cabinet. Th is is another, I have to say, of my personal concerns about it, and I’ll note them later. In the note about it…. Maybe I’m misreading this and it will be clarifi ed in committee stage. Th e bill authorizes cabinet to “make regulations that impose standards, conditions, requirements, restrictions

British Columbia DebatesWednesday, March 16, 2016 11541 and prohibitions in relation to forest practices and oper- ational plans in the GBR forest management area that are in addition to or diff erent from the standards, condi- tions, requirements, restrictions and prohibitions under the Forest and Range Practices Act. ” Th e act could give the cabinet a huge amount of lati- tude to include other First Nations who feel that they have been excluded, to look at some of the parameters and bring that in.

My concern about that paragraph is that it gives the cabinet a lot of latitude to change the rules, which I think that everybody who is watching hopes doesn’t happen, because it has taken so long to get to where we are. My other concern about the Great Bear, particularly in my constituency…. I have other concerns with First Nations, and I’ll touch very briefl y on that. Th at is that a number of years ago, when a lot of logging activity stopped in the central coast because of the Great Bear, the area was encouraged to redefi ne itself through tourism.

Th rough tourism, it was a fantastic opportunity in Bella Bella and up through the Bella Coola Valley. Th is would be a brilliant way to re-energize, bring people in to ensure that people still had a viable income.

Unfortunately, despite having encouraged the com- munities to build up their tourism, the government then pulled the mat away from them by discontinuing the ferry service from Port Hardy up to Bella Bella and into Bella Coola and replacing it with, as we on this side of the House have very oft en explained, a very small vessel, the Nimpkish, meaning that the tourism opportunities that people have come to rely on because they stopped logging have disappeared.

Now we have the signing of the Great Bear — we are discussing the bill — and no indication of whether this support is going to come back, whether there is going to be another push to encourage tourism and, if so, how that’s going to happen when the ferry that used to run that route was sold for just $2 million aft er a $15 mil- lion refi t. Th ey really left people physically stranded and fi nancially stranded. So that is another concern that I have about this.

I’ d like to pick up on two specifi c areas of the Great Bear, areas that are absolutely beautiful, wonderful places for people to come to visit that have been and still are part of a working forest. Again, I’ d like to fl ag them as places where we need to keep a very, very close watch. Th ese are both areas in TFL 47 — on Sonora Island and on West Cracroft . Th e licensee is TimberWest. I think that TimberWest is not at all surprised that I raise this, because I’ve had many discussions with them, as have the local communities. Now, Sonora Island, for those who don’t know it…. Many people may know Sonora Resort.

It’s a wonderful resort on the east side of the island, very, very upscale, very nice resort that brings people from all around the world to stay there and enjoy it. On the other side of the island, we have a very estab- lished community. It’s a small community, and there is within that community a great awareness of the value of their old growth. Th ere is still a lot of old growth there. It’s also under the TFL 47.

TimberWest has been work- ing at developing logging plans. [1505] I have to acknowledge the extraordinary hard work of the Campbell family on Sonora — Ross Campbell, Fern Kornelsen, Farlyn Campbell and Jody Ericksson — who have been working extremely hard in raising public awareness about the old growth, literally in their back- yard, and to ensure that they have been able to try to ne- gotiate with TimberWest. But they’ve been playing on a very unbalanced playing fi eld. Th ey are looking at the timber supply, and they had to commission their own report on this.

Nobody would do a full report on the age of the trees that weren’t going to be cut — and that some were being cut. Th ey continue to fi ght hard to ensure that what is there will remain there, but one of the problems is the defi n- ition of what is “old growth. ” Are we talking about an old- growth forest or an old-growth tree? Who terms “old”? Who says that this is old and this isn’t? Look at some of the trees there. Some are fantastically huge trees. Th ey’re awesome trees. Th ere are some that don’t look quite as big but are equally old. It’s this defi nition which has been a very big problem.

We have the negotiations always playing out, and as I say, they are still really negotiating to fi nd some settle- ment. TimberWest, although they have a signifi cant part of what is now the Great Bear Rainforest, weren’t players in the industrial discussions for a long while. Th ey have only come to the table very recently. If I might actually quote from the environmental NGOs’ documents about the Great Bear, they say: “One major company, TimberWest, with tenure in the very southern part of the region, didn’t support the agree- ments until very late in the process. ” Th ey are now on board.

And their report, the ENGO’s report, says: “More endangered rainforest could have been saved if they had changed course sooner. ” One of the concerns I have from others who are watch- ing the work of TimberWest and working with the com- pany, trying their best to work with them, is that some of the decisions made have already been made. Some of the trees have gone in this time frame in the last few years, and in other cases, some of the decisions have been made and been signed off on before this bill is passed. So we’ll still proceed.

Th e other area that I know the minister is very well aware of, because I bring this to him at regular occur- rences, is Boat Bay and West Cracroft Island, which is where there is a camp for a kayaking company. It’s an extraordinarily vibrant small business. It is based on Quadra Island. Th ey run amazing kayak trips up through

British Columbia Debates11542 Wednesday, March 16, 2016 Johnstone Strait and around the coast. Th ey also run, in the winter, kayaking operations down in the southern hemisphere. Th ey have a camp there. They have been negotiating for a long while with TimberWest to try and accommodate them, but TimberWest looks at the trees. It’s their TFL. Th ey have, under our forestry rules, the right to access that timber. So there have been a lot of negotiations going on. Spirit of the West is very concerned. Th ey’ve written their concerns to the minister and have talked with the minister in the past.

Th ey are very concerned that this is going to really damage their business if there is logging in the area where their camp is. Even with all the pic- tures, the computer-generated pictures, whether or not it’s going to impact — you know, whether you are going to see the visual quality here or there — it is the ques- tion of the spirit and intent of the agreement. Th is is what really is concerning — that TimberWest and other for- est companies really live by that spirit and intent of the agreement.

Th e company actually went to the Forest Practices Board, and the result of the investigation said: “ …licen- sees are expected to demonstrate a higher level of due diligence through precautionary management of at-risk values…such as those arising under EBM. ” It was also noted in some of the operating areas that “ …TimberWest did not manage the forests consistent with the spirit and intent of the EBM. ” [1510] So there is a huge caution there. Some of the agree- ments have already been signed and things will be hap- pening — not this year but next year now — but there is a serious concern.

Th ere are things that are moving on, on the GAR process, but there is a real need to keep an eye on what is happening. I think this is one of my concerns with the Great Bear Rainforest agreement — this abso- lute need to keep a very constant watch on what forest companies are doing, what others are doing in the Great Bear Rainforest. We see there is a lot of logging happening on our coast. I represent the north Island, where forestry has been a mainstay of our communities for many years, and that is changing without the mills.

I mean, since we’ve had 15 years of a Liberal government, we don’t actually have a working mill on the north Island anymore. It’s quite an extraordinary achievement that they’ve managed to close them all. I’m sure they will applaud themselves for that. We have people struggling to make income in other ways. We have people still out in the woods logging. Th at’s what loggers do. But we’ve seen a huge increase in volume appearing to come out of the bush and — the rea- son I raise this — coming out from remote areas, places where you don’t just drive by.

Y ou drive up the main highway through the north Island, Highway 19, and you do see the logging trucks coming down. Y ou do see log- ging trucks, and whether or not you know trees, you can recognize it’s an old-growth tree because you can see the size of it. Y ou see those coming out, but you also know that there is logging in areas that people can’t see — way out be- yond the bush, into the mountains, on the west coast of the Island, up inlets that are very hard to reach and that you are not going to drive by.

Th e only reason you’re go- ing to go in there is if you are actually working as a logger and that is your job or, potentially, if you are going out hunting, or maybe you’re coming up the inlets if you’re going fi shing. Th e ability to keep an eye on what is happening is ob- viously not there, and in the Great Bear, it’s going to be the same. We’re talking about very, very remote places.

A lot of trust is going to be involved that everybody keeps to their word, that everything is being done appropriately, that the forest companies are working as they have said they’re going to do and that they’re going to be making sure everything is done appropriately. Th e fact that forest companies anywhere have this self- reporting, self-monitoring approach, thanks to what the government, the B.C. Liberals, have said is reducing red tape, is, for most of us, taking away any sense of respon- sibility, because we don’t have Ministry of Forests people anymore who can go out and see what’s happening.

I have the concern, and I know a number of my constituents have the concern, of: who is going to be keeping an eye on what is happening in the Great Bear? It’s an amazing opportunity, and I know that people are talking about this. It’s a landmark agreement. It could be the way for managing our forests worldwide. Th at would be wonderful. It really would be wonderful if we in B.C. have got to that stage where our environmental groups, our government, our First Nations, our industry have brought together the best that they can and will work in concert for years to come.

It is an amazing opportunity: the fact that everything that people have talked about in the past — the war of the woods, pitting battles between the environmental people and the people who were working in the bush, the log- gers and the industry — might all be over and that we can work together.

I still have, very much, the awareness, the need, as has been referred to by the Forest Practices Board, that log- ging companies have to ensure that they are practising the spirit and intent of EBM. [1515] Th e government has to make sure that everyone who wants to be involved really is involved — so the people of Kingcome who are living on their ancestral lands have an ability to play a

part in this and benefi t from it; so the people up the coast who aren’t logging anymore and won’t be logging anymore, thanks to the Great Bear agreement, have the opportunity once again to develop the tourism that they thought they were going to have until the ferry was taken away.

British Columbia DebatesWednesday, March 16, 2016 11543 Give people that opportunity. Bring in a workable ves- sel so that people can rebuild the tourism industry that’s been devastated now for two seasons — we’re going into the third season, where people are very worried wheth- er anybody’s going to come — from having had this as a great opportunity. I think that it’s something that is hugely signifi cant, a hugely signifi cant piece of legislation, and it is with pride that I stand here and acknowledge the importance of it. But it’s the implementation, the participation, the acknowledgment and also….

I do urge a little bit of cau- tion on behalf of the cabinet when they are interpreting the fact that under this bill they have the ability to make decisions that can go in contravention to or change from what is expected. It’s a huge responsibility. Th is is an area, as we’ve all heard…. It’s a massive area. It’s an area the size of Vancouver Island that we’re talk- ing about. It is very remote. It is very beautiful.

It is very signifi cant for not just us in B.C. but for the world, as a temperate rainforest for our carbon sequestration, for the environmental values that it brings in keeping our air clean as well as keeping the integrity of our land base. Th e only other thing that I would like to raise at the moment about this…. I know that we’re going to be hav- ing the opportunity, as we go through this in the com- mittee stage, to make sure that we all understand the parameters here. It’s something that I know my colleague from the North Coast is going to talk about much more fully when she addresses this.

It is the fact that while we’re talking about land use planning and the importance of that — and this is what the Great Bear essentially is; it’s the culmination of many years of land use planning ne- gotiations, and that’s what we have — it omits the marine- based planning. When you’re talking about the environment, and when you’re talking about the development of the environment and the use of our natural resources on the coast — and this is “on the coast” — it’s unfortunate that we’re missing that element.

Th e marine-based planning isn’t there as part of this, and that has also fallen off the table — areas, aft er much work, that the marine-based planning side is no longer being discussed. As I say, I’m very pleased that we have got to this stage. I think it’s important. I welcome it. I do want to under- line the concerns of those who have seen literally the raw edge of the Great Bear Rainforest and how it could work and how it is being interpreted. I hope that all the play- ers remain committed to it and really give the latitude in favour — I have to say — of the environment that we’re trying to protect.

One of the things that I think we forget too quickly when we’re talking about our forests is we are talking about a long-term project. Our forests are there forever. Old growth that is taken out, that’s several hundred years old, will take several hundred years to regrow. [1520] I think we’ve got to be more aware of that, that when we are looking at the values of our forests, in the real hol- istic value of our forest, we don’t rush for the lowest com- mon denominator, for the quick buck, for the fi nancial value, and realize that every time we take old growth out, it’s going to be 300 years for it to come back.

I don’t think we’ve got that sort of time. Mr. Speaker, with that comment, I will take my place in this debate. I thank you for giving me the opportunity, and I acknowledge the hard work that has gone into get- ting this in front of us and ensuring that we have hope for the future. Hon. A. Virk: It’s indeed my pleasure to rise and speak in support of Bill 2, the Great Bear Rainforest (Forest Management) Act.

Th is is one of many initiatives that government puts forward to protect, for my children and my grandchildren and all those generations to come, pristine areas of British Columbia where ocean meets forest, forest meets mountain and mountain meets mist. It’s an area abundant with wildlife, from eagles to bears to salmon. It’s my pleasure to be able to support a bill that supports the generations of British Columbians in enjoying the pristine beauty that we’ve been known for worldwide. Th e great bear, the spirit bear, the ghost bear, known in the Tsimshian language as Moksgm’ ol, is a legend of the bear.

I’m going to talk about the legend fi rst before I go about the Great Bear Rainforest. Th e legend of the First Nations speaks about the creation. It’s the legend of the creation of the Earth, from a land covered in snow and ice. When snow and ice disappeared and green came, the raven, as legend goes, wanted to have a reminder of the time when there was still snow. Th e raven decided to touch every tenth bear and make them white. So the legend goes that the spirit bear, or the Moksgm’ ol, rose from the ravens wishing to remind individuals of the time when the land was covered in snow.

Th e Great Bear Rainforest is an area of some 6.4 mil- lion hectares. Th at’s a lot of zeros. For the next genera- tions — I speak always to the next generations…. So 6.4 million hectares is a lot of zeros. What does that actual- ly mean for the next generations? It’s an area that’s one- quarter of the entire world’s coastal temperate rainforest. What does that mean to the next generations? Th ey look at a map. When the youth go to a social studies class, they see an area. Th ey look at the map, they look all across the world, and they see places like Belgium, which is some three million hectares.

So this is an area of the creation of a global treasure twice the size of Belgium. Th ey look at the map, and they see a country such as Ireland, some 7.7 million hectares. We have the cre- ation of a global treasure, a protected temperate rain- forest, almost the size of Ireland. Th en they go to a map and look at areas such as Scotland, 7.7 million hectares. When you compare that to this area that the Great Bear

British Columbia Debates11544 Wednesday, March 16, 2016 Rainforest Act proposes to protect, it’s an area near the size of Scotland. Th at signifi es the magnitude by which this govern- ment…. I’m hoping the opposition will join us in com- plete support of the creation of that Great Bear Rainforest that’s going to cover an area — you look around the world — the size of many countries. In some places, it’s double the size of many countries. In other places, it’s the size of large states. It’s an incredible area where the majority of the area is going to be set aside from logging.

Th e members op- posite certainly spoke about the fact that it takes genera- tions for some of these old-growth forests to grow. Th e legislation is going to support the unique elements. It’s an ecosystem-based environment. It’s going to be a bal- ance between human well-being and ecological integrity. [1525] Th is is not the fi rst support from government to pro- tect the environment.

As all will recall, it’s one of the few jurisdictions in the world to take a leadership role that many have followed and many have attempted to emulate — and, frankly, many have tried to copy, with limited suc- cess — in how you control greenhouse gas emissions in an entire province. Th is is one of the few jurisdictions in the entire world that put on a carbon tax in

Document details

Collection	British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	20160316pm-Hansard-v35n7
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	20160316pm Hansard v35n7
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	fce1d3b2c91480a8ba4e09f6e41baf536e5d7853

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