Orders of the Day

Private Members’ Statements

THE 75th ANNIVERSARY
OF THE ALASKA HIGHWAY

D. Davies: On March 8, 1942, construction started on the Alaska Highway. Completed in only eight months, the Alaska Highway provided a vital link between Canada and the mainland United States and Alaska.

The idea of a highway linking the continental United States with Alaska by way of Canada originated in the late 1920s and early 1930s. However, with the Great Depression underway and the lack of support from the Canadian government, concerns were raised that the project would mostly benefit the American military, and the project was put on hold.

The United States tried again in 1936 to get the project underway. However, concerns were raised by Canadians that the highway in Canada, used by the U.S. military to supply support to Alaska, might put at risk any Canadian neutrality between the war with Japan and the United States. However, with the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the war between the allies in Japan, priorities of both Canada and the United States quickly changed. Both countries feared attack on Alaska and the west coast by the Japanese forces, and the need for a highway linking Alaska and the continental United States became a top priority.

With both countries on board, an agreement was struck. The United States would build and pay for the cost of the entire highway and then transfer control of the Canadian sections of the highway over to Canada after the war was over. The only thing left to decide was what route the highway should take.

Originally, there were four routes proposed, two of which had significant political and commercial support. One ran east of British Columbia’s coastal mountains, and the other paralleled British Columbia’s sections of the Rocky Mountains.

[10:05 a.m.]

A third route, which was the one preferred by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tasked with building the highway, sliced northwest through the Rocky Mountains. The fourth option rolled north of Edmonton into the Northwest Territories, then west over the Mackenzie Mountains to Alaska. This was the least-favoured option as well as the longest, at 1,700 miles or just over 2,700 kilometres.

Without any proposed option a clear favourite, a fifth route was eventually proposed. It included the best features from the first, second and third options. Once the route had been selected, it was time to get to work.

In order for the construction to happen, first an army of heavy equipment had to be sent in, and 174 steam shovels, 374 blade graders, 904 tractors and over 5,000 trucks were sent north. This was in addition to snowplows, bulldozers, cranes and generators.

[R. Chouhan in the chair.]

The sheer number and spectacle of men and equipment that the United States Army brought in raised concerns for some Canadians who were skeptical that the highway was really about helping defend Canada. In fact, one of the local newspaper, the Peace River Block News, in Dawson Creek, ran a headline: “The United States Troops Invade Dawson Creek to Build Road.” It is true that in order to accomplish this vital task of building the Alaska Highway, the United States sent in over 10,000 soldiers.

Those men faced very difficult conditions. Anyone who is from northern B.C. or has travelled through northern B.C. would know that building a highway through this area would be no easy task. The soldiers faced everything that one would imagine building a highway through frozen wilderness, freezing temperatures, dangerous weather — including blizzards — and even hazardous wildlife would do.

It wasn’t just the cold weather that brought problems; once the climate improved and the weather got warmer, the soldiers had to face new hardships. Rivers flooded. Trucks got stuck in the mud and the muskeg. Mosquitoes were a constant menace. In fact, many of the soldiers quickly nicknamed them bush bombers. There were wildfires and wild animals.

Some of these soldiers faced worse conditions than others. Almost one-third of the 10,000 U.S. Army Engineers and soldiers who built the highway were from segregated African-American units commanded by white commanding officers. These soldiers received little to no training and had to deal with horrendous stereotypes and propaganda from their white commanding officers. Despite this treatment, brave men helped build the Alaska Highway in this very difficult time in less than eight months.

Their hard work, though, changed the minds as well. In fact, when the official ribbon cutting for the highway took place at Soldier’s Summit at Historic Milepost 1061, two of the four soldiers that held the ribbon were African American. In fact, some historians say that the construction of the Alaska Highway played a role in the eventual ending of segregation in the United States armed forces. We owe them and all those that worked on the highway a great deal of debt and gratitude.

[G. Kyllo in the chair.]

Many consider the construction of the Alaska Highway one of the biggest engineering marvels of the 20th century. At 2,333 kilometres in length, stretching from Dawson Creek to Big Delta in Alaska, the highway became a vital defence link between Alaska and western Canada.

Once the war was over, based on the agreement made before construction, the United States had six months to hand over the Canadian portion of the highway. On April 1, 1946, the United States Army officially transferred control of the road through the Yukon and British Columbia over to Canada. In 1947, the highway was opened up for general public use. Since the 1940s, the highway has consistently been improved, and now the entire Canadian section is completely paved.

This year we celebrate the 75th anniversary of this highway. It has played a vital connection between all of our communities in the north.

J. Rice: I rise today to respond to the member’s statement around the Alaska Highway, celebrating its 75th anniversary.

[10:10 a.m.]

Although there was plenty of talk about building a highway through western Canada to Alaska in the 1920s, it was the attack at Pearl Harbor in December of 1941 that made the Alaska Highway a priority. Seventy-five years later, it remains as one of the most spectacular road trips, with access to wonderful wilderness areas. The Alaska Highway celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, as I mentioned.

After Pearl Harbor, calls and approvals for construction of the Alaska Highway came quickly from the U.S. Army, the U.S. President and the Canadian government. The highway connected the U.S. lower 48 states with Alaska — a potential front line in the war with Japan. It opened access to and allowed passage through a huge area of wilderness set back from the Pacific coast. Running approximately 2,200 kilometres northwest, it went through the thick bush and across the mountain ranges of northern British Columbia and the Yukon, into the interior of Alaska.

Construction began officially on March 8, 1942, with construction equipment carried by trains on the Northern Alberta Railways to Mile Zero at Dawson Creek. The official end of the highway is Delta Junction, Alaska. The U.S. Army and the Canadian civilians worked in arctic temperatures, through thick forests and peat moss bogs that sank your equipment. They worked alongside killer mosquitoes — or bush bombers, as they were called — as well as grizzly bears to construct the highway. The Alaska Highway was the most expensive project of the war, coming in at $138 million.

Hon. Speaker, if you love a good road trip, check out this world-famous highway. You can enjoy the natural beauty and the wildlife, learn about laborious construction and harsh conditions of the past. And there are many unique places to visit.

A website has been created to celebrate the 75th anniversary, and it’s a great starting point for travellers planning to make the trek this summer. You can visit the website at celebratealaskahighway.com. Here you’ll learn more about the history and the construction of the highway, as well as suggested tourist attractions at the various communities along the way. There are lists of gas stations and rest stops that can also be found at the website.

In Mile Zero Park, in Dawson Creek, you’ll find the Walter Wright Pioneer Village — a heritage village that explores the history of the early pioneers. Dawson Creek was once a small farming community but became a regional centre when the western terminus of the Northern Alberta Railways arrived in 1932. The community grew rapidly, and a decade later, as the U.S. Army used the rail terminus during construction of the Alaska Highway….

Other attractions include learning about the dinosaurs, the furs and the gold at the Hudson’s Hope Museum. You can see what creative works can be created with a chainsaw in Chetwynd. You can relax at Charlie Lake near Fort St. John. You can pan for gold in Taylor, home to the annual class-A Worlds Invitational Gold Panning Championships.

Fort St. John, one of the largest cities along the Alaskan Highway, is the oldest European-established settlement in present-day B.C. It was a 1794 trading post.

You can visit the trestle bridge at Pouce Coupe. You can soak in the hot springs at Liard River Hot Springs — a B.C. provincial park and home to the second-largest hot springs in Canada.

The Sign Post Forest at Watson Lake in the Yukon was started by a homesick U.S. GI working on the highway, who put up a sign of his hometown and the distance to it. Others followed suit, and the tradition continues to this day, with more than 80,000 signs.

Whitehorse, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, is the city with the lowest air pollution. It is the capital and largest city of the Yukon and the largest northern city in Canada, where summer days have 20 hours of daylight. And don’t forget to visit the Santa Claus outpost once you hit Alaska.

B.C., the Yukon and Alaska are three stunning places worth exploring, and you can do so along the Alaska Highway. What better time than now to visit — during the 75th anniversary of the mighty Alaska Highway?

D. Davies: The legacy of the Alaska Highway is an important one. The highway serves as a vital link connecting our northern B.C. communities, the Yukon and our neighbours in Alaska.

[10:15 a.m.]

It is also a major tourist attraction. Serving as the gateway to British Columbia’s north, the highway does draw tourists from around the world who want to experience a true northern lifestyle.

Some of the world’s best fishing spots are also located along the Alaska Highway. You can stop at many lakes throughout the entire trip, fishing in stocked lakes that include rainbow trout, Dolly Varden and Arctic char.

Of course, travelling along the Alaska Highway is one of the great opportunities where you can see the famous aurora borealis, or the northern lights. Travellers, as mentioned, can also relax in the Liard River hot springs, which is actually one of my favourite destinations along the Alaska Highway and the second-largest hot springs in Canada.

Also, as mentioned by the member opposite, if you cross over the Yukon border, you can visit the world-famous Sign Post Forest in Watson Lake. This spouts an ever-growing collection of 72,000 signs from around the world, which tourists have placed. The first sign was put up by a homesick soldier, Carl Lindley. He put up the sign from Danville, Illinois.

In addition to the community signs, there is lots of wildlife to see — bears, beavers, bison, mountain goats and moose. Northern B.C. and southern Alaska is one of the only places in the world where you can see Stone’s sheep, well known for their large curved horns. The animals are commonly seen if you hop out of your car and do a hike in Muncho Lake Provincial Park. However, you can often see them along the side of the highway itself — out wandering around or licking salt.

There is a lot to see if you do a trip along the Alaska Highway and throughout B.C.’s north. As the highway enters its 75th anniversary, I hope everyone here considers taking a trip to B.C.’s north and seeing what we have to offer.

A MEANINGFUL RESPONSE TO CRISIS

S. Robinson: I rise today to make a statement about the importance of having a meaningful response to crisis — in particular, the fentanyl crisis that is currently gripping communities right across our province.

I thought I would tell the story of a young man to illustrate the importance of a responsive government — a government that understands the people it represents and is committed to making their lives better by providing the services they need when they need them.

Alex came into my office at the end of August last year. He was super skinny, bedraggled, dirty and incredibly sleepy. His mom had called earlier in the week asking for help with her 21-year-old son. Given that Alex was technically an adult, I suggested that perhaps he would be willing to talk with me directly.

Much to my surprise, this young man took his mother’s suggestion and showed up at my community office on an August Monday morning asking for my help. Alex sat in a chair in my office telling me that he was high on heroin and that he hated who and what he had become. His self-loathing was palpable as he described how a doctor’s prescription for a broken ankle several years earlier had turned into an addiction that was more powerful than he was.

Alex pulled at his tattered dirty T-shirt as he described his younger self as a buff young man who regularly worked out in the gym, loved to ride his mountain bike and took pride in his appearance as he tried to impress girls. The young man before me now talked about how pathetic he had become, how he hated who he was, how ugly he was and what a horrible human being he was. His self-disgust was heart-wrenching as he looked at his skinny, frail, drug-addicted body.

This was not the adulthood he had imagined for himself, and he wanted to stop using drugs. He expressed fear of withdrawal — of the pain, the discomfort and the seduction the drugs had on easing his mind, calming his body and fooling him into believing that just one more hit would be his last.

My heart ached for this young man, and it ached for his mother and his brother who had been witnessing Alex’s descent into misery. In that moment in my MLA community office, Alex begged for a safe place where he could safely wean off the drugs, reconnect with his life and start to heal the rifts in his family.

When a young man full of potential comes to his own conclusion that he needs help, it is incumbent upon all of us — as neighbours, as citizens and as human beings — to offer help.

But I have to tell you, help was hard to come by. I searched the Internet, looking for nearby resources that would open their doors to a young man ready to act in his own self-interest. I feared that this motivation would be fleeting, so I knew we had to act fast.

Phone call after phone call revealed that this young man would have to wait to get the help he needed. He would have to call every day or two in order to see if there was space in our uncoordinated, fragmented system.

[10:20 a.m.]

Service providers, our front-line workers, repeated similar phrases over and over again: “Have him call in six hours,” or “We don’t have any space right now,” or “He can call again tomorrow.”

But Alex had no tomorrow. While I was making these calls, Alex was starting to pace in my office. At first, he was hungry for food, so we gave him something to eat. Then he talked about getting hungry for drugs. Withdrawal was beginning, and his level of agitation was increasing. Both he and I knew that if we could not come up with something, some sort of plan to keep him from using in the next hour or two, he would leave my office to get his next hit. And we both knew it could be a hit that could kill him, given the presence of fentanyl in these illicit street drugs.

Hon. Speaker, it doesn’t have to be this way. This piecemeal, uncoordinated, fragmented collection of addiction services that we call a system is not working, and it hasn’t been working because we haven’t had a government that has cared enough to make this a priority.

Yes, we have had some increase in harm reduction services, like substitution therapies and safe injection sites. And yes, we have been talking about the number of people dying in our streets, dying in SROs, dying in suburban and rural homes and in coffee shop washrooms throughout the province. But we are 14 months into a declared crisis, and we still aren’t making a dent.

According to the Coroners Service, there were 136 suspected drug overdoses in April 2017. That’s a 97 percent increase over the number of deaths due to overdoses from April 2016. While Vancouver Coastal Health Authority had the highest number of illicit drug overdoses so far this calendar year, Fraser Health is close behind in the number of drug overdose deaths, and so far this year, British Columbia has seen a 50 percent increase in illicit overdose death rates compared to 2016 in the Okanagan and in central and north Vancouver Island health regions.

We need to do more. We need a meaningful response, a response that ensures that when people like Alex are ready and motivated to act, we have a resource for them that will help them through what will be a very difficult time.

Imagine if you break your leg, you go to emergency, and you’re told: “You’ll just have to come back tomorrow” or “Just keep calling until there’s room.”

We need to ensure that our response is comprehensive, integrated and coordinated. Imagine going to an emergency department where they stabilize your broken leg in a splint but tell you to go home and wait six weeks before they’ll do surgery.

We need to ensure that our response is based on sound, evidence-based treatments, supports and recovery. We are very particular about who treats broken legs. We should be particular about who treats addictions.

Part of a meaningful response is investing in the social determinants of health. We know that income, housing, social support networks, education, employment, working conditions, social environments, physical environments, coping skills and healthy child development all play a role in preventing addiction.

A meaningful response requires a government prepared to invest in the long game, a government that listens throughout its term, not just after an election. A government prepared to invest in people needs to be part of a meaningful response to this crisis.

D. Plecas: Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this debate.

I’d like to begin by first thanking the first responders in our province, who, as we all know, day in and day out have gone above and beyond battling this opioid crisis. I’d also like to thank all of those stakeholders who’ve done so much and responded in many ways that have helped make British Columbia the clear leader in North America in terms of a response to this crisis.

We’ve expressed our leadership as a government in a number of ways. B.C. was the first province in all of Canada to declare this crisis a public health emergency, leading to the creation of a joint task force on overdose response. And notably, this last February, we put $15 million in new funding to do a number of things, including increase access to opioid substitution therapies, support the establishment of additional supervised consumption services, increase testing capacity at the provincial toxicology laboratory and support the Coroners Service overdose death investigation teams.

Further, our government remains committed to redoubling our efforts on this issue with new and increased investments and embracing innovative treatments to ensure lives will be saved. These new initiatives will help to build on the strength of our government’s previous efforts, which include providing opioid substitution therapies and recovery services and driving renewed efforts on drug education and prevention.

[10:25 a.m.]

As of May 17, nearly 7,300 police and civilian staff have been trained to administer naloxone. As well, over 259 community organizations have received overdose response boxes, which has resulted in more than 43,000 no-charge naloxone kits being distributed through the take-home-naloxone program.

Further initiatives have included the province providing some $13 million in funding to health authorities to help ease financial pressures they have encountered. As of May 17, there have been 23 overdose prevention sites set up and running to assist, aid, all across this province, from Vancouver Island, Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and into Prince George.

Additionally, our government has opened 500 additional substance use treatment and intervention beds to assist in this crisis. Over 80 percent of the beds were created in partnerships with local non-profits and community providers like B.C. Housing.

In January, we invested $16 million for 60 additional residential treatment beds, intensive outpatient services and the removal of financial barriers for opioid treatment medication. We also recognize the need for community supports to be put in place, which is why, in May, the health emergency management B.C. established a new mobile response team, made up of 12 practitioners.

This is in addition to our government previously announcing $5 million in funding for B.C. emergency health services to assist our paramedics and dispatchers through this crisis.

But as we know, our province can’t fight this crisis ourselves. We require the assistance and commitments from the federal government in confronting the crisis.

Previously, we have seen that increased efforts by the Canadian border security agency have resulted in 47 seizures of fentanyl or carfentanil, and as a result of the overdose crisis, the police have prioritized more investigative resources to target traffickers of these deadly illicit drugs.

Most importantly, though, we have pledged to appoint a minister of state for mental health, addictions and recovery. I’m a very strong proponent — have been forever — of recovery, and I’m proud to be part of a government that I believe is one of the first in Canadian history to recognize the importance of recovery in this way. Recovery is possible, and we need to support those who are ready to confront their addiction.

There is more work to do to ensure, in the wake of this crisis, we are ready to do it.

S. Robinson: I do appreciate the response that we just heard. But again, we heard lots about little pieces and not a whole lot about vision. I think this issue requires a vision that considers all the elements of addiction and the crisis that we’re currently experiencing.

I know that many are really curious about what happened to Alex, so I will share that here in the House. After many phone calls and pleading with those that I knew who worked on the front lines, Alex was able to get into detox, but it would be a ten-hour wait. Alex’s mother agreed to keep him captive in the car and drive around until he could be safely handed off to these front-line workers.

Later that week I got a panicked phone call from Alex and his mother, because it would be several weeks before he could get into a treatment facility that I had recommended. So where would Alex go in the meantime? An addiction doctor prescribed him Suboxone to manage the cravings, but he had no place to live and no support system that would help him stay focused in the interim.

Again I made phone calls. I called a few people that I knew in the addictions field and managed to get him in sooner than the predicted wait. Alex spent the next ten weeks in treatment. He gained weight and reconnected with his family and some of his friends from high school. He also came to believe that he had a future worth fighting for.

Alex was still taking Suboxone that helped him to feel confident that he could keep moving forward, and it kept the craving for illicit drugs and the possibility of dying from a fentanyl overdose at bay.

When it was time for Alex to move on from treatment, he was hopeful that he could settle into one of the many recovery houses in the area, a place where he could focus on his healing, his life and his recovery.

[10:30 a.m.]

Given how uncoordinated and fragmented government services are, I suppose I should not have been surprised to learn that the recovery houses in the area would not accept Alex because he was taking Suboxone, his physician-prescribed medication. On the one hand, we have a commitment to substitution drugs as part of addiction treatment, but when people are ready to rebuild their lives, we have a mostly unregulated recovery program that excludes those on substitution treatments.

Alex was devastated. His mother was devastated. I was devastated. He had no place to go, no job to speak of, and he was terrified of going back to drug use. His mom eventually agreed to provide him with a place to live. I would love to tell you that the story has a happy ending. Alex had a relapse several months ago. It has been painful for all of us to witness. While Alex takes responsibility for the choices he makes, we have to take responsibility for not being there for Alex when he needed us.

It’s time for a meaningful response to this fentanyl crisis. It’s time for a government that listens to British Columbians from all walks of life, not just those at the top. It’s time that we work to create a coordinated, responsive addiction treatment system so that the Alexes in our communities can be all they can be — productive citizens, good employees, loving children, caring siblings and good neighbours.

B.C. FILM’S CONTRIBUTIONS
TO THE PROVINCE

J. Thornthwaite: I’d like to talk about something that this House hasn’t heard for a while — film.

My riding of North Vancouver–Seymour is renowned for its remarkable beauty. The mountains provide a backdrop against the ocean that is simply breathtaking and, in fact, is the stuff that movies are made of. It’s not surprising why the film and television industry started in North Vancouver and is now a provincewide phenomenon. In fact, British Columbia is one of the top centres for screen production excellence in North America.

With a long history of producing award-winning feature films, television series, documentaries and commercials, B.C. has become an internationally recognized hub that offers full-service production thanks to experienced, creative and talented staff, extensive production infrastructure and award-winning expertise in digital animation, visual effects and post-production.

There are a number of factors that contribute to our success. First of all are the stunning locations that British Columbia has to offer. There are outdoor locations ranging from alpine heights along the coast to the Okanagan desert. We have stunning architecture and unique heritage locations that have been featured in films all around the globe. We also are a quick 2½ hour flight away from studios in Los Angeles, which makes us an ideal location for U.S.-based studios, independent production companies and networks to do business with their northern neighbours, who just happen to be in the same time zone.

We also have a competitive tax rate that is designed to promote both domestic productions and attract foreign ones too. The basic production services tax credit rate is set at 28 percent. In addition, the digital animation or visual effects, DAVE, tax credit is also highly competitive at 16 percent.

The one thing that gives British Columbia our edge is our people. The extraordinary talent that drives the industry in our province is being put out by our own homegrown institutions like Capilano University in North Vancouver and other post-secondary institutions located throughout British Columbia.

Students are attracted to the industry because they can indulge their creativity and hone their skills at B.C.-based educational institutes like Cap U. Who wouldn’t be attracted to the creative sector? It contributes over $4 billion to the province’s gross domestic product every year and employs thousands in film, television, post-production, interactive digital media, as well as the traditional magazine and book industry.

Let’s look at the motion picture Deadpool, for example. It spent approximately $40 million of its budget in British Columbia and employed 2,000 local cast and crew during two months of shooting. Those workers brought home total wages of $19 million or a weekly average of almost $2,000 per week.

[10:35 a.m.]

The production also gave a boost to workers outside the film industry. The Motion Picture Association estimates that $1 million was spent on location costs; $815,000 on hotels, catering and restaurants; $735,000 on construction; and $780,000 on transportation and car rentals. You may have recalled…. In a statement I made before the House rose in the last session, I commented on the benefits to logging companies in the Interior because the wood is used for construction in B.C.’s films across the province. In the end, Deadpool became a smash hit, and now the production of Deadpool 2 is already filming once again in British Columbia.

There is another reason why the film industry keeps coming back to British Columbia. In the past five years, B.C. has grown to become one of the world’s largest centres for visual effects and digital animation, with over 60 domestic and foreign-owned visual effects and animation studios. This means B.C.’s motion picture industry can service over 45 productions at once and accommodate all sizes and types of productions. We also have a well-established post-production industry with robust talent that includes award-winning colourists, editors, engineers, sound mixers, composers and musicians.

Overall, B.C. has become an internationally recognized hub that offers full-service production thanks to experienced, creative and technical talent, extensive production infrastructure and award-winning expertise in digital animation, visual effects and post-production. Thanks to the first generation of television and film-makers who started out with humble beginnings, we now have an even more sophisticated second generation that is leading the way. According to Creative B.C., the number of motion pictures has grown from just four productions in 1978 to more than 260 in 2016. After all, it is our people power that is the main driving force behind television and film in British Columbia.

I look forward to the comments from the members opposite.

S. Chandra Herbert: Thank you to my colleague for raising the topic, a favourite topic of mine as well — the film, TV, entertainment and creative industries of British Columbia.

Members may be interested to know that I once appeared on film opposite Brad Pitt. Well, actually, he was in front of me. I stood in the back. I think I was 12 years old at the time. A very nice man. We had a good conversation. The candy apples were tasty as well. That was for a movie called Legends of the Fall. No, Members, it wasn’t a movie about the current government. It was about a time in American history which…. Anyway, rent the film. You can see me in it for about five seconds.

B.C. film has been a success decades in the making. And the member is right. It is in large part because of the people, and it’s in large part because of entrepreneurial spirit matched up with government intervention, as well, to take what was at the start a fledgling little industry…. Then, when you added on the tax credits and support for studios, construction and so forth, it has managed to grow to be one of B.C.’s biggest industries.

I want to say thank you to the people who advocated for it then and who are continuing to advocate for our film and TV industry. It provides so many great jobs, so many great stories and such delight in so many communities.

Who are those people? Well, they are many, but I would start just by saying the individual entrepreneurs who had the dream of starting studios, of starting their own little companies, and who started talking to others and took some risks and the governments of the day, both Social Credit and New Democrat, who decided that film tax credits were important and should be brought in and, thankfully, were continued by the current government.

The Council of Film Unions. When I travelled to Hollywood to meet with some of our biggest customers at Fox, at Paramount and a couple of the other industries, one thing they said to me is: “We like your tax credits because, of course, that helps us take our dollar a little bit further. We also like the fact that we can work with the Council of Film Unions” — that’s all the unions that work in the film industry — “to find a way to get to labour peace and to ensure that we get good-paying jobs for the members and the films get shot on time and on budget.”

It’s not just the unions. It’s also the Motion Picture Production Industry Association, the Canadian Media Production Association. I’m sure there are many others, whether it’s smaller groups like Women in Film and others that have had really important roles in growing the industry over time — also, of course, our educational institutes like Vancouver Film Studios, Capilano, Emily Carr, SFU. The list goes on.

It’s an industry so many want to get into. I had a small little glimmer of being involved. Instead, politics became a calling. As they say, politics is sometimes like Hollywood for ugly people, so I guess I did okay here. Sorry. My present company excluded. You’re all very handsome and beautiful.

Now we have an exciting opportunity to grow the industry further. Something we need to do is not rest on our laurels, not just accept that we are where we are. We’ve got to look forward.

[10:40 a.m.]

What’s the forward thinking? Well, one group that is not included in our current labour tax credit is writers — writers who write the films, who write the TV shows, who write the pilots. They’re not included, even though they are labouring very hard as well. I think they should be.

When we’re looking at a value-added industry, you want to make sure that the labour in writing is also included, because should the film get picked up, should the TV show get picked up, it continues on. You gain your royalties, and many companies then take those royalties and reinvest them in their companies to produce more work, and that becomes ongoing capital for them.

Right now writers are excluded, so many times writers are imported from other parts of Canada and, in fact, many times from Los Angeles. I want our B.C. writers to be valued just as well as our technicians, as our gaffers, and so on, because we will be able to grow the industry even further if we’re able to keep more of that money at home and add that value.

We also need to look at Creative B.C. Its budget is right now lower than it was when it was B.C. Film, and that was over 15 years ago. So the money that’s there to help jump-start small, domestic Canadian productions just is not there in the way that it used to be.

It’s important that we start that jump-starting process, because Ontario is and Quebec is, and most of the federal dollars end up staying in Ontario and Quebec and not finding their way out to B.C. We send them there through our tax payments, but they don’t come back into our film industry in the way they need to, because most of the major Canadian producers are out east.

We need to be stronger advocates for our own domestic industry to grow its size so that in the boom-and-bust world of high Canadian dollars and shifting productions, we never have to face that risk of potentially losing a big chunk of our industry should the dollar rise because we’ll also have a large domestic industry. It’s an incredible industry. I’m very glad to be able to speak strongly in support of it on behalf of the New Democrats, and thank you for the opportunity.

J. Thornthwaite: Thank you to the member for Vancouver–West End. I’d like also to give a plug, to myself and the Minister of Finance, because we made a cameo presentation in a film that was filmed a couple years ago called Stranger in the House, filmed right here in Victoria. It was produced and directed by our homegrown producer and director Allan and Cynde Harmon, and you can check that out at any time.

Anyway, as I mentioned earlier, it is the strength of our brain power that drives our industry, but in order to succeed, we need the necessary infrastructure. I am referring to the 60 domestic and foreign-owned visual effects and animation studios located throughout the province.

For example, just this spring, a state-of-the-art film studio opened in Langley. Martini Film Studios is a 150,000-square-foot facility with eight stages and full backlot services. This new studio is following a trend for facilities to locate themselves beyond the traditional hub of Vancouver.

But this is not just to say that other production companies, like Ironwood Studios, aren’t investing in Vancouver. Ironwood boasts 177,000 square feet of space, seven stages, two workshops, plus plenty of room for storage in its facilities that opened last year. In addition to the studio space, Ironwood has also built a green screen facility and outfitted its building with a 10-gigabyte fibre optic network to instantly connect VFX crews, camera crews and art departments with remote offices.

In addition, the visual effects house Sony Pictures Imageworks moved its headquarters from California to an expanded 74,000-square-foot facility at Pacific Centre in downtown Vancouver in 2016.

These facilities come in addition to the children’s and family entertainment producer DHX Media. This company has built a 75,000-square-foot animation studio on 5th Avenue and Yukon Street to work on TV shows, including Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, based on the film Slugterra, and Supernoobs. According to DHX studio’s chief content officer, Ace Fipke: “We’re really putting roots down here because we feel that this is where the talent is.”

All of those factors — low dollar, tax credits, talent, our people, our workers — make B.C. one of the most desirable places to produce video games, special effects and animation. With endorsements like that, we can be very proud of the film and television industry here in British Columbia and look forward to it thriving for years to come.

[10:45 a.m.]

GETTING PEOPLE MOVING AGAIN

G. Heyman: I can think of literally dozens of ways in which B.C. needs to get moving again. We on this side of the House are eager to do that. British Columbians are eager to see a government that does that. But I am going to restrict my remarks this morning to the issues of transportation, public transit, relieving congestion, making British Columbians’ quality of life better and, most importantly, taking the measures necessary to stimulate our economy by relieving congestion.

I couldn’t knock on a door in my constituency in the recent campaign without somebody asking me: “When are we going to deal with congestion on the Broadway corridor?” My colleagues talk about the congestion that people feel south of the Fraser.

Throughout British Columbia, whether it’s in the capital regional district or whether it’s in the Interior, people feel the impacts of a growing population. Proper planning requires looking ahead, seeing what the growth trends will be and building the infrastructure necessary to address that. It’s not just because people have better things to do than idle in traffic, reducing their productivity, being separated from their families when they could be home, spewing greenhouse gas emissions for no reasonable purpose, but for the economy.

One only had to listen to the chief economist of the Business Council of British Columbia appearing before the Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services a couple of years ago. When asked directly what he thought the cost of congestion was to the economy of British Columbia, he said: “I don’t know, but it’s at least $1 billion a year.” Estimates have run as high as $1.2 billion or $1.3 billion a year because the Lower Mainland and Metro Vancouver is the hub — and, in this case, the bottleneck — through which goods destined for ports, destined for export, service vehicles must travel. When they’re crawling instead of moving efficiently — because everybody, due to a lack of adequate transit, is stuck in their cars — it costs all of us money.

It costs the province’s economy money, it costs businesses money, it costs jobs, and it hurts our reputation. It’s $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion a year. In my view and in the view of my colleagues, that should be a priority. In the view of the mayors of Metro Vancouver, it has been a priority. They have worked very, very hard to design a long-range transportation plan for the region, working with TransLink, settling priorities between competing interests in municipalities around the region and putting together a workable plan.

It’s important, when thinking of implementing a plan, to know where the funding is going to come from, and that’s why the mayors put forward numerous suggestions on funding. Seven years ago there was some hope that the funding issues could be resolved. There were Transportation ministers who looked to work with the mayors, and a memorandum of understanding was signed by the government with regional mayors that promised — promised, hon. Speaker — to look at collaborative, cooperative ways of coming up with the funding needed to increase public transit in the region, to increase the maintenance of roads in the region, to increase handyDART service, bus service, to replace the Pattullo Bridge — to do the myriad of things that are needed to keep Metro Vancouver moving again.

Following the signing of that memorandum, suggestion after suggestion, proposal after proposal from the mayors was simply rejected. Even when former Transportation Minister Blair Lekstrom reached an agreement with the mayors, the Premier tried to scuttle the agreement.

It was only after a massive pushback from outside her government, from the region’s mayors, as well as inside the government, that she backtracked and we ended up with an agreement for the Evergreen Line.

[10:50 a.m.]

It’s not good enough to play politics with something as important as moving people, moving goods and making the region livable — not just Metro Vancouver but regions around the province. There are transit needs in every corner of the province. We have seen after years and years and years, finally, a B.C. Transit bus on the Highway of Tears — not just to deal with transportation but to deal with the very real threat, the threat that resulted in disappearances and deaths of many women.

On this side of the House, we look forward to working with the mayors. We have committed — for many, many months now — to fund a full 40 percent of the capital cost of the entire mayors’ ten-year transit plan. Further, we have committed to work with mayors on Vancouver Island and in Victoria to increase transit in this area, as well as to increase transit in every corner of British Columbia.

That’s what it will take to get B.C. moving again. It won’t take political posturing. It won’t take confrontation. It won’t take ill-advised referenda that at one day are a point of principle and another day are expendable.

It will take goodwill. Without that goodwill, we will continue to open our newspapers and turn on our television news and find that the federal government has struck deals — like the one they recently struck with Montreal for $1.2 billion in funding — and wonder if the available capital from the federal government will dwindle before we have cemented our proposals, moved forward with reducing and relieving congestion, created harmony with elected government officials in municipalities around the province and gotten B.C. moving again.

M. Hunt: An ongoing goal of this government is the commitment to and a strong record of achievement in its transit systems. In B.C., we’re already moving, and we’re ready to do more. That’s why we’re speeding up the timeline for replacing the Pattullo Bridge, for example.

Before I go into future projects, I just want to remind the House of all the accomplishments this government has made to keep B.C. on the move. It was this government that built the Canada Line, nearly 20 kilometres of rapid transit connecting downtown Vancouver to YVR and Richmond Centre, after 30 years of talk and study, including the ten years of the members opposite being in government. This gateway to the world continues to provide reliable transportation to Vancouver’s world-renowned airport while reducing gridlock.

Not to be forgotten, as was mentioned, it was this government that completed the Evergreen Line, extending the Millennium Line all the way into Coquitlam, which, in fact, was the completion of the original plan of Premier Bill Bennett and Metro Vancouver in their transportation plan. So finally, we now have that SkyTrain there that was planned from 1985. I don’t want to brag about ridership too much, but the Evergreen use is actually triple that which the old 97 B-line had each week. Now 250,000 people travel between Coquitlam, Port Moody, Burnaby, New Westminster and downtown Vancouver.

Moving beyond completed projects, our government is committed to keeping B.C. moving by funding our share of the mayors’ plan. The announcement has been made about the $2.2 billion. We will match the federal government’s $2.2 billion, and our government will make sure that the Broadway subway and the Surrey LRT will be built — further connecting British Columbians with easy access to the whole of the Lower Mainland.

It doesn’t stop there. Our government is looking to the future. We’re planning a multitude of feasibility studies. We’re looking to connect communities across B.C. even more, by studying the possibilities of rapid transit to the North Shore, a possible SkyTrain to Tsawwassen, even the continued extension of the Evergreen Line to Maple Ridge. These are just some of the possibilities that our government is committed to and looking at.

The future is now. Our government is prepared to make the tough decisions to provide further options to keep B.C. moving.

Outside the Lower Mainland, we’re also committed to pursuing light rail on Vancouver Island here — again, a project that’s been talked about for a long time. Let’s get it done.

We know that no one wants to stay stuck in traffic, and that’s why we’re implementing the ten-year plan of B.C. on the Move. In fact, those from up-Island, as they come down, are going through the upgrading of the McKenzie intersection, which will help to eliminate what is currently B.C.’s worst bottleneck. We’re working on phase 4 of the Highway 1 Kicking Horse Canyon upgrade. We’re also working on four-laning the Cariboo connector, enabling easy access to the north.

[10:55 a.m.]

Wherever British Columbians need to go in British Columbia, we’re making improvements. To those on the coast, we’re committed to making it easier to cross the water. We’re pursuing a foot-passenger ferry connecting Nanaimo to Vancouver and cutting that travel time substantially. We’re even looking at making ferry fares more affordable for those who live in ferry-dependent communities.

For those who drive cars, we have electric car subsidies. Up to $12,000 in incentives are available for those who want to drive electric vehicles. Now, people like me are a little concerned about the distance that electric vehicles can go, so we bought hybrids instead. But we’re working on that. We’ve committed $50 million to upgrading the electric vehicle–charging infrastructure throughout the province of B.C. so that drivers don’t need to worry about how far they can go between charges.

This isn’t a plan of a government that’s out of time, out of ideas, as our members opposite would say. Our government is working hard to keep British Columbians moving, and we plan to do even more to further grow our economy and reduce the gridlock.

G. Heyman: I suppose I should commend the member for Surrey-Cloverdale for looking to the future instead of being stuck in the past. I guess I would just say that there’s nothing like standing on the abyss of years in opposition to make one look to the future.

Many, many….

Interjection.

G. Heyman: Well, I’ve got a good example across the aisle.

It has been instructive in the last couple of days to see many, many ideas that members of the opposition, mayors and citizens in British Columbia have insisted are necessary for our growth — to build a better community and build our economy — to all of a sudden be discovered, to all of a sudden be a priority.

It’s important that the people of British Columbia can have faith — faith in consistency, faith that expressions of projects and ways to move forward on transit transportation and many other measures important to British Columbians can be believed — and that they can have trust that there is sincerity, analysis, history and commitment in these statements.

I mentioned in my earlier remarks that in 2010, the government had signed a memorandum of understanding with the mayors to move ahead. But the sad history of the failure to move transit ahead in British Columbia is that over the last number of years, we have seen the ridership begin to go down. We have seen service levels flatten and decline. In fact, experts at TransLink say that without a commitment, without the funding that’s needed to build the Broadway subway, build light rail south of the Fraser, add more buses, add more B-lines, add to SeaBus service and build infrastructure, service levels on a per-capita basis will fall back to 2004 levels by 2020.

That’s not acceptable. That’s dangerous to the economy. It’s dangerous to the quality of life. That’s why we need to do more than talk about it. We’ve needed to do more than talk about it for many years now. We need to make it a priority.

We need to make it a priority to work with the mayors of Metro Vancouver to find funding mechanisms. We need to make it a priority to work with municipalities throughout British Columbia to create more transit and more ways to move people in the most efficient way possible while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. That’s the commitment that we on this side of the House have, and we look forward to the opportunity to bring it to fruition.

Deputy Speaker: Recognizing the member for Vancouver-Langara, pursuant to the motion from last week.

Private Members’ Motions

MOTION 1 — 150th ANNIVERSARY
OF CANADA

M. Lee: I rise today to move a motion.

[Be it resolved that this House join with British Columbians in celebrating the upcoming 150th birthday of our great country — Canada.]

With continued turmoil around the world, now more than ever it’s an important time to reflect on and commemorate the history of our nation.

[11:00 a.m.]

Together, we gather on the traditional territories of Lekwungen peoples, the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations. As Canadians, while we celebrate 150 years since Confederation, it’s important that we recognize that the history of this land and indigenous peoples’ relationship with this land extends far beyond 150 years, to time immemorial, and also that we respectfully acknowledge their history, culture and traditions, apart from non-indigenous Canadians.

We came to this land as immigrants from all over the world, and our diversity and vibrant multicultural framework is part of what makes Canada so strong. Whether we immigrated to Canada ourselves, or whether it was our parents, grandparents or other family members before them, we all have an immigrant story. Many of these stories start from humble beginnings and a search for better opportunities.

[R. Chouhan in the chair.]

My father came here in 1953 to study at UBC in his early 20s. He stayed in Chinatown, and a local Catholic church helped him to find his first accommodations. The church also helped him find his first job, working as a janitor at St. Paul’s Hospital. My mother came in 1962 from Hong Kong. She worked first as a nurse at VGH, Vancouver General Hospital, and then went into public health nursing. She also helped my father on evenings and weekends in his drugstores. Many of our families have made similar sacrifices, working hard to build a better future for us and instilling in us a strong work ethic.

Yet with our different pasts and family histories as Canadians, we share many similarities, like ingenuity and determination — two traits that help define what it means to be Canadian. To overcome the obstacles and barriers across this great nation, by necessity, good doses of ingenuity and determination have been required. With inventions ranging from the telephone, the lightbulb, insulin and the cardiac pacemaker to worldwide standard time, AM radio, basketball and the snowmobile, we are very proud of the inquisitive and innovative nature of Canadians, which continues to make positive and global impacts.

As Canadians, we also share a commitment to volunteerism and civic engagement. Whether at home or abroad, we are known for our compassion and our willingness to lend a hand. Across this province, in each of our constituencies, we recognize the collective spirit and shared responsibility of British Columbians to help each other and to take care of others. Canadians are true community builders.

Back in my university days, I had the good fortune to be selected to a national youth advisory committee and spent a year travelling around Canada. This experience helped shape my understanding and my view of our country. With a wide variety of events planned throughout our province and across this nation, I hope Canada’s 150th anniversary will provide young Canadians with similar opportunities to discuss, experience and explore what it means to be Canadian. We can see many examples of what it means to be Canadian by simply looking around us.

Indeed, in my riding of Vancouver-Langara, which is a diverse and vibrant community, there are many engaged community-minded residents, like my constituent Richard Wong, who grew up in Prince Rupert and who is leading a local and national effort of coast-to-coast drumming across eight cities in celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary. Incorporating indigenous, Chinese, South Asian, South American, Korean and other drumming traditions, this event will bring Canadians across the country together for a shared goal. I will be at the Vancouver site of this event on Canada Day, where there will also be an effort to set a Guinness World Record for the most nationalities in a drum circle.

I’m also looking forward to celebrating Canada’s 150th anniversary at the Sunset Community Centre in Vancouver-Langara, which will bring together Canadians of Chinese, South Asian and Filipino descent, to name a few, for food, fun games, community booths and performances. Events like these bring our communities together to include new Canadians in a more integrated way. It’s this diversity, as represented and integrated in this House, that makes our province and our country so strong, with the different perspectives needed to meet the challenges and the opportunities of a dynamic and ever-changing world.

With that, I invite my colleagues in this House to join me in recognizing this important milestone with a view to our collective future as a nation. Happy 150th birthday, Canada.

D. Donaldson: I thank the member for Vancouver-Langara for introducing his private member’s motion: “Be it resolved that this House join with British Columbians in celebrating the upcoming 150th birthday of our great country — Canada.”

[11:05 a.m.]

We only each have about five minutes to address this motion, and it’s a big topic — this celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary.

I’ll begin with the fact that the southern part of Stikine is about 1,000 kilometres north of Victoria and 4,000 kilometres from Ottawa. So it’s understandable that many in Stikine can feel they are on the fringes of Canada and B.C. — sometimes just an afterthought when decisions are being made.

It would be a mistake to conclude that those in Stikine don’t share many of the values that we wish to define ourselves as Canadians: fairness; justice; the belief that money should not be able to buy influence; and the belief that our government should work for all the people, not just an elite few.

Canada is a young country, and B.C. is even younger. We have much to be thankful for. Freedom of association. Freedom of religion. Freedom of expression. Freedom not to be discriminated against based on race, spiritual beliefs or sexual orientation.

On this 150th anniversary, we have much to answer for as a nation and as a province in our relationship with aboriginal people. Two areas are top of mind when I reflect on Stikine: the topic of aboriginal title and the treatment of aboriginal children.

We all know that the land in Stikine was occupied and used by First Nations for generations before non-aboriginals arrived. It was never ceded to the Crown in formal agreements, like treaties. The land that generated the wealth that has built Canadian and B.C. society and institutions was never given up by most B.C. First Nations. That wealth was never and is still not shared in a manner that recognizes it came from unceded lands.

In Stikine, we all live on the unceded lands of the Tlingit, Kaska, Tahltan, Gitanyow, Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en. How the federal and provincial governments address unresolved land title and the injustices it has created has huge implications on how we view ourselves as B.C.’ers and Canadians.

In the instance of the Tsilhqot’in court case, the current provincial government spent millions of dollars arguing against aboriginal title, taking the case all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, where they lost. The MLA team I belong to endorses the Tsilhqot’in decision on aboriginal title and the principles of the UN declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples. This is an approach that will lead to more certainty regarding unceded territories, and therefore, greater benefits for all living on those lands and for all Canadians.

The health of aboriginal children is linked to those lands. Just last year, Cindy Blackstock, from the Gitxsan Nation, won a nine-year battle in front of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, which found that Canada discriminates against children on reserves by not providing the same level of funding compared to what provinces provide to kids living off reserve. “Less funding for family support translates into more children ending up in the child welfare system,” the tribunal stated.

For her advocacy, Ms. Blackstock — a respected researcher and academic — was harassed to such a degree by the Canadian government during the process that she was awarded a cash settlement by the tribunal, acknowledging the wilful and reckless conduct of the federal ministry of aboriginal affairs staff.

Again, I am very happy to be an MLA, part of a team, that accepts and will act on all 94 calls to action in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report. The calls to action are one way to address the legacy of residential schools and most are focused on supporting children and families.

Canada is 150 years old. We should use the occasion to reflect on the injustices encountered by First Nations, Métis and Inuit in their dealings with Canada and B.C. during the last 150 years — injustices that continue today.

Given that, we should celebrate that what is great about Canada and B.C. is the fact that we still have First Nations who are willing to move forward with us, together, to build a better place. For that, I am grateful.

Let’s make ourselves proud that Canada 150 became the time that we understood the past, acknowledged the present and acted together on a better future.

J. Tegart: It’s my pleasure to rise in this House on behalf of my constituents in Fraser-Nicola and respond to the motion. I, too, would like to recognize the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations, on whose traditional territories we conduct our business today.

[11:10 a.m.]

As we look towards Canada 150, and with the 21st National Aboriginal Day — soon to be National Indigenous Peoples Day — having just passed, it’s important to note that indigenous peoples’ history with this place and this land spans far further than 150 years. It’s important to acknowledge the contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples and to continue working together, nation to nation, as we move forward.

With more than 25 First Nations bands in my riding, Fraser-Nicola residents are fortunate to be surrounded by rich culture, history, language and traditions. The diversity that we see throughout our communities is part of what makes British Columbia and Canada such unique places to travel, live, work and play. This anniversary is an important time to celebrate what makes us different and unique, as well as the similarities that we all share.

As Canadians, we share a number of values like resilience, respect for diversity, compassion for others. These values are part of what helps unite us and make us stronger.

Events planned throughout this month and next reflect both that unity and that diversity. With events taking place across the nation, Canada’s 150th anniversary gives Canadians in all corners of our country the chance to come together in celebration. As for me, I look forward to celebrating this special occasion with constituents throughout the Fraser-Nicola region in a variety of gatherings.

On June 30, I look forward to joining the Winding Rivers Arts and Performance Society for a theatrical presentation that condenses Canada’s history into a fun and enlightening hour. No small feat. And I’m anticipating a busy day on July 1, as I start the day with celebrations in Hope, with opening ceremonies, kids’ games and activities, a classic car show, cake cutting and live music. Hope residents have a lot to look forward to.

I’ll have the pleasure of spending the second part of the day in Merritt. I’ll miss the pancake breakfast and some of the other fun activities planned, but I look forward to the singing of our national anthem and taking part in the ceremonies part of the day.

With such a widespread and diverse constituency, I’m fortunate to be able to take part in Canada 150 celebrations in a number of ways. Most of all, I appreciate the opportunity to meet and connect with residents as I travel around my beautiful region.

With longer days, warmer weather and easier travel, this is a key priority for me every summer and a highlight of each year. And whether on the July 1st weekend or at another time in the coming weeks, I always value the time spent with people from my constituency, meeting with them face to face.

In conclusion, I’d like to thank my colleague from Vancouver-Langara for raising this motion. I hope the Canada 150th anniversary gives us a chance to come together as individual communities and as a nation as a whole to reflect on our shared history and values. I look forward to celebrating this time with my constituents throughout Fraser-Nicola.

M. Elmore: I’m very pleased to rise and speak to the motion moved from the member for Vancouver-Langara: “Be it resolved that this House join with British Columbians in celebrating the upcoming 150th birthday of our great country — Canada.”

We are celebrating 150 years, the birthday, on July 1, but technically, Canada Day was not designated until 1982. It was originally called Dominion Day, and 1982 was the year that the Canada Act was passed. We saw the patriation of the Constitution Act. That’s when Canada Day was officially recognized, and we had full Canadian sovereignty.

Canada, of course, has a history of nearly 500 years of European colonization. But prior to European colonization, as mentioned and referenced by my colleagues here, we’ve had…. These lands were occupied by indigenous peoples, indeed, for thousands of years.

[11:15 a.m.]

And so Canada, as we know it, is relatively young. Also, European colonization is relatively young in the scheme of things.

And why we celebrate…. Of course, a lot to celebrate on July 1, great achievements that we have here in Canada. We also have much more to recognize in terms of the impact to indigenous peoples.

I want to talk a little bit about some of the events that I’m looking forward to, to join and celebrate. Every year a great celebration in Vancouver-Kensington. We have the ANAVETS Multicultural Day street party as well as the Kensington Community Centre celebrations for Canada Day. I’ll also be joining activities at Sunset Community Centre. I know there are celebrations right across the province and around the country.

It’s a great celebration attended by thousands of folks from the community — kids and families — with events, live music, performances, photo booths, carnival games, barbecue, cake cutting and so much more. It’s just a real celebration, a coming together of community and a really fun time. It means a lot to everybody who’s there, who celebrates.

But I also reflect on our history. Indeed, the history of our country and our province is built on a racist legacy and past of our lands that have been colonized by Europeans. Indigenous peoples originally took the brunt of that. And it’s important, while we celebrate, to also very seriously take stock of our racist past here in B.C., impacting, in particular, our indigenous peoples and also immigrants of colour. We’ve had the redress and recognition of past wrongs committed against different groups, Chinese Canadians and others. But there’s still more to be done.

I’m very proud, with the members in my party, to have made a commitment to adopting the United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples, as well as making the commitment to implement the spirit of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. These are important commitments.

When we talk about the vision going forward…. We’re going to celebrate. We’re going to mark our great achievements as a country. But also our vision for our province and our country has to be to go forward and really champion — to be known as a champion of human rights — and to really stand up for justice to ensure that our province and our country have opportunities for all peoples; that we really take seriously the commitment to recognizing the genuine rights and titles of our indigenous people and to ensure that we take steps to eliminate the impacts of systemic racism so that we can be proud that we are a province and a country that is vibrant, inclusive and is a Canada where all peoples can achieve their full potential and shared prosperity.

I want to close by welcoming everybody here in the House. A great 150th celebration for Canada Day. I know we’ll all be out celebrating in our communities. It’s a commitment to really taking forward the spirit of reconciliation and the spirit of justice and really being a leading voice to ensure that all peoples can celebrate our great country equally.

L. Throness: It’s a privilege to stand this morning and celebrate by talking about Canada’s 150th birthday. The best country in the world.

I was thinking: “How can I describe Canada?” There are several ways. I want to talk first about Canada as a young country by talking about my grandpa. My grandfather’s name was Bjarne He was born in Norway. He came to Canada in 1911.

I knew grandpa for many years as a young man. I remember him very well. He passed away in 1975. But he was born in 1891, when Canada was just 24 years old. My great-grandpa, Bjarne’s dad, was born in Norway in 1856, 11 years before Canada became a country. That’s only two lifetimes away. That’s not very long ago. As a lad, I could touch someone who was born near Confederation. It underscores the fact that our country is young.

Canada is big and empty. When I was a young man I worked on the rigs in Canada’s north. We would fly in and out of Edmonton, bouncing around on a little plane hour after hour, over vast stretches of boreal forest. Canada is a big country.

[11:20 a.m.]

A few years ago I was up in Nunavut for its tenth anniversary celebration — talking about a young country. It boasts a population of 30,000 people, yet it covers one-fifth of Canada’s territory. There are just 22 kilometres of road in Nunavut. Canada is really big.

Canada is rapidly changing. When I grew up in Fort St. John, in the ’60s, Canada was pretty well ethnically uniform. I think I saw my first African-American person, in person, when I was about 13 years old. Today half of Vancouver and half of Toronto were born outside Canada. Rural Canada is still depopulating and the cities are dominating the cultural and financial and political life of our country. That’s a lot of change in one short lifetime.

I think of Canada as free. It’s a place where people can come from all over the world and leave behind the old bondages that they experienced. They can leave oppressive governments and police forces behind. They can leave behind worries about their next meal or the perils of disorder and war, of deep racial divisions, ethnic strife, gender unfairness, harmful cultural pathologies and lack of government services. Instead, they can look forward, through hard work, to achieving the prosperity that millions of other Canadians experience and enjoy every day. Our country is remarkable for its freedoms. I don’t think there’s been a freer nation anywhere at any time in history.

I think of Canada as a country with many virtues. People are polite here, almost to a fault. Just about everybody works hard and pays their taxes and obeys the law without being told that we have to.

We might be a bit standoffish, but we have shown our generosity to other nations experiencing disaster. We’ve proved our courage in war. We don’t wear our patriotism on our sleeve, but the love of our country runs deep. Wherever I go in the world, I am always quick and proud to say that I’m a Canadian.

This Canada Day, as we celebrate this milestone in our history, I’ll be thinking of the past, remembering the strong shoulders on which we stand. I think again of my grandpa, who came as a teenager to Canada.

He left behind all of his family and only returned to his home country a few times to visit. That’s a big sacrifice. He worked in Edmonton for the winter, and every spring he took the train to Edson and walked the Edson Trail for two weeks to Grande Prairie, where his homestead was. As he once told me, on the Edson Trail he had to wipe his forehead constantly to keep off the clouds of mosquitos that attacked him along the way. He’d work the land in the spring and, after harvest, walk out again. Grandpa carved a prosperous farm out of Grande Prairie gumbo. He raised a family of seven successful children there, and in so doing, he also built Canada.

The example of my grandpa, a great Canadian, reminds me that I, too, need to do my little part in my little corner of this enormous land to continue building Canada, just like millions of other Canadians have done — to guard its freedoms, to manage change well, to be a generous person of courage and honesty and friendship, to honour those who have worked so hard to make our country great.

To all my constituents, I hope you savour deeply on this day the bounty and beauty of the Fraser Valley, which has got to be the best place in the best province in the best country in the world. Happy Canada Day. May God bless you, and may God bless our wonderful, great country, Canada.

H. Bains: First of all, it is an honour and a privilege to be elected by the good people of Surrey-Newton and to be in this House to speak on this occasion, the 150th birthday of this great nation.

Canada, by itself, is a vast land base, surrounded by its boundaries. Within those boundaries, we have boundless beauty, natural beauty that we come to enjoy every day. It is a story — 150 years of what the people of Canada have developed Canada into. The natural beauty is its natural beauty, but the real beauty Canada enjoys is its people, people who came from all over the world and made this country their home.

During this process, the struggles and sacrifices we asked many people who were here before us to make…. Our First Nations were forced and asked to pay the price for us to come and settle. We cannot forget the residential schools and lost generations as a result of that.

[11:25 a.m.]

Our newcomers — Chinese, Indians, Japanese, Jews and blacks — who faced discriminatory immigration policies, struggled through to make Canada more equal, more inclusive, more passionate. It was a struggle between those who wanted to keep Canada with a unique culture, race, characteristics and identity versus those with a vision and desire to develop Canada as equal, diverse, inclusive, passionate and welcoming, with social and economic justice for all. Thank God the latter, the progressive forces, won. Thanks to their foresight, Canada is the best country in the world today to live, raise our families and work.

It is also a story of working people — working people who struggled to maintain and develop health and safety at workplaces and fair working conditions — and the many sacrifices that working people made. I want to thank our trade union movement for participating and building Canada as an equal Canada, a just Canada. As a result, we must remember and thank those — people like Louis Riel, Ginger Goodwin — who made sacrifices so that we can enjoy the Canada that we have today.

I say these things on such a happy occasion. As they say, those who forget their past are doomed to repeat it. Also, we must expose ourselves to who we are so that we can determine what we want to become. We have a lot to learn from our past and a lot to learn what not to do. In our own community, in the South Asian community, many people came before us and opened the doors for us to come and debate such important issues in this House.

It started from a time when those people that looked like us were excluded from coming to Canada and those who were here didn’t have equal rights — those from the time when we didn’t have the right to vote to the time when we are now part of this House and we make laws to make lives better for British Columbians.

Khalsa Diwan Society on Second Avenue. The leaders, in their foresight, never gave up on Canada despite all the adversities that they faced — people like Meva Singh and Ghog Singh, Dr. Pandia and today, Charan Pal Gill, who fought against discrimination and racist policies of past governments. As a result, we have a more inclusive Canada today.

Our South Asian industry leaders — people like the Domans, Mayo Singh, Terminal, Goldwood Industries — and the many forestry workers who also ended up being labour leaders. Those are the doors that were never open for us before, but thanks to those, we are equal partners in every aspect of Canadian society. In politics — people like Naranjan Singh Grewall, who became the first mayor of Mission.

Our journey doesn’t end here. Canada’s journey doesn’t end here. We must continue to work in this House and outside to make sure that Canada is an even better place and more equal, more peaceful for generations to come.

T. Shypitka: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to my constituents in Kootenay East for the privilege and opportunity of serving and representing you here today.

I rise today to speak to a tremendous occasion, the 150th anniversary of the British North America Act of 1867, uniting separate colonies in the Dominion of Canada. Canadians this week across our country, from coast to coast to coast, are united by shared bonds. In these values, we stand united from coast to coast to coast — from here in British Columbia on the west coast, to the northern territories, from the Prairies to Ontario and Quebec, through to the provinces in the Atlantic.

Of course, we also recognize that the history of this land predates that 150th anniversary, as our First Nations have a history here that significantly predates those first European explorers.

[11:30 a.m.]

Canadians today have backgrounds and ancestries that can be traced all around the world. Today Canada is a beacon of hope to the world. We are a welcoming nation where men and women from all over the world immigrate because they want a better life for themselves and for their families, and this is where they want to do it. This is the land of freedom and of opportunity. This is a land where men and women of all faith traditions are welcome, one to which those facing persecution abroad can come. That pluralism is our strength. No matter what one’s background, I believe we can acknowledge that we are blessed to call this nation our home.

I want to particularly thank the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces, those who wear our country’s uniform and answer the call of duty. Today we especially bear in mind those members of the Armed Forces who are away today, away from their families and serving our country while making this 150th anniversary of the founding of the Dominion of Canada. Thank you for your service. Thank you to your families.

Before I wrap up, I’d like to say a few words about our province. Here in B.C., we’re particularly fortunate to call this place our home, a remarkable province with a remarkable and rich history of its own. The contributions of British Columbians echo throughout Canadian history. Of the many people from across the world who want to come to Canada, many choose British Columbia.

I am honoured to represent Kootenay East, an amazing section of our beautiful province, a gateway to the mountains and, if I dare say so, one of the most beautiful parts of our province.

I encourage all British Columbians to attend a Canada 150 celebration. In my constituency, I know that so many communities in the Kootenays have a Canada Day celebration planned, ones to which all are welcome. For myself personally, my family and I will be spending Canada Day biking from Wardner to the community of Cranbrook on a brand-new trail system that was built by many volunteers and partnered with the Ktunaxa First Nation. This trail system further promotes the beauty and all that Kootenay East has to offer.

We have a bright future and a history to be proud of, and a future that is bright. On this momentous occasion of the 150th anniversary since the founding of the Dominion of Canada, let us never be afraid to be proud of our nation, our province or the values that we hold dear.

As I saw just moments ago the children that are up in the gallery…. These are the values that we’ll pass on to our children. This is the nation that our children will inherit, just as we were fortunate to be here ourselves. Especially as members here in this place, we must always be mindful of the role entrusted to us by the constituents we serve.

K. Conroy: I, too, am pleased to stand to speak to this motion: “Be it resolved that this House join with British Columbians in celebrating the upcoming 150th birthday of our great country — Canada.” Like others in this chamber, I too am the daughter of immigrants who chose to come to Canada. My parents, Ben and Ingeborg Thor-Larsen, immigrated from Denmark — dad in 1951, mom in 1952, when they were married.

Dad arrived in Vancouver in November, where he got work shoveling snow for 25 cents a day. Unfortunately, the freak snowstorm only lasted one day. He quickly went on to get work as a machinist, his trade and why he immigrated. Canada needed tradespersons. He promised Mom if she didn’t like it here, they could always go back, but they never did. In fact, they became Canadian citizens July 1, 1967, during Canada’s 100th birthday celebrations in Castlegar.

I remember as a kid my dad grilling me on the times tables and me grilling him on the capital cities of all the provinces in Canada. He was incredibly nervous about passing the test. I also remember the ceremony, the excitement, the giant cake and how happy they were. Every time I attend a Canadian citizenship ceremony in my official capacity and welcome new Canadians, I’m always a wee bit emotional and grateful my parents chose Canada and stayed, raising us four kids. We were first-generation Canadians, and now our grandkids are third generation, although, on my husband’s side, our grandchildren are, we think, eighth-generation Canadians, as his family immigrated from Ireland to Canada during the potato famine.

Our region is made up of immigrants from throughout the world, but primarily Italians, Portuguese and the Doukhobors, who fled Russia at the turn of the last century to escape persecution, as they were a peace-loving group who refused to bear arms. That tradition carries on today with the leader of the Union of Spiritual Communities of Christ, J.J. Verigin, a respected voice for peace here at home and internationally.

[11:35 a.m.]

There are many events happening throughout our region to celebrate the 150th birthday. The Kootenay Gallery of Art is organizing a community project called 150-Plus Creative Acts. Shemmaho Goodenough, who immigrated to our area from the U.S. in 1970, has taken up the challenge to celebrate 150 in a unique way. As part of the celebration at Millennium Park in Castlegar, she asked that we gather at 3:15 to all symbolically state the oath of citizenship — however, not the existing one. She explains that the preamble of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission states: “In order to redress the legacy of residential schools and advance the process of Canadian reconciliation, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada makes 94 calls to action.”

The 94th call to action states: “We call upon the government of Canada to replace the oath of citizenship with the following: ‘I swear, or affirm, that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, her heirs and successors, and that I faithfully observe the laws of Canada, including the treaties with indigenous people, and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.’”

The oath for new citizens is suggested as part of education for Canadians, both naturalized and those born here. She hopes we will all join her to publicly recite this affirmation, thus grounding our support for First Nations treaty rights.

This is an interesting event to happen at the confluence of the Kootenay and Columbia rivers, an area once seen as the traditional territory of the Sinixt — or Lakes people. For a number of reasons, the members of the band gradually left the area, migrating to the west, to the Okanagan nations, and south, to the Colville Confederated Tribes.

When the last living member of the band died in our area in the ’50s, the federal government declared the Sinixt extinct, and yet there are descendants of the Sinixt elders who are living today, very much alive and certainly not extinct.

I think it is time we recognize that, in fact, this nation is not extinct and has been a part of history for many years before Canada even became a country. For many in our area, that would be a respectful way to celebrate Canada’s 150th.

We have to do more to recognize the rights and titles of indigenous peoples who have called this land home for thousands of years and to address the wrongs committed in the creation of Canada. We need to continue to fight racism and discrimination and ensure that our communities are welcoming for everyone — just like my parents when they arrived in the 1950s.

Deputy Speaker: Minister for Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.

Let’s change that. Columbia River–Revelstoke. I was trying to promote you, Member.

D. Clovechok: I appreciate that very much, let me tell you straight-up, and I accept.

I’m honoured and privileged to rise here today for the first time in this very special place, representing Columbia River–Revelstoke. I want to thank and recognize all those who helped me earn the right to be here. The names are far too many to recognize, but to the over 120 active volunteers who gave freely of their time and commitment to our shared goal, I say thank you. You stand here with me today.

I want to specifically thank my wife and family for their never-ending belief in me and the unwavering support and encouragement.

This weekend, we will celebrate the day 150 years ago when the people of this great land came together and forged our country — Canada. The dreams, the backbreaking work and the understandings between many cultural and religious communities helped create our great Canadian mosaic.

An important part of this is acknowledging the First Nations and Métis communities of our province and across Canada, whose rich history and cultures extend well beyond 150 years, into thousands of years. Together, we are a diverse, inclusive and compassionate country, and we are blessed to call Canada and British Columbia home.

This weekend, throughout my riding, we will be celebrating this milestone event. To celebrate Canada 150, I will be joining Mayor Mark McKee and other Revelstokians and be riding in the parade in Revelstoke. I, along with locals and tourists, will stand proudly watching the RCMP members dressed and marching in their iconic Canadian red serge.

We’ll see the assembly in the park for the ceremonial cake-cutting. I always enjoy this gathering, which hosts hundreds of folks and lots and lots of kids. The festivities in Revelstoke are large and eventful — and the annual bocce tournament, face painting and live music.

This year is extra special for Revelstoke because it’s the 125th anniversary for the Revelstoke fire department. On their own anniversary, I would like to thank and recognize them — and, indeed, all firefighters — for their service to our communities and our families.

[11:40 a.m.]

Elsewhere in my riding, people in Invermere will start Canada Day off at midnight. The local Kinsmen Club will light up the night with a festival of fireworks display that will not soon be forgotten. Invermere will have its own parade, organized by our local legion, and everything you can imagine for Canada 150.

In Golden, there are at least two pancake breakfasts put on by the Lions Club. There’s also the Kicking Horse Country Dash, a six kilometre run that you’ll kick yourself for missing. Also, don’t miss the Canada Day Grind, a trail bike event; the Old Fashioned Picnic; and the Golden Stomp Down. But don’t hang your boots up. There’s also an outdoor pool party and free concerts at both the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort and Golden municipal campground.

In the highest city in my constituency and in Canada, Kimberley kicks off the day with a wild wing start. The Kimberley food bank rubber-duck race is sure to get your feathers all ruffled up. Over 3,000 ducks will be racing — with lots of prizes, all donated, including a $2,500 grand prize. All moneys raised go directly to the food bank. There also will be live music in the bandstand, First Nations singers and drumming followed by, of course, more cake.

I want to recognize all the volunteers, as well, that make these events happen. Without them, they could not happen.

I also want to congratulate my neighbours down on Dutch Creek, Heinz and Ulrike Meyers, who this Saturday will celebrate their 50th year as Canadian citizens.

Even with all those celebrations, it’s more than a party that brings us together. We must never forget that our country, our province, our way of life did not happen by accident. Canada is a country based upon diversity, with people coming from backgrounds across the world to build a better life for themselves and their families.

We are a country that cherishes freedom, democracy and justice, while at the same time extending our kindness to those who are in need. We are a nation so proud of our past, so proud of our First Nation cultures and so confident in our future that together we’re ready for the next 150 years. Canada is the greatest country in the world, and like you, I’m proud to call it my home.

Happy Canada Day, everyone, and happy birthday, Canada.

C. Trevena: I’m delighted to join the debate to mark British Columbia’s upcoming 150th birthday and to say that it is a…. We are celebrating it through this House. I am one of the number of members in this Legislature who had the privilege of choosing my nationality. I chose Canada as my country. I came to Canada back in 1993 to work and ended up falling in love with the place — its physical geography, its diversity, its tolerance, the very essence of what Canada is.

It’s a true privilege to be able to choose your nationality. Many people who come to Canada come as refugees. We are well known for opening our arms, opening our houses and opening our communities to refugees, and I’m very proud that that is the case. That is one of the hallmarks of us as Canadians — that we are very open. We’ve seen most recently…. Whether it is the Syrian refugees who came in at the end of 2015, into 2016, or those who are so desperate and who have been crossing the land border in Manitoba and in Quebec to get into Canada recently, we see that we are still a welcoming place that is encouraging refugees to come.

I, coming as a professional, had that ability and that privilege to choose Canada as a place to settle. As I used to say at the citizenship ceremonies that I would go to as the MLA for North Island, which always brought a lump to my throat…. Each time that the oath of citizenship was stated, I remembered my own citizenship ceremony, which was held in Toronto back in 1999. Whenever there was one in Campbell River, I tried to attend. Unfortunately, the citizenship ceremonies don’t happen in our smaller communities anymore, which I think is a great sadness and really does lose some of the vibrancy that we could have had.

Being a Canadian citizen comes, as we all know, with rights and with responsibilities. We know our rights. We know our freedom of speech, our freedom of expression. There are so many rights that we, because we have rule of law, count on. But there are responsibilities. There’s the responsibility of going to vote. There’s the responsibility of participating in your community. It is one that sometimes is forgotten in the mess of everyday life.

[11:45 a.m.]

Particularly for new Canadians trying to establish themselves, sometimes they are able to get out and really get involved, and other times they have too many other things to deal with. But participating in our democracy is a fundamental responsibility of all of us as Canadians, and I think that as we celebrate our 150th anniversary, it’s something we should remember.

I came to Canada, as I mentioned, in 1993. I learned a lot about the politics of this country because I came in time to work…. I was working as a journalist, and it was the time of the ’93 federal election. The Conservatives were routed. They were left with two seats, and the Bloc Québécois became the official opposition.

Here in B.C., we have our own political dramas playing out, as we all know, at the moment, with our current almost-hung parliament. So we see the importance of participating in our democracy. We see the importance — that every vote really, really does matter.

We’re celebrating Canada’s 150th. We’ve got to remember as we do so, in this chamber, in the House, recognizing the 150th birthday of Canada, that, actually, B.C. wasn’t a signatory to the original act of Confederation. We joined four years later. So maybe in another four years we will be celebrating our own 150th. B.C. itself was a new entity at that time — the colony of Vancouver Island having just become part of the greater whole in 1866. It was all pretty new, and we weren’t signatories. Nor was that huge land mass known as Rupert’s Land, land that was actually owned by the Hudson’s Bay Company. Now it would be pretty horrific — it is pretty horrific — to think that a company could own such a vast array of land, but they did.

One of the things, as we celebrate our 150th, is that we have moved on. We’ve got a long way to go, but we have moved on. I think all of us remember that the physical land mass which has been known as Canada for 150-plus years — whether it was Upper Canada, Lower Canada or Canada — has been here for millennia. The land mass has been here, and there have been people living here for much of that time — people with their own cultures and their own societies.

Representing the North Island…. There are areas where contact between First Nations was made. First contact was made with Captain Vancouver, Captain Quadra, Captain Cortes in what is now the Discovery Islands.

I would like to finish off with just one last line, saying that we have peace, order and good governance. They’re not just a banner headline. They all do help to make a just society.

G. Kyllo: On behalf of the hard-working people of Shuswap, it is truly my pleasure to add my thoughts to this morning’s motion.

For the past century and a half, Canadians have been building and shaping Canadian identity. Generations of hard-working Canadians have built a legacy that is now known around the world. And I’m not just talking about our amazing poutine or our world-class maple syrup. We have worked hard to create a culture of understanding, of opportunity and of respect for one another, regardless of one’s personal heritage, belief system or gender.

People from around the world have left their home countries to seek out the opportunities that Canada has to offer — people like my stepfather, Knut Thomsen, who left Denmark at the age of 18, eventually settling in Sicamous, where he acquired a houseboat rental business. Millions more — 17 million, in fact — have chosen to do the same in the time since Canada’s Confederation. Not only have we accepted newcomers as our own, but we have worked hard to create and share improvements for those beyond our country’s borders.

We can all be proud of the advances we have made in medicine, such as the creation of insulin; in technology, the Canadarm and IMAX; and in communications, the telephone and the walkie-talkie. They have helped us to live healthier lives, created jobs and connected us to the world.

Our culture and our heritage is one that takes care of our neighbours with the confidence that they will do the same for us. These values and principles that I have mentioned have been sewn into the fabric of the cities, towns and communities across Canada and are deeply tied to our identity. As we reflect on the 150th anniversary of our Confederation, we have a lot to be thankful for and a lot to celebrate.

In my riding of Shuswap, my constituents and I are celebrating by participating in the annual Blind Bay parade, where the community gathers together to show off our floats and antique cars, finally finishing the night off with an exciting on-the-water fireworks display in my hometown of Sicamous. It is a great community event where we are able to come together and celebrate Canada.

[11:50 a.m.]

I’d like to thank Ron and Rose Mitchell, who have driven me in the parade every year, since being elected as MLA, in their ’64 Ford Galaxie. I’d also like to make note that several other Shuswap communities — namely Armstrong, Spallumcheen, Enderby, Salmon Arm and Sicamous — are also celebrating Canada Day with community celebrations and parades of their own.

In addition to all of the July 1 celebrations, one special place in my riding shares its 150th birthday with Canada: the O’Keefe Ranch. The ranch is an important part of British Columbia’s ranching history, and its staff members have worked hard to preserve the culture and history of life in early B.C. for future generations.

Through sites like the O’Keefe Ranch, we can learn about some of the challenges and experiences Canada went through during its infancy. The ranch gives us a look into B.C.’s cattle industry and provides visitors with a deeper sense of appreciation for the industries that served as a foundation for the Canada that we all know today. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank historian Ken Mather and the ranch manager, Glen Taylor, for preserving this important piece of history.

Since 1867, Canada has changed and matured immensely. We have a lot to be thankful for, and I’m thrilled — as all British Columbians should be — to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday.

Hon. N. Letnick moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. N. Letnick moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

Deputy Speaker: We stand adjourned until 1:30 this afternoon.

The House adjourned at 11:52 a.m.