2017 Legislative Session: Sixth 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, February 23, 2017

Morning Sitting

Volume 42, Number 1

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

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017

The House met at 10:02 a.m.

[Madame Speaker in the chair.]

Routine Business

Prayers.

Introductions by Members

M. Karagianis: I’m very pleased today to welcome a couple of members of a group that has come here today to do some job observation with women MLAs. We had a chance to meet with them just briefly this morning. It’s very exciting to have the UBC Equal Voice women’s group here — young women.

I’d like to introduce Filza Raza, who I met earlier this morning — a very enthusiastic young woman taking poli-sci and looking to further a degree in law.

Also, Mustari Tumpa, who I didn’t have a chance to meet because the bus was a bit late getting in, but she’s here today to do some job shadowing with some of us.

I’d like the House to give them a very warm welcome, please.

Hon. M. Polak: I’m very pleased to welcome to the floor of our chamber today my local MP. He is the Member of Parliament for Cloverdale–Langley City. Would the House please welcome John Aldag.

N. Macdonald: I would like to introduce Gerry Taft. He’s served as a councillor. He’s now in his third term as Invermere mayor. He has been a member of the AKBLG executive, a member of the UBCM executive, and I’m particularly proud to introduce him as the B.C. NDP candidate in Columbia River–Revelstoke. Please make him welcome.

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Hon. N. Letnick: Joining us in the members’ gallery this morning are representatives from the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf. I’d like to welcome the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Canada, Mohammed Saif Helal Al Shehhi; Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Canada, Fahad Mohamed Yousef Kafoud; and the Ambassador of Kuwait to Canada, Ahdulhamid Alfailakawi. Please help me to welcome these wonderful people.

K. Corrigan: I would also like to introduce another member of the UBC Equal Voice group that is here for the MLA mentor for a day program. Kaitlyn Ho is majoring in commerce. She believes that “women are a group of people who have great potential but, unfortunately, are often not given equal opportunities” and that “gender parity in government is an important first step to achieving gender equality.” I hope you will all welcome Kaitlyn to the chamber.

J. Thornthwaite: I also would like to introduce MLA mentor for a day from UBC Equal Voice. Fatima Aamir is a first-year psychology major. She was born in Pakistan and raised in Singapore. Fatima believes gender parity is important because women are an important part of our society yet sometimes don’t have their voices heard, which of course is a concern specifically for women but also for society as a whole. Could we please welcome Fatima to the House.

C. Trevena: I too am very happy to welcome one of the young women who’s here for the Equal Voice MLA mentor for the day. Jalini Paramsothi is the president of Equal Voice at UBC, a fourth-year student who’s studying gender, race and social justice. Jalini is from Sri Lanka and believes gender parity is important because it affects how policies are made, which impacts women across the world. I would quite agree with her. I hope the House would make her very welcome.

I would also like to welcome to the precinct later today the Vancouver Port Authority, which hosted the opposition for a very nice breakfast. I know that they’re going to be hosting the government caucus for lunch, and they’re going to be meeting with the Minister of Transportation.

I would like to note that we had a very informative session, headed by Robin Silvester, the president and CEO of the Port of Vancouver. Also in attendance were Tom Corsie, Duncan Wilson and Cliff Stewart, emphasizing the importance of the role of the port to the economy and the infrastructure of B.C.

Hon. M. Bernier: As you can see behind me, I am really pleased to welcome into the building today St. Patrick’s Elementary School. We have with us Mr. Ian Emtage, his 26 students, along with several parents and librarian Ms. Taylor, who are visiting the Legislature today as part of the grade five curriculum and the work they do around provincial politics. I want to do a special shout-out to Jace Dixon and Felix Pauliszyn, whose parents work with me in the Ministry of Education. Can the House please make all of them very welcome here today.

L. Popham: I have a school visiting today from Saanich South. Discovery School is here with their teacher, Mr. Paul Cunnington. He has 14 grade 11 students, and they’re fabulous, and they’re here. I think they might be sitting behind me, and I’ll meet them afterwards.

L. Reimer: It’s my pleasure to introduce my mentee for a day, Ms. Simran Brar, with UBC. She’s a third-year biology student and has attended B.C. Universities Model
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Parliament for four years. Her research interests are Canadian-U.S. relations, economic development, housing and tenancy. She co-founded the Alpha Phi Omega Canada chapter and is a part of the residence hall association. She loves exploring, baking and staying updated with current affairs. Would the House please make her very welcome.

J. Wickens: I would like to welcome Arisha Haider to the Legislature today. She’s also one of our mentees for the day. She’s a fourth-year political science student.

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I just want to ask her and all of the other young women to not be too scared away from question period. I haven’t been yet. I’m looking forward to meeting with all of them later. Arisha believes in gender parity, and I agree with her. She believes that women are the epitome of peace and acceptance. I’m looking forward to spending some time with the young ladies a little bit later.

J. Tegart: It is a pleasure to introduce two participants in the mentoring program today. Cheneil Antony-Hale is fifth year in a combined major in political science and economics. She believes that without gender parity, everyone suffers.

My second participant is Moira Wyton. She’s a third-year student majoring in political science, and she believes gender parity is important, because she’s a firm believer that a democracy that serves its people equally needs to be a democracy that looks like its people.

Please join me in welcoming them to the precinct today.

S. Fraser: I just looked up and saw a very good friend of mine that I haven’t seen for quite a while. Phil VanBourgondien is joining us in the gallery today, a former constituent. We became close friends in Tofino. He now lives in Victoria, and he appears to be joining the stellar grade five class up there. Would the House please join me in making Phil VanBourgondien feel very, very welcome.

M. Mungall: We have Lara Mercier-Jung joining us as part of the UBC Equal Voice. We’ve heard of many other young women. Lara herself is a second-year political science major. In the bio that we are presented with…. I’m going to highlight a couple of things.

Lara believes that politics is instrumental to the progression of the feminist movement. I couldn’t agree more. She is eager to participate in great social change and progress towards equality. Well, I am looking forward to working with her on that, not just as her mentor but, hopefully, well into the future. Maybe one day she’ll be on the floor of this very House, doing just that.

May the House please make her and all of her colleagues welcome.

Statements
(Standing Order 25B)

YOUNG VOTER PARTICIPATION
AND YOUTH ESSAY CONTEST

D. Donaldson: It is my belief that the MLAs in this chamber would all support one outcome for the May 9 provincial election, and that would be a substantial increase in the number of those 18- to 24-year-olds turning up to cast a vote. Under 50 percent of that demographic voted in the 2013 B.C. election. What we know is that once a person votes at 18, they are much more likely to keep voting throughout their lives, but if they skip that first voting opportunity, it is much harder to get them participating.

On this side of the chamber, we’ve promoted a number of ideas about electoral reform that would assist in younger voter turnout. At the constituency level in Stikine, Score One for Democracy is this year’s theme in my seventh annual youth contest.

In the past, we’ve partnered with Dan Hamhuis and the Canucks. I’d like to thank Dan for supporting young people in many ways, including through this contest over the last six years. As a Smithers-raised NHL veteran, we wanted to keep Dan involved after he was traded to the Dallas Stars, so this year’s winner will receive two tickets to the March 16 Canucks-Stars game in Vancouver, two return air tickets and accommodation.

In Score One for Democracy, youth aged 13 to 18 enter by writing a 500-word essay on this question: “There’s a provincial election May 9. As a young person, what message would you like to tell politicians about what matters to you?” The deadline for submissions is 3 p.m., March 1. A volunteer community panel will do the judging. Submissions can be mailed, emailed or dropped off in person to our MLA offices in Hazelton or Smithers.

Thanks to this year’s contest sponsors: Central Mountain Air, Bulkley Valley Credit Union, Gitksan Government Commission, Moose FM, the Interior News and the Smithers RCMP detachment.

If this year’s theme leads to at least one more young person casting a ballot when they turn 18, then I believe we can unanimously call that a success. Score one for democracy.

WOMEN IN MLA’S FAMILY

G. Kyllo: On Monday, I was fortunate enough to go to Government House to celebrate 100 years since women received the right to vote in B.C. I was inspired. It reminded me of how lucky I am to have such incredible women in my life. Some of my earliest and fondest memories were of my mom’s kind and caring nature, as well as her boundless love.

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My wonderful mom, Marianne, has overcome huge obstacles, having lost her first husband at the age of 24, yet she picked herself up, persevered and went on to raise a healthy and loving family of five.

My grandmother Edith Kyllo epitomized the saying: “If you want something done, ask the busiest person in town.” Edith was hard-working and always willing to lend a helping hand. And my grandmother Jean Gerind, of Fort St. John and later of Sicamous, who had a witty Scottish sense of humour and a twinkle in her eye, was always the eternal optimist and full of encouragement.

Most importantly, my loving wife of 28 years, Georgina, personifies strength, kindness and understanding. She helps keep me in check and is my partner in every sense of the word. Our daughters: Sarah, Brittany, Angela and Samantha. I often think of how much they have taught me and how they continue to inspire me each and every day.

Finally, I’d like to give thanks to what is truly life’s greatest gift: grandchildren. Our first five, who happen to be, yes, little ladies: Mia, Kylie, Siddhalee, Nova and Hannah.

I’ve been fortunate to have such amazing female role models and to have such strong and tenacious women beside me today. I look forward to my daughters and granddaughters taking their place in our province’s future over the next 100 years.

BEE-FRIENDLY PLANTS AND GARDENS

M. Karagianis: Bees buzzing around our gardens, sipping nectar from the flowers, carrying little fluffy pockets of pollen, disappearing into their hives and miraculously producing honey, nature’s magic. Aside from putting honey on your table, bees are actually essential to our very existence, because bees and pollinators in general enable much of the food we eat.

I’m sure many members know of the collapse of bee populations all over the world and the ensuing panic for farmers, fruit growers, nut growers and gardeners. There’s no doubt that decades of pesticides and herbicides, climate change and loss of habitat are largely responsible for the crisis.

Beekeepers everywhere are rallying to save the bees, and I will be joining that cohort shortly. Although the emphasis is often on the honeybee, I would like to also mention wild bees. There are 20,000 species of bees — several thousand here in Canada and over 140 right here on Vancouver Island.

Wild bees are the earliest pollinators in the spring, and their numbers are falling for the very same reasons as honeybees. Native bees generally forage within a few hundred feet of their nests, and they are essential for early flowering plants and very important for plants and berries for wildlife as well.

We can’t all raise bees, but we can do much to ensure their continued existence. We can enhance local habitat, and this means letting early enriched nectar producers, like dandelions and other native plants, grow wild. I know my neighbours are often very annoyed about my healthy dandelion patch, but the bees are very happy about it.

We can plant long bloomers and native plants in our gardens. We can leave plants until their blooming season is complete in our gardens, and we can encourage farmers to plant bee-friendly hedgerows. Most of all, we can teach our friends and our neighbours to support the humble bee, who does so very much to support us.

Please check out feedthebees.com for more ways that you can actually help.

MURAL ON HISTORY OF
STEVESTON FISHING INDUSTRY

J. Yap: History helps shape our identity, both as individuals and as a society. While we may not always do so, it’s important to pause and reflect on our past as we go about our present. Locally, in my riding of Richmond-Steveston, groups like the Steveston Historical Society help us do just that.

Since 1976, the Steveston Historical Society has worked hard to preserve and promote the rich history of our community. Nearly 100 years before the society’s founding, the town of Steveston was born — a bustling collection of canneries that employed First Nations, Chinese, Japanese and Euro-Canadians as workers.

A few weeks ago I had the honour of attending the unveiling of the Steveston Historical Society’s most recent project. Through a partnership between the society and the Gulf of Georgia Cannery, a group of non-profit organizations in Steveston came together to produce a gorgeous fishing mural.

Located in Fisherman’s Park, this mural helps bring beauty to the western end of Steveston and highlights the town’s fishing history. With support from the Richmond Community Foundation, the Milan and Maureen Ilich Foundation, the city of Richmond, Steveston Harbour Authority and Benjamin Moore Paints, the group commissioned mural artist Victoria Oginski to begin work on the south-facing wall of the building.

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Drawing inspiration from the Gulf of Georgia Cannery’s image collection, as well as the work of local photographer Joel Baziuk, Victoria has beautifully captured the history and essence of the fishing industry in Steveston.

I’d like to give a big thank-you and congratulations to everyone involved in making this mural project possible. This wonderful artwork is a reminder that fishing is not only a part of Steveston’s past but also a significant part of our present and our future.
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LOCAL FOOD PRODUCTION AND
ACCESS TO SLAUGHTER FACILITIES

S. Fraser: I recently had the great pleasure of attending the Islands Agricultural Show, which was held at the Glenwood Centre in Port Alberni this year. It was a great event. Food security and local food production were all the buzz — no pun intended.

Part of the buzz was about this issue. Since 2004, changes to the B.C. provincial meat regulations, inspection regulations, have posed significant challenges to small and medium-sized farmers.

Here’s the issue in my constituency. Currently the only licensed slaughter facilities for producers within the Alberni-Clayoquot regional district on Vancouver Island require significant travel distance, resulting in increased production costs, significant stress to animals and a reduction in meat quality. Farmers are forced to outsource the work that they have traditionally done themselves, and they lose the ability to market some of their products and certainly market locally. Both of these factors reduce profits and farm viability.

In a recent survey, 67 percent of Alberni producers stated that they would increase their production if a local slaughter facility were available. Class A facilities are currently just cost prohibitive.

Here’s the solution. If class D facilities were allowed, Alberni producers could develop food safety plans, slaughter a limited number of animals on farm and sell the products locally, stimulating production and the local economy. Small and medium-sized producers, in particular, need to be supported to produce food affordability and do so humanely. For residents within our own regional district, that’s important.

Increasing the options for farm-to-table processing and distribution of meat products will shift the region’s food system towards sustainability and resilience. As is often the case, it is the wisdom and local people that have the answers. Let’s heed their sage advice and make changes necessary to support small and medium-sized producers in the Alberni–Pacific Rim constituency and all across this great province.

ABBOTSFORD TULIP FESTIVAL

D. Plecas: Today I want to call attention to, and I guess boast about, the Abbotsford Tulip Festival. It all started last year, and if you didn’t go, you definitely missed something.

It’s one of Abbotsford’s most beautiful sights. You couldn’t miss it from the freeway. It slowed down traffic on the freeway. It’s ten acres of farmland filled with 2½ million tulip bulbs, a beautiful mix of blue, red, green and even orange. It’s an absolutely spectacular masterpiece of colour.

Last year’s inaugural event was so impressive it grabbed attention all over the world. I want to commend the efforts and skill of Alexis Warmerdam, who organized the event and, in doing so, created one more reason why we can say it’s all about beautiful British Columbia.

Alexis is an engineer turned fourth-generation Dutch-Canadian bulb grower and is also, by the way, the president of the Young Farmers of British Columbia. Her family has been growing tulips in Abbotsford for over 30 years on 200 acres of land. They now grow nine million flowers a year.

This year the festival runs from, coincidentally, April 10 until May 7 from 9 a.m. till dusk — a period which you’re all familiar with. I know this will be a busy time for all members of this House, but I still encourage each one of you, and especially members opposite, to get away from your communities and pay a visit to this festival. And remember, you want to go more than once because the tulips are blooming more than once, so every visit is going to be a memorable one.

I want to thank all of the organizers, the growers and volunteers for their hard work in making this possible.

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Hon. B. Bennett: I seek leave to make an introduction.

Leave granted.

Introductions by Members

Hon. B. Bennett: One of the most enjoyable parts of being in this building and being an MLA — certainly for me and, I suspect, for everybody here — is to have the opportunity to work with young people on both sides of the House who come and work as political assistants in some cases and administrative assistants in other cases — an opportunity for them to learn and for us, as old dogs, to maybe learn some new tricks from them as well.

I wanted to, as a preview, say that and then introduce my young administrative assistant, Jonathan Considine — remember that name, Jonathan Considine — who’s here to be introduced this morning. Jonathan, welcome.

Oral Questions

STAFFING LEVELS FOR SHERIFFS

M. Farnworth: On Monday this week, when the Attorney General was asked why an accused drug-dealing thug was able to walk free from court in British Columbia because of a shortage of sheriffs, she said it was an anomaly.

Well, that anomaly occurred again yesterday when in Supreme Court a serial heroin-dealing thug was allowed to walk free because of a shortage of sheriffs. When he was told he could go free, he smiled. He laughed. He thought it was a joke. I don’t know if it sickens the minister, but it sickens this side of the House, and it sickens the public.
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Can the Attorney General tell this House why her government would rather see this accused drug-dealing thug walk free than ensure that there are enough sheriffs in the courtrooms of British Columbia?

Hon. S. Anton: Nobody likes to see a case go unheard and untried. That is why the different components of the justice system work so hard to make sure that our courtrooms are staffed and running smoothly. We do need to have public confidence in the system.

I am pleased to be able to report that we do have money for new sheriffs. There’s $2.67 million in the budget. We have a strong financial position in the province right now, and I have an additional $2.67 million so that we can have two classes of sheriffs go through the Justice Institute this year. One class of 24 will be graduating in May. A second class of 24 will be graduating in October.

As I said, all of the different components of the system need to work together — judiciary, court services, sheriffs and all of those who manage those people. Not the judiciary, of course. All of those pieces have to work together, because what the member is referring to is not satisfactory. Cases need to be heard, and courtrooms need to be ready to hear those trials.

Madame Speaker: The Opposition House Leader on a supplemental.

M. Farnworth: The minister says we’re going to have a new class. Well, guess what. This Attorney General has been occupying that position for the last four years. During those four years, we have seen the number of sheriffs in this province decline from over 500 to 420 and from 35 to 21 here in Victoria. Adding a class is not going to solve the problem.

All components of the judicial system have been working hard. The problem is that this government has not been working hard. This Attorney General and this government are guilty of undervaluing the work of sheriffs in British Columbia. This Attorney General and this government are guilty of causing the chaos in our courtrooms. This Attorney General and this government are guilty of allowing this heroin-dealing thug to be back on the streets.

My question to the Attorney General. Why is she continuing to allow this to happen, and when will it stop?

Hon. S. Anton: The member opposite referred to the value that people place on sheriffs. Our sheriff services do an absolutely fantastic job in British Columbia. That is why we do not have any difficulty in getting recruits for our sheriffs’ classes.

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The sheriffs are extraordinarily well regarded by the judiciary, by the public and by my ministry. They do a fantastic job keeping our courtrooms safe. That’s why we do need sheriffs. In Victoria this week, there are illnesses, and there are a couple of jury trials. So there’s a lot of need for resources. That’s why I am ensuring that there will be additional resources in British Columbia with the two new classes that will be graduating this year — another 48 sheriffs coming on stream to keep our courtrooms safe.

Madame Speaker: Opposition House Leader on a final supplemental.

M. Farnworth: Well, the Attorney General says that they have no difficulty getting recruits. Then perhaps the Attorney General can explain why we have 80 fewer sheriffs now than when she took over her position. Perhaps she can explain why there are 12 fewer sheriffs here in Victoria than when she took over her position. Perhaps she can explain why it’s not an anomaly and drug-dealing thugs continue to get set free because of the shortage of sheriffs in B.C.

Hon. S. Anton: Just to be clear. As I referred to last time I was asked this question, in the case last week, the accused person failed to appear for his own trial on the Monday. He came in for a rescheduled trial on Friday morning. His case was dismissed, but in fact, the resources were available about half an hour later.

So that shows, because the system works…. It is an ever-moving system. Between the resources and the courts and the time and the scheduling of the courts, that’s how every courthouse works in British Columbia.

Interjections.

Madame Speaker: Members. The Chair will hear the answer.

Hon. S. Anton: Just for clarity, at the moment, there are 481 sheriffs in British Columbia. That number will be added to by the two classes that will be graduating this year.

L. Krog: The people of British Columbia who rely on our justice system aren’t concerned about the future. They’re concerned about what is happening in our courts today.

We have an accused smiling. I can guarantee the Attorney General that the justice wasn’t smiling. The prosecutor wasn’t smiling. The police who put their lives at risk every day in the streets weren’t smiling. The parents of children who’ve died of drug overdoses weren’t smiling. Nobody’s smiling about this.

All we have from the Attorney General is some ridiculous promise. Well, she’s a day late and a dollar short for those people who are walking out of our courtrooms today.

The Attorney General was a prosecutor. She knows full well what the standard is — a substantial likelihood of prosecution and in the public interest to do so.
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These cases don’t come to court willy-nilly. They come to court because they are strong cases, and this Attorney General has failed to ensure that the justice system — for the most basic of reasons, the presence of a sheriff — is functioning properly.

Will she actually do something today? Will she stop making excuses so that we’re not back here next week asking the same questions again as some other thug walks the streets?

Hon. S. Anton: The member is correct. Nobody wants to see cases dismissed and not decided on their merits. Nobody wants to see accused persons go free when the question is a resourcing issue.

That’s why we are ensuring that there will be adequate resources by adding the additional classes of sheriffs. The public wants to see justice done, and so do I. That’s the way the system works, to make sure that justice is done.

It is my job to ensure that we do have adequate resources in the courtrooms. That is why we are adding additional sheriffs this year, so that our courtrooms in British Columbia can be fully resourced and can be safe for the judiciary, for the public and for the trials that are held.

Madame Speaker: The member for Nanaimo on a supplemental.

L. Krog: It’s twice in two weeks. The Attorney General’s job is not to play Monopoly and hand “get out of jail free” cards to the accused in this province.

The Supreme Court of Canada last July — and for the Attorney General’s interest, it’s February of 2017 now — set out the standard. The Attorney General and her ministry knew full well what the rules are in Canada around the prosecution of criminal cases, and through this winter she has failed to act.

We have a ridiculous situation where you see sheriffs not available. The whole courtroom, the whole justice system grinds to a halt at that point. People who may well be guilty of serious crimes walk free.

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There is no excuse for this. So instead of being a spectator, what is she actually going to do today to ensure that these resources are available now — not in next year’s budget, not in the year after, not in her service plan, but today, now, so that we’re not back here next week again asking the same questions?

Hon. S. Anton: As I said, we are acting now. There is money in the budget, and there is a class at the Justice Institute — 24 new deputy sheriffs who will graduate in May and will be deployed around British Columbia.

I will remind the member that, as I said, there was a particularly difficult situation in Victoria this week with illness, with a couple of jury trials, which are very demanding of resources. All of the pieces of the system work closely together — court services staff, sheriff staff, judiciary, schedulers — to make sure that the court system functions smoothly.

I don’t like to see cases dismissed like this, and that’s why it’s my job to make sure that courtrooms are adequately resourced. That is why we are putting the additional resources into sheriff services so that that can happen in British Columbia.

B. Ralston: It’s clear who the Attorney General thinks is to blame for this mess. She wants to blame the judges concerned. In a news report, the Attorney General second-guesses the judge and says that the case should have been rescheduled rather than stayed. But in less than a week, we’ve had two judges say that the decision to understaff courtrooms is wreaking havoc on the justice system.

Who should the public believe — the Attorney General, who hasn’t provided the sheriffs for the courtroom, or the independent judges on the front line of the justice system?

Hon. S. Anton: All of the different pieces of the justice system work closely together, as I’ve said. The judiciary, schedulers, court services, sheriffs — all of those components work together in courthouses every single day to make sure that courtrooms are properly resourced.

We have had a challenge in Victoria this week for the reasons that I described. But in terms of the number of sheriffs in the province, we do need more sheriffs, and that’s why we have additional resources in the budget and an additional $2.67 million a year. That’s why we’re adding another sheriffs class this year so that we will have an additional 48 sheriffs, should all of them complete the course — an additional 48 sheriffs deployed by later this year, with the first batch starting in May.

Madame Speaker: Surrey-Whalley on a final supplemental.

B. Ralston: Here’s what the Attorney General said in her comment about this most recent case: “So it was unfortunate that the decision was made to stay the case rather than reschedule it.” That’s second-guessing the judge concerned. The independent judge….

Interjections.

B. Ralston: A fair comment, but I would submit — and, clearly, this is the case — that that judge knows the facts of the case much better and knows the situation in the Victoria courthouse much better than the Attorney General apparently does.

Why does she continue to attack the judiciary rather than accept responsibility as the Attorney General
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for failing to provide sheriffs to the courtroom in the Victoria courthouse?

Hon. S. Anton: As I have emphasized, all of the different pieces, all of the different components of the system in a courthouse…. The courthouses all around British Columbia work closely together every single day — the judiciary, the schedulers, court services, sheriffs — to make sure that courtrooms are open and resources are available.

Sometimes those resources shift around during the day. Cases stay. Cases go longer than you expect. It’s an ever-moving framework. But the goal of the system, and my goal in the system, is to make sure that those courtrooms are resourced and running and that there’s public confidence in the system so that our cases can be properly tried, whether they be criminal cases such as this one…

Interjections.

Madame Speaker: Members.

Hon. S. Anton: …or whether they be civil cases in the courtrooms of British Columbia, every single day of the week that they are open.

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TRANSITION HOUSE FACILITY IN DELTA

J. Wickens: For months, hundreds of women and children in Metro Vancouver fleeing violence have been turned away from the Richmond transition house because it is too full. Because it’s the only one in the area, women and children have been sleeping in their cars. When the Canadian Federation of University Women South Delta approached this government to open a transition house in Delta, this government, this Premier, this Minister for Housing said no.

To the Minister for Housing: why doesn’t this government care enough to get women and children out of their cars and into a safe place to live?

Hon. R. Coleman: The member might want to check out a bit more detail, but the fact of the matter is that I’ve met with the University Women’s Club, sat down with them. We looked at a property that Delta was putting up for no more than five years for a lease, with regards to a transition house. It was small and wouldn’t accommodate more than one family.

So we agreed to go into the market, which we’re into now, to find a much larger facility, more modern, that we can put in a long-term plan with, with the University Women’s Club and the others. Stay tuned, Member. We’re in the market now. Shortly, we’ll be answering that question with a new transition house in Delta.

Madame Speaker: Recognizing Coquitlam–Burke Mountain on a supplemental.

J. Wickens: There has been no new money for transition houses from this government for over a decade. Now, in a pre-election, forget-everything budget, we’re supposed to believe they care. This group secured a house, the federal government came to the table with money, and the only roadblock to getting women and children out of their cars, fleeing violence, to a safe house, was this minister and this government.

To the minister: is it because a tax break for the wealthy is more of a priority? Or is it because this government just does not care about women and children in this province?

Hon. R. Coleman: This is actually the government that has doubled the number of transition houses in the last 15 years in the province of British Columbia. This is the government that has built very innovative housing with the YWCA in areas like the Downtown Eastside and in Surrey and throughout the province for women fleeing abuse, women with their children, so they can have daycare on the same premise.

All of those projects were done under this government’s roof. There were none done in the 1990s with regards to transition houses. In addition to that, this is the only government….

Interjections.

Madame Speaker: Members, the Chair will hear the answer.

Hon. R. Coleman: This is also the government that has funded a number of projects with organizations, like Atira in the Downtown Eastside and throughout the province, specifically projects for women fleeing abuse, the sex trade and those sorts of things, across the province of British Columbia. This is a government that has invested more in housing than any government in history for all spectrums of the economy.

As a matter of fact, hon. Member, you might want to just go and read the one-pager on line. You’ll find out you’ll be embarrassed by how little was done in the ’90s and the fact that we are doing more in two years than you did in ten. That’s in addition to the 24,000 units already completed in the province of British Columbia.

WATER LOT LEASES ON FRASER RIVER

V. Huntington: When the province assumed administration of the Fraser River water lots from the Port of Vancouver, leaseholders were promised 20-year leases. What did they receive? Two-year leases. What do they have now? Thirty-day leases. Banks aren’t lending, de-
[ Page 13784 ]
velopments are on hold, marinas can’t find leases, commercial docks aren’t being repaired, and floating homes are in limbo.

[1045]

Staff turnover in the ministry is so high that corporate memory has disappeared. Now we hear that yet another questionnaire is being sent out.

Does the Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations appreciate the utter chaos being wrought upon the industrial and residential users along the Lower Fraser, and can he tell this House when leaseholders can expect their long-term leases?

Hon. S. Thomson: Our ministry has taken over responsibility for those leases from the port. This was the appropriate decision. It has been complicated because of the need to work through First Nations and accommodation issues with the Musqueam First Nation — important relationships to develop.

We have provided two-year leases in order to provide the opportunity to work through those issues and, through those, work with the Musqueam. Unfortunately, that has taken a little longer than we had hoped. We have also extended existing leases on a month-to-month basis. Currently we are communicating directly with all the leaseholders.

We are nearing completion of all of the accommodation agreements that are required, and very shortly we will be able to provide all of those leaseholders with the long-term leases that they have been looking for in order to provide that certainty for them. Going forward, it’s a priority issue for us, and we expect to have good news for all of those leaseholders very shortly.

V. Huntington: The information is welcome, and I know the leaseholders have appreciated meeting with you recently. That’s the residential leaseholders. But since 2015, they have been living with rumours of First Nation consultations, and since 2015, the minister has told the leaseholders they would have a resolution by the end of 2016. Now 2016 has come and gone, and in 2017, we have not two-year leases but 30-day leases.

This matter has to be settled — the sooner, the better. I ask the minister how, after 2½ years of rumours and broken promises, he intends to convince the leaseholders along the river that he will deliver the long-term security they need so badly.

Hon. S. Thomson: I agree with the member opposite that the leaseholders do need that long-term security. That’s why we have been working actively and intensively with the Musqueam First Nation to provide the appropriate accommodation in order to be able to provide those long-term tenures for those leaseholders. We understand what they need for certainty, for investment. As I said, it took a little longer than we had hoped, but as I said as well, we expect to be able to provide that certainty to them in the very near future.

PERMIT FOR SOIL DUMPING IN
SHAWNIGAN LAKE WATERSHED

B. Routley: When the people of Shawnigan Lake said they were concerned about protecting their drinking water from a contaminated soil dump, this Minister of Environment said they had no reason to fear because the system, the one created by this Liberal government, would protect them. But according to a B.C. Supreme Court judge, the Ministry of Environment and the people of the community that I represent in Shawnigan Lake were lied to, and they were lied to by the owners of the contaminated soil dump. So much for professional reliance.

Now we have a bizarre situation where the minister is saying that the system has let everyone down. While the minister has sent a letter indicating and talking about the failure of compliance, “significant public concerns,” — oh my, my — and, get this, “potential environmental impacts….”

The people of Shawnigan, however, are still left just worrying about their drinking water. How much longer does this minister plan to put my constituents through the spin cycle?

[1050]

Hon. M. Polak: Let me first begin just by making what I think is a very important statement to make for the people who are concerned in Shawnigan. That is that proper testing and monitoring of the water supply have been conducted and there is no danger to the residents’ drinking water and the safety of it. I think that’s important for us to know.

I also want to acknowledge that there’s significant frustration in that community. This process has unfolded over a very long period of time.

The member outlines two separate legal processes. One is what the court ordered, which was for the Environmental Appeal Board to once again consider whether or not the original permit should have been granted. They will do that. They will consider the statements from the court and the direction from the court. That’s their job.

My job, as minister, is to act under the Environmental Management Act. If the member has looked at that act — I’m sure he has; he’s very knowledgable — it has extensive direction on all manner of things that occur on the land base. One of them, though, is the powers of the minister with respect to dealing with a permit like this.

Section 18, under which a minister has the ability to cancel a permit such as this, has never — in the history of the act, decades — been used by a minister. I, as minister, in considering this matter, am going to be very careful to utilize all the best advice from staff and to make that decision under the appropriate statutory guidelines.
[ Page 13785 ]

Madame Speaker: The member for Cowichan Valley on a supplemental.

B. Routley: I’m so frustrated. They lied. I dealt with, when I represented forest workers, a worker who ticked the box that said he hadn’t been on WCB. He’d worked for five years in that mill, and he got terminated when they found out that he said and ticked a box that he wasn’t on WCB. The arbitrator upheld that. You were lied to. I was lied to. Our community was lied to.

This Minister of Environment has written directly to Cobble Hill Holdings, saying the permanent suspension holds until a closure plan on the site is approved or until it’s deemed to be complying with water management requirements.

So she’s telling the people of Shawnigan, once again, to trust her. Trust her that she’ll look out for our interests. This is the same minister that swore the system would protect them from lies.

Madame Speaker: Member.

B. Routley: More than 25 times I have spoken in this Legislature outlining community concerns and talking about all of this jiggery-pokery going on.

Madame Speaker: Member, what is your question?

B. Routley: Let’s get down to brass tacks. When is this minister going to come to grips with reality, do the right thing and cancel the South Island Aggregates permit once and for all?

Hon. M. Polak: The member will know that the company was provided with a letter from my ministry, advising them in a very detailed way what was required for them to be able to have the suspension lifted on their permit. It is currently suspended.

The deadline was February 20. I understand, from my staff, that they have received materials from the company. They are currently reviewing those. I know they are doing that in an expedited way. I anticipate receiving advice from them very, very soon, and I will certainly be considering that advice.

I will tell the member this, and I’ve said it publicly. If the company has not provided the materials that have been requested and in as detailed a way as they have been requested, I intend to cancel that permit under section 18.

WATER QUALITY IN SPALLUMCHEEN AREA

G. Heyman: We’re now told that last week’s sewage lagoon breach spilled over 120,000 gallons of liquid manure above the Hullcar aquifer water supply.

[1055]

On April 6, last year, an environmental protection officer sent the farm a warning letter, stating: “The storage facility is not of sufficient capacity.” She gave the farm 30 days to advise in writing what corrective actions had been taken, yet no corrective actions were taken up to the time of last week’s sewage spill.

Can the Environment Minister explain to area residents why her government took no action, completely failed them, and let ten months go by while taking no action to protect the Hullcar residents’ drinking water supply?

Hon. M. Polak: I want to begin by apologizing to community members and, also, the local First Nation in this instance, who didn’t receive timely information. As a result, that created an awful lot of anxiety in the community around what was happening at Grace-Mar Farms. This is not the first farm that we’ve been dealing with in that area. It’s quite an extensively farmed location in British Columbia.

But to say that staff have done nothing is just ridiculous. In fact, the member knows that this is a complex issue, with an unconfined aquifer. Staff, through an interministry working group, have been engaged now over the course of more than a year. Our ministry has issued pollution abatement orders and pollution prevention orders to nine different agricultural operations.

They’re going to continue to work with the community and the agricultural operators in the area to try and find a way to bring this aquifer back to a state where it has its water advisory removed. But this is a long-term challenge. I would just point out that about a year ago, the members were fond of getting up and claiming that this was all about one farm and that if the staff would just smarten up and deal with one farm, we could solve the problem.

Right here is evidence before us that we have a challenge that is going to take multiple actions, dealing with multiple agricultural operations, and we’re doing that.

[End of question period.]

Tabling Documents

Hon. S. Anton: I have the honour to present the final report of the 2016 British Columbia Judicial Compensation Commission. This commission is appointed under the Judicial Compensation Act to make recommendations respecting the salaries, allowances and benefits for Provincial Court judges and judicial justices for each of the next three fiscal years — that is, the fiscal years 2017-18 through 2019-20.

Pursuant to subsection 6(3) of the Judicial Compensation Act, I also advised the House that if the Legislative Assembly does not resolve to reject any of the recommendations contained in the report within the time es-
[ Page 13786 ]
tablished in the act, then the judges and judicial justices will receive the salaries and benefits recommended by the commission.

The time established in the act for such a resolution is 16 sitting days from the date the report is laid before the assembly — in other words, 16 sitting days from today. If any recommendations contained in the report are rejected, then the assembly must set the remuneration, allowances or benefits that are to be substituted for the commission’s recommendations.

I’m also tabling the final report of the 2013 British Columbia Judges Compensation Commission. As members may recall, the assembly first addressed this report in March of 2014 by unanimously endorsing the response proposed by government. Following a judicial review of that response, including a recent decision by the British Columbia Court of Appeal, the assembly is obliged to reconsider the report and its recommendations.

Although the Judicial Compensation Act is silent on the timelines for completing a court-ordered reconsideration of a commission report and although the court did not make any order respecting timing, it is my intention that the reconsideration be brought forward in accordance with the timelines set out in section 6 of the act, as if the House were considering the report for the first time.

Accordingly, the assembly may, within 16 sitting days of today, resolve to reject one or more of the recommendations made in the report. If the assembly does so, it must set the remuneration, allowances or benefits that are to be substituted for the commission’s recommendations. If the assembly does not pass such a resolution within that time, then pursuant to section 6 of the act, the Provincial Court judges will receive the salaries and benefits recommended in the report.

[1100]

Petitions

C. Trevena: I have a petition to present. I have a petition from the Campbell River branch of the Catholic Women’s League, who are petitioning that hospice and palliative care facilities be separated from those that offer assisted suicide and that regulations and policies be implemented to ensure freedom of conscience for all health care workers and administrators who cannot accept suicide or euthanasia as a solution to pain and suffering.

M. Farnworth: I have a petition signed by the names of hundreds of local parents around Irvine School wanting the school to be seismically upgraded and replaced.

Orders of the Day

Hon. T. Stone: I move continued budget debate.

Budget Debate

(continued)

L. Krog: I’m delighted to carry on from where I left off yesterday.

[R. Lee in the chair.]

One thing about a government’s record when you’ve been in power as long as the B.C. Liberals have is that there’s a certain clarity that develops over time. After 16 years, it’s extremely clear, or should be — and certainly is to the opposition — what your priorities are. So what are the B.C. Liberal priorities?

I think that instead of going back to the last century, where the Liberals want to seem to dwell most of the time when they’re talking in this Legislature, I’d like to deal with the 16 years in this, the 21st, century.

When they came into power, they cut all of the funding for the women’s centres across the province. I think it was about $3 million or $3½ million. They slashed the legal aid budget.

Today, in question period, one of our newest members raised the issue of the fact that Delta — not a little isolated community, not some tiny burg with one general store and a gas station — after 16 years of the B.C. Liberals in power, has no transition house. It is almost inconceivable. I was as surprised as, I’m sure, even Liberal members were to find that out. But what does it say? It says that the priorities of the B.C. Liberals are not the priorities of ordinary folks.

Now, contrast that with the cumulative effect of B.C. Liberal tax cuts for high-income earners. Let’s talk about priorities. Instead of funding transition houses, instead of funding women’s centres — people who are in terrible and vulnerable and awful situations….

Since the B.C. Liberals came to power, if you make $400,000 a year in this province, you’re now keeping $39,000 more of your dollars because of Liberal tax cuts. Now, I’m not suggesting for a moment that the person making $400,000 a year doesn’t need a few bucks to pay for a latte or meet the lease payment on the BMW or whatever, pay for the ski condo. Those are all priorities for people making $400,000 a year.

But I can tell you, without exaggeration…. StatsCan will tell you there’s a substantial portion of British Columbians who don’t make $39,000 a year. Those at minimum wage, which this miserly government has increased only so inconsequentially over its term of office…. Those British Columbians earning minimum wage, if they’re lucky enough to find a full-time minimum wage job, certainly don’t make $39,000 a year.

What do we know that’s happened under the B.C. Liberal watch in the last 16 years? Well, we could talk about ferry fares. Since 2001, they’ve risen 80 percent on major routes and 100 percent on minor routes on aver-
[ Page 13787 ]
age. A family of four between Vancouver and Victoria or Nanaimo and Horseshoe Bay now pays $216. That’s $96 more than in 2001 — 80 percent.

Bridge tolls. Daily commuters who cross the Golden Ears, Port Mann bridges, will pay an extra $1,500 a year in tolls. Camping fees increased five times, doubling for the most popular provincial campgrounds, Rathtrevor and Cultus Lake.

Undergraduate tuition more than doubled at universities since 2001. Graduation fees have tripled. It will cost the average UBC student at least $10,000 more to complete a four-year undergraduate degree than it did 16 years ago.

[1105]

I can’t emphasize enough, and I think of my own life, how important access to public education was for me and how important access to post-secondary education was. What a substantial difference it made in my life and the life of my family.

In a competitive, globalized world, education is fundamental if we’re going to succeed and compete against the rising economies of the planet. It’s not just that the tuition has gone up. We now see that average B.C. students, leave with $35,000 in debt, the highest in the country. It’s 33 percent higher than the Canadian average — 33 percent.

What do we know about public education? Well, since the Premier was the Minister of Education in 2002, what do we know about education? We know that we’ve gone from the second-best funded education system in Canada to the second-worst.

It was this government — this government which supposedly has an interest in generating employment — which introduced fees for adult basic education. So that if you’d finally matured, if the luck of the draw had made you realize that education was the key to getting out of your economic circumstances, your key to rising in society, the B.C. Liberals slapped you back by charging you for adult basic education. What does that tell you about priorities?

At the same time, as I mentioned yesterday, they instituted an opposition platform, a small surcharge — 2 percent on incomes over $150,000 — only on the wealthiest of British Columbians — those who’ve already made it fine through the system, those of my generation who enjoyed the benefits of a good post-secondary education, good times with high rates of unionization and good jobs.

What did the B.C. Liberals do? They said: “Oh, no. We can’t possibly punish the rich anymore. Goodness gracious, no. We can’t fund women’s transition houses in Delta, but we can find, in the last four years, $1 billion to put back in the pockets of the richest British Columbians.”

Again, what does that tell you about their priorities? We know that British Columbians now…. Every man, woman and child —$60,000 in household debt. That’s according to the Chartered Professional Accountants of B.C.’s 2016 B.C. Check-Up. Metro Vancouver has the worst housing affordability in Canada. We have the second-highest rate of general poverty and the highest rate of poverty for those who are working, the working poor.

The image of someone just sitting back on the joys of social assistance in this province, on a miserly $610 bucks a month, if they’re a person who is supposedly able to work…. How does that contrast with the reality? There are all of those thousands and thousands of British Columbians who are working and who are way below the poverty line, because this government won’t agree with the opposition on one our other platforms, which I wish they had the political courage to implement, which is to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

This government has had every opportunity in 16 years to do the right thing, and wherever it had that opportunity, it has turned around and said no.

Let’s go back to the cuts one more time. I’m the opposition critic for the Attorney General. The budget for the Legal Services Society in 2001 was roughly $115 million. In 2016-17, it’s $81.6 million. According to the LSS service plan — because the MOU is running out; it expires this fiscal year — it’s $81.8 million, forecast to be $81.9 million and $82 million in 2019-2020.

What’s the government’s grand excuse for this? Well, you know, they’ve made efficiencies. Things are running so much better. The fact that you’re a person who’s trying to make their way through the family court system, the fact that you wait months and months to have your case heard….

[1110]

That’s not a deficit, because we have a budget surplus. Of course, no one ever asks: “Where does that surplus come from?” Well, I’ll tell you where it comes from. It comes from people waiting around courtrooms in the province for justice who can’t get it. But the government’s response is: “Oh, goodness gracious. We are, however, continuing to provide the $2 million a year for justice transformation initiatives.”

If ever that rather worn-out cliché of putting lipstick on the pig applied, this was certainly it. We can say, “We’ve got a little razzle-dazzle here. We’ve got some justice transformation initiatives going on. We’re out there building a brave new world with our justice system,” when in fact, we can’t even prosecute successfully, because of a lack of sheriffs, those people who are already charged in our criminal justice system. We’ve had two recent and significant examples.

What is it the B.C. Liberals really do support? What is it that’s important to them? Well, what we know is important is further corporate tax breaks, continuing tax breaks for the rich, and when the political chips are really down, when you’re in that political poker game and things get tough, you’re tossing out a cut to MSP premiums.

Now, I’m delighted to see that. But again, if it was of benefit to ordinary British Columbians only, I’d be really, really excited about it. And I am pleased about it. I’m
[ Page 13788 ]
pleased. I don’t want to be ungrateful. But the fact is it’s also a gift to B.C. businesses.

It’s another gift. If part of your employment package working for a company is to have your MSP premiums paid, guess what. That company now gets to pay a lot less. It’s going be halved. Again, it’s not a tax break for regular British Columbians.

The attitude of the B.C. Liberals is summed up by the Minister of Finance himself. He reminds me of the big bad wolf and the three little pigs, except he huffed and he puffed, and he huffed and puffed, and he blew his own horn. He blew his own horn.

What does he say, right at the beginning of his is speech? “Just like the first time, in a few short months, British Columbians will convene an electoral shareholders meeting to consider not just the merits of this budget but the progress we have made” blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. That pretty much sums it up, doesn’t it?

This isn’t a citizen democracy. That isn’t the way the B.C. Liberals look at this. We’re a corporation. Instead of having some inalienable rights to vote and participate in our democracy, you have to be a shareholder. That speaks volumes about the B.C. Liberal attitude toward the economy, towards British Columbians and towards democracy.

After all, this is the party that gets 80 percent of its funding from corporate donors. I suppose it’s only logical that the Minister of Finance would respond to the hand that feeds him, so to speak — the very hand that put an extra 50 grand a year in the Premier’s pocket: $300,000. I mean, she’s not making enough at $195,000. I can assure the members that most of my constituents aren’t making $195,000 a year. They’d be thrilled to have a $195,000 house to live in.

At the end of the day, what this budget says to British Columbians is: “If you’re rich, you want to come and live in British Columbia. This is the place for you. But if you care about the environment, if you care about working people, if you care about public services, if you care about public education, if you care about education generally, then you know what? British Columbia is really not the place for you.”

S. Gibson: What a privilege it is to be here in this House and rise here at this time in the history of our province — how special it is. I count it a privilege having been here almost four years now, with colleagues, and I just appreciate democracy in a new way as I serve here in my first term as an MLA representing the people of the Abbotsford-Mission riding.

Before I begin, I just want to thank my wife, Joy, for her support. We’re away, as we know, as MLAs, a lot from our families, and I appreciate her encouragement and her support over the years and also when I served on Abbotsford council for those many years — from my 20s right to beyond those years.

[1115]

I also want to thank my assistant here in Victoria, Simran Sahota — the good work he does for me. Also, I want to acknowledge the work of Jean Hooge and Joyce Hill, my two constituency assistants who work so hard to serve the constituents of the Abbotsford-Mission riding. They do amazing work. I’m often in my office and hear the excellent work they do for them, so it’s a privilege to have two ladies like that working in the riding.

It’s a chance for me to respond to the budget. I’m really privileged to look through the documents and see the excellent material that we’ve been given, both the public and as MLAs — so good to have that distributed.

Five times in a row, a balanced budget. You do it once, twice, but five times — extraordinary. We’re the envy of the entire country. We look around the world, economic instability is lurking everywhere. But here in our province, there’s a certain comfort, peace that the public has in this government, and it’s understandable.

Our plans are going well. Our Premier is staying the course, and our Minister of Finance is doing such a fantastic job. We all acknowledge that. Our great credit rating, triple-A credit rating — again, not a coincidence. The best in the country. I know it’s the envy of all of the other provinces. I know the opposition probably acknowledges that in the quietness of their moments.

We’re looking at creating new wealth, new opportunities for our people and protecting our economy as we go, looking forward to another great year in the province of British Columbia. Our stable economy means great job creation, opportunities for young people. All of us in this room know young people who are striving to succeed, and our province is doing every effort to make that possible. That fifth balanced budget is a symbol in many ways of that direction, that trajectory that our government is proceeding with so enthusiastically.

Other governments sometimes get out of control. They promise everything and sometimes end up delivering nothing, because they run out of money. We’ve seen that in other jurisdictions. Uncontrolled spending can pass the burden of higher taxes on to future generations. We’re hearing, I know, opposition. One of the particular members was noting his concern about lowering taxes. I know the public will be interested in that theme a little bit here as the election ensues.

Our government’s budgetary plan for the upcoming year anticipates we’ll spend a total of $50.2 billion with revenues of $50.8 billion and a surplus of about $295 million. Those are good numbers. With this budget, we’re providing nearly $3 billion over three years in enhanced programs and services, while simultaneously cutting MSP premiums and providing tax relief in small and medium-sized businesses.

As the owner of a small business with 13 employees, previously, I can tell you that small businesses today are looking to government to provide cutting red tape and doing everything possible to allow them to serve their
[ Page 13789 ]
customers. So I’m looking forward to more good-news stories as we see many more small business start-ups in our province.

The plans laid out in this year’s provincial budget translate to significant investments in many facets of life in my riding of Abbotsford-Mission, including local infrastructure, agriculture, education and housing.

The MSP premiums, I know, has been a focus. I was seeing in the media so much enthusiastic response — so encouraging to see the kind of response. I know the member for Chilliwack illuminated us on some of those yesterday, and I know the response in the House was overwhelmingly positive.

Perhaps one of the most notable parts of B.C.’s balanced budget is indeed the initiative toward phasing out MSP premiums. Starting on January 1, 2018, we’ll take our first steps to completely eliminating MSP premiums by cutting them in half for millions of British Columbians.

Households with an annual net income under $120,000 will see their premiums reduced by 50 percent. Clear, simple formula. Parents with two children can expect annual savings of up to $900. I haven’t seen the opposition really commenting on that. I’m sure that’ll be coming shortly, and we look forward to that. Single adults can expect to see savings up to $390 annually.

[1120]

Two million British Columbians can expect to see a reduction in premiums, and this is, of course, on top of the two million who pay no premiums at all. When accounting for inflation, we’re seeing premiums reduced to levels that were set nearly four decades ago. It’s all good news. It’s good news. These cuts come without reducing our services, while we continue to invest and support health care and mental health initiatives across B.C.

As highlighted in the budget, our fiscal planning has resulted in record levels of infrastructure investment and the support of over 30,000 jobs. British Columbia is an exciting place to call home right now in our country. To put that in the context of my riding, I have the community of Mission, the district of Mission, a beautiful community right on the river, and what a privilege it is to represent Mission here in our Legislature. That figure represents almost the total population of Mission. That’s how profound the job creation is in our province.

As an extension of our fiscal responsibility, we’re making investments in safe and smart infrastructure. That includes $4.7 billion being put towards transportation infrastructure. I know that as MLAs, we often hear from people about their concerns about the highways and bridges. We are acting on those concerns and moving aggressively. I want to thank the hon. Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure for his caring on this file. Through these expansions, we’re creating job opportunities for hundreds of tradespeople, contractors and educators across B.C. Many British Columbians will directly benefit from infrastructure improvements.

In my area — the riding of Abbotsford-Mission, and just nearby, in the overall community of Abbotsford — I’m thrilled and the community is thrilled to note that we will be the recipients of a $157 million courthouse. The public has been waiting for this for a while. It’s the talk of the town. Expect it to be completed by 2020, because an effective justice system must always include space and timely delivery of court proceedings. It’s all good news in the valley. The new courthouse will double the number of courtrooms available in the current facility as well as increase courtroom capacity in the Fraser Valley region. This investment will provide those in my riding with efficient and economical access to court services.

All of us in this House, on both sides, know that Abbotsford — and, I guess, the Okanagan as well — is the epicentre of agriculture in our province — the epicentre. It’s been a stable part of our economy. In this province, we have more than 1,500 businesses that produce food and beverages. We’re leaders.

In my community, we have dairy, blueberries, raspberries, cole crops, and even, I noticed the other day, we’re now growing kiwi in my riding. Next time you have a kiwi, it may not be from New Zealand. It may not be. It may be from the sybaritic riding of Abbotsford-Mission. Also, we have horticulture as well. We’re one of the few places in the world that has the climate — such a balanced climate — where you can grow so much. The hon. Minister of Agriculture will tell you that we now have 200 agricultural commodities grown in our province.

We’re responsible stewards. We’re looking after providing opportunities for farmers, and interestingly, the B.C. Buy Local program has gone very well. This is really an initiative that’s been requested by farmers, and this government has responded. Since 2012, we’ve invested $8 million into the Buy Local program to help B.C. companies find new local customers as we help build momentum for the industry and provide a more meaningful connection between local communities and the B.C.-grown foods that we eat.

I’m sure all of you, when you buy an apple or various fruits, look for that little sticker on there. You’re very excited, and you feel proud of the fact that you’re eating something grown in B.C. — in the Okanagan; the Kootenays; Vancouver Island; all over the province, of course; and the Fraser Valley. In this year’s budget, we’re once again showing our support for the agrifoods sector, for the Buy Local program, in an effort to continue to cultivate growth and demand in our agrifoods. As announced in this year’s budget, over the next three years, we’ll be supplying B.C.’s Agri-Food Centre with $6 million to further the program.

In Abbotsford, there have been two local businesses that have recently directly benefited from the program — Snowcrest Foods, which distributes delicious frozen fruits and berries, helping families save time making their smoothies and desserts; and Taves Family Farms,
[ Page 13790 ]
which is a great U-pick apple program and sells homemade, cold-pressed cider. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a glass right now?

[1125]

The funding that the B.C. government is providing these two businesses will allow them to promote their products and reach customers, expanding across the country and internationally.

When we’re buying groceries, we sometimes forget the many people that go behind the final reaching of that product to your grocery store and the skilled hands that grow, harvest and deliver it. So it’s an important program.

We also have the B.C. tech program. AVAP provides training and mentoring to local food producers, where they can learn about the latest developments in agritech. Since its launch in 2014, 32 Fraser Valley agritech companies have completed the program to date. So that’s good news indeed.

As far as education, this is something I think we all have in common in this House. We value education because we realize how important it is today. As a parent and grandparent, I know how important it is. My wife was a public school teacher for her entire career and taught first-graders. I would say that’s probably one of the most important jobs, in many ways, in the world. You get kids at the beginning of the year who can’t read and write. At the end of the year, they can read and write. It’s an amazing role, being a first-grade teacher in our province. I’m just so proud to be able to say that my wife contributed so much to the lives of so many families and young people in Abbotsford.

Interestingly, my daughter, who has some similar aspirations, came through this building with her three sons, my three grandsons, just yesterday. What a privilege it was to introduce them to the Minister of Education, the Minister of Children and Families and some other folks here in the buildings, just proudly showing off these beautiful buildings to family members.

As part of the B.C. budget, the Ministry of Education will see an increase of $740 million over three years. The ministry is putting that funding toward supplementing rural education enhancements, which we know are critical at this time; student transportation needs; enrolment growth; and to address the agreement with the B.C. Teachers Federation.

As a part of the budget’s three-year capital plan, we have added 19 new education projects, the value estimated at $324 million. We understand that we need to invest in B.C. children and create initiatives to help their parents. We know one of the big indicators of success in school is the interest and support of parents — critical — which is why we have earmarked $45 million over three years to eliminate fees for school bus services. That’s an important initiative. I know we’ve had a lot of requests on that as well.

Finding a good place to live is hard enough. Finding one close to schools can be very challenging in rural areas, which is why we provide this funding so that parents and children do not have to be at a disadvantage where they live, because we want to ensure that B.C.’s kids have a safe, reliable and economical way of getting to and from school.

As far as post-secondary, this is an area that I have a particular interest in. I had the privilege of teaching university for 16 years at two universities. I value higher education. We know, increasingly, that higher education is going to be critical for the future of our province. As a matter of fact, students with higher education will be much more likely to secure successful careers. I think we are aware of that provincewide.

We’ve got some great universities, internationally recognized universities: UBC, SFU, UNBC and many, many more — too many to enumerate here today.

For students with student loans, we’re cutting interest rates by nearly half. Students did approach us and ask us to adjust those, and we’re responding to that by paying prime plus 2½. Effective August 2017, those with student loans will only have to pay the prime rate. I know many students will appreciate that.

The years after post-secondary are when the majority of people are focused on entering and establishing themselves in the workplace, and so this will help. By cutting rates, we’re saving students $11.3 million this year and $17 million in both of the succeeding two years.

Across the province, our government has also invested $2.6 billion over three years for post-secondary institutions. They’re flourishing. They’re doing well, including a new sustainable energy and environmental engineering building at Simon Fraser University Surrey’s campus and several institutions that specialize in trades and technology.

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Of the nearly one million job opportunities we expect to see by 2025, 80 percent are going to require a variety of post-secondary education. Our work to improve all forms of education and remove financial barriers will help B.C. create a workforce that is educated in top-notch learning environments.

Housing. This is a critical area, and our government is addressing that. For example, as we look around the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford has seen nearly a 6 percent population increase in 2011. So there are pressures on housing with the population, people moving to our province. People love to come to B.C. People are proud to live here. And so we’re seeing that. I had the privilege of serving on council for many years in Abbotsford and also as a board member on the Fraser Valley Regional District Board for a number of terms.

There’s a lot of pressure. One way we’re handling that pressure is through the B.C. HOME partnership program. The government has committed over $700 million to ensure that first-time homebuyers — young families and individuals — are given an opportunity to overcome
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the first and often most difficult hurdle of entering the housing market: making the down payment on the first home. The government will match savings up to $37,500 with a loan that is interest- and payment-free for the first five years.

The government has also invested record amounts into affordable housing. What a tribute and credit to our Minister of Housing, the Deputy Premier, for all the work that’s been done on this critical file around our province. Affordable housing in this province includes the $500 million last August and another $65 million for the next two years, to lead up the budget. So it’s good news.

I think about the feeling…. Speaking personally, I recall the first time that my wife and I bought our first home. It was a very moving experience. We didn’t have kids at the time, and we were privileged to be able to afford to buy our first home in Clearbrook, which is a little community at the western end of Abbotsford. I know that feeling so many around this House have had in our past, and we want that for our young people, the younger people who are looking to buy their first home.

This means that more British Columbians can get their first houses. In fact, we expect it will help 42,000 households to do just that. First-time homebuyers are also able to benefit from the government raising the exemption of property transfer taxes on houses valued over $500,000, up from the previous $475,000. This exemption can help British Columbians save up to $8,000, which we know can be a major boost for them. And with the newly built home exemption, homebuyers are able to save on the purchases of newly constructed or subdivided houses up to $750,000.

We’re also working hard for those in the province in need of rental housing through this year’s budget — an additional $159 million. Big numbers will be allocated to rental assistance programs in support of over 33,000 lower-income households in the province. I’m sure both sides of this House and the opposition will appreciate that well, because I’m hearing some of their sentiments regarding this important issue of affordable housing.

This also includes 14,000 emergency shelter and housing units for those who are homeless or near homelessness. This is something I feel particularly proud of. Our government is really dealing with people who are struggling to find a place to live. Once you have a place to live, then you can start getting your life back together and start applying for jobs and really getting on with living the way that you should.

The record $13.7 billion capital spending over the fiscal plan period of three years will give Abbotsford-Mission, and the rest of the province, the flexibility in housing it needs in order to accommodate the growth in population, while simultaneously making the city and its surrounding areas more attractive for homebuyers.

These investment initiatives are on top of those that we’ve already announced to alleviate the housing prices in Metro, like the additional 15 percent property transfer tax on foreign buyers and a 2 percent luxury tax on the portion of homes that sell for over $2 million. These taxes benefit us not just by cooling the economy but also by creating funds that flow right back into creating affordable housing solutions.

B.C.’s 2017 budget has also found ways to keep our local businesses competitive and lower their costs. Small and medium-sized businesses have always played a key role in our economy. According to the 2016 Small Business Profile, we have approximately 388,500 small businesses.

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Ninety-eight percent of all businesses in this province are small businesses. The annual revenues earned from our small businesses accounted for nearly 35 percent of B.C.’s total GDP in 2015.

With such a large influence on the B.C. economy, we want to ensure that small businesses are healthy and continue to grow. Effective October 1 of this year, we’ll be reducing the PST on electricity for businesses by 50 percent — that figure of 50 percent again — eventually moving towards being fully exempted effective April 1, 2019. Good news for small business, I know. For small and medium businesses, this equates to a combined saving of $50 million per year.

In addition to these benefits for small business, we’re also forgoing $213 million in government revenue over three years to reduce the small business tax from 2.5 percent down to 2 percent as of April 1, 2017. This means that B.C. will have the second-lowest small business tax rate in the whole country. Great news.

I’m just thrilled to be here on behalf of the people of Abbotsford-Mission, who have experienced firsthand this government’s commitment to a strong economy. This budget reflects the healthy economy we have here and the way that we are caring for people from all walks of life, both those who need a hand and also those that need the kind of assistance that we can give — young families, individuals, small business, the heartbeat of our province.

Through fiscal responsibility and a caring attitude that we have in this government, on this side of the House, I know there are better things ahead. We’re excited. This is a budget that I think we can all believe in. So it’s a privilege for me to be here on behalf of my constituents in the Abbotsford-Mission riding.

D. Donaldson: I’m pleased to take my spot today in response to the budget presented by the Minister of Finance. I’m pleased but also saddened. I’m saddened because, based on the words that I heard from the Minister of Finance, I have to report that colonialism is alive and well in the B.C. Liberals.

I say that because words matter. Words matter. When the Finance Minister at the close of his comments on the budget said, “Go west, young lady; go west, young man,”
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he was invoking a quote that was used by Horace Greeley in 1865 in the New-York Tribune. The context was manifest destiny. It was bringing civilization westward to western North America.

It also embodies the concept of terra nullius, that land was empty — that there was no civilization there, and that land was empty. We know that that’s not true, that First Nations inhabited the lands of western North America the same way they’ve inhabited the lands in B.C. for millennia. By invoking the statement of “go west, young man,” the Finance Minister demonstrated a colonialist attitude.

These were unceded territories — in Stikine, unceded territories of the Gitxsan, the Wet’suwet’en, the Gitanyow, the Tahltan, the Kaska and the Tlingit. They had organized civilization before Europeans arrived. The land was occupied. It was being used economically. It was being used politically. It was being used economically and socially. By ignoring that, the minister shows that he has little understanding of the First Nations in this province.

In 1872, for example, the Gitxsan blockaded the Skeena River because of excursions of mining prospectors into the area and disputes they had with those. That caused Lieutenant-Governor Trutch to come and negotiate with the Gitxsan. There was an organized system. There was structure. By saying “go west, young man,” it invokes manifest destiny. It invokes terra nullius.

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The Tsilhqot’in decision, an 8-0 decision by the Supreme Court of Canada just 31 months ago, said the concept of terra nullius is void. It has no place being invoked in a budget debate by the Minister of Finance. The land was occupied. There were civilizations in place.

The minister is careful with his words. So I must assume that he was delivering a message to the First Nations of this province by using that phrase, “Go west, young man” and all it means. It demonstrates to me that reconciliation by this government is a sham. Otherwise, why would the minister use those kinds of words? It is disrespectful, and it is ignorant.

It is no wonder that this government wants you to forget about the 16 years leading up to this budget. They want you to ignore kids in care, for instance, and the record that they’ve had. Sixty percent of children in care in this province are of First Nations ancestry, while only 5 percent are of aboriginal ancestry in the province.

Alex Gervais. Paige Gauchier. Alex Gervais lived almost his entire life under this B.C. Liberal government and their policies. He moved 17 times in his short 18 years of life, almost once for every year this Liberal government has been in power.

Social workers — cut to their lowest levels in history under this government. Previous surpluses not used to correct 16 years of neglect. This is what the record is. No wonder this government does not want to talk about it.

Education in the K-to-12 system. I’ve had two elementary schools closed in Stikine over the last eight years. In Hazelton high school, you cannot even get the courses that you need to graduate in grade 12 offered by a teacher. You have to take them by correspondence in grades 11 and 12, so it skips every year.

Graduation rates across the province for those First Nations children in the public school system fall far behind the average. That’s the record in the last 16 years. So when this government says in the budget that they care about the public education system, what people remember is that the Supreme Court of Canada forced this government to put money back into the system, after the system had been underfunded for 16 years.

The Premier said, in response to the Supreme Court of Canada telling her that she had broken the law when she ripped up contracts in 2005: “What an opportunity this is to fund the public education system.” What an opportunity, because she believes, cynically, that the people of this province will forget that it was her government and her choice over the last 16 years to constantly underfund the K-to-12 system in this province.

When we talk about B.C. Hydro, nothing in this budget addresses the affordability issue created by 16 years of the B.C. Liberal government. I live in an area in the north where many homes use electricity either as their primary or their secondary heating source. Many of these homes are poorly insulated. In fact, the B.C. Liberals, as part of their 16-year record, cut and eliminated a program that allowed people to get a break on trying to insulate their homes.

B.C. Hydro rates have increased astronomically under this government — 30 percent since the Premier became the current Premier — and more increases are projected on the way. I have seniors coming into my office with electricity bills from this winter saying: “How, on a fixed income, am I going to manage this?” Their electricity bills for two months — $700, on a fixed income. That’s gone up astronomically.

The record of this government has been to increase the debt at B.C. Hydro beyond anything we’ve ever seen. Talking about decisions, decisions this government endorsed and made around smart meters — a $1 billion investment. Has that helped anybody with their electricity bills? No.

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We talk about seniors and the record on seniors that this budget ignores. In fact, the budget didn’t even mention the word seniors. I have two seniors residential facilities, the Bulkley Lodge and the Roche View Lodge in the Stikine constituency. There is a wait-list to get in — an enormous wait-list to get in. It takes months, often, to get a bed in one of those lodges.

What can seniors expect when they do get there? Ninety-one percent of residential care homes, under this government, do not have the staffing standards that this government has set out — 91 percent. We’ve had ex-
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amples where people are waiting for days, 51 days, to take a bath — for seniors to take a bath. We have no mention of that. No mention of seniors in this budget.

The record on poverty, under 16 years of this government, is atrocious. One in five children in this province lives in poverty. That means one in five families is living in poverty. When we see that, we see that and….

Interjection.

D. Donaldson: We send these clips out to First Nations across the province. I just want to make sure that First Nations across this province understand that the Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation is attempting to shout over me at this point. That shows that he has never listened to elders and he has never listened to hereditary chiefs that he has met with to understand protocols and respect. That’s the kind of behaviour that we see from this government.

A poverty reduction plan — not mentioned at all in this budget. Welfare rates in the north have increased so that they’re 2½ times the rate experienced elsewhere in the province under this government. A 10.7 increase in welfare rates in the north over the last year under this government. We’re the only province in Canada without a poverty reduction plan with legislated milestones, legislated timelines. That is the record over 16 years. In this budget, this government wants you to forget about that record.

Meanwhile, the Premier tops up her salary with political donations of up to $300,000 over her time as Premier. No mention of a poverty reduction plan in this budget. The only province in Canada without one.

When it comes to forestry, this government wants you to forget about their record over the last 16 years. I was at a meeting recently in the Kitwanga valley. People were there literally trying to determine if they could find a way to log 10,000 cubic metres — an amount of wood that would take, at the most, two winters to log. It was a meeting where community members were pitted against each other by the tenure policies and the forestry policies of this government. No Ministry of Forests representatives there. The tenure reform that’s needed has not been there.

In fact, at this meeting, finally, one hereditary chief, whose territory it is, stood up and said: “No one has consulted me about the plans to log on my territory.” That’s the record of this government. That shows the colonialist attitude that was typified by the Minister of Finance in his comments about “go west, young man.”

And 30,000 fewer jobs under this B.C. Liberal government in forestry. Forestry has been gutted. It used to be the lifeblood of the communities in Stikine along Highway 16. No answers, no tenure reform. That’s not addressed in this budget whatsoever.

In mining, we support the taxation measures that have been put forward in this budget. In fact, the official opposition leader and myself wrote a letter to the federal Finance Minister — encouraging that the federal government continue their part of the mineral flow-through share tax credit program. This government did not do that. They did not take this issue to Ottawa, as myself and the official opposition leader did.

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What the record of this government is, when it comes to the important jobs in mining, is destroying public trust and reducing investor confidence. The record shows that under this government, the Mount Polley mining disaster took place. That has destroyed public trust in government oversight, and that’s at the feet of this government. That does not help when we’re trying to garner investor support for more jobs in mining.

When it comes to investor confidence, we have had the example of the Fraser Institute saying that this government ranks eighth from last out of 115 jurisdictions when it comes to investor confidence around land claims. That’s been the record of 16 years. That’s been the record that we’ve seen.

[Madame Speaker in the chair.]

When you damage public trust due to lack of government oversight that results in disasters like Mount Polley and when you reduce investor confidence in your approach to aboriginal title, then you reduce the opportunities for good-paying jobs in mining. That’s what this government has done, and that was not addressed in the budget. This is the record that this government wanted us to forget when they introduced the budget.

We say, on this side of the House, yes, children are our greatest natural resource and that needs to be reflected in the way this budget is presented. It needs to be reflected in that this government has 16 years of neglect when it comes to kids in care.

We say yes to a fully resourced public education system. This government has spent 16 years starving the education system, starving the classrooms. It was only when the Supreme Court of Canada said what they were doing was illegal that they woke up and said: “Oh, maybe we should put some money into that system.”

We say yes to affordable hydro rates after 16 years of increases due to incompetence and mismanagement by this government on the energy file.

We say yes to respect for seniors, who have built this province, after 16 years of this government taking them for granted.

We say yes to a poverty reduction plan after 16 years when child poverty in this province has been if not the highest in Canada, then the next-highest in Canada.

We say yes to sustainable management of the forests for local jobs, not 16 years of job losses.

We say yes to a balance between the economy and the environment when it comes to promoting mining, not
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the 16-year record of this government that has resulted in a decrease in public trust and damage to investor confidence that has resulted in lost opportunities in the mining sector.

This is the record that we’re addressing under this budget.

When the minister finished off his comments by saying, “Go west, young man,” he was saying manifest destiny, terra nullius: there was no civilization here before settlers arrived. There was an empty land. This is what he was saying. That typifies the attitude of this government toward First Nations, and it typifies the reason that we’ve had a lack of investment in this province globally when it comes to the mining sector.

Under this budget, the Premier wants you to forget….

Interjections.

Madame Speaker: Members.

D. Donaldson: Thank you, hon. Speaker.

Again this is an example of the Minister of Aboriginal Relations never learning from the elders and from the hereditary chiefs he’s met about how you do not shout over somebody else who’s talking. That’s called respect. That is called protocol.

The Premier wants you to forget about the $300,000 salary top-up she got from her wealthy friends. She wants you to forget about the $1 billion in tax breaks she gave to wealthy donors in return. She wants you to forget about 15 years of cuts from our kids’ classrooms. In 15 years, a whole cohort of K to 12 has gone through the school system.

I want to leave off my part of the response to the throne speech with these words. I want to wrap up with these words.

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With this budget, the B.C. Liberals cannot magically make the last 16 years of neglect disappear. They talk about “wait for it.” They talk about “in a short time.” They talk about “soon to come.” The people in this province have had enough of that. They cannot trust this government to implement anything that they’ve said because of the record over the last 16 years. We’re not going to forget about this, and the people of the province will not forget about this.

I adjourn debate on this part of the budget response and look forward to continuing this afternoon once we resume.

Madame Speaker: Reserving your right.

D. Donaldson moved adjournment of the debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. J. Rustad: I move adjournment of the House. I’m looking forward to future debate.

Hon. J. Rustad 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 11:56 a.m.

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