2016 Legislative Session: Fifth Session, 40th Parliament
HANSARD

The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.

The printed version remains the official version.

official report of

Debates of the Legislative Assembly

(hansard)

Thursday, May 5, 2016

Morning Sitting

Volume 39, Number 1

ISSN 0709-1281 (Print)
ISSN 1499-2175 (Online)

THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2016

The committee met at 10:05 a.m.

[Madame Speaker in the chair.]

Routine Business

Prayers.

Introductions by Members

S. Hamilton: I rise in the House today to introduce a number of members from DigiBC. It’s an association that represents British Columbia’s interactive entertainment companies such as video game studios, VFX and animation houses; next-generation digital marketing firms; and emergent technologies like virtual reality, holography and artificial intelligence.

In the House today we have, first of all, Patrick Sauriol, the executive director of DigiBC. We have Jonathan Lutz, vice-president, financial planning and strategy, for Electronic Arts; James Hursthouse, CEO, Roadhouse Interactive; Eric Jordan, CEO, Codename Entertainment; and Ryan Peterson, CEO, Finger Food Studios.

Last night a number of members had an opportunity to test drive some of their technology. It’s stunning, it’s leading edge, and it’s certainly making its way around the world. It’s going to prove to be quite the innovative industry here in British Columbia. So I’d ask the House to please make them all welcome.

K. Corrigan: It gives me a great deal of pleasure to say that today in the gallery we have Jody Medernach, who is the vice-president of the Midwives Association of B.C., here to celebrate International Day of the Midwife and B.C. Midwives Day.

I believe that midwives in this province deliver around 9,000 babies a year. So for that and for your presence here today, Jody, and the association, thank you very much. I hope that we will all make her and the association very welcome.

Hon. T. Lake: I want to join my colleague from across the way in welcoming Jody Medernach here today. It is International Day of the Midwife, and in B.C., it is B.C. Midwives Day. As someone, along with all of my siblings, back a very long time ago in England…. We were all delivered with midwives at home, so I can attest to the proficiency and the great services that are provided by midwives. In fact, Jody has delivered over 350 new British Columbians. She’s newly elected as the vice-president of the Midwives Association. Again, I would like the House to welcome Jody here today.

M. Karagianis: I am very thrilled today to have a group of friends and guests in the precinct, in the gallery today. They are here to witness my presentation of a bill in a few moments.

I’d like us to welcome retired Sgt. Jim MacMillan-Murphy, my good friend, president of the B.C. chapter of the Canadian Peacekeeping Veterans Association and first vice-president of the Esquimalt Dockyard Legion; also, Master Seaman Trevor Whitten, B.C. chapter and director of the aboriginal veterans; Shawn Gaudet, branch sergeant-at-arms at the Esquimalt Dockyard Legion; my friend John Ducker, honorary Lieutenant Colonel of the 5th B.C. Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, and, of course, a retired deputy chief of the Victoria police department. They are here with my friend, part-time CA and good pal Lawrence Herzog.

I would like the House to please give them a very warm welcome today.

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Hon. C. Oakes: I think this has been an incredibly special week for me. For many of us from rural British Columbia, we don’t often get constituents that come and visit the long distance, from Wells-Barkerville earlier in the week to Quesnel. Today I’ve got a very, very special group that are visiting from Kersley. Kersley is just one of those incredibly special places in British Columbia, such a strong community.

Dave and Donna Campbell come down every year around this time. You know, it’s difficult as you get to the end of the session. It always fills us up, as MLAs, when constituents come and show support to the work that we’re doing here. Dave and Donna Campbell have been residents of Kersley since 1993. Dave has been a volunteer fireman with the Kersley fire department, and both David and Donna have served on the board for the Kersley Community Association. They are fantastic advocates for their community in the Cariboo.

As well, joining them today are Paul and Sally Drescher. They’ve been married for 60 years this year. Paul was a staff sergeant with the RCMP in Quesnel. They’ve lived in Kersley for 24 years and have both served on the executive of the Kersley Community Association. They love the Cariboo and are very, very involved in the community.

Finally, Roland Sawatsky has been retired for many years from working at RoadSafetyBC. He now owns a small business in Quesnel and spends his time with family, friends and the community.

Would the House please make these very, very special people welcome.

S. Fraser: I notice a contingent of very important persons in the gallery today from PNWER. For those that don’t know the acronym, it’s the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region. That’s a great organization that pulls together the leaders and legislators from all the northwest provinces, states and territories.
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Most of us — all of us, I hope — recognize that the key issues that we are often dealing with, which are critical issues, span borders, whether they’re provincial or federal or territorial or state. Our wisdom in this place is better informed by having a group like PNWER and being actively involved with it. Would the House please join me in making them feel very, very welcome here today.

L. Reimer: I’d like to provide a warm welcome to Ryan Peterson from Finger Food Studios. Finger Food Studios has been very involved in playing a role in educating, in technology, our students in school district 43. As well, he recently provided a tour of his wonderful company to both the Minister of Technology and I. Would the House please make him feel very welcome.

M. Mark: In the spirit of B.C. Midwives’ Day, I’d like to give a shout-out to all the mothers in this House and all the mothers at home, to celebrate Mother’s Day coming up on Sunday. And to my mom, who’s watching her favourite new channel: happy Mother’s Day.

D. Ashton: I too would, along with my peer from Alberni–Pacific Rim, like to welcome members from PNWER. Joining us today in the delegation: Sen. Arnie Roblan from Oregon, a PNWER vice-president; Rep. Mike Cuffe from Montana, a PNWER vice-president also; Rep. Gael Tarleton from Washington state; also Colin Smith, PNWER private sector lead and past president of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists; and, last but not least, PNWER CEO Matt Morrison.

Senator Roblan and the delegation will be meeting today with several members of the House to discuss advancing regional priorities, including softwood lumber, energy, environment, climate action and LNG.

As we know, PNWER was created in 1991 and includes the states of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Washington and the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon and the Northwest Territories. As my good friend across the hall said, its mission is to increase the economic well-being and quality of life for all the citizens in the region while enhancing our natural environments.

Would all members please make our good friends from south of the border welcome today.

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J. Darcy: Joining us in the gallery today, and others joining us in the precinct today, are some very special guests, members of the Pediatric Cancers Survivorship Society of British Columbia. I see that Heather Merrett and Marilyn Merrett have just joined us, and on their way to the Legislature or already in the Legislature are Carolyn Vacheresse, mother, and president of the Pediatric Cancers Survivorship Society; Wilf Vacheresse, Danielle Vacheresse, Cathy Zhang, Emile Petrichenko, Earle Petrichenko and Susan Lymbery, all either cancer survivors themselves, survivors of childhood cancer or their families.

Will the House please give them a very, very warm welcome today.

Hon. S. Anton: I wasn’t sure if my friends were here or not, but I heard a little breach of the rules against speaking in the gallery. Indeed, I can confirm that my friends are here — long-time friends Nancy Harrison, her friend Ralph Hodgkinson and their daughter Kaitlyn Maguire.

Now, last time that Kaitlyn Maguire was here, she was sitting up there, and she was about to be married. Today Kaitlyn Maguire has a very fine product of her marriage — namely, young Peter Maguire. Peter was born in early January and lives in Vancouver, although his ancestral home is here in Victoria — I think in the member from James Bay’s riding, as a matter of fact. They’re long-time friends of the Anton families, and would the House please make them very welcome.

G. Hogg: We clearly have a plethora of very special guests here today, and I’d like to welcome a very uniquely special woman here today as well. She has served for over 30 years as a school trustee.

She has served with 38 trustees on her board of education, with five superintendents and 24 Ministers of Education. She has her name on over 54 new school plaques and is dearly hoping to have her name on four or five more new school plaques in the very near future.

Please join me in welcoming school trustee from the district of Surrey, the Surrey board of education, Ms. Laurae McNally.

R. Lee: In the gallery today we have a delegation from the Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation.

The Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by dignitaries, renowned scholars, social activists, internationally influential enterprises and research institutes in the Asia-Pacific region. The foundation engages in extensive and constructive communication and cooperation with many other organizations in the region. Its co-chairmen include Leon Charney, Colin Heseltine, Steven Clark Rockefeller, Sir Tan Sri Tiong Hiew King, of Malaysia, and Dr. Ramzi Sanbar, president of SDC Group.

With us today is the foundation’s executive vice-chairman, Wunan Xiao; his two assistants, Yan Shen and Michael Yu; a representative in B.C., Sophia Yu Sang; and the president of Okanagan Business Centre, Gary Zvanovec. Would the House please help me give this delegation the warmest welcome.

Hon. C. Oakes: I had one more group, if I possibly may introduce them. Today I had the opportunity to meet with the new interim CEO of the B.C. Chamber of
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Commerce, Maureen Kirkbride. Maureen has been active in the chamber of commerce movement for over 20 years. She was previously the government relations director at Telus, with a strong 28-year career.

As well, we have Dan Baxter, who is the director of policy development of government and stakeholder relations at the B.C. Chamber of Commerce. Would the House please make them welcome.

Hon. M. de Jong: A number of years ago I had the good fortune to meet a talented young man named Marty Snider. He has since taken up the challenge of joining us in these buildings and working as a valued member of our team. His parents are here today; Dr. Keith Snider and Ruth Snider are here.

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Dr. Snider is an international linguistic consultant and a world-renowned expert on tonal African languages, and part-time, he teaches at Trinity Western. He’s accomplished in his own right but, I think, very proud, and justifiably so, of the work his son has undertaken. I hope members of the House would make Mr. and Mrs. Snider very welcome here today.

H. Bains: I’d also like to join with the member for Surrey–White Rock in welcoming Laurae McNally. I’ve been watching Laurae and Surrey’s board of education — such a strong champion of education and of standing up for the children, Surrey students, and who continues to work an exemplary job.

I think under her leadership — and other board of education members — Surrey has become one of the most efficient, if not the most efficient, school board in B.C. We still have a lot of challenges, and she is bringing those issues here. I want to welcome her, and I ask every member of this House to welcome her. Give her a warm welcome.

Introduction and
First Reading of Bills

BILL M225 — HONOURING
OUR MILITARY ACT, 2016

M. Karagianis presented a bill intituled Honouring Our Military Act, 2016.

M. Karagianis: I move introduction of the Honouring our Military Act, of which notice has been given on the order paper in my name. I ask that it be read for a first time now.

Motion approved.

M. Karagianis: I am very pleased and honoured to introduce the Honouring Our Military Act. This will be the second time I’ve introduced this in the House.

This bill would create a provincial honour, the military service pin, to recognize British Columbians — men and women — who have served in wartime, in dangerous peacekeeping missions and on vital domestic operations abroad and here in our nation and our province. Its purpose is to recognize these individuals from our province who have made tremendous sacrifices to represent Canada and to defend our cornerstone principles of democracy, freedom, peace and justice.

To be eligible for the military service honour, the recipient must have been based in British Columbia to protect our borders or have been a British Columbia resident who has protected and served our country and our province abroad. This will include retired and current members of the regular and reserve Armed Forces as well.

In addition to a certificate signed by the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council, a lapel pin would be presented to the recipient, intended to be worn on their civilian clothing so that we might recognize those who have served even when they are not in uniform.

This military service pin symbolizes the gratitude of the Crown and the people of British Columbia for those who have served with honour and valour. This honour was first introduced in Saskatchewan and then in Ontario as well. I hope that all members will support this bill and help to create a tradition of honouring our servicemen and -women across this province and abroad.

I move that this bill be placed on the orders of the day for a second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

Bill M225, Honouring Our Military Act, 2016, introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

Statements
(Standing Order 25B)

ROLE OF MIDWIVES

J. Darcy: Today is the International Day of the Midwife and B.C. Midwives Day. Today midwives are delivering one in five babies in B.C. But midwives do a whole lot more than catch babies. They improve outcomes. They improve access to maternity care. As a funded part of B.C. health care, registered midwives provide $60 million in savings each year. They are highly trained in pregnancy, birth, and postpartum for both mother and baby. Midwives are a safe and recognized choice for maternity care in B.C., across Canada and around the world.

But there are still many rural and remote communities that are in need of midwifery services. It’s a challenge to recruit or retain midwives without the ability to adequately compensate them once they set up a rural practice.
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Midwives do far more than labour and delivery. They often spend hours assisting with the appropriate transfers to higher levels of care elsewhere. If the regulations are changed, as the College of Midwives has proposed, allowing midwifes to work to their full scope of practice, they would also be able to provide services in rural communities such as well-woman care, including pre-conception, contraception and reproductive health screening.

The Seabird Island health centre, where a midwife provides additional services using a subsidized payment model, is a model that midwives believe could be replicated in other rural communities.

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Another example is on Haida Gwaii where, through a partnership with the First Nations Health Authority, midwives are providing a range of services for both the aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities. Having more on-island births reduces stress on mother and baby and allows families to stay together at a most vulnerable and precious time of their lives.

Midwives are more in demand today than ever and for very good reason. Today we thank and acknowledge the important service that B.C. midwives provide to this province.

L. Reimer: I’m pleased to stand, as well, and inform the House that today is International Day of the Midwife, as well as B.C. Midwives Day. I welcome those here today from the association.

British Columbia’s almost 300 midwives play an important role in our health care system, but all too often their function is misunderstood or goes unrecognized by the public.

Midwives are licensed health care providers who offer maternity care to healthy pregnant women and their newborns from early pregnancy through labour and birth, until about six weeks postpartum. They listen, observe, educate, guide as well as care for expecting and new mothers in our communities. Before and after birth, midwives work with mothers to provide evidence-based women-centred advice on adjusting to life as a new parent and caring for their children.

I’m pleased to say that British Columbia’s world-class health care system has recognized the importance of midwives and has committed to increasing their role within it. In 2009, B.C. expanded the scope of practice for midwives. In 2012, the province committed $1.9 million for UBC to double the size of their midwifery program.

Midwifery is one of the fastest-growing health professions in British Columbia. Thanks to the hard work of organizations like the Midwives Association of B.C., more British Columbians are recognizing the important role midwives play in the health of our provinces, new mothers and children.

I ask that this House join me in recognizing and thanking British Columbia’s midwives for the great work that they do every day.

CRAFT AND MICROBREW INDUSTRY
IN VANCOUVER-FAIRVIEW AREA

G. Heyman: The craft and microbrew industry has grown substantially in B.C., with sales nearly tripling in the last five years. A number of breweries and associated food service rooms are adding to Vancouver-Fairview’s lively social culture; 33 Acres, at Ontario and 8th, has created a product range with names that evoke the seasons, the elements and our moods. They aim to support the spirit of community sharing, of drink, food, lingering conversation and ideas. Their long community tables serve this purpose well.

Last week I toured R and B Brewing a few blocks away, at Quebec and 4th. Named for founders Rick Bellows and Barry Bentson, R and B has received 18 Canadian Brewing Awards in 19 years of business. Their Sun God Wheat Ale won the 2015 Canadian Brewing Awards silver and East Side Bitter won the 2015 North American Brewing Awards gold.

R and B hopes to provide another gathering place for creative and fresh meals when their food licence is approved. R and B has long drawn people for sales and growler fills. Now they want us to stay, relax and get to know each other.

Earlier this year, I learned that Mauricio Lozano and his wife, Alicia Medina, were opening a new microbrewery in the southeast corner of Fairview. They want to create a space to build community, share ideas and showcase local brewing talent. So starting next month, Faculty Brewing will welcome people to share brewing knowledge as well as enjoy beer. They will feature an open recipe method where locals can provide feedback as Faculty develops their recipes, creating true community brews.

With hot weather upon us now, Vancouverites and visitors will start mapping out where we’ll be walking, biking and sightseeing. It’s easy to make microbreweries part of the trip. While Vancouver has many remarkable restaurants and creative breweries, I hope that visitors and Vancouverites alike will add these three Fairview microbreweries to their favourites list.

MENTAL HEALTH OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH

J. Thornthwaite: Today I am wearing green, and the Legislature is shining green at night in support of National Child and Youth Mental Health Day, which takes place on Saturday, May 7.

This is a great opportunity for all Canadians to talk about mental health, learn about the challenges many youth face and the challenges that people face and find out about the resources that are available to ease suffering and provide help.

Nearly one in eight British Columbians may be facing a mental health challenge at any given time. That’s more than 80,000 youth, aged four to 17, who are suffering
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and in need of support. Many will receive help through specialized mental health teams located throughout the province, while others get support from child psychiatrists or mental health practitioners.

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Many don’t seek help at all, either because they feel they can manage these challenges alone or because of the social stigma that still surrounds mental illness. It will take all of us — parents, teachers, doctors, government and community agencies — working in concert to ensure young people are fully supported in all aspects of their health and well-being.

B.C. has made great strides in supporting youth experiencing mental health disorders. We offer a variety of community-based mental health and substance-use programs and provide acute and tertiary care services for children and youth. These include expanding the number of children and youth mental health intake clinics across the province, implementing telehealth conferencing to connect psychiatrists with youth in remote areas and introducing programs like FRIENDS, an evidence-based, in-school prevention initiative that develops resiliency and teaches children how to cope with worry and stress.

I encourage everyone in this House to talk about mental health as much as you talk about our physical health to help to stop the stigma associated with mental illness and encourage our children, youth and their families to seek help when they need it.

VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES
OF GEORGE KAWAGUCHI

K. Corrigan: It gives me a great deal of pleasure to recognize George Kawaguchi, who this weekend will be awarded the Kushiro Cup as Burnaby’s Citizen of the Year.

George’s 40 years of volunteer service started with the South Burnaby Metro Club, where he volunteered as coach and manager for boy’s soccer and baseball teams and served as president. He served two terms on Burnaby’s Parks, Recreation and Culture Commission, including years as chair.

He was director of transportation for the 1997 Burnaby B.C. Summer Games. George served ten years on the board of the B.C. Games Society. He also volunteered for the Olympics. He served as director of transportation for the 2012 B.C. Senior Games, hosted by the city of Burnaby.

For 20 years, George has been a board member of the Heart-to-Heart fundraising tournament. He served ten years as a volunteer on the board of directors of the Michael J. Fox Theatre. For the past three years, because he had all of this extra time, he has raised and trained puppies as assistance dogs.

Over the past five years, he’s been on the board of directors of the Burnaby Hospital Healthy Heart program, and George has been co-chair of Burnaby’s Big Bike Ride for several years.

His countless volunteer hours and donations to a number of organizations prove that George is an invaluable volunteer and makes a difference in the lives of citizens in Burnaby and to the well-being of the community. He is a prime example of community spirit and involvement.

Congratulations to George Kawaguchi for a very well deserved honour in being named Burnaby Citizen of the Year.

NATIONAL WILDFIRE
COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS DAY

L. Throness: We’ve all watched with alarm the immense fires in Fort McMurray this week. As our concern for this devastated community remains top of mind, I want to call our attention to National Wildfire Community Preparedness Day this Saturday, May 7.

On Saturday, people throughout Canada will be asked to mark the day by learning how they can help protect their families, friends and communities from wildfire threats.

Wildfires are a fact of life in many parts of B.C., too, but in recent years, the wildfire season has been starting earlier and lasting longer than normal. Many of my own constituents live in wooded areas, and they need to take special care, because on average, 30 percent to 40 percent of wildfires in B.C. are caused by people.

Our B.C. Wildfire Service crews and support staff are among the best in the world, but in 2015 alone, over 600 such fires needlessly drew our highly skilled firefighters away from naturally occurring fires. Already this year, there have been over 200 wildfires in B.C., the vast majority of them human-caused.

Wildfire Community Preparedness Day is a timely reminder that we should do whatever we can to help mitigate wildfire risks and prevent fires in and around our homes and communities.

The recently updated FireSmart: Homeowner’s Manual on the website of the B.C. Wildfire Service is available to help homeowners reduce wildfire threats. The manual contains lots of tips to make homes and properties more fire resistant. It also includes a detailed checklist of potential fire hazards and recommended solutions.

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I would encourage all British Columbians to visit the B.C. Wildfire Service website, download a copy of the FireSmart: Homeowner’s Manual and together reduce the increasing risk of fire to our homes, our families and our way of life.

Oral Questions

SERVICES FOR
CHILDHOOD CANCER SURVIVORS

J. Darcy: Over two years ago, survivors of childhood cancer and their families filled the gallery, and we called on this government to answer their plea for support. As chil-
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dren, they received aggressive radiation and chemotherapy to treat their cancer, but as adults, they are living with horrific late effects of the very treatment that saved their lives.

A year ago the B.C. Liberals finally promised to provide a comprehensive clinic to help people suffering from the late effects of childhood cancer treatments. Unfortunately, this is another case where the B.C. Liberal press release doesn’t match reality.

Survivors of childhood cancer and their families are in the gallery today. Can the Minister of Health please explain to them why they are not getting the care that this government promised?

Hon. T. Lake: In British Columbia, we are indeed fortunate to have one of the leading cancer agencies in all of the world in the B.C. Cancer Agency. The cancer survival rates here in British Columbia are among the very best in the world. But we do know that particularly when children encounter cancer and encounter the treatments that they receive, though their lives may be saved, there may be impacts and effects that go on throughout their lives.

To address that, we are, through the Provincial Health Services Authority and B.C. Cancer Agency, setting up a childhood cancer survivor program. That is in the works. I know the member would like it to be that someone could snap their fingers and develop a program overnight, but we have to be thoughtful. We have to make sure that we do it correctly. We have to do it in consultation with the survivors of childhood cancer, and that’s what we’re doing.

Madame Speaker: The member for New Westminster on a supplemental.

J. Darcy: Bragging about this government’s record is not helping the cancer survivors who have been told a few weeks ago that the most complex cases, the cancer survivors who are suffering the most, will not be treated by this new clinic. That is unacceptable.

What the childhood cancer survivors asked for when they came to this House was a multidisciplinary clinic to address the serious late effects of their cancer. The B.C. Liberals promised these brave survivors and their families that that’s what they would get. But a few weeks ago they were told that this government is not going to be offering treatment to those who are suffering the most, the ones with the most complex cases.

It is unconscionable for this government to break a promise to some of the most vulnerable people in the province of British Columbia. Will the Minister of Health commit today that these childhood cancer survivors will get the care that they need and that this B.C. Liberal government promised them?

Hon. T. Lake: Well, despite the histrionics of the member opposite, this side of the House works diligently to provide programs and services for patients.

The member opposite talks about promises. For ten years, when the NDP were in power, they promised a new hospital in Abbotsford. Did that happen? No, it did not. It was this government that built the Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre and the services that are provided in Abbotsford.

We will work with the survivors of childhood cancer, with B.C. Cancer Agency and the Provincial Health Services Authority to develop the services that they require.

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J. Wickens: I would like to remind the minister that we’re talking about promises that were made for today, not things that happened when I was in kindergarten.

Many doctors are unaware of the long-term effects of childhood cancer treatment. Survivors need specialized care. Childhood cancer has left these people with debilitating physical and cognitive health issues, including secondary cancers, organ failure, blindness and post-traumatic stress.

Again, to the Minister of Health: will he do the right thing today and fully deliver on his promise to childhood cancer survivors?

Hon. T. Lake: Many of that member’s colleagues were a part of a government, in one way or another, that promised to do a lot of things, but when we say we’re going to do something, on this side of the House, we actually do it.

The adult childhood cancer survivorship program is under development. It is building upon existing expertise with resources from B.C. Children’s Hospital, B.C. Cancer Agency and primary care providers.

The work is ongoing to improve transition services for cancer survivors — a registry to track patients based on their levels of risk associated with past treatments, a recall of past patients who were treated when there was limited information about the types of treatment and the long-lasting effects of those treatments, and research and evaluation to ensure the program is meeting the needs of survivors. This program is under development, and we are working very closely with the organization representing the survivors of childhood cancer.

Madame Speaker: Coquitlam–Burke Mountain on a supplemental.

J. Wickens: Our Minister of Health says that they follow through on their promises. I would imagine that means that our Minister of Mines is going to resign today.

Childhood cancer survivors have been through enough. They’ve already been through the fight of their lives; they do not need to fight this government on the specialized services that they need and were promised. They deserve better from this B.C. Liberal government.

The Health Minister has the chance today to do the right thing and deliver on the full range, the whole
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range, of services that he promised — not just part, the full range of services. Will he do that today and fulfil his promise?

Hon. T. Lake: It is just yet another day when members opposite say: “Add this. Add that. Put another service in. Build this. Build that.” And yet….

Interjections.

Madame Speaker: Members.

Hon. T. Lake: Nothing can be done by government if we do not have the financial resources. Fortunately, on this side of the House, we support economic development. We support fiscal responsibility, so we have the revenues to create social programs, health care programs, the ability to look after vulnerable people.

The members on that side get in the way of every opportunity to create economic development that supports social programs, that supports health care. They have no idea how to support a functioning society in British Columbia.

PROTECTION OF FARMLAND AND
AGRICULTURAL LAND RESERVE
ON BARNSTON ISLAND

V. Huntington: A 2015 Metro Vancouver study found that thousands of acres of ALR land within its jurisdiction are owned by holding companies. A recent Vancity report says that despite the existence of the Agricultural Land Commission, it is “the hope of success” that encourages speculation, which in turn may affect the price of farmland. It recommends “strong policy solutions…to discourage the non-farm use of ALR land.”

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Does the Minister of Agriculture have in mind any strong policy solutions that might discourage the rampant speculation on agricultural land?

Hon. N. Letnick: You know, we continue to support the agricultural land reserve in British Columbia. That’s one of the strongest policy levers that we have. The budget for the Agricultural Land Commission, in the three years since I was given the privilege of this ministry by government, has gone from $1.9 million a year to $4.5 million a year.

I’d also like to point out that B.C. farmland values have increased 6.5 percent in 2015. It’s the third-lowest increase in Canada. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia had lower increases, but when you look across the country, we’re talking other provinces that had increases of 95 percent, 85 percent. We continue to make sure we support agriculture here in British Columbia and make sure the farmers have income so that they can continue to grow their farms and invite young entrants into agriculture.

Madame Speaker: Delta South on a supplemental.

V. Huntington: Ten years ago the Agricultural Land Commission rejected outright an application to take Barnston Island out of the ALR and develop it for industrial use. The ALC ruled that the land was appropriately designated, was suitable for agricultural use and that the application was inconsistent with the objective to preserve agricultural land.

Within five months of that ruling, a real estate developer started buying up the same land. His holding companies now own 422 acres of Barnston Island with an option to purchase 271 more and a first right of refusal on a further 81. That’s a speculative interest in 774 acres, over half the island. At this point, two-thirds of the island is now owned by property developers.

The minister maintains he is in the business of protecting farmland and agriculture, and obviously, his message isn’t getting out. Can the Minister of Agriculture tell this House how he intends to make it crystal clear that agricultural land in the Fraser Valley is off the table for industrial development?

Hon. N. Letnick: I’ve already mentioned to the members of this House and to the public that we expect anyone who has the land in the reserve, if they wish to do something with it, would have to apply to the independent Agricultural Land Commission. We continue to do that.

But I have a question for the member opposite. The member opposite co-chairs the opposition’s committee on agriculture. [Applause.]

Well, that’s very nice that they applauded. I wish they were here to applaud when we had the debate on the TPP, because none of them, except for one, were in the House to debate the TPP. None of them support agriculture by expanding markets. None of them voted — it’s on Hansard — in favour of the TPP.

Interjections.

Madame Speaker: Members. Members will come to order.

Hon. N. Letnick: Only one of them had the courage to stand up for agriculture on the TPP debate. The rest of them hid in their offices.

Interjections.

Madame Speaker: Members. Members will come to order.

The members know it’s never appropriate to comment on the absence or presence of members.
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TAILINGS POND BREACH AT
MOUNT POLLEY MINE AND
MINING INDUSTRY REGULATION

N. Macdonald: It’s a quote about Mount Polley. It’s a direct quote. “Something had to give, and the result was oversteepened dam slopes, deferred buttressing and the seemingly ad hoc nature of dam expansion that so often ended up constructing something different from what had originally been designed.”

Now, as the minister will recall, that was from the engineers’ report, not from the Auditor General. That was his expert panel describing the chaotic, haphazard manner this mine was operating. Whose fault is that? Well, the Auditor General was very clear. It is this minister’s fault.

[1050]

Now, yesterday he didn’t actually answer the question. I’m interested to have it on Hansard here. The minister needs to go. He said he would do the right thing — resign — if he was found at fault. Why has he not resigned?

Hon. B. Bennett: I thought that I was very clear yesterday. The member was here, and he asked the question. I gave him the answer, but I’ll give it to him again. I have absolutely no intention of resigning.

The member raises the issue of the reliance on engineers on minesites. The Office of the Auditor General uses the term “original design” in many places in the report. If the member and anybody who is interested in what happened at Mount Polley would go and look at the report that was done by the expert panel of engineers, or look at the report that was done by the chief inspector of mines, what they would see is that every single one of the nine lifts, dam lifts — raises of the dam — at Mount Polley was signed off by the engineer of record.

What they will also see…. If they go back and they read the report by the independent panel, they will see that the staff in the Ministry of Energy and Mines actually asked all the right questions. The panel said that. They asked all the right questions. The engineer of record came back and said in writing: “We approve this design.”

For the member to suggest that somehow or other the staff in my ministry or that I am responsible for decisions that were made by engineers at the time — starting in the mid-1990s, by the way…. If you want to go back to the original problem and the original cause of the accident, you go back to the mid-1990s, when the dam was built and the original site inspection was done. It was not done when we were in government. It was done when the NDP were in government.

Interjections.

Hon. B. Bennett: They think that’s funny. That’s actually a fact.

Madame Speaker: Columbia River–Revelstoke on a supplemental.

N. Macdonald: That was a ridiculous answer. I was quoting from the expert panel. Let’s quote from the report by the chief inspector of mines. This is a ministry employee. This is your employee.

This is what he says. “Mount Polley was subexcavating up to three metres down and 30 metres wide at the base of the dam where it breached.” So they were digging around at the base of the dam where it actually collapsed. They had not engineered the work, despite the fact that they’re legally required to. They were supposed to have permits. They didn’t. They were supposed to document their work. They didn’t.

Was the slope of the dam weakened? Yes. This minister’s employee said that they weakened the slope that actually collapsed. For all of that, the chief mine inspector…. This minister found no penalty. Nobody is at fault. Nothing happened because of that. In November, this minister made that decision.

There’s more. The chief mine inspector says that Mount Polley officially reported water levels that were not true when it nearly overtopped. What’s the penalty? Nothing. That is what is happening across this province. There is never a penalty. This minister made the decision in November to not penalize….

Madame Speaker: Question.

N. Macdonald: Two other things. The connection here to donations. The owner of the company donated $1 million in a fundraiser, another $800,000 separately….

Madame Speaker: Member, pose your question.

N. Macdonald: Does the minister not see…? It raised serious questions for the average person. How can the minister not see that that is a problem?

[1055]

Hon. B. Bennett: Well, we can go over and over what caused the accident at Mount Polley. It’s very clear what caused the accident at Mount Polley. The independent panel of engineers indicated what the cause was. So did the report of the chief inspector of mines. What astounds me with the member’s question, however, is this continuing attempt by the NDP to somehow connect fundraising with the activities and integrity of individual…

Interjections.

Madame Speaker: Members.

Hon. B. Bennett: …members and government.

One of the members on the other side said: “The facts are what they are.” Let’s have a look at the facts. Teck
[ Page 12753 ]
Resources gave almost $60,000 to the NDP going into the last election. The member who just asked the question and several other members on that side of the House have stood in this House and gone after this side of the House — me in particular — for a company by the name of HD Mining. It’s a company that’s owned by some Chinese investors, and it is the company that used temporary foreign workers.

Well, guess what? The NDP party accepted $31,650 from HD Mining. I do not understand why they think this line of questioning has any credibility. It is completely hypocritical.

C. James: I don’t think this minister should be talking about credibility when the Auditor General talks about a decade of neglect under this minister and under this government.

The Auditor General said: “The Mount Polley mine operator made substantial changes to the design of its tailings dam, did not build the dam to design and did not operate the tailings dam as intended. In all of these instances, the Ministry of Energy and Mines, as the regulator, had a responsibility to require the mining company to complete the dam as designed. No other government or private actor has that ability or responsibility.”

My question is to the minister. Why did he choose to shirk the critical responsibility that the Auditor General says is his and his alone?

Hon. B. Bennett: I wonder. Are the representatives of HD Mining going to the NDP fundraiser at the Georgia hotel this evening? I understand there’s….

Interjection.

Hon. B. Bennett: One member says he hopes so.

I understand that there’s a fundraiser at the Georgia hotel, a pretty posh place. I know I can’t afford to go there to get a beer. A very, very posh hotel in downtown Vancouver. Apparently, the price of admission….

Interjections.

Madame Speaker: Members.

Hon. B. Bennett: Apparently, the cost of admission is $350. This fundraiser, where the ceremonial leader of the NDP apparently will be present to meet with people…. However, I also understand, that if people would like to wait and they can’t make it to the Rosewood Hotel Georgia this evening, they could wait a couple of weeks and have a meeting at another fundraiser with the former leader of the NDP and possibly the future leader of the NDP. But if they go to that fundraiser, they’re apparently going have to pay $2,500.

Madame Speaker: Victoria–Beacon Hill on a supplemental.

[1100]

C. James: Very clearly, the Minister of Mines isn’t paying any attention to his file. To once again read from the Auditor General’s report: “We found major gaps in resources, planning and tools. As a result, monitoring and inspection of mines was inadequate to ensure mine operators complied with requirements.” She also said: “As the regulator, it was the Ministry of Energy and Mines’ responsibility to ensure that the dam was being built as designed.”

In all of these instances…. The minister has been on the job now for three years. He has a critical role to ensure that his ministry enforces the law so that mineworkers and mining communities are protected. Why did the minister refuse to do his job?

Hon. B. Bennett: Well, first of all, the independent panel of engineers…. I understand that this is not the Auditor General. The Auditor General did a performance audit and made some recommendations, which we have accepted, in large part. But the people who actually investigated the accident and determined how the accident happened, what caused the accident, said, in fact, that the people who work within the Ministry of Energy and Mines are very capable, they’re well trained, they have the resources they need and, in fact, are some of the best people that these geotechnical engineering experts have encountered around the world. That’s what they said.

They also said, and I quote from the independent panel report: “The engineer of record is responsible for the overall performance of the structure as well as the interpretation of site conditions” — which is what was missed, of course, in the 1990s. “The regulator has to rely on the expertise and professionalism of the engineer of record as the regulator is not the designer.”

I appreciate that what the Auditor General has pointed out to my ministry is very, very useful. We are going to implement most, if not all, of her recommendations. We are also implementing all of the recommendations from the independent panel of geotechnical experts, and we’re implementing all of the recommendations from the chief inspector of mines’ report. We are taking the concrete, constructive action that the people of the province expect us to take, and we will end up with the most effective regulatory oversight in Canada.

WILDFIRE PREVENTION

H. Bains: We have all been struck by the images of catastrophic wildfires in Alberta. Our minds, our hearts and our sympathies are with those who are affected — and the first responders for doing a great job there. That should also serve as a warning to act to prevent, right here in B.C., that kind of devastation from happening.
[ Page 12754 ]

This year already, B.C. has twice as many fires and three times the area affected compared to last year. This B.C. government has had warnings in the past of B.C. facing such catastrophic fires, but they chose to ignore them.

After the 2003 Kelowna wildfire, the well-regarded Filmon report urged the government to clean up the forest around communities to prevent those kinds of wildfires from jumping to cities and towns. The report identified that 685,000 hectares around those communities at high risk need immediate cleanup. In estimates, the minister admitted that only 10 percent of that high-risk area has been cleaned — only 10 percent after 12 years.

My question to the minister is this: why has the government chosen to ignore those warnings and thus put communities at greater risk to these types of catastrophic wildfires right here in B.C.?

Hon. S. Thomson: Firstly, I’ll disagree with the member opposite. We have not ignored the issue. I will agree with the member opposite that we are all watching the situation in Fort McMurray. Our hearts and thoughts and prayers go out to the community, everybody dealing with the circumstances there — and the great work. This is when you see communities come together and respond. We see that happening with the people of Alberta — and support coming from across the country.

[1105]

I will recognize the great work that our Wildfire Service is doing currently in the Peace River, facing very, very significant challenges. They’re on the front lines in the Peace River, keeping communities and assets safe.

We have not ignored the issue, with $78 million in investment through the strategic wildfire interface program with UBCM and in partnership with First Nations and local communities. We added $10 million to that program this year. We’ve also invested $85 million in a new program in the Forest Enhancement Society, the forest enhancement program, to address wildfire mitigation and risk across the landscape.

That’s a significant investment that we’re making in continuing to protect communities, continuing to protect assets in this province. We can make that investment because we have the fiscal capacity to do it, because on this side of the House we get to yes on economic development and resource development.

[End of question period.]

Orders of the Day

Hon. M. de Jong: In Committee A, Committee of Supply, for the information of members, the ongoing estimates of the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training, and in this chamber, Committee of Supply B, the continuing estimates of the Ministry of Health.

[1110]

Committee of Supply

ESTIMATES: MINISTRY OF HEALTH

(continued)

The House in Committee of Supply (Section B); R. Chouhan in the chair.

The committee met at 11:13 a.m.

On Vote 29: ministry operations, $17,820,706,000 (continued).

S. Hammell: I just want to open up the discussion to set the tone. Just recently in our local newspaper, the Premier was interviewed. She, in that paper, recognized that addiction needed to be addressed in order to stop the demand for illegal drugs in our city.

Most of the people in this House understand that the city of Surrey has had an unprecedented increase in violence. I have linked addiction to violence over a number of years. The Premier of the province agreed that that is a significant factor in terms of the general health of our community.

[1115]

In this discussion, she goes on to say: “You’re right to talk about the primary and secondary reasons for addictions. One of the things we know is mental illness drives a huge amount of drug addiction.” Then she went on to say that the province is going to create a new plan for mental illness across the province.

So we have a ten-year plan. We’re four or five years into it. She said she is going to create a new plan for mental illness across the province. She went on to say that one of the things we need to think about is how we simplify the entry point for people with mental illness, suggesting that emergency rooms are the wrong place to handle this crisis.

She goes on to say: “‘They get bounced around the system until they get spat out again, and then they’re back on the streets trying to treat their own mental illness through the use of illicit drugs and alcohol.’ A new plan will require breaking down barriers between ministries and creating single access points for people who need help.”

But the most stunning thing she said is: “What we are doing right now is a system that isn’t working. And I am determined to fix it.” To the minister: what does this fix look like?

Hon. T. Lake: I think this is the fourth estimates debate that we have engaged the subject of mental health and addictions. I know the member is well versed in the topic. I know that she understands that this is not a simple challenge — that mental health and substance use are unlike other areas of health care.
[ Page 12755 ]

There’s no radiograph that can be taken to diagnose mental health or substance use challenges. There’s no CT scan or blood test. It is a complex combination of genetics, environment, life, education and the services available. It is a complex interwoven network of factors that come together to manifest themselves in an individual to create mental health and, sometimes, substance use challenges in the same person.

It doesn’t always happen. I want to make sure that’s clear. People can have mental health challenges without addictions; people can have addictions without mental health challenges. But there certainly is a large overlap between the two, and often it’s seeking self-medication that causes the drug addiction or alcohol addiction.

The Premier has challenged all of us in government to look at ways of addressing mental health and substance use issues in a way that looks at where the gaps are in the system currently, particularly from the perspective of the patient trying to access services. A cabinet committee, a cabinet working group has been formed involving the critical social ministries — including Housing, Social Development, Children and Families, Health — to look at the current system that we have, to look at where the gaps are, to learn from other jurisdictions to see what we can do to make it easier for people seeking help to access the help they need.

One of the things that we have discovered is that, through the evolution of mental health care services, we have evolved to where there is a myriad of phone numbers and websites that direct people to different services. So it can be quite confusing for someone.

[1120]

If, for instance, one of my children had a mental health or substance use challenge, it would be difficult for me to know where to turn because there are so many different entry points into the system. One of the challenges we have before us is to try to find a system that, in effect, creates every door being the right door so that there’s a common gateway for entrance into the system. Now, some of that has been accomplished. We’re not there yet, but a good example is the Child and Youth Collaborative.

That is a partnership between the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Children and Family Development and the Doctors of B.C. Itstarted in Interior Health and connects all of the service providers that are providing mental health services in communities.

Local action teams were formed and dialogue was created so that people that were actually servicing, particularly, young people with mental health challenges would be connected together and know and be able to transition patients more easily. That collaborative has been expanded across the province and is making a lot of difference. Local action teams are very proactive and have made it easier for families to find support.

The continuum of care for mental health and substance use is built on a pyramid, with the base being, of course, prevention and health promotion. That, of course, is where we can make our greatest gains into the future, to prevent people from having mental health challenges or to build resiliency in young people.

As we go up that continuum of care, we get to more and more specialized services, to where we’re at the point where people need, perhaps, institutionalized care, whether that’s for substance use or whether that’s for mental health challenges or a combination of both.

The recent announcement of the new HOpe Centre at Lions Gate Hospital, the centre that will look at young people and young adults that have co-morbidities of substance use and mental health challenges — that is a big step in the right direction for people seeking that kind of service. We just announced yesterday the reopening of the Crossing at Keremeos for 17-to 24-year-olds that need help with substance use and recovery.

This is a challenge not just here in British Columbia; it’s a challenge in many parts of the western world. Every jurisdiction is struggling with mental health and substance use challenges. It is certainly one that I think is more in the spotlight today and, in some ways, that is a good thing.

I think it shows that the stigma around mental health and challenges with substance use is being lifted, that people are willing to come out and talk about the mental health challenges they have without fearing that they will somehow be labelled or categorized or feeling like they’re being viewed as broken. There is far more discussion about mental health and substance use today than ever before.

We are committed to creating a system that supports families as they seek those supports to help them when they do encounter those real challenges.

S. Hammell: I have asked…. I made a very clear question. What I did was quote the Premier. She says: “What we are doing right now is a system that isn’t working, and I’m determined to fix it.” That’s fairly clear: the system isn’t working, “and I’m determined to fix it.”

It’s interesting to put that comment beside the comment from the minister during question period today, when he said: “When we say we’re going to do something…we actually do it.”

We have a quote from the Premier saying she’s going to fix something. So I asked the question: what is a fix? I have an answer about confusion of phone numbers, a dialogue, we have to do more work collaboratively. All that is fine, but maybe I could turn the question around and have the minister tell me what is broken.

[1125]

Hon. T. Lake: First of all, I don’t think there’s any one answer to that question, because if it was as simple as that, you could point to a province that has solved the problem. I’m sure the member cannot point me to a province
[ Page 12756 ]
or a state in North America that has been able to solve this problem, because it is not an easy problem to solve. Given the nature of people, given the nature of society, it’s not likely one that we’ll ever solve completely.

The goal is to try to provide supports, to provide families with an easier pathway through the system, to try to get supports earlier so that when mental health substance-use issues are first identified, they can be addressed. That was what we were doing when we reopened the Crossing at Keremeos, when we opened the co-morbidity program at HOpe Centre. That’s what we’re addressing with the Inner City Youth Team that we have in Vancouver Coastal in the Granville Youth Health Centre.

Then further downstream, when people are having a crisis, we have improved the ability of many emergency departments to manage people in that emergent psychiatric condition. At St. Paul’s Hospital, we have created an acute behavioural stabilization unit that provides specialized short-term intensive mental health and addiction treatment and an assertive outreach team that connects them to services in community once they have gone through the acute stabilization process. And we have grown the assertive community treatment teams throughout the province of British Columbia.

In fact, the Vancouver Coastal and the Vancouver police department partnership, through the assertive community treatment teams, has won global awards for the results, which have seen a 70 percent reduction in emergency department visits, a 61 percent reduction in criminal justice involvement and a 23 percent reduction in incidents of victimization.

These so-called ACT teams are now in Kamloops, in Kelowna, in Surrey, in Prince George. They are making a very big difference. When people do leave the hospital…. In some cases, yes, there are gaps in the system, but we have taken great steps over the last three years to try to close those gaps and provide supports to people when they leave hospital.

There is no one answer to what is broken; there is no one answer to how to fix it. It’s going to be a combination of resources, of information, of building resiliency in people when they’re very young.

Of course, it extends further than that. It extends into some of the socioeconomic conditions that are determinants of health. We know, for First Nations and aboriginal people, that colonization and the residential school legacy contribute greatly to issues around mental health and substance use.

We need to be, as we all are, working to try to address those issues — working with the First Nations Health Authority, providing culturally appropriate treatment in all of our hospitals and facilities around the province, looking at creating economic opportunities to lift people out of poverty. Poverty is often an indicator of health, whether it’s physical health or mental health in relation to substance use.

It’s all of these things combined, and every government has the same challenge. The Premier has shown a determined commitment to continue to improve the system of supports for mental health and substance use. I’ve mentioned some of the things we are doing. We’ll be doing more into the future, as our working group develops its work plan.

S. Hammell: You have just said that the Premier is determined to improve supports, which is a little bit different than her quote in the paper, where she says she is “determined to fix it.” She said there’s a broken system, “a system that isn’t working,” and she is determined.

[1130]

It isn’t: “I’m going to improve support.” She’s going to fix it. That would imply a little bit more intense planning and intense review of what is going on in terms of mental health.

Maybe I can start out with: what is the review? What is the overall look at the mental health system in B.C.? Is there a review going on? Given that we’re creating a new mental health plan, does that mean that we’ve turfed the last mental health plan that was for ten years, and now we are in the middle of building a new one? Perhaps the minister can be a little bit more precise over what the fix looks like in terms of what he perceives is broken.

Hon. T. Lake: Just a little context before I fully answer the question. The government currently invests $1.42 billion in mental health and substance-use services. The majority is directed towards tertiary and acute services. These are the higher levels of service that are needed when people get into more complex kinds of challenges.

Six years ago, we released Healthy Minds, Healthy People, which was the guiding document for the Mental Health and Substance Use Services in B.C. As of March of last year, 63 out of 66 actions had been completed.

Last year in estimates, we announced a commitment to reviewing the Healthy Minds, Healthy People and posting a refreshed plan. So we’ve been doing work in that area.

We have seen an increase, as many provinces have, in the need for mental health and substance-use services. What we did was create a document which is, essentially, a scan of what the challenges are. What are the strategies? What are the tiers of service? This was posted October 8, 2015, establishing a system of care for people experiencing mental health and substance-use issues.

I’m sure the member has had an opportunity to review this document, which is 56 pages long. I think it does a very good job of outlining the demographics, the types of challenges that we face, the tiers of care, the sort of approach to mental health and substance-use services that is commonly utilized, and how we can focus on some of the key areas to accomplish our goals of reducing the incidence or the prevalence of mental health and substance-use issues.

[1135]

Building on that, the cabinet working group was struck — the cabinet working group on mental health. It is coordinating a cross-government review, as I mentioned. It is looking at the policy paper that’s been developed after considerable review by the Ministry of Health. It is also looking at other ministries and what they are doing so that we can have a cross-government approach to this.

That work is ongoing. When that work is complete, it will certainly be shared with the member and with the public.

S. Hammell: To the minister: you have just stated that there is $1.42 billion in the budget for mental health this year. How has that increased over the last, say, two or three years?

Hon. T. Lake: In 2000-2001, there was a total of $851,411,369 budgeted for mental health and substance-use issues. That has climbed to the current $1,421,274,958. That is an increase of 66.9 percent from 2000-2001 levels.

S. Hammell: Resources always play a part in any ministry or any attempt to provide the adequate services to the people that are needing them. Again, I can’t help but refer back to the comment by the Premier that the system is not working.

What we have is a $1.42 billion budget that has marginally increased in the past number of years. In fact….

Interjection.

S. Hammell: No, you can take your measure wherever you want, but some of the facts are these. Mental health is frequently underfunded across B.C. The breakdown in Interior Health in the 2012 service plan projected $119 million to be spent in 2013-14, and in the 2000 service plan, the amount dropped to $113 million, a decrease of 5.3 percent. I mean, that’s a 5.3 decrease, not a 66 percent increase over 15 years. We’re talking about a 5 percent decrease in one year.

The actual amount spent in the fiscal year of 2013-14 dropped even further, to $110 million, for a total decrease now of 7.8 percent from the original 2012 commitment. So there is a decrease in funding. I ask the minister: how do you justify that?

[1140]

Hon. T. Lake: Only the NDP would characterize a 67 percent increase as a decrease. If we look year to year, 2000-2001 to 2001-2002, it went up 6.1 percent. The next year it went up 8.7 percent. The next year, 1.5 percent. The next year, 0.3 percent. The next year, 5.9 percent. The next year, 3.9 percent. The next year, 4.7 percent. The next year, 5.6 percent. The next year, 2.4 percent. The next year, 4.7 percent. The next year, 3.6 percent. The next year, 0.2 percent. The next year, 1.1 percent. The next year, 4.0 percent. And the following year, 1.5 percent.

In every single year, spending has increased on mental health and substance use. The member can cherry-pick numbers from particular service plans. But the overall spending in the province of British Columbia on mental health and substance use…. The figures are incontrovertible, and they are 69.5 percent higher than they were in 2000-2001.

S. Hammell: Rather than play the game of numbers back and forth, I do assume that you can have a number and that money not be spent in the region. This is clearly what has happened in certain areas, that the health authorities have not spent the money that they’ve been assigned to mental health. That may be part of the reason that some of our communities are so under-resourced in terms of the mental health issues.

There was a report put out about addiction in British Columbia in 2009. It’s a report that has been standing for a while. Just so we know the report that I’m referring to, it’s Stepping Forward: Improving Addiction Care in British Columbia. It was a paper by the B.C. physicians.

I can’t imagine the minister talking about how much of this has improved since 2009, where the first thing they talk about is the iceberg being the deaths, that 213 British Columbians died from unintentional or illegal overdoses in 2006. They go back to this. The data is being taken then.

We know we have just an absolute explosion in terms of deaths from opiates in the province now, as reflected by the emergency that has been put forward. In that time, 2006, almost 2,000 people died from alcohol-related deaths, and 77 British Columbians committed suicide from alcohol or drug poisoning. I don’t think any of those things have improved. Is there any of the Premier’s fix focused on these three problems?

There is a report on opiate abuse that was just brought out from the provincial health officer. We acknowledge that there’s a huge increase in deaths from overdose. We have declared a state of emergency. Let me be more specific, then, with my question. What other actions is the minister going to take that stem from that report?

[1145]

Hon. T. Lake: Well, there have been a number of things that we have been doing, and I’d like to welcome Dr. Perry Kendall, our provincial health officer, to our team.

The very real public health emergency we have with opioid overdoses is something that we are seeing across North America as well. It seems to be going from west to east, and there can be, I guess, theories around why that is, one of which is that there are drug labs in Asia that are making and exporting fentanyl, which is a very powerful opioid. That is either being used in fake oxycodone tablets or being mixed with other drugs.

Because of the nature of this drug, which is about 100 times more powerful than morphine, it can be deadly. In
[ Page 12758 ]
fact, we saw last year, I believe, that about 35 percent of our overdose deaths in the province of British Columbia were due to fentanyl.

We created a B.C. drug overdose and alert partnership. This is a partnership of the Centre for Disease Control, of police departments, Vancouver Coastal Health and other health authorities, with the provincial health officer and also drug users. It is a team that comes together that looks at the issues, that provides harm reduction strategies, like the take-home naloxone kits. British Columbia has led the country in providing take-home naloxone kits.

Naloxone is the drug that can reverse the deadly effects of opioids by knocking off the opioid from the respiratory centres in the brain. Often, people with opioid overdoses will, essentially, die from being unable to breathe. So this is a powerful antidote. It is administered into the muscle and works very quickly to reverse the deadly effects of opioids.

These take-home naloxone kits have been pioneered here in British Columbia. Naloxone used to be a prescription drug, so that required training that required a physician to be involved, and emergency departments around the province took the lead, particularly in Kamloops. I think it was Dr. Ian Mitchell that has led the work there.

[1150]

Subsequently, thanks to the work of Health Canada, who quickly responded after the federal election to calls to take naloxone off of the prescription schedule, now we can disperse naloxone more widely. First responders with adequate training now can administer naloxone, and we’re seeing that save lives here in the Lower Mainland, and more first responders throughout the province will also be able to do that.

With the public health emergency that Dr. Kendall declared, we now have the ability to get real-time information about overdoses that do not necessarily cause death. In the past, we only learned of fatal overdoses when we had a report from the coroner. Now we have the ability to get real-time information about fatalities and non-fatal overdoses so that we can send teams out with take-home naloxone kits. We can educate drug users and the social service organizations that support drug users.

On top of that, Dr. Evan Wood and the team at the Network for Excellence in Substance Dependence and Related Harms have created a paper called Together, We Can Do This: Strategies to Address British Columbia’s Prescription Opioid Crisis. These were recommendations that have been taken up by Vancouver Coastal. It’s a series of recommendations here that I know will garner attention around the rest of the province, and other health authorities will likely take this up.

I can tell you, speaking to the minister federally and the minister in Ontario, that they are very keen to duplicate the actions that we have seen here in British Columbia. I think we have been very proactive and well recognized for the work we have taken to reduce what is in fact a public health epidemic of opioid abuse.

Noting the time, hon. Chair, I will move that the committee rise, report progress and seek leave to sit again.

Motion approved.

The committee rose at 11:51 a.m.

The House resumed; Madame Speaker in the chair.

Committee of Supply (Section B), having reported progress, was granted leave to sit again.

Committee of Supply (Section A), having reported resolution, was granted leave to sit again.

Hon. T. Stone moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

Madame Speaker: This House, at its rising, stands adjourned until 1:30 this afternoon.

The House adjourned at 11:54 a.m.

PROCEEDINGS IN THE
DOUGLAS FIR ROOM

Committee of Supply

ESTIMATES: MINISTRY OF
JOBS, TOURISM AND SKILLS TRAINING

(continued)

The House in Committee of Supply (Section A); M. Dalton in the chair.

The committee met at 11:13 a.m.

On Vote 31: ministry operations, $196,234,000 (continued).

S. Simpson: We have just a short period, a bit of time here. I want to spend this time mostly talking about jobs and wages and those kinds of things. We’ve heard and we know that the job growth in the past year or so has been good. Certainly, in relation to the Canadian averages, British Columbia has had good job growth. We also know that, for probably better than a decade, wage growth has been essentially flat in the province.

Could the minister talk a little bit about why she thinks we’ve struggled in growing wages in the province, while we’ve been able to grow jobs? Wage growth has been pretty much flat since the early 2000s.

[1115]

Hon. S. Bond: In order to keep the process moving, the information that I have most specifically today is related to youth wages. British Columbia does relatively well, although we’re continuing to work on making sure we are including more youth in the workforce. But if I look at the average hourly wage, for example, for our 15- to 24-year-olds, over the course of time from 2005 up to last year, in 2015, we’ve seen their average hourly wage rise from under $12 an hour to $14.75 in 2015. In fact, I believe that it’s currently over $15 an hour for youth wages.

Our focus has been on ensuring that we are bringing well-paying, family-supporting jobs to British Columbia, saying yes to investment.

Today our average hourly wage for adults in the province is over $25 an hour. We rank usually second, third, fourth — in that range — in terms of hourly wages in the province. We continue to monitor.

The best way to make sure that the wages go up in British Columbia and that we see wage growth is by moving forward with projects, saying yes to investment and ensuring that families in this province have the opportunity to get well-paying, family-supporting jobs.

S. Simpson: The information that I have, and as I understand it, is that between 2011 and 2016, wage growth was the second-worst in the country. It grew about 9.6 percent over that period of time, but that would have been the second-slowest growth in the country.

In the past year, when we’ve had pretty good job growth — but we’ll talk about where those jobs are in a bit — we’re in eighth place in wage growth. We know this is probably the most expensive place — certainly, in the southern part of the province — in the country to live. Part of the struggle for people is an affordability issue, certainly in Metro Vancouver and in the southern Island. That’s the challenge we have — affordability.

The minister talked about — and I thank her for the numbers — youth wages. I’m as interested, or more interested at the moment, in the wages of the general workforce. Does the ministry keep that data? Does the ministry review that data? How does it assess data around wage growth and use that to make assessments about economic success as wage growth and job creation? It seems like it’s a two-track situation. How does the ministry look at those numbers and assess them?

[1120]

Hon. S. Bond: In fact, when I look back at the numbers in terms of average hourly wages, which we track, including monthly, we have…. Every month job statistics are released, and with that comes average hourly wage. I look back, and I can tell the member opposite that our average hourly wage in 2015 was $24.98. It is 2.9 percent higher than it was in 2014.

When I look back at overall hourly wage rates in B.C…. When we were elected in 2001, the number was $17.98. In 2015, it was $24.98. Full-time hourly wages in 2001 were $19.02. Today, in 2015, they’re $26.58. The part-time hourly wage rate in 2001 was $13.86. Today it’s $18.35.

The member asked about whether we track wage growth and how we measure success. How we measure success is that today in British Columbia we have record numbers of people being employed. We are well over 2.2 million people working. When we rank in terms of the average hourly wage for adults, currently we’re at fourth in the country. Our unemployment rate is third in the country, preceded only by Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

In fact, we track labour force information monthly. We look at a number of factors, including average hourly wage, unemployment rate and job growth. British Columbia is leading the country economically, and it’s being reflected in the numbers that we’re tracking.

S. Simpson: The minister would know, then, since they do track it, that in 2001, when the government was elected, British Columbia had the second-highest average weekly wages in the country. Today we have the fifth-highest average weekly wages in the country. It has deteriorated in comparison to other provinces.

I want to talk a little bit about the jobs, though. We’ve had some significant job creation, no doubt — I think 72,000 or 73,000 jobs in the last year. My understanding is about 39,000 of those jobs are full-time jobs and about 33,000 are part-time jobs. Part-time jobs, I believe, make up about 20 percent, 21 percent of the job force in British Columbia. An inordinate number of the jobs that have been gained have been of a part-time nature versus a full-time nature.

Could the minister maybe comment on why she believes part-time jobs are playing so much more prominent a role?

Hon. S. Bond: I do want to share the data with the member opposite. Since we introduced the jobs plan, we’ve added 143,400 net new jobs — so between August of 2011 and March of 2016. Of those jobs, 91 percent of them were full-time jobs. So 112,000 of them were private sector, and self-employed was 17,200, which means 129,900 or 90.6 percent of the new jobs that were created. The number of part-time jobs created since the jobs plan in 2011 was 12,900. You add that to 130,500 full-time jobs, and the total number of jobs gained since the jobs plan is 143,400.

S. Simpson: I’m happy to have the minister question this number. Maybe the minister could just answer for me whether it’s her view that the number is inaccurate. About 72,000 jobs in the last year, give or take, have been created. Of that number, about 33,000 are part-time and 39,000 full-time in the last 12 months. If the minister has different numbers, I’d love to hear them.

[1125]

Hon. S. Bond: The change since last year, the total jobs since last year…. The number is 72,100. The numbers that the member has captured are correct: 39,300 of them are full-time and part-time would be 32,800 jobs. If we go back to the change since the jobs plan, which started in 2011, 130,500 jobs were full-time and 12,900 were part-time.

S. Simpson: I guess I get back to the point, and I think I heard the minister make this point a minute ago, about…. The aspiration of government, and a good aspiration it is, is to have good family-supporting and paying jobs, and the aspiration is to create those jobs. The minister will know part-time jobs don’t necessarily do that the way full-time jobs do.

In that last year, we’ve had this split where the number of part-time jobs, based on what usually happens, is inordinately high. My understanding is the growth in jobs in the past 12 months is about 3.2 percent. Best result in the country? Absolutely. But the growth in part-time jobs was almost 7 percent, while full-time was just over 2 percent.

We’ve really seen part-time jobs growing, in terms of growth, about three times faster than full-time jobs. I’m just looking for some understanding of why that’s happening in the economy, when we look at how we grow our economy in ways that allow people to have jobs that can support their families.

Hon. S. Bond: Looking at labour force data is very complicated. If you look at what has happened economically in our country over the last 12 months, there is no doubt it is a different place than it was before and than it has been previously.

There are a lot of factors affecting this. Right now we have people coming to British Columbia in fairly significant numbers. The last time I looked we had received 17,000 or so people in the last year, I believe. I’ll have that confirmed. Off the top of my head, I think it was 17,000 people over the last year coming to British Columbia.

It changes the work pool. We have an aging demographic, some choosing to work longer into their life and some of them taking part-time jobs. There is no doubt that the commodity prices and the impact on the natural resource sector is being felt everywhere.

What I can say to the member opposite…. While those numbers certainly show a shift in the trend, the long-term trend is that 90 percent plus of the jobs that we have gained since 2011 are full-time jobs. That is going to continue to be our goal. I can tell the member opposite that if there is a place in Canada today where you can actually have a hope of a well-paying, family-supporting job, it’s here because of our diverse economy.

[1130]

We monitor. Our goal remains to make sure that the majority of jobs created in British Columbia are full-time.

S. Simpson: I’m not arguing about the numbers. I’m trying to figure out and understand the nature of the jobs that have been created and the impact they have on a family’s quality of life and a family’s ability to have a good quality of life.

When I look at the areas where we’ve had job creation since 2011, three of the fastest-growing sectors have weekly earnings that are below the provincial average. Of the five sectors that grew most slowly or lost jobs…. They are the high-paying jobs: public administration, information and cultural, utilities, mining, oil and gas, forestry and logging. That’s part of the challenge.

We know that health care and social assistance is one of the biggest job growth areas since 2011, almost 12 percent growth. Weekly average earnings are significantly below the B.C. average. Food services. We know that’s an industry, again, of almost 16 percent growth and weekly average earnings significantly below the provincial average. Then we have educational services, mostly in schools, post-secondary. And in the public sector — a lot of public sector growth there.

Could the minister maybe just talk a little bit about the 143,000, 144,000 jobs that she spoke about earlier? Where are those jobs in the economy? Where are we finding challenges in the economy? And what’s that doing to the economic situation of the province in terms of how people’s family incomes are changing?

Hon. S. Bond: Part of the challenge in answering that question is that one of the things that is providing strength for British Columbia today is our diverse economy. So jobs…. First of all, the sectors change. They change every month. Some months we gain; some months we lose. In fact, going back to the member’s question about part-time jobs, we actually had a significant spike in the last couple of months in retail jobs, and many of those are part-time jobs.

Since we introduced the jobs plan, our job growth rate — I want to go back to this — has been 6.5 percent. It ranks third among the provinces, and we are only behind Alberta and Saskatchewan. Our total employment in March 2016 was 2.36 million. I actually undershot that in my last answer. In fact, that was 2.216 million in August of 2011.

The best performing sector, in terms of our employment plan, was utilities, which had a 60.2 percent increase, 5,300 jobs. Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas, over that period of time, have seen 11,000-plus jobs.

[1135]

Transportation and warehousing was 18.4 percent, 21,000 jobs. And manufacturing. We’ve seen some really good work being done in the manufacturing sector — very important that we grow that sector in the province. It has seen an increase of 22,700 jobs.
[ Page 12761 ]

S. Simpson: Now, as I understand it, in the job creation, it’s the nature of the economy. I get that. But of the 144,000 or so jobs that the minister talks about since 2011, over 130,000 of those are in service industries and maybe a little more than 11,000 in the goods-producing sectors.

When I look at the industries since 2011 that have been most challenged…. Public administration — very much. There’s been a loss of jobs — not at the provincial government, necessarily, but big cuts federally and locally, losses of jobs there. Actually, the provincial government added some jobs, as I understand, a couple of thousand overall. But the federal government lost about 3,500 and the local governments, about 2,700.

Information and cultural industries lost jobs. Utilities lost jobs since 2011 — that’s what I’m told — about 700 jobs in total in utilities. Mining, quarrying and oil and gas shed jobs since 2011. Forest and logging was basically flat, at less than 100 jobs created. Logging did pretty well, but support industries had a big hit.

Those are areas that are significant money jobs. I mean, those are some of the best areas for paycheques — versus, as the minister quite rightly said, food services, up significantly; support and health care and social assistance, up significantly; education, up significantly; and some professional and science jobs and retail grew significantly. But as the minister said, those are all areas with lots of part-time work and where paycheques are okay but are not great.

Could the minister maybe, instead of talking so much about these numbers…? And I’m happy to hear about it. Where does the minister see the economy and job creation and types of jobs going over the next couple of years? What’s the ministry telling her about where to expect jobs in terms of quality of the jobs, based on paycheques, and types of jobs — services versus goods-producing, etc. — going over the next couple of years as we move forward through this economic time?

Hon. S. Bond: I think we’d be happy to have staff sit down with the member opposite, because here we’re talking about numbers, and they’re feeling very much like apples and oranges. I can assure the member opposite that since the jobs plan — the number referenced, August of 2011 — utilities did not lose jobs. It went up 60.2 percent, in fact, and gained 5,300 jobs.

Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying and oil and gas went up 26.2 percent, or 11,000 jobs. Transportation and warehousing — again, good well-paying family-supporting jobs — went up 21,000 jobs, and manufacturing, 22,000 jobs. I think it’s a matter of the math and how people look at it.

In terms of the economy, the best news for British Columbians is that because we have a diverse economy and have worked very hard to do what many jurisdictions did not do, we expect to see continued job growth — in technology, for example. We have an exceptional technology cluster in British Columbia. Those are well-paying family-supporting jobs.

Tourism and the creative sectors — both are doing extremely well. We would anticipate that would continue. In the case of both of them, obviously, the Canadian dollar and what level it’s at have an impact on that. And the cyclical nature of the commodity prices tells us that, eventually, we will reach the bottom of the downturn in those sectors, and we’ll start to see them move forward again.

What I can say is that the economy in British Columbia today is leading the country. It is expected to this year and next. We are doing everything we can to say yes to investment, to say yes to jobs in the province. I am looking across all of the sectors of the jobs plan and seeing good, strong indications that that growth will continue — and improve, in the case of the natural resource industries.

[1140]

We are in a very privileged place at the moment in our country, and we never take that for granted.

S. Simpson: Maybe we will have a discussion with staff about the job numbers. When I look at B.C., I just want to look at who’s doing well and who’s not. B.C. is a couple of different economies. When I look, I see the Lower Mainland and the southwest doing very well in terms of job creation, and the unemployment rate is down 1½ percent or so, as of March 2016. Jobs are up a big number — 77 percent or so. That’s great for the Lower Mainland and the southwest.

But when I look at the other regions — the Island and the coast, the Thompson-Okanagan, the Kootenays, the Cariboo, the north coast, the Nechako and the northeast — they are either down or pretty much flat. A couple of percent in the northeast. Other than that, everything is flat or has had some job reduction.

Could the minister talk a little bit about how she sees responding to what is a two-economy province, certainly, in terms of job opportunities at this point, with a lot of opportunity in the Lower Mainland and the southwest and a bit of a different situation in the rest of the province?

Hon. S. Bond: Certainly, British Columbia is blessed with diverse regions. There are, undoubtedly, areas of the province today that are more challenged than they have been in some time. If we look at the Peace River, for example, and the impacts of the oil downturn, there is no doubt that there are struggles occurring in that part of the province. That’s exactly why this government has worked tirelessly to say yes to projects in those parts of the province.

I live in northern British Columbia. I see firsthand the impacts of saying yes to projects that actually mean that there is a trickle-down impact — services and supplies. Making sure that projects like Site C and LNG…. All of
[ Page 12762 ]
those things provide opportunities in the very parts of the province where we are seeing some of those struggles.

Obviously, the forecast for when the cyclical issues with oil and gas, for example, with our commodities, will end or moderate is hard for anyone to predict. But we saw today that…. We’re seeing that there is GDP growth improving across the country, and British Columbia will continue to be a benefactor of that. What this government is going to do is continue to find ways to responsibly and sustainably work to yes, particularly on projects in those areas of the province where there are currently some employment challenges.

S. Simpson: The minister talks about diversity of the economy, and I understand that. There’s no doubt in my mind that when you look at the Lower Mainland and the southwest, there’s a fair amount of diversity, and it has had an impact, including significant job growth there. I might question what the diversity is in the rest of the province, based on the numbers that we’re seeing at this point.

Could the minister talk a little bit about the strategy to diversify the economies outside of the major urban areas in the southwest and what the thinking of government is around how that diversifies — outside of resource extraction, which is very important — or around supplying other supports to resource extraction?

Hon. S. Bond: Absolutely. That was the entire purpose of the jobs plan. Today we are filming productions in virtually every corner of the province. You simply have to look at Academy Award–winning The Revenant as a great example of where that industry is. Whether you’re on Vancouver Island or whether you’re in Salmon Arm or whether you’re in Prince George, the creative industry is one of the things that actually has positive outcomes right across the province.

Technology is another one. You can run an amazing technology hub, for example, in Kelowna or Prince George or Kamloops. We look at the opportunity to see expanded options in agriculture — the B.C. wine industry, the craft-brewing market. All of those things are critical components of having a strong economy. That’s why British Columbia is leading the country today. The great thing about things like technology, like tourism….

[1145]

My goodness, when I think about where I live and the opportunities that we have to grow the tourism sector, there are parts of the province…. Virtually every part of the province has seen an increase in tourism numbers. All of those things are part of a plan that we have put in place since 2011. We have stuck to it, and the benefits are being demonstrated in Canada today.

S. Simpson: Based on those comments and the work that the ministry and the minister are doing around enhancing diversification…. She talks about film and technology and those things. Does the minister anticipate, based on best guess, that the numbers we see for pretty much every region of the province outside of the Lower Mainland–southwest, which are all pretty flat…? Does the minister anticipate, in the next year, improvement in those areas?

Hon. S. Bond: When I look at the ten-year regional employment growth numbers across the province…. The member is correct that one of the areas that’s seen over a ten-year period…. I think one of the dangers we face is taking a look at a snapshot and short term, instead of actually looking at these numbers over the long term.

I can tell the member opposite that when you look at the regional employment growth over a ten-year period, fully recognizing what the northeast is going through today and the challenges that they’re facing, the job growth in the northeast over a ten-year period has actually been 17.3 percent, and the mainland-southwest is actually 15 percent. We’ve seen 4.9 percent in the Thompson-Okanagan and 2.6 percent in Vancouver Island and coast. The places where we’ve seen the biggest challenge are obviously North Coast and Nechako.

From our perspective, not only are we looking at commodity prices, but we also have…. When I look at the unemployment rate today in Kelowna, for example, one of the reasons the employment rate doesn’t go down is because we have more people coming home. You have more people entering the workforce, entering the work pool, looking for jobs. Even though we lead the country quite regularly, month by month — some months we don’t, but many months we do — the reason we don’t see a downward tick in our unemployment rate is because more people came back to the province in that particular month.

British Columbia is well positioned to continue to see growth right across the province. My parliamentary secretary, who is responsible for the jobs plan, has spent countless hours travelling across the province and meeting with sector groups, looking at how we can enhance their competitiveness and create job opportunities right across the province. As we refresh the jobs plan, certainly one of the areas we will look at is how that growth takes place right across the province.

The Chair: And a final question, Member.

S. Simpson: Just to clarify for the minister, the numbers that I’ve been using here were not so much a snapshot. It was actually since 2011, since the time of the jobs plan — since that’s a benchmark that, I know, is important to the minister in much of her conversation. The period I’ve been using is 2011 to 2015, during the period of the jobs plan.

The minister talked about other sectors again going elsewhere. We know that there’s some growth around technology in Kelowna and some other communities —
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more urban communities, some of the bigger communities, like the minister’s own community of Prince George.

Could the minister tell us what she sees at the moment…? Let’s just take one. This is the last question, but it’s an important area. What does the minister see as the prospects for job creation in support services, let’s say, in the forest sector, which is an important sector provincewide?

We know that what goes on in the northeast is very important around resource extraction, but I know that lots of people would like to stay a little closer to where they live if they can. If they can get a good job and stay closer to home, I’m sure they’d rather do that and be closer to their families.

[1150]

Has the minister got the kind of analysis on where, and what she thinks we have to do to allow that to happen? Forestry seems to be one of the places that actually allows more diverse locations and geographic locations for job creation.

We’ll stop with that question, I suspect.

Hon. S. Bond: I think that our government has a very proactive strategy around forestry. In fact, when the market plummeted for many forest workers and forest-dependent communities, we looked at China, for example, as an example of how we could grow our market share. We’re going to continue to do that. We need to deal with the softwood lumber issue. We need to move that forward to bring certainty.

When we look at forestry, in 2015, we saw a growth of 1 percent over 2014 in terms of employment in the forest sector. We continue to be optimistic about the forest industry in British Columbia.

I come from a resource-dependent community, and we know that even though it may look different in the future in terms of markets and how it works, it’s one of the core industries in British Columbia. The trend at least, 2015 over 2014, was a growth of 1 percent.

Before we end, I do want to thank the member for his questions. I want to thank the staff that have supported me and work very hard in this ministry every day. The whole issue of data collection, jobs, the jobs plan — exceptional work done. We’ve really made some major shifts in this ministry. I’m very proud of the work they do.

I also want to recognize the work done by my parliamentary secretary, who has done just a fantastic job on the jobs plan — monitoring and making sure that it’s moving forward. It has been a success, and as a result, we’re leading the country.

I do have yet some further information for members that brought questions forward yesterday. We didn’t have the information here. I think all of the information is accurate on the record. Having said that, I will share this information with the critic and other members who had questions.

Vote 31: ministry operations, $196,234,000 — approved.

Hon. S. Bond: I move the committee rise, report completion of the resolution and ask leave to sit again.

Motion approved.

The committee rose at 11:52 a.m.

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