Routine Business

Prayers.

Introductions by Members

Hon. J. Horgan: Members, in the gallery today is Leonard Schein, a well-known film aficionado from Vancouver. Leonard is the former owner of the Fifth Avenue Cinemas, the Park Theatre and the Ridge Theatre. He’s also the founder of the Vancouver International Film Festival. Leonard has been known for his philanthropy and his contributions to not just the arts and culture but the fabric and dynamism of Vancouver and, indeed, all of British Columbia. Would all members please welcome Leonard Schein to the Legislative Assembly of the province of British Columbia.

S. Cadieux: There are a number of folks in the gallery today from the Alliance of B.C. Students to meet with both sides of the House. I’d like to introduce them: Andrew Dillman, Noah Berson, Matt McLean, Anna-Elaine Rempel, Patrick Meehan, Chris Girodat, Snehdeep Kang, Sukhroop Kaur, Gurleen Sidhu, Jasvinder Singh, Harsimrat Singh, Joseph Thorpe, David Piraquive, Jewelles Smith, Gurvir Gill, Rajdeep Dhaliwhal and, last of all but not least, Emily Gaudette. Would the House please make them welcome.

L. Larson: Somewhere in the precinct today is the mayor-elect, Brian Taylor, of Grand Forks and the chair of the regional district of Kootenay-Boundary, Roly Russell. Would you please make them welcome.

Hon. K. Conroy: We always announce special events in the House. Today I’d like to announce that one of our colleagues is turning a big “0” birthday. I’ll let you guess which number goes in front of the big “0,” but please join me in wishing a big “0” birthday to the member for Saanich South.

Hon. J. Sims: I have visiting me in the gallery today a very dear friend, like a younger sister to me, and one of my constituents. I met her in 2012 and really, really value our friendship and her support. It’s Rabina Sattar.

I also have visiting here today Betty Dusange-Hayer, a friend I met recently. We’ve made some very strong connections, and I would say she is a big activist in the community. Accompanying them today is Anna Wu, who represents the Canada Asia Economic and Culture Association.

Please assist me in welcoming them to this House.

J. Martin: Today in the precinct, we have several members from CLAC, the Christian Labour Association of Canada; PCA, the Progressive Contractors Association of Canada; Canada Works; and Canada West. They’re here meeting with members, discussing fairness in the workplace, access to public projects and restrictive hiring practices. Please make them welcome.

Hon. H. Bains: I have a couple of introductions to make today. First, it is my pleasure to introduce some very special guests in the gallery: Jastej Singh Aujla — we call him Ronnie; his wife, Praneet Sandhu; along with their son Mehtab. They are here along with their parents who are visiting them. They are Ronnie’s parents from India. They are Dr. Kuljit Singh Aujla and Amrik Kaur Aujla. Ronnie has brought them over to show our beautiful city of Victoria and the people’s House. Please would the House join me in making them very, very welcome.

[10:10 a.m.]

E. Ross: Another birthday wish, a special birthday wish, to the first MLA that I ever met in my previous term as chief councillor of Haisla Nation Council. The birthday wishes go out, actually, to our House Leader, Mary Polak. Happy birthday, Mary Polak.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: We’ll let that one go.

E. Ross: My apologies. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Happy birthday to the House Leader.

Hon. L. Popham: Just so nobody is left guessing, it’s the big five-o. A happy birthday to my colleague across the way.

I’m going to join my colleague who introduced representatives from the regional district of Kootenay-Boundary today. She mentioned Roly Russell and Mayor-elect Brian Taylor.

Congratulations, Brian.

Also joining them, in their delegation, are Colleen Ross, city of Grand Forks policy group liaison for recovery, and Graham Watt, the Boundary Flood Recovery team recovery manager.

Please make them welcome.

Statements

MESSAGE OF CONDOLENCE
FOR LUCAK FAMILY

L. Throness: I have a sad event to relate today. There’s an informal fraternity among those who assist us here in Victoria and in our constituency offices. When one member suffers, we all hurt a little bit.

Last Saturday my constituency assistant, Dagmar Lucak, and her husband, Bill, smelled smoke in their house. They opened their bedroom door, and the place was engulfed in flames. Dagmar was able to escape without harm, but her husband, Bill, did not, tragically.

This is a reminder that our lives can change in a moment. We need to hold those we love close to us.

The condolences of this House go out to Dagmar, to her daughter, Ayla, and to her son, Emry.

Introductions by Members

Hon. B. Ralston: Joining us in the members’ gallery this morning is Marta Cowling, the newly appointed consul general of Portugal in Vancouver. Most recently the consul general was a representative for Portugal to the European Union.

As many of us are aware, the community of Canadians of Portuguese origin is prominently represented in British Columbia, numbering over 40,000, including famous Victoria-born singer and songwriter Nelly Furtado. I look forward to meeting with the consul general later this afternoon to strengthen trade and investment relationships between our jurisdictions.

Would the House please extend a warm welcome to the consul general.

Hon. H. Bains: I’m not sure whether they have made it to the gallery yet. There are 50 grade 5 students from my constituency school of École Gabrielle-Roy. They are joined by their teacher Assoli Renault. Please help me to say bienvenue to all of them.

P. Milobar: Well, all of us in the House have family members who have supported us along the way. It gives me great pleasure that I am joined by such a family member here today, as well, surely the most patient woman that I know. My wife of 25 years, Lianne Milobar, is here today.

M. Dean: Today here in the building, we’re visited by a class of grades 4 and 5 students from Eagle View Elementary. They’re studying government, and I spent last Friday morning there answering an awful lot of questions that were very smart from all of the kids. I would invite everybody to welcome them and their teacher Ryan Nast. Please make them very welcome.

Introduction and
First Reading of Bills

BILL 53 — RECALL AND INITIATIVE
AMENDMENT ACT, 2018

Hon. D. Eby presented a message from Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor: a bill intituled Recall and Initiative Amendment Act, 2018.

Hon. D. Eby: I move that the bill be introduced and read a first time now.

I am pleased to introduce the Recall and Initiative Amend­ment Act, 2018. This bill amends the Recall and Initiative Act to ensure that the financing and advertising roles for the recall process are consistent with financing and advertising rules under the Election Act.

[10:15 a.m.]

Last fall amendments to the Election Act banned big money from provincial elections and banned political contributions from outside of British Columbia. This bill would implement similar rules for all participants in a recall. Union, corporate and foreign contributions to petition proponents and members subject to a petition would no longer be permitted.

Eligible British Columbians would be permitted to contribute a maximum of $1,200 per year to a petition proponent or a member subject to a petition. Similar restrictions would apply to contributions to recall advertising sponsors. The bill would provide for additional transparency around fundraising functions held on behalf of petition proponents or on behalf of members…

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Hon. D. Eby: …subject to a petition when those functions are attended by party leaders or cabinet ministers.

The bill also addresses the fact that, currently, recall proponents and MLAs are subject to spending limits but third-party sponsors of recall advertising are not. This bill would create an expenses limit for advertising sponsors of $5,000 during the recall petition period.

In order to promote transparency around recall advertising sponsorship, individuals and organizations engaged in advertising that directly promotes or opposes the recall of a member would be required to register before sponsoring the advertising, regardless of when they are conducting that direct advertising.

Finally, the bill establishes monetary penalties for contravening recall financing and recall advertising rules, similar to penalties under the Election Act, to assist the Chief Electoral Officer in enforcing the rules for the recall process.

Mr. Speaker: The question is first reading of the bill.

Motion approved on division.

Mr. Speaker: The first motion passed on division.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members, the first motion has been moved on division. That’s been noted. Let’s move on to the second motion.

Hon. D. Eby: I move the bill be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

[10:20 a.m.]

Bill 53, Recall and Initiative Amendment Act, 2018, introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today on the following division:

YEAS — 43
Chouhan	Kahlon	Begg
Brar	Heyman	Donaldson
Mungall	Bains	Beare
Chen	Popham	Trevena
Sims	Chow	Kang
Simons	D’Eith	Routley
Ma	Elmore	Dean
Routledge	Singh	Leonard
Darcy	Simpson	Robinson
Farnworth	Horgan	James
Eby	Dix	Ralston
Mark	Fleming	Conroy
Fraser	Chandra Herbert	Rice
Furstenau	Weaver	Olsen
	Glumac
NAYS — 40
Cadieux	de Jong	Bond
Polak	Wilkinson	Lee
Stone	Wat	Bernier
Thornthwaite	Paton	Ashton
Barnett	Yap	Martin
Davies	Kyllo	Sullivan
Isaacs	Morris	Stilwell
Ross	Oakes	Johal
Redies	Rustad	Milobar
Sturdy	Shypitka	Hunt
Throness	Tegart	Stewart
Sultan	Gibson	Reid
Letnick	Thomson	Larson
	Foster

Statements
(Standing Order 25B)

WAH NGOK

T. Wat: I’m very sad to learn of the loss of my former colleague and friend Elliot Ngok at the age of 76 on October 20.

Elliot is more affectionately known to the community as Wah Ngok, great brother Wah. We have known each other since the ’90s. He has always been a passionate actor and an individual, both in British Columbia and in Hong Kong.

Wah Ngok started his acting career in Hong Kong in 1963. He was one of the most versatile and prolific leading actors and starred in five to ten films per year in his golden days. His shot to fame was the 1966 film Come Drink With Me.

[10:25 a.m.]

Wah Ngok and his family moved to Vancouver in the ’90s. He and I were colleagues at the multicultural radio station Mainstream Broadcasting CHMB AM 1320. He was a Mandarin program host, a man of strong work ethics and passion who always helped and cared for his colleagues.

Wah Ngok has always been actively involved in community work in B.C. He participated in many charity events and helped raise over $1 million for our local charitable organizations and those in need around the world. He has always volunteered and visited seniors homes to sing and perform for the residents, giving them warmth and laughter. He and his wife, Tanny Tien, also a well-known actress in Asia, are dedicated volunteers of the Tzu Chi Foundation of Canada, which delivers disaster relief and humanitarian services through the essence of Buddhism.

I would like to offer my most sincere condolences to his wife, Tanny, and his daughter, Faye. Words fail when a loved one is taken away from us too soon, but I pray we’ll all find comfort and strength in the love and support of family members.

GORD DOWNIE AND CHANIE WENJACK FUND
LEGACY SCHOOLS PROGRAM

B. Ma: Chanie Wenjack was nine years old when he was sent to the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School in 1963. Years later Chanie ran away from the school to try to reunite with his family 600 kilometres away. He didn’t make it. They found his body one week later at the age of 12.

Chanie is one of an estimated 6,000 Indigenous children who never made it home from a residential school. It was this story, the story of so many Indigenous children in this country, that inspired Canadian rock musician, writer and activist Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip to create, in collaboration with the Wenjack family, The Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund to continue the conversation that began with Chanie Wenjack’s residential school story and to aid our collective reconciliation journey through awareness, education and action.

Gord Downie passed away on October 17, 2017, and this fund is part of his legacy. Most of us in these chambers did not grow up learning about the residential school system. Indeed, there are generations of Canadians outside of these walls who have no idea. But our young people know. Through the Downie-Wenjack legacy school program, classrooms in schools will lead the movement in raising awareness about the history and impact of the residential school system on Indigenous peoples and the challenges they continue to face today.

Because of the leadership of district principal Brad Baker, five North Vancouver schools — including Norgate Elementary, Westview Elementary, Carisbrooke Elementary, Sherwood Park Elementary and Windsor Secondary — will join Gord Downie in his commitment to reconciliation as legacy schools.

Though the road to reconciliation is long and the path winding and the journey arduous, let us all go forward with courage.

FUNDRAISING BY
LIONS GATE HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

R. Sultan: Lions Gate Hospital on the North Shore is both a community hospital and a regional centre of excellence, fourth-ranked in Vancouver Coastal in volume of patient care. Lions Gate Hospital Foundation is only a few hundred thousand dollars shy of reaching its $100 million fundraising goal, about half of the funds required for a new high-tech medical and surgical centre.

The $93 million raised so far was donated by 3 percent of the North Shore residents. For those last few dollars, the foundation needs support from all of the North Shore community, the 97 percent, regardless of the individual dollar amount.

The Give Where You Live campaign was recently launched with the slogan “Celebrate seven days of LGH for a lifetime of care.” Keystone sponsors were Save-On Foods and McDonald’s, and supporting roles were played by a long list of North Shore businesses.

[10:30 a.m.]

The public at large was engaged through a Burma Shave on Lions Gate Bridge, a rally at the SeaBus terminal, a meet-and-greet tent on Lonsdale, Facebook Live, and more. The results? The LGH Foundation raised another $50,000 in one week. The campaign continues.

Our Minister of Health has one of the most financially challenging jobs in government. Communities have an ob­li­gation to help him out. All citizens must engage to ensure our health system excellence. Thank you, Lions Gate Hospital donors large and small.

MUSLIM YOUTH CENTRE

R. Singh: This past weekend the Muslim Youth Centre, a centre located in Surrey just across the border of my riding, organized their fundraiser. A while back, I, along with the member for Surrey-Newton, attended their International Bazaar and International Food Festival.

These events are not just organized to exhibit the array of the community’s goods and food but more an invitation to people of all faiths and denominations across the Lower Mainland to join in the celebration of the immense diversity of Surrey and our magnificent province.

Events like these are not the only outreach that the centre arranges. Since 1999, when the late Iman Asgar Husain, with the support of his wife, Zuleika Husain, opened the centre, it has been a place for young girls and boys to engage in spiritual, religious and educational programs, besides having the opportunity to attend self-defence classes and sports days. One of its objectives is to provide youth with a friendly educational environment and to empower them enough to repel unwanted elements.

In today’s world, where wild rhetoric and Islamophobia seem to be rampant, the Muslim Youth Centre is not only a place of solace and reflection but also a beacon working hard to bring people together, whether it is with their events, their educational work or their collaborations in the community.

I would like to acknowledge the Muslim Youth Centre and its efforts to preserve the ideals of multiculturalism of our province and to equip youth with values that will last them a lifetime and help them to build stronger communities.

FOOD GARDEN AND COOKING PROGRAM
AT JOHN ALLISON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

L. Larson: For the past five years, the students, volunteers and staff at John Allison Elementary School in Princeton have planted a fabulous food garden. The plants are carefully tended by the students during the spring, watched over by volunteers in the summer and harvested in the fall.

The next step is to cook, preserve and prepare what has been grown. Volunteers come to teach the students how to cook from scratch, the old-fashioned way. Retired teachers, professional cooks and bakers and other talented people help out with the cooking lessons.

The students participating are from kindergarten to grade 3. The kitchen kids program began in 2013 with a three-year renewing grant from the Valley First Credit Union First West Foundation. The money helped to develop the how-to-cook program and has inspired the very young to eat healthy foods and develop skills in cooking and baking.

To celebrate the success of this program, a kids’ cookbook was published with input from all of the kids’ parents and grandparents, who submitted recipes that were easy for kids to do. The kids were introduced to many different dishes from around the world, and the recipes reflect their community’s diversity.

Thanks go to the Princeton Teachers Union, the B.C. Teachers Federation, Mr. Bill Lawrence, Mr. Barry Clarke and school district 58 for their financial support over the last five years. But the driving force behind this program was teacher-volunteer Shirley Low, and it was her efforts and a grant from the government that enabled the printing this past spring of the Amazing Kitchen Kids Food Tales Cookbook. The students are very proud of their cookbook and thank everyone for their support. If anyone would like a copy, just let me know.

RON DUTTON AND ARCHIVAL COLLECTION
ON LGBT HISTORY IN B.C.

S. Chandra Herbert: While we all know the saying about how those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it, we also need to sometimes consider what voices are missing from history, what conversations, what people are missing from the record — in many cases, minority voices.

In my community, I have a remarkable constituent who’s worked hard to ensure that the voices of LGBT people, in their fight for equality and for civil rights, have not gone missing, have not vanished.

[10:35 a.m.]

Over 42 years, Mr. Ron Dutton has collected posters, reports, magazines, advertisements, articles and various ephemera of the LGBT civil rights movement in British Columbia. He has now amassed over 750,000 items in his B.C. gay and lesbian archives.

Now, that’s a lot of items, and as a constituent of mine, where would he find a place in the West End big enough to keep that? I don’t know. He lives in a two-bedroom apartment, but he has somehow managed to fit his archives into his apartment in an incredibly organized way. But that’s been a challenge, because of course, he’s wanted that archive to be able to be studied and learned about all across the province and for anyone around the world.

They can’t all fit into his small apartment, so Ron has done something remarkable, I think, in keeping the collection and now giving it to the City of Vancouver Archives. This collection will not just be held in the archives, where you have to go and research it there, as I know that Ron feared it being locked away in boxes that nobody would see. What they’re doing now is digitizing the collection. They’ve just announced that they’re going to, through the next year, digitize all of the audio-visual, all the graphics and all the artwork that he’s collected to have available on line by next summer.

I want to say thank you to Ron, thank you to the City of Vancouver Archives and thank you to everybody who makes preservation of history and the stories that unite us so much more of a priority than it has been.

J. Rice: I seek leave to make an introduction.

Leave granted.

Introductions by Members

J. Rice: They weren’t in the House earlier when they were acknowledged, but considering all that this community has endured with an unprecedented flood this year, I wanted the House to recognize the outstanding resilience and leadership of the community of Grand Forks and the regional district of Kootenay-Boundary. I’m hoping the House can please make welcome local government reps Roly Russell, Colleen Ross, Brian Taylor and recovery manager Graham Watt.

Oral Questions

COMMUNITY BENEFITS AGREEMENT
AND WORKERS

S. Bond: Ryan Deforge is a heavy-equipment operator and a trainer from Mission. He has a question for the Minister of Transportation. He says: “I’ve worked on numerous major public infrastructure projects in my career. To keep working, why should I be forced to join an NDP-approved union?”

A pretty simple question to the Minister of Transportation: why is she forcing Ryan to join a union he does not want to join?

Hon. C. Trevena: As always, I’m willing to listen to constituents directly. If they want to get in touch with me directly, I’d be happy to talk to Ryan about this.

I would like to reference a government report prepared for the former Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training, the current member for Prince George–Valemount, to answer the question. The report, which was presented to the former government back in 2014, provided some useful information on meeting the skilled labour needs for projects in our province.

It’s talking about the use of project labour agreements, or community benefits agreements, and the mobile workforce. It says that they have a significant history of use in B.C. stemming back to the 1960s’ large-scale infrastructure development. The model continues today under the Allied Hydro agreement, says the report.

That agreement was with the same 19 building trade unions that are involved with community benefit agreements. Maybe the member can explain to me why a number of projects that started and completed under their government were using the same 19 select unions that are being used under community benefit agreements.

Mr. Speaker: Prince George–Valemount on a supplemental.

[10:40 a.m.]

S. Bond: Well, it was a nice try, Minister, but the good part of the answer was the part where the minister said she’d be willing to talk to Ryan. It’s about time. In fact, Ryan is in the gallery today. Ryan is here today, and he is a proud member of CLAC. In fact, he and his colleagues are joining us today, and he wants a straightforward answer from this minister.

Ryan wanted the minister to know this….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members, we shall hear the question.

S. Bond: Ryan wanted the minister to know this: “These things used to justify this deal don’t make sense. For example, the apprenticeship goals are just aspirational and are actually lower than most projects I work on. I still want to know why the minister would violate my right to join the union of my choice.”

Will the minister explain to Ryan, who is listening very carefully to her answers today, why she is forcing him to join an NDP-approved union he doesn’t want to join?

Hon. C. Trevena: I think that the member opposite knows that on work projects, people join the association or the union that’s part of the project. So members are often members of CLAC, members of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and other unions, depending on where the work is and what the work format is.

Maybe the members opposite also recall a project which was started under their watch in my constituency. I remember former Minister of Energy Bill Bennett coming up to Campbell River, being there with SNC-Lavalin at the start of the John Hart generating station. It started in 2014 and is just wrapping up now. That, also, was constructed under a project labour agreement with 19 select building trade unions.

The member may want to explain why their government constructed such a large project using an agreement very similar to that which we’re using. But I think I can tell the member why: because the 19 building trades unions know how to build major projects. They know about construction; they know about apprenticeships. That’s why we, like the opposition when they were in government, are working with them.

Mr. Speaker: Prince George–Valemount on a second supplemental.

S. Bond: I’m sure the minister will continue to dismiss and ignore the concerns. The minister can stand in the House all she wants. With CLAC, members who work hard, who actually also know how to build projects, who have skills, who have expertise….

The minister can duck, dodge and ignore the question. Here’s what Ryan had to say to the minister.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members, the member for Prince George–​Valemount has the floor.

S. Bond: The members opposite can be as dismissive as they want. Here’s what Ryan had to say to the members on that side of the House. He said: “I know that the Premier has dismissively called CLAC members like me turkeys. This feels like political payback” — the Premier can shake his head; that’s what he said — “and I think that’s wrong.” These are Ryan’s words: “Why should I be banned…?”

Interjections.

S. Bond: Let’s try it again. “The Premier has dismissively called CLAC members like me turkeys. This feels like political payback, and I think that’s wrong. Why should I be banned from working on public projects because of the government’s political agenda?”

Why are Ryan and other experienced, hard-working British Columbians who are here today being forced by this minister to join a union they don’t want to join?

Hon. C. Trevena: I’d like to continue with the opposition’s record from when they were government. The $900 million Waneta dam expansion began in 2010 and ended in 2015. That project was also, under the previous government, a labour agreement with 19 select building trade unions — exactly as we are doing.

[10:45 a.m.]

The member opposite was the Minister of Jobs at that time so should have known about labour agreements. The member opposite at that time, as Labour Minister, would have also known that nobody is being forced to join a particular union. It is a union jobsite.

The reason why, I’m sure, the opposition, when they were government, used their 19 select unions is because the building trades know how to build projects. They worked for the former government; they’re working with us too.

M. Polak: We’ve heard a lot of dismissive comments from the minister when we pursued this line of questioning, but this one, I think, is particularly disgraceful, because it doesn’t take much time to compare the agreements that were made in the past with what’s contained in this current agreement.

I will go directly after what the minister just said about how these people are not being forced to join particular unions. Well, the agreement actually says they are. First of all, in article 8.100 and 8.101, it says that maintaining their membership in such unions is a condition of employment. It makes that very clear by saying: “Application for membership shall be made to join the appropriate affiliate within 30 calendar days.” That’s a condition of their employment.

The minister should stop skating around that. It’s really disgraceful that she pretends that’s not in the agreement. It’s disgraceful to people like Natalie. Natalie Bak is a red seal welder from Burnaby. She completed her apprenticeship with CLAC…

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members, we shall hear the question.

M. Polak: …as many, many people do.

Here’s what Natalie says: “I’m proud of my training, and I don’t understand why I can’t work on public projects as a CLAC member. How does it make sense to exclude one of the top three sponsors of apprentices in B.C. from public projects?”

It doesn’t make sense, and the minister should be explaining why she expects that these people should be forced to join unions they don’t want to join.

Hon. C. Trevena: The member opposite was in government for a number of years. She should realize that it is a union jobsite, like Allied Hydro jobsites, like the John Hart generating station under their watch, like the Waneta dam under their watch. These are union jobsites. At a union jobsite, you join the union after 30 days.

Many workers, which I think the member opposite realizes, are members of a number of associations and unions. You can be a member of the Carpenters and CLAC. You can be a member of a number of unions on this jobsite. You’re anticipated — as at Waneta, as at John Hart — and expected to join one of the 19 unions, the same unions that were under Allied Hydro under the former government, as they are under our community benefits agreement.

Mr. Speaker: The House Leader for the official opposition on a supplemental.

M. Polak: Well, I guess the really only interesting thing about the minister’s answer is that it’s becoming obvious we built a heck of a lot of infrastructure when we were in government.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: House Leader, proceed.

M. Polak: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

We’ve already covered the first part of the minister’s answer on the agreements, which is incorrect, and where it is not the same as previous agreements. There’s something else that this agreement does that’s equally disturbing and maybe even more so.

Interjection.

M. Polak: No, it’s actually the wages that are paid to pre-apprentices. For example, if you’re a bricklayer pre-apprentice, guess what. You don’t even get minimum wage. As the table goes on, out to 2024, you don’t even get minimum wage then. You still only get $12.38. I mean, what’s going on here? So not even minimum wage for the bricklayers pre-apprentices. No minimum wage for the drywall taper-finisher. They get $11.78. No minimum wage for the tile-setters and the commercial-institutional. They only get 11 bucks.

This is something they don’t want to talk about, and they certainly don’t want to tell people like Natalie. Natalie says that the best way to train more apprentices is to work with everyone in the construction sector. Especially, they should be working with people like CLAC, who train thousands of apprentices each and every year.

[10:50 a.m.]

Again, why is the minister misleading workers and British Columbians about what’s in this agreement? When is she going to come clean and stop forcing workers to join unions they don’t want to join?

Hon. C. Trevena: Those tables have been adjusted. Everybody will get above the minimum wage. I have to say that….

The member can say that CLAC has apprentices. We are doing exactly what the previous government did, using the building trades. The building trades and the private sector unions have a great record on apprenticeships, on skills training.

I really do not understand what the opposition doesn’t understand about union workplaces. I mean, whether it’s going into a school where you’ve got the BCTF and you’ve got CUPE, whether it is working in a hospital where you’ve got HEU and the BCNU, whether it’s a liquor store or the Langley police department, we have union workplaces around this province. That’s what we’re going to be doing. We’re proud.

BIOPRODUCTS DEVELOPMENT
IN AGRICULTURE SECTOR

A. Olsen: To continue our theme of embracing innovation to drive economic prosperity in British Columbia, I’d like to canvass a few issues with the Minister of Agriculture on her birthday. Happy birthday, Minister.

Last week the European Union voted for an extensive ban on single-use plastics. Plastic straws and plastic bags are already being banned in various jurisdictions right here in Canada. As we move away from plastics, sustainable bioproducts are taking their place. We see examples of innovation happening around the province.

In Revelstoke, a brewery is using bread from a recovery program to make new brew. Victoria is home to Abeego, a successful operation making reusable food wraps from beeswax. Enterra Feed Corp. is using food waste to feed flies and using the resulting fly larvae to create animal feed. The list goes on.

There’s so much opportunity for us to be encouraging innovation, to be encouraging farmers to develop bio­products. The world is quickly changing, and alternatives to plastics are going to only increase in demand.

My question is to the Minister of Agriculture. We have an opportunity to position B.C. as a leader in bioproducts, but only if government leans in to support this innovation. What concrete steps is the minister taking to support the development of alternative bioproducts in our agricultural sector?

Hon. L. Popham: Thanks to my colleague for the question. It is an exciting time in agriculture. When you travel the province and meet farmers who are embracing innovation, you know that the possibilities are endless. We have just signed a new five-year Canadian agricultural partnership with the federal government. This comes with a $14 million agri-innovation program. This program will support projects relating to research and development, pilot and demonstration, and commercialization and adoption. It is an exciting time.

The member mentioned a few projects. I also have stumbled upon a few really cool projects myself.

There’s a duck and chicken farm up in Kamloops operated by young farmers that have launched a pilot project using flies to feed their poultry. They’re using this as an alternative to food pellets. This is replacing three tonnes of food waste every week from nearby restaurants. Just in Delta, where my critic’s riding is, there is a dairy farm that’s turning animal and food waste into biofuel and moving that fuel into the Fortis grid. Then lastly, in the Fraser Valley, where the Speaker resides, there’s a land-based aquaculture operation that uses food waste to generate insect protein, which they then use to feed their coho stock.

I’m as excited as the member is about innovation, and I look forward to future discussions about that.

Mr. Speaker: Saanich North and the Islands on a supplemental.

FOOD SECURITY AND
FOOD-PROCESSING SECTOR

A. Olsen: Thank you to the minister for the response. There was a time not too long ago that Vancouver Island produced 100 percent of its food. Fifty years ago we produced about 90 percent of the food that we consumed. Now we import roughly 90 percent of our food.

With climate change, disruptions in the global food network are increasing. Costs of transportation and drought are just two challenges facing food security, an issue that I know the minister is passionate about. But it’s not just growing more food that we need.

[10:55 a.m.]

In Canada, 30 percent of our food goes uneaten, and $31 billion is wasted every year. Approximately 18 percent of food waste happens at the manufacturing level, so this is a huge opportunity for innovation to address both food waste and food security. We have opportunities to encourage more food-processing facilities to help local farmers.

My question is to the Minister of Agriculture. What is the ministry doing to address the lack of food processing here on Vancouver Island and across British Columbia?

Hon. L. Popham: It must be my birthday, because that’s the best question ever. I am proud to say that in my mandate letter from the Premier, one of the things that I’m addressing is the capacity of our food processing. Up until now, we are one of the only provinces in Canada that wasn’t a home to a food innovation centre. We’re working hard, with partners, to see that a success in the near future, but there is a lot more that we can be doing. Food processing is a value-added part of agriculture, and it also would address things such as waste.

I can tell you that the member is exactly right. We are producing less food than we use, and we’re depending more on imports than we ever have in British Columbia. We need to address this for many reasons. One of them is climate change resilience. Food security is a hot topic right around the world, and I am concerned about that.

Mr. Speaker: Thank you, Minister.

Hon. L. Popham: But there are some successes as well, Mr. Speaker. Because it’s my birthday, can I just talk about one?

Mr. Speaker: The member for Kamloops–South Thompson.

COMMUNITY BENEFITS AGREEMENT
AND WORKERS

T. Stone: Tom MacDonald is a carpenter and a foreman. He’s worked for almost 20 years for the same company, Ledcor. He has participated — and is very proud of his participation — in helping build major infrastructure across British Columbia, like the B.C. Children’s Hospital, the Canada Line, and highways and bridges. He’s been a member of CLAC Local 68 for the entire period of time.

Here’s what Tom has to say: “My taxes are paying for these projects, and I find it offensive that I would be forced to join a particular union, lose the continuity of my pension and benefits, and be dispatched to a company I have no history with, all in the name of the NDP paying back their friends with no regards to my individual choice and rights.”

Tom is with us here in the gallery today, and frankly, he deserves an answer from the minister to this question. Why is the minister forcing Tom to join a union that he does not want to join?

Hon. C. Trevena: To the member opposite, I thank him for the question. I repeat my answer, from the previous two members, that we are using the same model with the same unions that the opposition did when they were government. We are using 19 building trades unions because they are proven, as private sector unions, to be excellent at training those people in the skills that we need training in.

We’re talking about heavy equipment. We’re talking about welders. We’re talking about electricians. We’re talking about pile drivers and ironworkers. These are all trades that we desperately need. The member opposite, I know, was only in government for four years. He may not have realized that there is a massive skills shortage. Part of the community benefits agreement is to build up the people of British Columbia and make sure that we’ve got those skills.

Looking at Indigenous people, looking at women and looking at other people who don’t usually enter this and ensuring that they have those skills and training, we are using the building trades unions to do that training.

Mr. Speaker: The member for Kamloops–South Thompson on a supplemental.

T. Stone: Frankly, the minister’s responses here, today, and in previous opportunities where we’ve canvassed this subject are disheartening, dismissive and highly disrespectful to people — workers like Tom MacDonald and his colleagues who are here today and the thousands of workers that they represent across this province.

[11:00 a.m.]

Now, let’s try this again, to refresh the minister’s mem­ory. Tom has worked for Ledcor for most of his career. Tom has been a member of CLAC Local 68 for that entire time period. CLAC has a long-standing bargaining relationship with Ledcor, but CLAC is not one of the 19 NDP-approved unions.

Tom says: “I object to the fact that if Ledcor obtains a contract on the Pattullo Bridge project, I would be forced to join the building trades unions to work for Ledcor, even though Ledcor already has an existing bargaining relationship with CLAC.”

This policy is unfair, and it’s discriminatory. My question to the minister, again, is this: why is the minister preventing Tom from working on the projects he wants to work on, working for the company he wants to work for, and why is she forcing him to join a union that he doesn’t want to join?

Hon. C. Trevena: Like the previous questions, I’d be very happy to sit down and talk with Tom, to talk to him about this. These are the same unions that the previous government used. We’re not forcing anybody to join a union. It’s the union worksite, as are the Allied Hydro projects, as is a school, as is a B.C. Transit operation. We have union worksites around the province.

I just really wanted to reflect a little bit on the previous government’s history. Yes, they did for…. Hydro used the 19 building trade unions, because they can deal with the skills shortage. They can deal with apprenticeships. But it has not always been their record. Going back, the member opposite mentioned the Canada Line. That was under the previous government, and under the Canada Line, they had 30 workers from Costa Rica being paid less than $4 an hour, working 12 hours a day, six days a week.

Yes, we are using a union worksite, and yes, we are using the building trades, because the building trades can train people. We’re proud of it, because we’re investing in the people of British Columbia as well as the infrastructure.

J. Thornthwaite: Tim Spencer is 21 years old and a third-year apprentice from North Vancouver. This is what Tim wants the minister to know: “This policy has nothing to do with good-paying jobs. The increase in construction costs doesn’t go to workers. It goes to higher union dues, the hiring hall, bureaucracy and inefficiencies. I know I would vote to reject this deal.”

My question, again, is for the minister. Why is the minister forcing Tim to join a union he doesn’t want?

Hon. C. Trevena: I’m sure the member opposite did tell her constituent that it’s really the honesty about what community benefit agreements are, that we’re using the same 19 unions that their government did when they were in government — the opposition, when they were in government.

I know that the opposition did have a relatively good relationship with one union just before the last election, Ironworkers 97. There were photos with the former Premier, Christy Clark. That union had some thoughts about our community benefits agreement.

I would like to quote from Doug Parton, the business manager, about the community benefits agreement. He’s talking about the Golden Ears Bridge, what was there, and I have mentioned before about how the Ironworkers had to bring pizza down to help people. But I’d just like to quote from Mr. Parton.

Mr. Speaker: Thank you, Minister.

The member for North Vancouver–Seymour on a supplemental.

J. Thornthwaite: I don’t quite know what that answer was, but I’ll continue on.

Carmen Elebracht is a fourth-year electrical apprentice. She, too, is in the gallery today. The question she has for the minister is: “I don’t see how giving a monopoly to unions controlling 15 percent of the workforce helps anyone, certainly not the workers. Why not take a collaborative approach with all of the industry and let workers decide who represents them?”

[11:05 a.m.]

Again to the minister, could we please get an answer? Why is this minister forcing Carmen to join a union she doesn’t want?

Hon. C. Trevena: We are using 19 unions in a union work­site in our community benefits agreement projects, as the members opposite, when they were government, had union worksites too. They had Waneta dam, John Hart and other Allied Hydro projects. They were union projects.

I’d like to go back to their union, the Ironworkers. Mr. Parton, the business manager, was involved in the Golden Ears Bridge project, one of their flagship public-private partnerships. Mr. Parton asked this. He was a strong…. His union supported the previous government at the last election.

He said: “But I ask this. Where are the community benefits on that bridge?” — meaning the Golden Ears Bridge — “Where was the training of the next generation of ironworkers, labourers, carpenters or whatever? We got nothing out of it, except a big bill. An employer there made out with a bunch of money, and there was no benefit to B.C.”

We’re investing in the people of B.C. We’re investing through apprenticeships. We’re investing in Indigenous people. We’re making sure that the people of British Col­um­bia get the benefit when we’re building infrastructure.

MEETING BETWEEN TRANSPORTATION
MINISTER AND WORKERS

A. Wilkinson: It’s so good to hear that the Minister of Transportation is concerned about workers. It’s so good to hear that she’s interested in meeting with them. It was great to hear her say last week: “If the opposition would like to share with me the details of the people that have been in touch with them, I’d like to talk with them myself, because there’s obviously a concern.”

The minister’s office is up here behind me to the right, and in a short 20 minutes, the four people we mentioned today — Tom, Natalie, Ryan and Tim — will all be available to meet with the minister at her convenience on her way back to her office.

Will the minister meet with these workers and explain to them why they’re being shut out of employment for the next five years?

Hon. C. Trevena: Of course I’ll meet with them.

[End of question period.]

Tabling Documents

Mr. Speaker: Hon. Members, I have the honour to present a report intituled Interim Assessment of Implementation of Recommendations — Misfire: The 2012 Ministry of Health Employment Terminations and Related Matters from the Office of the Ombudsperson.