Orders of the Day

Hon. M. Farnworth: I call continued debate on the budget.

[R. Chouhan in the chair.]

Budget Debate

(continued)

M. Stilwell: It’s my pleasure to take my place, continuing on from Thursday before we adjourned, where I made a few remarks thanking my incredible husband, my wonderful son, the staff that supports me each and every day and, of course, the people of Parksville-Qualicum who elected me and give me the opportunity to speak in the House on their behalf.

I know that people were waiting in eager anticipation over the weekend to hear my remarks on the budget, so I shall begin.

In the presentation of the budget, the Finance Minister talks about opportunity and making life more affordable for British Columbians. It’s a promising sentiment, no doubt, but that’s really all it is — just a sentiment. It’s riddled with increased spending and no plans on how to pay for things other than increased tax burdens. I mean, it took 20 minutes for the Finance Minister to even mention the word “jobs.”

Like many of my colleagues, though, and other British Columbians, I hoped that this year the NDP might deliver a budget that lays out feasible plans for economic growth and sought to create opportunities for residents. And there’s good news. It does offer some support, things that everyone can support, like the rate increase for foster parents and home-share providers and the $74 million invested in child and youth mental health care, which are both very much needed in this province.

Increased child care spaces and eliminating interest on B.C. student loans are worthy investments. They’re good ideas. But the means of allocating the funding for these crucial initiatives is where the problem arises. There needs to be consideration about how we generate the revenue in order to provide these supports and services for British Columbians, and that’s where this budget falls flat.

I believe that British Columbians will be concerned with the budget’s overall emphasis on big taxes and even bigger spending with no regard for how this will impact the growth of the economy or help to create private sector jobs.

The Finance Minister is barely balancing her budget, despite the fact that since taking power, she has increased taxes by billions on individuals, homeowners and businesses. The healthy surplus that was created by the former B.C. Liberal government has been spent by the NDP, and the NDP got lucky with the lucrative transfer payment from the federal government. If it weren’t for that federal transfer, B.C. would be facing an $800 million deficit today.

Unfortunately, with this budget, the people of British Columbia will be left to the devices of the NDP’s ongoing illusions of the last two years. What we have seen is the government introduce bills and agreements that are misnamed — most notably, the speculation tax, which actually fails to deal with speculation.

[2:35 p.m.]

In Nanaimo alone, 40,885 residents fall under the speculation umbrella. And these people aren’t speculators. They’re residents with legacy properties that are either used for leisure, for family vacations, or are being used for partial retirement with the intention of full retirement.

The speculation tax forces 1.6 million British Columbians to prove that they reside in their homes or that they rent them out. They’re forced to sign a detailed information declaration stating that the homes that they use their hard-earned money to pay for are being used in a manner that the government approves of.

I’ve had so many calls and emails from constituents who are angry, who are frustrated with the process required for them to prove their innocence. It’s really unbelievable that the NDP is using a negative option billing to implement the tax, which means if the homeowners don’t actually submit the declaration on time, they’ll be charged the full amount of the tax.

Just the other day I spoke with a constituent who was frustrated with the exemption form. It took him more than 30 minutes to fill out, and then he was concerned about the personal information that he was expected to declare and that he was being asked for. He started wondering what other purposes the government would maybe use that information for. Why should residents be spending 30 minutes more, sometimes more on the phone waiting for answers from government employees, to prove that their properties are being used in a way that the government sees fit?

This tax does nothing to make housing more affordable. All it does is delay housing projects and scare off prospective buyers from other provinces.

What’s needed is an increase in supply, but the government’s 30-point plan on housing is nothing but regulatory changes and tax implementations, with relief to renters, which we still haven’t seen. There is nothing in the budget to enhance housing accessibility or to increase market rental supply.

Tax on these properties is a tax on assets used to fuel the NDP’s spending spree. The NDP is spending money at an alarming rate, and the residents of British Columbia will be forced to foot the bill.

Simply put, this budget is not sustainable, plain and simple. The budget is irresponsible, and it squanders the surplus generated by the hard work of the former B.C. Liberal government. The NDP’s spending has skyrocketed a staggering 26 percent since they took power. That translates into an alarming $13 billion.

It’s alarming considering that housing starts are set to drop a whopping 25 percent, and the NDP are actually predicting that by 2021 housing starts will have dropped by about 30 percent from the time they took office in 2017. That’s a loss of tens of thousands of units and untold jobs and economic activity. Fewer homes being built does not improve affordability.

While the government continues to highlight commitment to investing in additional supportive housing projects across B.C., the NDP and their Green Party partners seem to be among a small minority who don’t understand or refuse to acknowledge how important the supply part is to the housing affordability solution.

The result of this government’s focus simply on demand measures, like that so-called speculation tax I spoke about, has thrust the construction and real estate sectors into the early stages of a serious downturn, jeopardizing thousands of construction jobs and much-needed new market housing supply. Regrettably, this budget makes no mention of supply-focused actions that are to be pursued by the NDP as part of a more complete strategy to drive housing affordability.

On top of that, resource revenues are set to drop 30 percent. Where’s the NDP’s plan to address the crisis unfolding in B.C.’s forestry-dependent communities? Where’s the NDP’s plan to assist B.C.’s mining communities, given that there are no new mines coming on stream anytime soon in British Columbia and that the private sector exploration activity is declining rapidly? The NDP have no such plans.

[2:40 p.m.]

At the end of the day, taxes are up $10 billion. That represents $1,200 in additional tax for every man, woman or child over the life of the NDP’s fiscal plan. It’s going to cost you more to heat your home, to fuel your car and to insure your truck — a lot more. How any of this makes life more affordable for the people of B.C. is just not clear to me.

The Finance Minister talks about making life more affordable for people in this province and putting money back in their pockets, but the facts paint a very different picture. The government’s own throne speech actually acknowledged this failure by saying: “Affordability remains the biggest challenge facing B.C. families. Many people are working two or three jobs, commuting farther for work and spending less time with their families, just to make ends meet. But no matter how hard they work, they cannot seem to get ahead.”

That’s not surprising, because the massive tax increases, the fees, the insurance costs imposed on B.C. families under the NDP are staggering. In fact, the carbon tax, which was previously revenue-neutral, will now be generating $6 billion over the next three years, which will come directly out of the pocket of British Columbians.

While investing $902 million of it back into its CleanBC plan and related climate action plans and initiatives, the remaining $5 billion will presumably disappear into the government’s general revenue, to be spent on a number of other programs. Gone is the carbon tax revenue neutrality and transparency. So much for the Finance Minister’s plans to give money back to British Columbians.

We have to note, too, that the carbon tax will increase on April 1 by another $5 a tonne, raising that additional $200 million from taxpayers. That was in the fine print in the budget speech, at the bottom of page 113.

The carbon tax is meant to fight climate change, yet only a small 15 percent is actually going towards those efforts. We have to wonder what will come from the other 85 percent. Where will it go? What will be done with it? We don’t have a clue, as it gets dumped into the general revenues. How can we call this a carbon tax when so little of it is actually allocated to reducing the province’s carbon footprint?

In addition to the speculation tax and the carbon tax, in 2019, we saw the rollout of the employer health care tax. The NDP have made people believe that they would be eliminating MSP, but in reality, they simply replaced it with the employer health tax.

This will also be the year of the infamous double-dip, as the NDP continue to charge MSP while simultaneously charging the higher replacement of the employer health tax. By double-dipping and charging both the EHT and the MSP, they are collecting even more dollars from people’s pockets and penalizing business owners.

Just like the rest of the taxes imposed by the NDP, this one doesn’t actually function as it should. Instead of targeting large corporations, it’s penalizing entrepreneurs and small business owners. When faced with an additional tax burden, the small and medium-sized business owners will have to cut staffing or increase the prices to their products or services.

I know that in my riding of Parksville-Qualicum, one of my business owners reported that the EHT will cost him an additional $60,000, and that money’s coming right directly from his bottom line. His choice is to increase prices, which could result in a loss of customers. He can cut staff hours or he can lay people off, meaning he’d have to run his business with less support, and he’d have to spend more time at work. None of these options is great for the business owner, for the employees or even for the customers.

Sure, eliminating MSP is a noble task. But hiding it behind another tax that penalizes business owners just means that consumers will be paying the tax in another way.

The child opportunity fund. That was announced in the budget. It alleges to give back money to parents of this province. But we won’t actually know until 2020, because that’s when it will actually roll out — in 20 months from now, almost two years from now. So what are parents who are struggling today supposed to do until then? Just stick it out until 2020? I thought this was Budget 2019, not Budget 2020.

[2:45 p.m.]

A lot can and a lot will happen between now and October 2020, so I think parents shouldn’t quite hold their breath and depend on what may happen in the future. Is this government just selling more promises to the people of British Columbia — promises that they clearly don’t intend to keep? But they sure do sound good. Sound bites are great.

Just look at the fact that the NDP still hasn’t delivered on their $400 renters rebate. You don’t hear about it anymore. The $10-a-day daycare remains a talking point. The NDP promised 22,000 new daycare spaces in over three years, but they’ve only created 3,000 spaces. The NDP promise is just 14 percent fulfilled. They promised British Columbians an affordable child care benefit, but after being in power for two years, there are only 700 more families who have actually received the benefit.

The only implementations in this budget that we’re seeing in regard to a poverty reduction plan include a minimum-wage increase and increasing disability assistance rates another $50. I’m not sure how those things are actually going to break the cycle of poverty, especially when goods and services are bound to get more expensive as a result of things like the carbon tax. We need a budget that is truly balanced and supports the people of British Columbia.

This budget overly emphasizes spending, and it lacks a plan of growing the economy. A healthy economy is not going to come from a tax-spend model. A healthy economy benefits everyone, encouraging entrepreneurship and investments that are good for the economy and good for the people.

I think it’s important to note that small business and job creators were not even mentioned in this budget. They are the backbone of this province. Unfortunately, the heavy-handed taxation hardly encourages the entrepreneurship and investment that are so vitally important to a healthy economy, that generate that revenue and build the economy.

If people are working, then they are able to contribute to the economy and to be self-sufficient, and they’re able to rely even less on government supports. Yet this budget does nothing to address the diversification of the job market — except for maybe the LNG pipeline, which has gotten to where it is today because of the hard work done by the B.C. Liberals prior.

It does nothing to make British Columbia a province of unique resources and industry, competitive on a global scale. British Columbia has the capacity to be competitive in the global economy because it is a desired destination for tourists all over Canada and the rest of the world. It’s home of some of the most sought-after mountains and ocean views in the entire world. How many other places do you know of that can offer skiing, snowboarding, surfing and hiking all in the same place? Not many.

The tourism industry is a great resource for jobs, and it generates that important revenue in our province. But it seems like the NDP have forgotten about this crucial industry, because they have, unsurprisingly, not introduced any new resources to make sure that that sector remains profitable. The Finance Minister addressed the industry with one word in the budget: “tourism.” It was very informative.

British Columbia needs to remain competitive during a time where there is threat of economic downturn. The tourism industry is one that enables our province to stand out among the rest of the world.

The 2019 budget leaves no wiggle room. There is no rainy-day fund. There is more money allocated for spending than there is for saving. The irresponsible spending by the NDP is setting us up for failure. They are baking in so much spending — $13 billion in spending to the end of their term, a 26 percent increase over the level of spending when the NDP assumed office, or power, only 19 months ago. And who will be left to pay the bill? The taxpayer. British Columbians.

[2:50 p.m.]

This excessive spending eliminates any sort of rainy-day fund should the province face tougher times. It creates huge risk should the province find itself faced with an economic downturn. We all know that growth is slowing. Spending at this rate is setting us up for a potential structural deficit.

It’s plain to see that the NDP budget fails to address the affordability crisis in this province. The budget is reminiscent of a government stuck in the 1970s era of thinking, where they believe that you can tax your way to prosperity and spend your way to growth, that big government knows best and that good-paying private sector jobs will just — poof! — magically appear out of nowhere. That’s simply not how you create a growing, vibrant, diverse economy where taxpayers are respected, where people have family-supporting jobs and where governments have the resources that they need to sustainably invest in their people.

The people of British Columbia, I can tell you, are starting to feel cheated. This government’s actions have raised the cost of living. They’ve jeopardized economic growth, on which the NDP has pinned all hopes of paying for their spending spree going forward. You’ll have less money to spend, and it’ll be harder than ever, for those struggling with affordability, to secure their futures.

British Columbians deserve a budget that creates opportunity for everyone, not one that presents an opportunity for the government to take their hard-earned money. We deserve a government that grows the economy and focuses on real opportunities for all of us. Simply, we deserve better.

I’d like to thank you for the opportunity to speak on the budget on behalf of the people of Parksville, Qualicum, Nanaimo, Lantzville, and Nanoose Bay. I think it’s safe to say that I will not be supporting this budget.

Deputy Speaker: The member for Nanaimo, making her maiden speech. [Applause.]

S. Malcolmson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s very good to be here on the territory of the Songhees and Esquimalt people. I come to you from Snuneymuxw territory. I’m drawing back to a time ten years ago when I had just become elected as Islands Trust council chair. I was part of a movement to sign, with the Snuneymuxw First Nation, a protocol agreement. This was initiated by Chief Viola Wyse.

We had spent some years, as my colleague the member from Courtenay, north Nanaimo….

That’s not even the right name of your riding.

With my friend here, my MLA, we’ve been through a lot of years of treaty negotiation where local governments and the people that actually lived in Nanaimo were thrown around by treaty negotiators, both the federal and provincial negotiators. There was a lot of racism expressed in a lot of our community halls. We had the feeling — once the treaty process fell apart and the treaty negotiators, the feds and the province, left town — that it was just up to us as local people to carry on that relationship, and some damage had been done.

Chief Wyse just said, so beautifully and so firmly: “Never again. We’re not going to talk to each other that way again.” I was so honoured to sign with her a protocol committing us to mutual respect and cooperation, a recognition of each other’s responsibilities. Of course, as a country and as settlers in British Columbia, our inherent responsibility is to recognize the treaty rights and the Snuneymuxw ownership, and unceded ownership, of the land.

A year later Chief Wyse died at her desk. It was a total shock and a heartbreaker. Her funeral was huge. The recreation centre must have had 1,000 people there — the Grand Chief, the AFN Chief, the Premier and all of us. She had formed these relationships which had never been committed to before.

[2:55 p.m.]

On our way leaving the rec centre and heading down the Nanaimo Parkway, down to the little tiny Snuneymuxw cemetery on reserve, just right down at the waterfront, we were all loaded onto RDN transit buses for that funeral procession, and the parkway was closed down. We were the only ones travelling on it, the hearse, Chief Wyse’s family and all these city buses. There we were, all holding the strap, bumping along the parkway together.

I was with Mayor Ruttan, who hadn’t been, particularly, an advocate for treaty rights before, but he had signed a protocol with Chief Wyse, and there he was. I’m pretty sure he had his mayoral regalia on, and I’m there with former RDN chair Joe Stanhope. He’s about six feet tall and — I don’t know — 90 years old, and he’s bumping along on the bus too. Then there are kids in sweatpants. We were all there together.

Every off-ramp from the parkway was shut down, blocked by an RCMP vehicle, and there were the Mounties in serge, saluting her funeral when the buses and the hearse drove by. It was a moment for us and especially for a city like Nanaimo that doesn’t always have, at that time anyway, such a lightened reputation. It really felt like one of those transformational times.

We were committed. She had made us commit to work together, and we were on the same bus. We were literally on the same bus and pulling in the same direction.

A day like today feels…. It reminds me of that energy. I am on the bus with some new friends. I’m thinking of my federal friends in the NDP today. They are pulling together to get our leader, Jagmeet Singh, elected. He’s a friend, and I’m just wishing him so well. We’re hoping that the voters make the right choice in Burnaby South.

I’m surrounded by new colleagues in the NDP, and the Premier is here. Thanks for inviting me in. I’m supported today by family and a lot of former colleagues that I worked with for 12 years on Islands Trust Council — us carrying out the mandate and the responsibility given to us by the provincial government and the people: the “preserve and protect” for the benefit of everyone.

And my amazing love, Howie, and some of my family. My aunt and uncle are here. We are together. You represent for me coastal communities working together, pulling together, and us being here represents that we have a government that is pulling together with local communities, with coastal communities, for the first time in a very long time.

We paddled hard together. We worked hard together, locally, to protect and reform B.C. Ferries service, for example. The B.C. Liberals had doubled the fares over the 16 years that they were in power. They had slashed services. In my own community, Gabriola, people had to leave, had to quit jobs that they had had at the hospital for decades, because there was always that 5:30 in the morning ferry that could get you to your shift.

They had the mean-spirited approach to saying that ferries are a service that should pay for themselves. It’s not an approach that was taken with any other public service. You don’t do that for hospitals or roads or universities. But the impact of that ideology hit communities hard, and we rose up. Islands Trust Council fought hard on this. Union of B.C. Municipalities did. People did. We protested in every imaginable way. Islanders are very good at that. We’ve got a bit more practice than we want.

The NDP took action. We had already reduced fares on minor routes by 15 percent. We’d already frozen major route fares. We’d already returned free passage for seniors, midweek. All very sensible. But right away, as soon as this government was in power, that’s what you did right away.

Just on Friday, my colleague from North Island, who lives on Quadra Island — now a fantastic choice that she’s the Transport Minister, because she really gets ferries — announced that we are restoring all of those service cuts that were made in 2014.

[3:00 p.m.]

We’re also returning to the model that used to be in place of a coastal council, so that people that are reliant, ferry-dependent communities that are relying on the ferry service, don’t have to fight their way in and protest in front of the Legislature, like we’ve done many times while the Liberals were in power. Instead, this government is going to bring those interests back in and form that coastal council again that did just such good work. We are a province that is connected by ferries, and this government recognizes that, and I’m proud of that.

We pulled together. A lot of my friends in the gallery, too, and around the province — we pulled together really hard on marine conflicts. Question period was full of this today. It was Islands Trust Council that rang the alarm on the impact of bitumen spills in the marine environment. Nobody else was talking about it. We started writing polite letters to the federal government, saying: “Do you know how you would clean this up? Like, really? Show us your studies.”

We were very kind at the beginning and then increasingly anxious that no one was sending us the reassuring words. We were asking the Environment Minister and…. Well, they weren’t called “environment,” though, at that time. They’d removed “environment.” The Liberals had removed it from the name of the ministry, right? So it was Water, Land and Air Protection or something. Anyway, they weren’t helping us out either.

Our staff at Islands Trust revealed that the number of people and the size of the budget that B.C. had to address an oil spill in the ocean — because as soon as it hits the beach, it’s ours, right? — had just been slashed and burned during the decade of mean-spirited cuts on the B.C. Liberal side. Then we couldn’t get the feds, either, to bolster the safety net. So we’re so relieved that this government is the one that’s doing that work.

Standing up against Kinder Morgan and now Trans Mountain pipeline — same story. Islands Trust Council — we tried to do the work. I really thought all we needed to do in Ottawa was defeat the Conservatives, so I went and got elected there. But whoever would have thought that the pro-Indigenous, pro–climate change leadership Prime Minister would buy the pipeline and ram the extra oil tanker traffic through faster than anybody? So this is the place. This is the place to fight this.

Abandoned vessels, which I worked on for so long…. One of the times I was at Trust Council, we led 17 different local governments in to meet with the Liberal Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources to say: “There’s a hole in jurisdiction. No one is fixing this problem, and it’s creating a huge pollution problem, a hazard to navigation and an oil spill risk. And it’s just getting worse.”

I took that to Ottawa, too, and had some success following in the footsteps of my colleague and friend Jean Crowder. She fought hard with and for coastal communities in Ottawa for that.

I have been so honoured to follow in your footsteps and have some success in Ottawa. But again, this is the place. This is the House where we’re going to get this work done, and that’s going to be good for the economy and environment. It’s something that coastal communities have been calling on us to do for such a long time.

I got to sit here on this B.C. government bus because of the work of a whole lot of volunteers — almost 1,000 volunteers — my fantastic, amazing campaign manager, Karen Cooling, and all the beautiful young people that work with her. So grateful. And almost 12,000 voters. We increased our percentage and our vote count.

Thank you, Nanaimo. I’m so honoured to be here and so honoured to do that work.

Because I am here to protect the marine environment, because I’m here to fight for the coast, I have to say how sad I was in the election campaign, knocking on doors. Did we hear people talking about the risk of a bitumen oil spill, about the calamity of forest fires caused by climate change, about the risk to our food security when drought hits California? The real emergencies that lie ahead of us were very hard for anybody to articulate — I’ve got to be honest — when they are still fighting to live paycheque to paycheque, when they are still on the verge of homelessness. They know how close it is for them.

Samaritan House women’s shelter, in Nanaimo…. Over the last year, 50 percent of the women that come to their homeless shelter are over the age of 50, and they are women who’ve worked all their lives. It just takes one bad hit. A divorce. A terrible illness. A job loss. A landlord who doesn’t exercise his rights…. And with the previous government, not enough recourse — no Human Rights Tribunal. All sorts of protections that were taken away just made vulnerable people that much more vulnerable.

[3:05 p.m.]

What I did hear on the campaign doorstep was homelessness, living paycheque to paycheque, student debt — colossal student debt — and people who lost family members to the opioid crisis with no fault of their own. So I get that. Every election campaign I’m reminded there is no protection of the environment without social justice, and it’s only New Democrats that are going to do that work.

How are we making change for people right now? I did hear this on the doorstep. The door opens. There’s a parent with a kid on one hip, and they say: “I know who you are. I know why you’re here. You’re the NDP. I’m saving $1,000 a month because of your child care offer. Thank you very much.”

We know that’s good for business. Business asked us to invest in child care, and we did. We know it gets women into the workforce who want to be there — skilled, talented women. It is usually the women that get left behind, that get forced out of the workplace when they can’t find affordable child care. In some cases, child care has been more expensive than rent for some families. So this is a huge offer. This is the next big social program in the country that’s been offered. And it’s this government that did that.

In Nanaimo specifically, 2,700 kids are getting the benefit of those less-expensive spots. We’ve got 80 more brand-new licensed child care spaces in Nanaimo and more to come — 22,000 more licensed spaces to be funded across B.C. in this most recent budget. There is more to do. But there is a lot of ground to make up.

Nanaimo got especially hard hit by the Liberal record of cutting services and making life more expensive. Our health care workers, teachers, our forest workers…. On Vancouver Island alone, over 6,000 value-added forestry jobs were lost while the Liberals were in power. That used to be the foundation of our economy. So we’ve got trust to rebuild, as well as results to generate fast.

Here’s one really good one we heard about a lot in the campaign. In 2013, the Liberals got a report that said Nanaimo’s intensive care unit was the most dangerous in the country, and they did nothing. The Health Minister came to Nanaimo and said: “I’m going to do that work. It’s just in our first year of government. We are going to get it done.” That’s been the change of people’s lives.

I’m at the hockey game, and Alex Mattes, the head of the paramedic union, says: “Your government brought 24 new paramedics. We haven’t had any new resources for a decade. We thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” That is changing lives. This government did that.

And 300 people in a tent city in downtown Nanaimo — a terrible situation for anybody, for those living there and for those neighbours of it. When our old city council could not get its act together and say yes to anything, it was our Housing Minister who said: “Yes, we’re going to find modular housing units. We’re going to get those people housed in a dignified, fast way.” Thank you for it.

Now, the rollout hasn’t been perfect. It couldn’t have been. We were totally under the gun with a court order that said: “You have to do it fast.” We know that the neighbours have felt more impacts than anybody would have wanted, and we are working on those wraparound services. Thank goodness we have a Mental Health and Addictions Minister in B.C. for the first time ever. We’ve got singular focus.

So we are working. In a year and a half, we’ve got a lot done. There is more to do, but I’m so proud of what we have done.

I am going on. I never thought I would make such a long speech, but there’s so much to say. I can….

Interjections.

S. Malcolmson: One of the very first things that happened after the Lieutenant-Governor, in her wisdom, decided that it would be the Greens and the NDP that would form government here, was the Premier came up to Vancouver Island University. It was right around Labour Day. We all said: “We hope it’s going to be the fulfilment of the tuition waiver commitment.

Now, this is a great story. Nanaimo’s university, Vancouver Island University, took up the challenge in 2013 of Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, the children and family advocate, who said: “Kids in foster care should get support if they want to go to university and college.”

[3:10 p.m.]

Then in the 2017 campaign, the Premier made that commitment: “I’m going to get this done.” So here we are in the room. I must say there weren’t a lot of New Democrats there, that I could tell. I was feeling a little lonely, me and the Premier and my MLA. The Premier started to talk. He said: “I don’t know about you, but when I was 18 and going to university, I sure as heck didn’t get there on my own.” Then he kind of choked up a little. Then his security detail, the RCMP, were wiping away tears in the back of the room. Everybody is looking at each other like: “What kind of a government is this? We’ve never heard a press conference quite like that before.”

Two other ministers were there, but really, the space was taken by the Premier saying that this is our commitment. These kids were taken away from their families. Government took these kids away from their families, and we are going to be the responsible parent. If they want to go to university or college, we are going to get them there, and we are going to pay their fare.

Then sidebar. Then the Premier passed the mike to two young women who had experience living in foster care. They occupied the rest of the press conference. That was perfect because they’re the ones that had been there. Ruby and — I don’t remember her friend’s name — Selena? No.

So that changes lives, and it’s been hugely successful already. Across the province, almost 700 went back to school in the year since the Premier made that announcement. There are 83 at Vancouver Island University alone.

When I was with the minister, we were visiting the new Nanaimo Aboriginal Centre housing — beautiful affordable housing that was just built last year on Bowen Road. B.C. Housing funded that: 24 units and the first multifamily housing that’s been built in Nanaimo since the early ’90s.

We met Sandra, who said: “I lost my kids because my basement flooded, but now I am here. My kids are back. My family is reunited. I’ve got this beautiful, beautiful apartment. And oh, by the way, did I mention that I’m at VIU? I used to be a foster child myself. I’m going to school. I’m getting an education.” It was such a beautiful story.

Here’s another beautiful story that I loved in the budget announcement. If you are family who wants to look after your own extended family to prevent them from being, themselves, taken into foster care, you can now get funding equivalent to what foster parents get. That is going to change lives and keep families together. I thank the Finance Minister for saying yes to that. That’s what New Democrats do.

Student debt: another huge one. Under the Liberals, the cost of education was tripled. I just keep bumping into kids who have got a debt load that is phenomenal. The Liberals did nothing while B.C. students struggled with the highest interest loans in the country. Effective last week, announced in the budget, interest is eliminated on B.C. student loans.

We’ve got huge investments in mental health care, particularly focused on youth, which I’ve heard about a lot from amazing, articulate young advocates in Nanaimo. A $74 million investment in prevention and early intervention for kids, youth and young adults — that’s going to change lives.

Increasing support by another $30 million for a total of over $600 million to help tackle the overdose crisis. It’s hit Nanaimo hard. We need it. We need to support those front-line groups who have been doing this amazing, brave work. We are there to help.

Affordable housing in Nanaimo alone — 300 new affordable housing units that have been announced just last year. We’ve got more work to do on modular housing, but I’m especially excited about the rent banks in last week’s budget announcement. Someone that’s on the verge of losing their house because they can’t pay one month’s rent, say? They can go to the rent bank, which will be operated by a non-profit, groups that are on the ground and embedded in the grass roots. That’s going to keep people able to keep their homes. That’s going to reduce homelessness. That is going to change lives. Thank you.

Another one. This is a little bit less sexy, maybe: mobile home parks. We have experienced this all over Vancouver Island. If you have what you think is a mobile home but it’s been sitting there for 30 years, if a new owner comes in and says, “We’re razing the park. We’re going to put up condos,” you all of a sudden have zero asset.

[3:15 p.m.]

This especially hits elderly folks with, again, a crisis of homelessness. So this government has brought in protections that give 12 months’ notice. Plus, if in fact, the mobile unit is no longer mobile, you’ve got some recourse and some compensation. That is going to change lives, and this government did that too.

My list goes on and on. Just trust me. There’s a lot more.

Climate action. Over $900 million to build the green jobs of the future and create incentives right now to drive fossil-emission-free cars and to renovate homes and, especially, to build that next wave of jobs.

The fish farms announcement on the Broughton. That is a game-changing decision for Canada — to have First Nations in the Broughton work together with the provincial government, for them to trust each other enough to get the work done, for them to agree to a path forward to remove fish farms from the wild salmon migration routes after 30 years of conflict. I mean, I thought if Alexandra Morton couldn’t get it done, nobody could.

It turned out that it needed a new government with a commitment to doing things in a new way and First Nations that trusted that this government was going to treat them well and work well with them. They got it done. That’s a model for our next conflict. So thank you for that too.

I started my first day of work here at the side of Chief Wyse from Snuneymuxw First Nation, Paul Wyse-Seward and Councillor Erralyn Thomas. They blanketed me on my way in the door. It was the son of the late Chief Viola Wyse, who I started this journey with in some ways, arguably. They gave me the honour of both that protection and also that ceremony. Not only pledging an oath to the Queen, but that I was able to articulate my commitment to Snuneymuxw and to local people was just the honour of my life. I still can’t quite believe that it happened.

To Chief Wyse, if you’re watching, I’m thinking of your mom, and I’m looking forward to working with you and your whole council on the next steps.

We have a fantastic new council elected in Nanaimo. You may have met the new mayor, Leonard Krog. He and I have worked really well together for a really long time. The goodwill expressed towards him in the community is extraordinary.

The powerhouse, I feel, is the opportunity of a government here that is willing to invest in people and work with coastal communities, with the strong leadership of Snuneymuxw First Nation, a really young dynamic, well-educated and highly motivated council. With our strong friendship and our promise to each other and a city council that is just so ready to do the work…. It’s already doing it with heart and wisdom.

We’ve got so much to do. Coastal protection. Climate change. Affordable housing. Working for people, working together. We are on the same bus, and we are moving together.

Thank you, friends.

Deputy Speaker: Member for Cariboo North.

C. Oakes: I am pleased to have the….

Deputy Speaker: Member, hold it. Sorry. I missed….

Member for Cowichan Valley.

S. Furstenau: Thank you, hon. Speaker, and thank you to Cariboo North for understanding. I had to wait for moving people out of my realm here.

I actually want to start by acknowledging that we just had a group of students come into the gallery. You look to be about grade 5 or 6, I’m thinking. Yeah, I’m getting nods up there.

I’m going to say that much of my speech really does focus on the responsibility that we have in this House to you. You should always be at the front of our minds in the work that we’re doing here and the decisions we are making here, because that work and those decisions are going to impact you more than anybody else.

[3:20 p.m.]

I want you to know that you are at the front of my mind in the work I’m doing — and all young people and future generations. I’m glad you’re here today. Welcome to the Legislature.

The members of this House know I originally got into politics because I’d actually lost trust in government’s ability to manage our resources and to keep my community safe. Contaminated soil had been dumped in my watershed in Shawnigan Lake. It’s a watershed that my children and many other children drink from every day. It’s the watershed that my children actually learned to swim in, in Shawnigan Lake. It’s a watershed that nourishes wildlife and our entire community. It keeps our local ecosystems, our children — all of our families — alive and healthy.

Several years ago, in 2011, when I first moved to Shaw­nigan Lake, we began to notice signs with skulls and crossbones dotting the sides of the roads. We learned that the provincial government was considering issuing a permit to a company operating a quarry at the south end of Shawnigan Lake, halfway up a mountain that overlooks a lake that we draw our drinking water from.

The site has Shawnigan Creek on its eastern edge, which feeds directly into Shawnigan Lake, and a so-called ephemeral stream — although it runs pretty much all year — on its western edge, which runs into Shawnigan Creek. Despite immense public opposition, the draft permit was issued for the contaminated landfill.

The materials that were approved to be deposited in our drinking watershed included benzene, toluene, xylene, styrene, methyl tertiary butyl ether, volatile petroleum hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, chloride sodium glycols. We watched as truckload after truckload came into our watershed and deposited soil that had these contaminants in them. It was a threat to our health, and it still is.

The permit was indeed cancelled in February 2017, after immense work on the part of our community, but not before tens of thousands of tonnes of contaminated soil were deposited at the site, contaminated soil that sits there to this day, two years after that permit was cancelled. As a mother, a teacher and a community member, I could not sit back and allow this to happen without getting involved.

My daughter turns 12 this year, much like many of you up there, I expect. She will not be able to vote. You will not be able to vote until 2025, although if we lower the voting age, we could get that down a few years. We’re working on that.

This is just a few years shy of the latest IPCC report that has warned that we will hit 1.5 degrees of warming if we fail to change course in the coming decade. By the time she’s able to vote, the frightening trends of climate change will be worsening. She is, and you are, the ones who will have to deal with those repercussions.

I think back to the words of 15-year-old Swedish girl and activist Greta Thunberg. Greta has been skipping schools on Friday to protest for climate action. When the British Prime Minister criticized her movement for “wasting lesson time,” Greta responded: “That may well be the case. But then again, political leaders have wasted 30 years of inaction” on climate, and “that is slightly worse.”

Today I am pleased to rise to the first provincial budget that takes substantive climate action. The $900 million that we see invested in CleanBC is proof of the success of the collaboration of a minority government. It is proof that we are setting a pathway towards fulfilling the debt that we owe to future generations. But we have a long way to go.

I still look up at the scarred Shawnigan mountainside each day and see that contaminated soil that sits there waiting to be removed. But I am encouraged by this budget and the shift it marks in how we view our role in government. In addition to the significant funding for CleanBC, there’s funding for education, funding to address the failures of professional reliance, increased affordability for students, for youth mental health, PharmaCare, child care and First Nations.

[3:25 p.m.]

These investments, which we pushed for through the confidence and supply agreement, show that we take our role seriously. Our role is not to serve the interests of wealthy, multinational corporations that seek to exploit our raw resources. Our role is to serve the interests of future generations.

CleanBC is the culmination of years of work. As my colleague pointed out last week, it is not just a climate plan; it is an economic plan. It provides a pathway towards positioning British Columbia as a low-carbon leader. It is an all-of-government approach to tackling the greatest challenge that humankind has ever faced. Most of all, it is an investment in our young people and their future.

To cover some of the numbers, the $902 million allo­cated to CleanBC provides $354 million in operating funding, $299 million in contingency for programs under development, $26 million in capital investments to help people and businesses reduce their emissions and $58 million in additional capital funding to make buildings more efficient. These are only some of the aspects funded under the CleanBC plan, which will take us a long way towards meeting our target of 40 percent greenhouse gas emissions reductions by 2030.

But if we really look at these numbers, we can see how they will benefit the health and well-being of British Columbians. For example, $223 million will increase the climate action tax credit over three years. This can save a family of four up to $400 this year. By taxing what we don’t want — pollution — we can shift away from taxing things that we do, like good earnings for regular people.

Budget 2019 is projecting $1.7 billion raised through taxing carbon emissions, which reduces pressure on income tax and helps pay for the elimination of MSP payments, all while reducing pollution. By making homes and buildings more efficient and incentivizing the shift to electric vehicles, families will have to pay less each month for utilities and gas.

The research shows that climate change will and already is impacting society’s most vulnerable people first. By addressing climate change, we are heading off growing inequalities that put vulnerable people the most at risk.

In our submission to the Budget 2019, we called for CleanBC to be fully funded. Although there remains a great deal of work to be done, and it is essential that these commitments are seen through, I’m pleased to see our impacts, the impacts of our submission, in the provincial budget summary before us today.

The impacts of our submission are also demonstrated by the funding provided to support the professional reliance oversight office. This oversight office is a direct result of the organizations of communities just like Shawnigan in response to the systemic shortcomings of resource management in B.C. It was a failure of professional reliance that allowed the contaminated soil to be dumped in Shawnigan. It has also impacted countless other communities. I think of Mount Polley, Ymir, Hullcar, Merville — to name a few.

We called for a review of the professional reliance model in our confidence and supply agreement with government, and now following the review, 121 recommendations and the Professional Governance Act, we see the funding before us today.

The budget goes on to commit $7 million over three years for increased monitoring and oversight under the Environmental Management Act and $9 million for implementation of the revitalized Environmental Assessment Act.

An additional $20 million is going to fulfil government’s commitments to improving permitting and oversight in the mining industry. This is taking action to implement the recommendations of the Auditor General in her report responding to the Mount Polley disaster.

It is important to our caucus and to British Columbians that our public resources are managed with the public interest at the forefront. People need to be able to trust that the government is looking after public resources in a responsible, evidence-based manner, with environmental, cultural and economic values taken into consideration. That is why these values are entrenched in our confidence and supply agreement and why we called for this funding in our budget submission.

Unfortunately, not all of our resources are being managed in this essential way. I’m thinking first and foremost of our forests. Each year our wildfires are getting worse, and 2017 was the worst fire season our province has ever seen — until the summer of 2018.

[3:30 p.m.]

The budget is increasing base funding for wildfires by $37 million per year, but we know that the fire seasons tend to be worse than we’ve expected. We would have done more.

Last year more than 1.349 million hectares burned as wildfires spread across the province. The previous record total was 1.216 million hectares, in 2017. In 2017, we spent $560 million fighting forest fires. By August last year, the province had already spent close to $274 million more in direct firefighting costs, more than four times the budget of $63 million.

We know that climate change threatens every aspect of life in our province. Government must recognize this threat and allocate funding to address the unavoidable increase in natural disasters. From wildfires to flooding, we must aggressively fund our emergency response network and plan on emergency funding needs in the years to come.

We also know that our forest industry is suffering. I am glad to see a three-year, $10 million investment in the coastal forest revitalization initiative. I’m glad to see a three-year, $13 million investment in the forest carbon initiative. But as the budget itself goes on to point out, forest revenue is expected to fall 16.8 percent this year. That’s due to the lowest lumber prices, stumpage rates, Crown harvest volumes and logging tax revenue.

I’m going to take this opportunity to wave goodbye to the students who are leaving right now. Thanks for coming.

The decline in logging tax revenue is expected to continue over the coming years. At the same time as the revenue declines, our forests are also declining. It’s not just wildfires or pine beetles; it’s also our own logging practices. We are cutting down some of the last remaining old-growth forests in the world. We are logging without considering the fact that we are jeopardizing the water sources of communities. These forests are then being exported as raw logs, meaning that we are not even benefiting from the long-term jobs or profits associated with value-added products.

The B.C. Green caucus would have done this differently. In our budget submission, we called for funding that prioritizes ecosystem resilience and Indigenous leadership. If our forests are managed to be resilient and biodiverse, and if we base our decisions in the best possible science and Indigenous expertise, we can improve this.

We also called for funding for land acquisition and habitat restoration. Protecting endangered habitat is more effective for both outcomes and cost. We need a long-term strategy for managing our resources so that we don’t see situations emerge like the logging of Vancouver Island’s last old growth or the extirpation of caribou in the Interior.

Although I’m encouraged by the funding that addresses our resource management structures, I remain disappointed at the lack of initiative taken to protect the water, forests and species that make up British Columbia. It’s not enough, at this point, to tinker around the edges of forest policies in B.C. We need an entirely new vision that takes into account that the world we are in is very different from the 20th-century world.

We cannot continue to engage in the same practices and expect different outcomes. If we want better outcomes for communities in B.C., for the watersheds that sustain those communities and for the animals that rely on these ecosystems, we must develop a new vision. Ultimately, we need to recognize that protecting biodiversity is not an optional outcome. It’s essential to the well-being of life, including the well-being of human life.

As we begin to implement CleanBC and reforms to resource decision-making structures, our caucus is committed to ensuring that these other aspects are not left behind.

A few months ago, inspired by the climate strikes of Greta Thunberg, students left school and came to protest on the front steps of this Legislature. One of those young leaders was Rebecca Wolf Gage, a local student and activist. She had helped to organize the protest and led her peers as they asked us to take action.

I’m inspired by the bold leadership of young people like Rebecca. It’s our job to hear them and to responsibly manage the resources that they will one day inherit. But the truth is that in British Columbia, some young people face more challenges than others.

[3:35 p.m.]

The differences between the experiences of children is directly related to their socioeconomic standing. It’s directly related to family status, race, gender, ability and location.

Several years ago the former government applied an early childhood tax benefit. This gives benefits to parents of children up to the age of six, and it gave the same benefit to all, regardless of socioeconomic location and despite the fact that some families need more support than others.

This budget is introducing the B.C. child opportunity benefit. Families with children under 18 will be provided up to $1,600 per year for their first child, up to $2,600 per year for families with two children, and up to $3,400 per year for families with three children. These amounts will vary depending on family income. In other words, families who need more support will be able to access more support. I’m excited to see this initiative in the budget.

Government is building upon last year’s historic $1 billion investment in child care by providing an additional $9 million annually to support the child care fee reduction initiative and child care operating fund program.

I have heard concerns that a lot of this funding is going towards for-profit child care centres despite the fact that other child care centres often face a greater need. I intend to follow this issue closely as we approach estimates, but I would be remiss if I did not highlight the massive benefits that subsidized child care has afforded to the families across British Columbia. We believe in lifelong learning, and that starts at the beginning of life. This is also allowing parents to go back to work sooner, if they wish, which can help their families to thrive.

I am glad to see the commitment for $75 million over three years for child, youth and young adult mental health and addictions initiatives. We are facing an opioid crisis, one that has its roots in mental illness. There is more than $30 million allocated for addressing this emergency as well.

In order to set our province up for the future, we need to invest in the health and well-being of our children. But the fact of the matter remains: not all kids have the same experience. Not all kids are set up to be healthy and well, or set up to succeed. For instance, until now, children in the foster care system were ineligible for provincial child tax benefits. Given the crisis-level numbers of Indigenous kids in care, this exclusion disproportionately impacted Indigenous children and families.

This government is changing that and making kids in the foster care system eligible for these benefits, and I applaud them. I have concerns, for example, those benefits may be going to the Ministry of Children and Family Development for programming for those kids, and I will look at this in estimates.

We know that a huge number of kids are in the foster system because their families live in poverty. We also know that the outcomes for children who stay with their families are exponentially better than outcomes for children who are apprehended. Provincial child tax benefits should go to the families that need them, to help relieve their situation.

This budget is taking steps to provide more funding for children who have been apprehended but placed with extended family, which will increase by 75 percent. This is an important increase in funding that will benefit vulnerable kids, help their families and help communities.

That being said, this does not adequately address the crisis facing Indigenous families in our province. The scale of apprehensions of Indigenous children is heartbreaking and prolific, with wide-ranging repercussions. As I’ve said before, we know that the outcomes for kids who stay with their families are exponentially better than the outcomes for kids who are removed from their families. Children who grow up in the foster care system are less likely to graduate, more likely to struggle with mental illness and addiction, and more likely to die.

There are solutions. We need to be proactive and preventative. Many independent organizations are already doing this essential work. In our budget submission, we called for enhanced investment in programs that support parents and kids staying together. Programs like Sheway and FIR Square, for example, should be available in all communities, with an emphasis on the regions that currently have higher-than-average apprehension rates of infants under six months.

To say that I’m disappointed that this budget does not fund an explicit, proactive way of keeping families together would be an understatement. I can assure you that I will continue to focus on this file with the utmost dedication. All children deserve to be safe and healthy. All children deserve a safe and healthy climate, whether it is the climate writ large or the family climate that they grow up in. We need to be doing absolutely everything to support families to stay together.

[3:40 p.m.]

This is, overall, a good budget. It doesn’t do everything as we would have done it, but it’s clear that the submissions and perspectives of the B.C. Green caucus were represented in it, and it’s clear that we found our shared values between the two parties.

Almost two years in, I’m proud of how far we have come under our confidence and supply agreement. I’m especially proud of CleanBC and the reforms that will shape resource management decisions for the years to come. Although, as I spoke to before, there is a long way to go, we have steered British Columbia onto a pathway to respond to and mitigate the adverse impacts that we are having on our climate and environment.

I think of the young people I spoke of earlier, the ones who were in the gallery just now, of my daughter, who will not be able to vote until 2025, of Greta Thunberg, who bravely spoke to the world leaders in Poland this December, and of Rebecca Wolf Gage, who brought that movement to the steps of this very building.

The decisions we make today have lasting impacts. Improved funding for child care, education and mental health will have lasting positive impacts on the health and well-being of British Columbia. But there are still people being left behind. There are still Indigenous children apprehended from their mothers within days of birth. We have yet to guarantee the health and well-being of many people today and of future generations tomorrow. We have yet to restore, fully, British Columbians’ trust in government. We have a long, long way to go.

To this end, I want to invoke the Dutch historian Rutger Bregman, who recently garnered a lot of headlines for an interview he did with Fox News’s Tucker Carlson. I’m more intrigued, actually, by Bregman’s 2016 book, called Utopia for Realists, in which he makes the case for universal basic income, for open borders and for a 15-hour work week. These proposals may seem outlandish and far-reaching to many, but so were the proposals of universal health care, public education and a five-day work week when they were first championed.

What Bregman reminds us of, most importantly, is our need to never stop dreaming big. Let’s be sure that we dream of the best possible world, and then let’s work together to get there.

My caucus and I will be supporting this budget. But we will also continue to dream big, to dream of a world that Greta and Rebecca and the children that were just here and my daughter will thrive in, a world that we can be proud of, that we build together in light of the extraordinary challenges that we face today.

C. Oakes: I am very pleased to have the opportunity to rise today and respond to Budget 2019 and the road map and vision that the NDP has outlined for the province.

I believe that there should be opportunity for all British Columbians, whether you live in a large community or a small one, whether you live in an urban community or a rural community, whether you live in an incorporated community or an unincorporated community.

I’m proud to represent the hard-working men and women of Cariboo North. At 38,000 square kilometres, this is a geographical area larger than Vancouver Island. It includes some fantastic, diverse communities, such as Horsefly and Likely, Big Lake and Miocene, Wildwood and Fox Mountain, McLeese Lake and Alexandria, Kersley and Buckridge, West Fraser, Bouchie and Milburn Lake, the communities of Nazko and Moose Heights, Cinema, Ten Mile Lake, Barlow Creek, Cottonwood House, Wells and Barkerville, with the central service area being in Quesnel, and our First Nations’ communities, including Lhoosk’uz Dené, Nazko, Lhtako, ?Esdilagh, Xatśūll and the Williams Lake Indian Band.

Twenty minutes is not nearly enough of an opportunity for me to express my pride of coming from Cariboo North and the thoughts that I have toward this budget.

[3:45 p.m.]

For my constituents, who may or may not be watching at home, I know that there will be specific areas in the budget that you would like to have responses to. My commitment to you at home is that, as we go through the estimates process this year, I will raise the concerns that you have brought forward to me in my constituency office, to gain answers for you.

The NDP government was quick to say that they are standing up and standing with communities. We all want to ensure that we are successful and that communities are successful. I was hoping that the government’s vision would include standing up for communities that British Columbia industries support. The Premier’s false promises and the government’s lack of action on traditional industry support is particularly troubling, considering that when one looks at this budget, it’s forecasting a 15 percent drop in resource revenues, the bread and butter of so many of our rural communities across British Columbia.

The city of Quesnel, in my riding, is the most forest-dependent community in British Columbia. Therefore, of course, it’s incredibly alarming when you look through the budget and you see that revenue projections being brought in by forestry are expected to fall by 16.8 percent in 2019, with an expected 4.1 percent decline over each of the next following two years. How do this budget and the Premier’s words reconcile such a substantial decrease in revenue from the natural resource sector with its rosy economic-growth projections? For a province like British Columbia, this simply does not make sense.

The ministry’s forecast for real GDP growth includes recent developments, granted, regarding the Canadian-United States-Mexico agreement but does nothing to address softwood lumber and other tariffs, making export growth weaker and commodity prices more volatile. I would remind members in this House that behind every one of these budget projections, behind every single piece of numbers and line items, it represents communities and families.

These decreases mean more family-supporting jobs are in decline. Life will certainly become much less affordable in resource-based communities as people lose their jobs, with no announcements in this budget around community investments in skills and trades training, bridging programs, and only a mention in my riding of a program that was announced several years ago when the previous government was in office.

Where are the funds for the Agriculture Centre of Excellence — an opportunity to help communities in the Cariboo to diversify their economic base? Where are the funds for the workers to help them retrain and programs to help them into fast-track programs, such as getting their grade 12 over a short term instead of the several years it currently takes now under the invested funds? Where are the funds to start a small business or the funds to bridge into retirement? Those were the types of things in the budget that I was hoping to see for our resource-based workers.

When the oil and gas sector was in trouble in Alberta, their Premier went to Ottawa to demand support for their workers. How about the Ontario Premier and his support for workers impacted by job loss in the auto sector? Even the Premier himself, when he was in opposition, used to have a lot to say on this topic, but since coming into government, he has not put his money where his mouth is. He has not gone to Ottawa, he has not stood up for B.C. workers, and he has not stood up for resource jobs.

[3:50 p.m.]

The 2017-2018 wildfire season saw a combined 2.55 million hectares of forest burned, with each year setting on record the largest area burnt in British Columbia history. The Plateau fire in my riding is the largest fire ever recorded in British Columbia’s history, with the lives of the people and animals in my area significantly impacted. Tens of thousands were forced to evacuate their homes, and many suffered the destruction of property and their homes, and in many cases, an inability to earn a living off the land.

If we have learned anything from the last two record-setting wildfire seasons, it is that our current approach to fighting and preventing wildfires is not working. I looked through Budget 2019 to identify the changes that have been recommended to government and to look for the resources, particularly identified by ministers themselves during estimates, to address these challenges.

The same applies to the manner, or lack thereof, of assisting people and communities affected by the impact of wildfires and floods. Where in the budget are the funds to ensure the resources are available to take action on the very impacts that climate change is having on communities today? I feel that, in so many respects, my riding is ground zero for the immediate impacts of climate change. An Auditor General’s report has identified that the Interior has certainly witnessed a significant shift in climate.

When I look at the NDP climate plan, with their urban-centric plans for the future, I wonder where some of the $6 billion being collected through carbon tax over the next three years is being invested in these communities that are ground zero.

For us, in the Cariboo…. We are heading into another spring freshet. We are heading into another wildfire season, when it’s supposed to be record hot. We were counting on this budget, counting on this government to take action and invest in the necessary resources that we need to support our communities.

We have a clear level of responsibility as legislators and representatives to ensure that we look after all British Columbians. We have a responsibility to voice the truth about what is happening in our constituencies. If you live in remote or rural British Columbia, this is a government void of taking action.

I have raised concerns, following the 2017 wildfire season, on challenges witnessed firsthand — of the significant lack of resources and the need to address the change in how we approach wildfires. Following reports that came out from a variety of ministries in response to the 2017 wildfire season, I began raising concerns during the estimates process last spring.

Hydrology reports completed for my area identified significant challenges. It only makes sense that with significant areas scorched by wildfires, compromised watersheds, debris and soil erosion, this, combined with snowpack levels and hot summers, would have flooding issues.

I received assurances from the Minister of Transportation where she recognized that there was a need to go in and fix up side roads, that they have the riprap there to help protect roads against freshet and that as soon as possible, they’d be assessing where they can work. This was said in March of 2018.

Let us look at how the minister has met this challenge and what is reflected in this budget. Well, we have safety improvements through the Ministry of Transportation’s budget, which has dropped from $58 million down to $27 million. Highway rehabilitation is decreasing from $229 million to $214 million.

The only additional funds — and it is appreciated, most certainly — are that the side road improvement budget is going from $108 million to $110 million. While this $2 million is certainly appreciated, one emergency egress road alone in my riding — for example, one to support the Lhoosk’uz Dené First Nation — is $3 million.

[3:55 p.m.]

This does nothing to acknowledge that with new hydrology challenges as a result of the damage caused by fires in 2017 and 2018, we need to have a serious look at our culvert infrastructure and our ditching. There are 40,000 culverts in my region. To put a dollar figure on a culvert, it can range anywhere from $10,000 to $200,000. Where in the budget are the funds to address these infrastructure challenges?

What happens if the government continues to practice this risk assessment process and prioritization? You find yourself in situations faced in communities in my riding, like Nazko and Buckridge and ?Esdilagh First Nations, to name a few.

I have taken to the floor in the past to discuss the West Fraser Road. The road and the surrounding Narcosli watershed underwent a post-hydraulic risk assessment following the 2017 fire season. The findings were concerning, with changes, of course, in hydrology and debris leading to six landslides last spring, after I had raised the concerns with the minister in estimates. And of course, now with our snowpacks currently above average, the risk of more flooding and further damage is significant.

You may wonder, for people in the community of Buckridge and the people of ?Esdilagh First Nations, how this affects them on a day-to-day basis. Well, the damage to the road is devastating. Almost a year later the West Fraser Road remains closed, and community members must travel on a winding, unpaved alternate route used by industry just to get to work. These people are a doctor, care aides, business people and others who provide services and products that should not be delayed.

[J. Isaacs in the chair.]

This is to say nothing of the children who live in the community. These children must wake up early to get on a bus at 6:30 in the morning. They take a bus for two hours on this treacherous road, followed by another two hours to get home in the afternoon. The idea of children on a dangerous road for four hours every day is incredibly disturbing and would be a source of immense stress for any parent.

Progress on building a new, safer road cannot wait. That is why these parents and the community members continue to ask questions. Because 2020 is simply not acceptable.

It also has significant impacts on our wildlife, on the land base and, of course, on our fisheries. These compromised watersheds have led to increased impacts on specific fish species, such as the Nechako white sturgeon.

Let’s recap. We now have two years of significant damage from wildfires. We have a high snowpack in the mountains. We’re calling for a record hot year. We know that there is significant investment in road infrastructure, such as culvert replacements and ditching…. And we have no allocated funds in this budget to achieve this.

Now, let’s hear what the Minister of Forests said last year when I raised concerns on March 6, 2018. “Post-wildfire risk assessment has been done throughout the area that the member represents, as well as throughout the Cariboo. All of those risk assessments are complete, including road and drainage assessments. Priority areas have been identified around the freshet risk — in other words, the risk of erosion impacts from the spring melt. Those risks are able to be addressed under the current budget the ministry has.”

This was last year. So the minister has acknowledged that these reports exist. They know what is at risk. Yet I ask this government: where are the resources that are needed to take action on the reports and that the ministry itself has identified as needed to move forward?

[4:00 p.m.]

I now want to move on to a topic that is front of mind to so many in the Cariboo over the past few years. For the past two summers, this province has faced some of the worst forest fires in its history. The costs of fighting fires, as we’ve heard earlier, are significant. And when you look at page 93 of Budget 2019, it promises only an additional $60 million, on top of the Budget 2018 amount, to fight fires. Why, even after making such an underestimate last year, is the government still not taking the threat of these fires seriously?

In the face of these fires, the government tells rural and unincorporated communities to be resilient. Why, then, when these communities apply for water pumps and when they apply for hoses and generators or other basic equipment, are they denied funding? Oh, they can get money to hold a festival or create a marketing plan from this government, but they can’t actually get the tools to help protect themselves from the fires or their communities from the fires.

Where is the capital fund for programs for our volunteer fire departments that were promised and for other community organizations to help them be resilient, to respond to wildfires and floods? I have to ask why none of these resources were provided by the province. The government claims to be standing up for communities, and that is not on display in the Cariboo, where some have not even received help to mitigate the very tangible effects of climate change that they have faced in these past two years.

Urban areas are happy to take our resource revenues for their hospitals and schools, and I think it’s time for us to get a slice of the pie that we helped bake. Nazko has been one of the hardest hit communities in the province by wildfires and floods for many years. It was one of the communities impacted by the 2017 Plateau fire, the largest fire in British Columbia’s history.

Huge resources, stumpage, have been taken out of this area, with taxes going directly to this government. Then when the community applies for $140,000 for water pumps, hoses, a generator and basic firefighting equipment, they get turned down. Public firefighters had to go out to industry this past year to borrow pumps and hoses. This is simply not acceptable.

There is a system of prioritizing wildfire response and resources. If you live in a rural or a remote community, the reality is if there are multiple fires that break out in British Columbia, you most likely will not be a priority. It’s like having a wildfire break out in, say, a cul-de-sac in North Van. One side of the road gets wildfire protection, and the other side of the street, which has fewer homes, finds themselves not a priority.

British Columbians should be treated fairly, and they should be treated equally by this government, and that is currently not the case. Communities like Likely, McLeese Lake, Tyee Lake and Horsefly have been left to their own devices, working tirelessly to raise money through bottle drives and bake sales to get the necessary equipment to fight fires. Yet the government has not taken notice and has not provided any additional funding to help them.

In fact, Alberta has provided more for these communities than this government has. Our Blackwater wildfire crew do an amazing job. And I want to thank you on behalf of all of the citizens in Cariboo North. But they have four staff to cover the entire Quesnel timber supply area. The Cariboo Fire Centre, one of the busiest in British Columbia, has 25 full-time staff. Neither has been granted any new resources, and there doesn’t seem to be anything in this budget that will indicate that that is changing.

Why not use some of the stumpage revenue to put back into the road infrastructure or direct it to ensure that our hard-working public servants at the fire centres have the resources they need? After all the studies and all the reports produced after 2017, it is shocking that this government has not ensured that its fire centres have adequate resources. It is simply not good enough.

I want to impart that 2019 is forecasted to be another exceptionally warm year. Let us make sure that we do not just do another study but hire the necessary staff and provide the necessary resources to the B.C. wildfire branch and to the communities to ensure that they’re resilient and that we are able and capable to address the wildfire season and the flood spring freshet.

[4:05 p.m.]

Earlier today I had the opportunity to discuss the Small Business B.C. Awards. Nearly 600 small businesses from 58 B.C. communities were nominated in ten unique categories. I was pleased to have the opportunity to talk to many of them about ways that could help support their businesses. We heard firsthand, all of us, in the evening, how the export navigator program set up by the previous government helped connect and grow businesses. I don’t see the funds for this particular program in the budget, and I look forward to raising those questions during estimates.

I also had the opportunity to talk to members from the government’s Small Business Task Force and members from the Small Business Roundtable about what they felt, following up on Small Business Speaks: Hearing From B.C. Small Businesses About How To Help Make Their Future Bright.

The key findings included reducing costs of doing business to maintain and strengthen economic growth and competitiveness; more extensive engagement with and consideration of small businesses by government; increased access to labour and skilled workers to meet the job demands; more promotion and awareness of programs, services and supports for small business; more accessible, effective and reliable government programs, services and supports; and support for greater Indigenous participation in B.C.’s economy.

British Columbia’s 493,100 small businesses are the backbone of our communities. They employ over one million people and, of course, play an incredibly vital role in addressing the provincial government’s priority of a strong, sustainable economy, given that they represent 98 percent of all business in British Columbia, contribute to about a third of the provincial GDP and generate 43 percent of goods exports.

While small businesses certainly appreciate the reduction of small business tax and the PST exemption for small business on electricity purchases, they are struggling as they face what they term a death by a thousand cuts from the cumulative impact of tax and regulation changes, minimum-wage increases, carbon tax and soaring property costs in some regions.

Businesses in northern and rural and remote regions are hit harder by some taxes and costs due to some of the challenges that they face due to climate and geography. When all these costs are considered, several small business owners conveyed that they do not even make minimum wage themselves.

Under this government, small businesses certainly do not feel that their life is more affordable. They want the government to review the employer health tax to minimize the impact on small business. They want to revise the PST to reduce the paperwork burden and enhance the competitiveness of small business. They want to introduce a lower minimum training wage to offset the high costs of training and ensure future minimum-wage increases are predictable and tied to the consumer price index. They want collaboration with municipal governments to examine alternative commercial tax policy structures.

They want to provide carbon tax rebates for small businesses in northern and rural and remote communities with no viable alternative. They want to raise the lowest threshold of the luxury vehicle tax to exclude standard pickup trucks and work vehicles. They would like to work with WorkSafeBC to provide businesses with rebates to reduce the $6.4 billion surplus from 2017 and to set fair WorkSafe rates in order to maintain the maximum funding of 110 percent of assets to liabilities to ensure sound management of employer finances.

Small business owners are frustrated and often believe that their voices are not being heard by policy-makers in this government. They need consistency, and they need predictability from this government. These are the words from the government’s appointed Small Business Task Force that was set up. There is a significant amount of information in their report. I encourage people who may be watching at home to please look at the Small Business Task Force final report for some other recommendations.

[4:10 p.m.]

I say this in closing. This Budget 2019 is a road map. As outlined by the NDP government, it’s one that is a road without the adequate resources to meet the demands of communities across the province unless you are fortunate enough to live in a select postal code brought to you by the NDP government. You do not exist on the NDP’s map if you are in a resource, small, rural or remote community….

With that, I would like to thank everyone for the opportunity to rise. I look forward to estimates, where I can go into more extensive details on other items brought forward by constituents.

B. D’Eith: I’m rising today in support of Budget 2019. Before I start, I did want to make a few thank-yous. Part of it is just thanking some of the people in our community that I have the pleasure to work with.

We have two MPs, Dan Ruimy and Jati Sidhu, who I work with very closely. I also want to recognize the new mayors, Mike Morden in Maple Ridge and Pam Alexis, who is the new mayor in Mission. I’m working very closely with them. They will be seeing the benefits of this wonderful budget, so it’s great. I also wanted to say thank you to all the school trustees who I’ve had a chance to meet with, who are very excited about record investments in schooling. So that’s wonderful.

I’d like to take a moment also to thank my constituents, my wonderful constituency assistants, Sophia Kreuzkamp and Alison Copeland; and my legislative assistants, Gurbrinder Kangand and, of course, when she’s away, Torey Kesteven. Thank you very much.

Also, before I move on, I did want to just mention a big thank-you to our First Nations. In my area, we have the Katzie, the Kwantlen and the Stó:lō. I’ve had a really wonderful time over the last few years getting to know them and getting to know their needs and actually being able to see some really wonderful on-the-ground things happen.

For example, in the Katzie Nation, I was able to go to a wonderful ceremony that launched housing on reserve. This is going to be transformative and a very, very important move. With the Kwantlen, I recently attended Ruskin dam, where there’s this beautiful artwork that’s been put on the dam in cooperation with the Kwantlen. It really shows reconciliation in action.

In the Stó:lō Nation, in the schools, they’re teaching the language. That’s really important as part of the ongoing reconciliation. I know our $50 million that will be going into language is very, very important towards moving towards reconciliation.

I just wanted to take a moment to really thank the First Nations in my community for really embracing me and teaching me. I’ve learned a great deal from their elders, and I have a huge amount of respect. There’s a long, long way to go on that, and I’m very, very proud that this budget also addresses a number of reconciliation issues.

But I need to get to this. I want to apologize in advance to the Minister of Finance. I will never get through all the wonderful things in this budget, but I will do my utmost.

What are we dealing with? Under the past government, actually, only the top benefited, while the opportunities really got out of reach of most people. What happened is that the B.C. Liberals grew the economy on the back of an unaffordable and unsustainable housing market. The reality is that you can’t build a long-term, stable economy on real estate speculation.

Now, people were told again and again, with the past government, that you have to choose between a strong economy or investments in people. I experienced that firsthand, working in the non-profit sector. “You know what? There’s so much money that has to be spent that there’s not enough money for you. There’s not enough money for child care. There’s not enough money for arts and culture. There’s not enough money. There’s just not enough. It’s more important that we cut taxes to the top 2 percent than put money into the things that people need.”

What we’ve done, as a government, is focus on putting the people in the centre of how we address budgeting and how we address our politics — putting people first. We’re taking action to make life more affordable and deliver the services that people need to build a strong and sustainable economy.

[4:15 p.m.]

Now, 2019 moves forward on the biggest middle-class tax cut in a generation, getting rid of the regressive MSP premiums. That’s putting thousands of dollars back into people’s pockets. It’s the biggest tax cut in a generation. We’re also creating new opportunities, like creating the new the B.C. child opportunity benefit so that every kid can meet their full potential. And we’re eliminating interest on B.C. student loans, which I’ll get to in a little while.

The net result of this budget is that a family of four making $80,000 will be paying 43 percent less a year in taxes than under the last government. That’s good for people, it’s good for communities, and it’s good for the economy.

Now, during the 2017 election, I heard again and again: “Elect the NDP and the economy will collapse.” It was like this fearmongering that went throughout the campaign over and over again. But the sky didn’t fall like the Chicken Littles on the other side of the House predicted. In fact, after nearly two years of an NDP government, B.C. has the strongest economy in Canada.

The Liberals will say: “Well, that’s because of us.” Well, it’s simply not the case. In fact, they left us in a huge mess. In addition to the staggering mismanagement of ICBC and B.C. Hydro under the B.C. Liberals, B.C. became the province with the largest wealth gap in the country and the second-highest income inequality in the country. The B.C. Liberals helped their wealthy friends, but did nothing for everyone else. If that’s what a strong economy is under the B.C. Liberals, that’s not what it means to me and the NDP. A strong economy is where everybody wins from the economy.

Under the B.C. Liberals’ failed jobs plan, B.C. had the country’s slowest wage growth. Since 2001, B.C. had the second-worst record of average wage growth in Canada. Under our watch, we’re seeing the highest wage growth in a decade. Under our watch, the unemployment rate is the lowest in Canada, and that is strong, well-paid jobs.

But again: “If you elect the NDP, investors will run away.” That’s what I heard so many times — so much fearmongering from the B.C. Liberals. Well, under our watch, B.C. has the single largest private sector investment in Canadian history, with $40 billion in LNG Canada. We didn’t chase this project away. We encouraged it.

The difference is, unlike how the B.C. Liberals would railroad projects through without taking things into account that would benefit the B.C. public, we set a framework. The framework ensured (1) that B.C. would benefit financially, (2) that we would use B.C. labour, (3) that we would work with First Nations and (4) that we would protect the environment. We were able to do that and still get the largest investment in Canadian history.

This investment will bring 10,000 more construction jobs and nearly 1,000 permanent jobs to the people of British Columbia. I know the member on the other side’s left, but that’s in Kitimat. That’s in the north. Just to hear this idea that we don’t care about the north is unbelievable — unbelievable.

Interjection.

B. D’Eith: Wow. Okay. Anyway…. Well, thanks, Member. Thanks for the reminder.

B.C. Liberals preached their 1980s Reaganomics. It was really weird when I said “Reagan would be proud” that one of the members on the other side actually was very happy about that. I was quite shocked.

We all know that trickle-down economics doesn’t work, even though a number…. I think this is part of the entire discussion about how the B.C. Liberals are out of touch and, in fact, the whole idea that they understand economics as to what Reagan said. When we cut funding, when we cut taxes to the rich, somehow, magically, this is going to trickle down to everyone else.

We all know that doesn’t happen. In fact, it didn’t happen when they were in power. In fact, the wage gap got bigger and bigger. Who benefited? Sure, the top 2 percent. Sure, large corporations. But the people did not benefit from that.

That’s why we’re choosing to invest in people while balancing the budget, not balancing the budget on the backs of working people by increasing hydro rates and by increasing ICBC rates through mismanagement or pulling money out of ICBC to balance budgets or doubling MSP premiums or putting tolls on bridges unfairly. These are the things that we’re not doing. We’re ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to succeed, and we’re going to grow a strong, sustainable economy.

[4:20 p.m.]

Now, our plan is actually working, and as a result, British Columbia has the strongest economy in Canada. We’re thriving. B.C.’s economy is forecast to grow 2.5 percent this year, 2.6 percent next year, and it’s leading all of Canada. Wages grew by 4.1 percent last year, the highest rate of wage growth. B.C. continues to lead the country with a 4.7 percent unemployment rate. These are amazing statistics, and I’m very proud of the management of our Minister of Finance and our Premier.

I’m lucky — very honoured, actually — to be the Chair of the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services, and I did want to make a shout-out to the member for Penticton, who is the Deputy Chair. He is wonderful to work with. In fact, the whole committee — all three parties — works well together. We were able to come up with 100 unanimous recommendations. That really reflects the diversity of voices in British Columbia.

I really wanted to thank the Minister of Finance for recognizing the work of this committee in her speech and for actually, clearly listening to the voices of the people of British Columbia. One of the recommendations from the Finance Committee was to “pursue prudent and careful fiscal discipline and improve efficiencies in the delivery of services while working towards reconciliation with Indigenous people, strengthening the economy and supporting social equality.”

Well, the 2019 budget is balanced, with a projected surplus of $274 million in 2019-2020. Our debt-to-GDP ratio is at the lowest level since before the financial crisis. We are the only province with a triple A credit rating from all three major international rating agencies. We’ve eliminated the operating debt for the first time in 40 years.

We’re investing $20 billion in infrastructure in communities throughout the province — the largest capital plan in B.C. history. The constructions of schools and roads and health care facilities and post-secondary institutions will support over 80,000 jobs during construction over the next three years. Now, if you want to talk about jobs, let’s not talk about the failed B.C. Liberal jobs plan; let’s talk about these real jobs that are happening under our government.

Travelling around B.C. with the Finance Committee is an amazing experience. You get to see all sorts of different parts of British Columbia, and I must say that you get into remote areas that I would never normally be able to get to.

Probably the best illustration of this was Haida Gwaii. It was the first time, that I’m aware of, that the Finance Committee had travelled to Haida Gwaii. I found this area of remote British Columbia to be magical — absolutely an amazing, magical place. We were very, very honoured to actually be hosted on the Old Massett reserve.

We changed things up a bit. The committee supported this idea that we would not necessarily be set up the way we are in this House. We set up in a circle, and we allowed everyone a chance to speak freely. It was interesting, because at the beginning, the participants — you know, a bit standoffish. Who are these people coming from Victoria, telling us what to do? After a while, they realized we were there to listen. By the end, there was a lot of laughter and, I think, a recognition that we really were there to listen.

One of the things that we heard over and over and over again was that the cuts to the ferry service that the B.C. Liberals brought in, in 2014 were having a huge impact on their community. It affected health care. It affected their ability to get to jobs, to get to school. It just affected their basic mobility. It affected commerce. It affected their ability to move goods and services into and out of this remote area.

I was so pleased that after a recommendation from the Finance Committee and, of course, a lot of pressure from other areas, this important service was brought back. This is going to change lives in Haida Gwaii, and I’m so, so proud of that. It showed again that we’re listening. The B.C. NDP government is listening, and the minister responded to that.

I can’t leave this without at least touching briefly on the fact that in question period, the B.C. Liberals were somehow saying that their cuts — that this restoration was all about the environment. Well, I guarantee you that the cuts in 2014 of ferry service had nothing to do with protecting the environment. Just even hearing that is really hard to hear.

[4:25 p.m.]

At a recent B.C. Chamber of Commerce luncheon, there was a clear recognition that housing and child care were two key issues facing B.C. businesses — housing for the employees and employee retention through child care. This is critical. It was recognized by leading business people as two of the key issues in making sure that our businesses thrive.

But the B.C. Liberals cut the child care operating fund by 27 percent in 2007, sending less help to existing child care providers and cancelling subsidies to new providers. This resulted in a $2 to $4 per day fee increase for every child in spaces with subsidized care, and new spaces were more expensive. For a family of four with two children in full-time daycare, some were up to $80 to $160 a month.

In fact, I remember that my first question in this House, when we were briefly in opposition, was in regards to child care. My question to then Premier Christy Clark — and I can say that because she’s no longer the Premier — was simply why the B.C. Liberals ignored the call for more support for child care in this province. I talked about one of my constituents, Chantelle Morvay, whose children have special needs and who desperately needed support.

Well, I’m so, so proud that over the next three years, we’re investing $1.3 billion in quality affordable, accessible child care. This means that Chantelle and tens of thousands of families like hers are getting the support they need. In addition to that, she was so excited, because also in this budget, she’ll be getting the respite help that she needs and has been asking for, for so many years. These improvements are great for the economy, because it gets people back to work faster and it helps young families with affordability at a time in their lives when they really, really need help.

The other key piece of work that the B.C. Chamber of Com­merce recognized was housing. The housing crisis is not only bad for business. It’s created an affordability crisis in our province. The B.C. Liberals could have taken steps to address this issue but didn’t. They were more interested in continuing to allow their wealthy friends to profit from an out-of-control foreign speculation. They turned a blind eye to revenues generated from money laundering in the real estate market and speculation.

In fact, the Royal Bank of Canada housing affordability index shows that it would take 87.6 percent of the median income to afford the average home in the greater Vancouver area, the highest ever recorded in Canada and a 15 percentage point increase from last year.

One statistic that stood out for me in the Finance Committee, when the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver came and talked to us, is that in order for a family to afford an average house in Vancouver — let’s say $1.7 million — the family income would have to be $355,000. Well, how many families are making $355,000? Not a lot, and that’s the crisis that we’re in right now.

Our Homes for B.C. plan introduced last year is already showing results. The housing market has begun to moderate across all segments. There are 17,000 additional homes that have already been built or under construction. Housing starts are actually 35 percent higher than predicted by the B.C. Liberal 2017 budget.

Through partnerships, the government will deliver the 114,000 affordable homes over the next ten years that we promised. We’re going to do that in a historic $6.6 billion investment. This is important, because it’s going to fill an important gap where there are growing families that need housing, homes for seniors, options for women and children fleeing violence and, of course, student housing, which is very important.

For the first time in B.C. history, the province will be funding local organizations to operate rent banks that will provide short-term, low- or no-interest loans so that renters don’t end up on the street because of a crisis. This is really important to battle homelessness, because sometimes people run into logjams financially. If they just had that little help to get them over a tough time, they’d be able to stabilize and continue to pay their rent. It could be a transformative policy. I’m very excited about it.

Of course, we’re moving forward with the homelessness action plan, with a $76 million investment that will support land acquisition and services to bring the number of modular homes to 2,200.

A few days ago, on February 20, the Leader of the Opposition had an interview. I’d like to read a part of that. He actually said: “We have a little bit of a concern with any loan” — he’s talking about student loans — “that carries no interest, because it encourages people to go into a lot of debt. If you’re given $80,000 and there is no interest, why would you ever pay it back? You just wait for it to fade away with inflation. Thirty years later you might pay it back. These are the kinds of things they have done to make people happy with gifts. But gifts are not a happy life plan.”

[4:30 p.m.]

This statement shows how out of touch the B.C. Liberals are with the realities of the challenges facing our students, and it certainly shows that the leader is still operating at 30,000 feet. Student loans are provided federally and provincially. Right now the interest savings, with this cut to interest on B.C. loans, is only on the B.C. side of the equation. There’s that. Also, it’s still a repayable loan. If you don’t pay it back, you’re damaging your credit rating, and you could be faced with bankruptcy. So of course, students will want to pay their loans back.

The main reason is actually something completely different. The Canadian Federation of Students has articulated it very well: students who can’t afford the full cost of their education up front, who have to rely on loans in order to pursue their post-secondary education, end up paying more for the same education than their wealthier peers.

The whole point of this is to allow access, fairness and lifting our students up. In fact, under the B.C. Liberals, the tuition fees doubled at B.C. colleges and universities. Graduate tuition almost tripled under the B.C. Liberal watch. In the fall of 2015, the Leader of the Opposition, then the Minister of Advanced Education, advised B.C.’s colleges to implement new mandatory student fees in order to get around tuition increases.

B.C. students have the highest student debt in Canada and expect to graduate with almost $35,000 in debt, on average. B.C. student loans, until this announcement, were at actually one of the highest interest rates in the country, at prime plus 2.5 percent.

Again, the select standing committee had two recommendations in regard to students. One of them was to eliminate interest on student loans, and the other one was to expand the number of seats available to students. I was very pleased that in Budget 2019, we’re investing in new seats in post-secondary schools to address increased demands for skilled graduates, which was actually something that was said was an important thing to do on the other side.

Our government is delivering on our commitment to eliminate interest from all new and existing British Columbia student loans. As of February 19, B.C. student loans will stop accumulating interest. Students and young families with loans will save average of $2,300 in interest over a ten-year repayment period. This is great news for B.C. students. It will help to allow more equitable access to advanced education and will level the playing field. I’m very, very proud of this.

Now, unlike the former B.C. Liberal government, our government is committed to making life more affordable. We removed, for example, the bridge tolls. That had a huge, huge impact on my constituents. I have one business, a forklift repair business. Most of their clients are out in Surrey or Langley. Their people were going across that Golden Ears Bridge ten times a day. They racked up thousands and thousands of dollars in tolls on that Golden Ears Bridge. Well, I’ll tell you, when that was cut, they were able to hire someone new. If that isn’t helping small business, I don’t know what is.

The other thing is MSP premiums. We’re the only province in the country that still has this regressive tax. Of course, it’s not fair. It’s not a fair tax, because you have the people that are making more paying the same as people who are making less. That’s just not the way modern taxation should work.

One of the things that we’re doing to make life more affordable is introducing the new child opportunity benefit. This benefit is great. I know, having five children, that the cost of having a child adds up. I think if I’d had this when my children were younger and if our friends had had this, we’d probably all be in a lot better place today, and it’d be a lot less of living paycheque to paycheque for so many people. For the first child, it would be as much as $1,600 a year; for two children, up to $2,600; and as much as $3,400. That’s up to the age 18, which is wonderful. I’m really excited about that. It’s a really great piece in affordability.

I can’t leave the talk today without talking about arts and culture, because one of the reasons I got into politics was that in 2008 my organization had 100 percent of its funding cut, and the minister at the time came and basically told me that if I said anything to the press, we’d never see another penny again. I just saw the mean-spiritedness of the B.C. Liberals in that moment.

[4:35 p.m.]

Actually, I don’t know if they did themselves a favour, because it was a catalyst. It got me involved; it got me active. I’m really, really pleased that this year there were a couple of Finance Committee recommendations. One of them was to continue to increase funding to the B.C. Arts Council. The other was to support B.C.’s creative industries by increasing funding to Creative B.C., including a multi-year commitment to Amplify B.C., by maintaining the existing tax credits to all of the various levels.

This year I was very, very pleased to see in the budget another $5 million for the next three years, each year, on top of the $15 million that’s already promised and a commitment to continue to support the creative industries through tax credits that will help sustain our booming film, television, animation, post-production, digital and book publishing sectors.

I would be remiss if I didn’t thank the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture for launching Amplify B.C. for the music industry. This is an amazingly impactful program. The creative industries generate over $5 billion in economic activity in B.C. We should be very, very proud of that on all sides of this House.

Another very important part of why I got in was in regard to people with disabilities and income assistance. Under the B.C. Liberals, B.C. was experiencing the country’s second-highest rate of poverty and the highest rate of poverty for those who were working.

Again, the Finance Committee recommended that there be an increase to income and disability rates. One of the first things that our government did was increase income assistance rates by $100 a month. In Budget 2019, this has actually increased again by $50 a month, which will put another $1,800 into the pockets of some of the most needy. This means more money for groceries. It means more money for transportation and life’s basic necessities. While it doesn’t seem like a lot of money, for people who don’t have a lot, it is a lot.

I remember when we made this, the first $100 for disability, one of the people with disabilities who worked on my campaign was overcome with joy, because she wouldn’t have to choose between her medication and food. It was a very, very poignant and important day for me. I’m very, very excited about that.

I’m also really excited about the fact that we’re going to be investing in caregivers. One of the things that the Finance Committee heard was that foster parents were not getting enough money. Again, the Finance Minister listened. Family-based caregivers, like foster parents, will receive higher support payments starting April 1. This is the first increase in a decade. The really great part about this is that it will also include extended family, like grandparents and aunties, who support children and keep them out of care, which is really, really great.

When I first started as a lawyer, we had one of the best legal aid support systems in the world. In fact, one of my close friends, whom I articled with, was actually taking meetings with lawyers from all over the world to say how wonderful our legal aid was. Of course, a year later, she spent a year firing 500 legal aid lawyers after the cuts to legal aid services.

It’s just not right. It really does impact the most vulnerable — often women who are in abusive households and whatnot. It’s really tough to see. I’m actually really, really pleased to see that there’s some movement on this, with the piloting of a new network of legal clinics to ensure that B.C.’s most vulnerable citizens have access to justice.

As I said, I’ll never get through all of this, so I’m not even going to even try. I did want to touch on education. That was another reason why I got into politics in the first place. My children basically lived in portables in their school. The elementary school that we so desperately needed in Albion never happened when my children were growing up. It’s being built now. To me, it’s wonderful that it’s happening, but it’s too little, too late for my community. I’m really, really pleased to see record investments in our schools.

[4:40 p.m.]

I can’t get into CleanBC. I’d love to talk so much more about that, but it’s really wonderful. If people want to see the recommendations from the Finance Committee…. The number of pieces of that, including investments to make electric vehicles work and to invest to make sure that families can get retrofits in their homes — these are all the sorts of things we need to help our move towards a clean B.C.

I’m just about done. I wanted to say that I support this Budget 2019. There were a lot of things I didn’t get to, and I wanted to thank the minister for really making B.C. a much better place for our citizens.

I. Paton: I stand here today, it being a pleasure to rise in the House for the first time in 2019. A new year is always a great opportunity to reflect on one’s priorities for the months ahead and to count the many ways we’re blessed to live in this province and in the communities we all call home. I hope I spend the next 30 minutes being somewhat more positive than the member for Maple Ridge–Mission. If it were my budget speech, I think I would be very positive and talk about the great things about it instead of simply running down the opposition and making personal attacks on people on the other side of the House.

For me, it’s an absolute privilege and honour to kick off another year representing the people of south Delta, and I thank my constituents for continuing to put their trust in me to do that job effectively. Having lived in the area my whole life — been born and raised and still living on the farm that I’m on today 62 years ago — I take a lot of pride in standing up for the folks in my hometown and bringing their issues and concerns directly to this chamber.

I’d like to thank, at this time, some people in my life that have made it an honour to be here and helped me to get here. First of all, my staff. I have an incredible staff here in Victoria with Elishia, Tracy and Karen Bill. At home, in my office in Ladner, I have a tremendous group, starting with Taylor Grant and Michelle Pici, who are my part-time CAs, and, of course, a fabulous CA that knows a hundred times more than I do about politics, Mr. Dylan Kruger.

I’d also like to thank my mom and, of course, my wife, Pam. My mom, who’s in her 90s — she’ll kill me for saying it — is still living on our farm in Delta, across the driveway from my wife, Pam, and me. She’s a trooper. She still drives to Ladner three or four times a week, ten kilometres, to volunteer at the local hospital and the hospital thrift shop. I’d like to thank my two wonderful kids, Tom and Jamie. Jamie, my daughter, is now in Japan, and she will be for two years, teaching English in Japan. I’m very, very proud of her for what she’s doing over there.

My dad was a devout Christian. He’s not with us anymore. My dad and I were partners for many years in the farm auction business and on our farm in Delta. Not once did we ever talk about politics or me going into politics. I’m sure he’s looking down, going: “What in the world ever made you decide to get into politics?” There’s something we never ever discussed, but it somehow took place.

I know the people of Delta South. They’re looking to this budget for some insight into how their lives will be affected by government decision-making in the coming months. Unfortunately, like the government’s throne speech that preceded it, the budget lacks any vision for our economy, which, we know, is vital to providing the services British Columbians rely on. We have heard a lot of promises from the government, with some pretty hefty price tags attached. They have increased spending by 26 percent in just two years, which amounts to $13 billion in new spending in two years of being in government.

Without a strategy to grow our economy, you have to wonder how these things will be paid for. There seems to be little on the horizon to get British Columbians excited about future opportunities like good family-supporting jobs. Small business and job creators didn’t even get a mention in the budget. Instead, here’s what British Columbians have to look forward to: 19 new or increased taxes, totalling $5.5 billion, since this government took office in June of 2017. That doesn’t seem in line with the promise of affordability that we keep hearing from the other side.

Following the throne speech, they even acknowledged that there were folks working two or three jobs who cannot seem to get ahead. Well, how on earth does piling on all these taxes help? These taxes are going to hit individuals and businesses hard and damage our economy in the process.

[4:45 p.m.]

All indications point to the fact that this government has run out of taxpayers’ money to spend, so they’re going to be searching high and low for new ways to tax people. I’ve heard an awful lot from my constituents about this growing tax burden. Delta residents recently found out just how badly they’ll be affected by the government’s new employer health tax. The city of Delta has announced a proposed property tax increase of 2.99 percent for this year, and a full 1 percent of that will be used to cover the large EHT bill the city will be getting from the province. To make matters worse, the government will unfairly charge the city for both the EHT and MSP premiums this year.

Now, looking at that 1 percent increase in property taxes, well, maybe that doesn’t seem like too much to people. But keep in mind that the EHT amounts to $1.1 million per year, a financial hit to the city of Delta each and every year, moving forward. Think about what $1.1 million each year could buy for our community — things like new equipment or programs for our recreation centres, arts, culture or important road projects for our motorists in Delta. So $1.1 million in added taxes to the property tax bill is certainly significant.

Meanwhile, a number of local businesses could be facing a triple whammy this year. If they pay for their employee health MSP premiums, they’re subject to the EHT and are also now subject to a property tax increase — the triple whammy. This will impact Delta residents as well, because some of these companies may have to reduce staff, restrict hiring or raise prices for their goods and services so they can afford to stay afloat.

Farmers in my riding are also echoing those concerns about EHT, and not just farmers. We’re talking about all the companies that are related to the farming industry. We’re talking about greenhouses, the greenhouse industry with many, many employees. We’re talking about BCfresh, the big company in Delta, in my riding, that houses all the vegetables that get sent out to the different grocery stores; the milk plants in B.C.; the processors, the processing plants for berries and poultry, for instance; the packing plants; the seafood processing plants; abattoirs; the trucking companies.

All of these companies that have something to do with agriculture are going to be hit with higher fuel prices, hit with higher prices to heat their buildings for agricultural purposes, hit with higher costs of delivering goods to the farms. All of this is going to be hit with EHT, with these companies with many, many employees, which are going to end up paying the EHT as well as increased carbon taxes.

Greenhouse growers don’t currently pay MSP premiums for their employees, many of whom are seasonal, so the EHT represents a massive new tax bill coming their way.

Local farmers also have to contend with hikes to the carbon tax and to minimum wage. They’re all telling me that the costs to run their operations are going up substantially. But the reality is that farmers can’t simply raise prices to account for increased costs, because they are price-takers, not price-setters. So they are extremely worried about how they are going to manage these increased costs. For some, it may be too much to bear.

I’d like to read from a Business in Vancouver article from Mr. Murray Driediger. He’s a chief executive officer of BCfresh. BCfresh is a huge warehouse in my riding of Delta, and all the vegetables that are grown in the Fraser Valley, as far as Kamloops and the Okanagan, get brought down to Delta to the BCfresh warehouse. From there, these vegetables are shipped out. They’re washed, packaged and graded at the farms. They end up at BCfresh to be shipped out to the different grocery stores.

In the words of Mr. Driediger, CEO of BCfresh in Delta:

“‘It’s unbelievable that both the provincial and federal governments have literally been dumping costs onto businesses at the levels they have and expect us to remain competitive,’ he said. ‘These are moneys that we use to modernize to ensure that we remain competitive, and they’re doing everything that they can to throw sand in the gears.’

“The biggest, most immediate tax hit will come from the new payroll tax that is being foisted onto employers, from businesses to school districts, to replace the Medical Services Plan.

“BCfresh only covers MSP premiums for 24 of their employees. ‘That used to cost us about $15,000 a year. Under the new payroll tax, for the exact same services supplied to our employees, that new cost will be $45,000 per year.’

“And because the new payroll tax comes into effect one year before MSP premiums are eliminated, it means that some employers, like BCfresh, will have to pay both MSP premiums and the new payroll tax for the first year.”

He goes on to say:

[4:50 p.m.]

“In addition to the payroll tax, B.C. businesses will pay increased corporate taxes…. And a $5-per-tonne hike to the carbon tax in April will increase the per-litre fuel costs….

“‘Freight is a major component of getting produce to market throughout British Columbia,’ Driediger said. ‘Fuel costs are a major…component to growing produce. All of these increases are doing nothing but adding costs on to the consumer, and freight costs are going through the roof.’”

They’re all telling me that the cost to run their operations are going up substantially. But the reality is that farmers simply can’t raise prices to account for the increased costs because they’re price-takers, as I said, and not price-setters.

In addition, here’s some recent commentary by the president of the B.C. Fruit Growers Association. The organization held its 130th annual general meeting in Penticton last week, and I was pleased to be there to recognize their tremendous contributions and to hear directly from fruit growers about the challenges they face.

In his address to attendees to kick off the event, B.C. Fruit Growers Association president Pinder Dhaliwal noted the impacts of measures like the increase to minimum wage, with another increase coming on June 1, and the increase to piece rates for picking.

Dhaliwal said: “Operating costs at family farm operations will continue to increase due to the regulatory burdens and government-mandated wage increases.” He goes on to say: “We are at a tipping point whereby the majority of the domestic food supply that is grown in British Columbia is at real risk with these wage increases and the possible change in the piece rate.”

We know that these growers are also dealing with weather challenges, including flooding and drought. But these increased costs are certainly not helping them out in what was a tough year for these folks in the tree fruit industry. Sadly, we don’t see this government backing down on these damaging measures in the budget.

When I was at this tree fruit growers’ conference, I heard loud and clear about all the things that are affecting them. They are so disappointed that there is not money coming forward to help out with modernization of technology in their co-op in Kelowna. They’re very upset about the seasonal agricultural work program, having to speed that up and lessen the paperwork. They want to make sure that there is money going to be added for many more years to come to the replant program, which is so important to their industry.

Of course, they are so afraid of the piece rate being possibly removed from the picking because they talk of hundreds, if not thousands, of young people that come out every year from Quebec and Ontario to take advantage of the piece rate of picking and that can make from $200 to $300 to $400 a day in piece rate. But you will not see them come out by the droves to work in the Okanagan and pick if they’re going to be down to a minimum-wage rate in the heat and the dust of picking fruit in the summertime. So piece rate is very important to them, and it has got to stay in place.

We definitely don’t see them presenting any ideas to move this province forward. For B.C. to succeed, we need to be thinking about big ideas, new technologies, new innovation and ways of doing things. But we see no plan for economic development. Meanwhile, as the opposition Agriculture critic, I was hoping for something substantial pertaining to this significant industry.

We do see a meagre $5 million increase to the ministry’s budget but little change to the allocation for the Agricultural Land Commission. This raises a concern for me as far as how the ALC will be able to increase enforcement on ALR lands. The minister’s own bill last fall to amend the ALC is supposed to prevent the dumping of waste and debris on farmland, something that local municipalities have been able to take care of on their own for many, many years.

By the way, the compliance and enforcement part of the ALC is so minimal. I mean, how could the number of people they have cover the entire province, whereas municipalities such as Delta have 12 or 13 compliance and enforcement officers that can look after the issue of illegal dumping? We have been looking after that in Delta for many years previous to this Bill 52 announcement. But because the minister’s own bill last fall to amend the ALC is supposed to prevent dumping and waste on farmland with no additional funds for the ALC in this budget, one has to wonder if they will have enough officers to ensure compliance.

I also wonder if the $5 million to increase the ministry’s budget is to support all the studies and reports that the Ministry of Agriculture has requested. We know there’s an awful lot of them. I would argue that the hard-working folks in the agricultural industry, whether they be farmers, ranchers, producers or processors, deserve better than constant reviews and studies.

[4:55 p.m.]

Moving on. While the government doesn’t seem to have any plan for growing the economy and not much of a plan for agriculture, another thing the government doesn’t seem too interested in is the infrastructure people rely on. This is another area of concern that has the people of Delta pretty riled up. This budget confirms that Deltans have already come to accept that the government doesn’t have a plan to replace the Massey Tunnel, but again, perhaps that’s not much of a surprise to people in my community, because they already knew this government has turned its back on them in regards to the Massey Tunnel.

My constituents remain no further ahead in their quest for a replacement to this aging and seismically unsafe structure, thanks to this government. It has ignored years’ worth of studies and documents pertaining to this government. Despite raising $5.5 billion in taxes, this budget offers nothing to fund the replacement of the George Massey Tunnel and has let down nearly 80,000 commuters a day who continue to sit in gridlock waiting for a solution.

I was astounded by the non-announcement of the George Massey Tunnel replacement a few months ago in downtown Vancouver. After five years and 14,000 pages of consultation and reports, incredibly, the government will keep studying for another two or three years. And this government has suggested that spending $40 million more on new lightbulbs and a paint job inside the tunnel will somehow ease the congestion of 80,000 truckers and commuters each day.

The minister threw away the $100 million that has already been invested in the tunnel replacement. Because of this ongoing delay, companies such as London Drugs are threatening to relocate. The longer these local and commercial vehicles sit idle in the traffic, the more appointments and family gatherings they miss and the more environmental and financial damage is caused. How do thousands of idling diesel trucks and gas-powered cars waiting daily to get through this tunnel help to achieve the CleanBC goals of this budget?

This government certainly isn’t in a rush to remedy the situation. It continues to sit on its hands while people and our economy suffer. Yet the Premier has travelled to Washington state to meet with the government to pour thousands of dollars into a fast train study that would link Vancouver to Seattle. And they say that the fast train….

You know, tongue in cheek, this is really money well spent. I think it’s $600,000 they put into a study, and they say — this is such good news — the rapid train could get from Seattle to Vancouver in less than one hour. Perhaps the people of Delta and South Surrey should move to Seattle. They would get to work in Vancouver quicker if they lived in Seattle than if they tried to get through the George Massey Tunnel each morning.

The budget does not, however, acknowledge a 25 percent drop in housing starts. How that is housing affordability, I’m not sure — not to mention the jobs and economic activity to be lost.

What about the government speculation tax, which is misnamed, because it doesn’t actually address speculation? It puts the onus on local homeowners in affected communities to prove they are not speculators. Innocent until proven guilty. Let me, please, just quote from Kris Sims of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation about the speculation tax. “It defies common sense to send more than a million B.C. homeowners a huge new tax bill unless they wade through a tangle of government red tape every year to prove that they are not speculators.”

These are hard-working British Columbians who are now being treated as though they have done something wrong. It’s a backwards way of doing things and, again, won’t actually address the issue of real estate speculation in the province.

Also on the housing front, what on earth happened to the $400 renters rebate that was promised to British Columbians? Nearly two years into this government’s mandate it still hasn’t materialized. Not a single rebate has been returned to British Columbians.

There are a few other items this government has not delivered on, and $10-a-day child care is one of them. Now they have promised a new child tax benefit to B.C. families, but we know that won’t come into effect until the end of 2020. The government hasn’t given us any details on its poverty reduction plan either. It’s a disappointing letdown for the folks who have been looking to the government to fulfil those commitments.

British Columbians need a budget that grows the economy and creates more opportunities throughout this prov­ince, not just on Vancouver Island and in the Fraser Valley. The entire province needs to be part of this growing economy — budgets and good-paying jobs for everyone throughout this province.

[5:00 p.m.]

Instead what they got was a stand-pat budget that makes the misguided assumption that there are no risks on the horizon. The threat of a global economic downturn, disruptions in Europe due to the Brexit situation, a slowing Chinese economy and the instability of Chinese-U.S. relations. These things matter to a province that depends on international trade, but we see nothing in this budget to cushion against some of those potential shocks.

One final quote I’d like to make is from a gentleman named Greg D’Avignon. He is the B.C. Business Council president. His quote regarding the economy in British Columbia: “I would caution the government that to take the economy for granted is at their peril. There’s a complete absence of economic vision in the face of what we see are some increasing strong headwinds facing the economy in B.C. and Canada.”

As I’ll reiterate, we see nothing strategic in this budget to create opportunities for economic growth. Instead, the government is counting on taxation revenue and a one-time $1.6 billion transfer from the federal government that’s not guaranteed to be repeated in the future. They’re also relying on a carbon tax that is no longer revenue-neutral and that will raise $6 billion over the next three years. They say it will help fight climate change. But in reality, just 15 percent of the carbon tax will support efforts to reduce carbon.

When folks in Delta and across B.C. fill up at the gas pump, drive their parents to medical appointments and drop their kids off at school, they’re sending more money to the NDP government. Carbon tax is killing the farming community. Agriculture in this province is in trouble. Adding the EHT and adding carbon tax and adding in­creases to minimum wage are simply hurting agriculture in this province — the greenhouse industry, poultry, mush­room farms. The fuel for tractors…. I have yet to see a tractor on a farm in British Columbia that runs on electricity. Everything in this province still runs on diesel, gasoline or propane. This is going to be a hit for farming in British Columbia in this next decade.

First, we saw a throne speech that was so empty, just completely devoid of any vision for our economy. What was supposed to be a forward-looking document was anything but. Now we have a budget that shows this government isn’t really that interested in creating opportunities for everyone and making life more affordable for them.

What they are interested in, however, is taking more money out of people’s pockets through taxation. They have increased taxes to the tune of about $1,200 for every tax-paying British Columbian and $2,500 per family over the next three years. That doesn’t help families. It doesn’t help farmers. It doesn’t help small business owners. It certainly doesn’t help make life more affordable for people, especially my people in Delta.

Deputy Speaker: North Vancouver–Lonsdale.

B. Ma: Thank you, Madam Speaker, and congratulations on your new post. It’s very lovely to see you up there.

I want to begin my response to B.C. Budget 2019 by acknowledging a few of the people that have brought me to where I am today. In particular, I’d like to acknowledge my family and my partner. I think all of us in this House know that being an MLA requires a lot of personal sacrifice. We all have families that we leave every week, and then we go home only to maybe spend less time engaging with them and more time working at home as well. I know that it can be hard for a lot of the MLAs and a lot of the members here. I’m sure it’s very difficult for all of the members, actually.

My partner has been incredibly supportive this entire time. But I also know that being away from loved ones for a long time, having your loved one work constantly, perhaps not take care of their health very well and neglect every aspect of their personal life in order to serve the community can be difficult. I want to acknowledge all of the partners and all of the families that support all of the members here in this House.

I also want to say thank you to my wonderful constituency assistants. I have two full-time constituency assistants, Mr. Mack McCorkindale and Mr. Shawn Vuillez, as well as two temporary constituency assistants, who joined me in my office during the summer last year, Mr. Nicolas Bragg and Ms. Julia Bilinski. They do incredible work for the community.

[5:05 p.m.]

I’m so proud of the service that they provide and of the patience, the love, the compassion and passion that they bring to their work each and every day.

I want to thank my volunteers, of course. I dare not name them all, as I may leave some of them behind, but I am blessed with dozens of dedicated, committed and passionate volunteers who love people and love this province.

Finally, I want to acknowledge and thank all of my colleagues who have worked so hard over the last 19 months since we formed government; as well, my colleagues from the other side of the House, in particular my colleagues from West Vancouver–Sea to Sky, West Vancouver–Capilano and North Vancouver–Seymour. We may sit on opposite sides of the House, but I know the passion that they all bring to their work. We’re all working together in order to support the North Shore and advocate for the North Shore, so I want to acknowledge their good work as well.

In a lot of conversations that I hear in the House — especially whenever we talk about budgets, throne speeches — I often hear members alluding to what they call the dark ’90s. “The ’90s. Remember the ’90s.” I thought that I would take this opportunity to actually speak to that a bit, because I do remember the ’90s. I mean, I was a child at the time, but I do remember them. I do remember that it existed.

It’s interesting, because what I remember of the ’90s is that my family lived in a house with a yard, a driveway and a garage. Some of those terms are difficult to…. Well, a lot of younger people these days won’t know what a driveway is and a garage. Sometimes, when I see people posting photos about shovelling snow from their driveway, my question is often, you know: what’s a driveway?

In the ’90s, we did live in a house with a yard, a driveway and a garage. We lived in a family-oriented neigh­bourhood where my sister and I would play street hockey with the neighbourhood kids in the cul-de-sac. My parents worked very hard on a start-up company together. We weren’t rolling in it, but they could still afford to send me to kung fu lessons, and I benefited from piano lessons, swimming lessons and gymnastics.

In the ’90s, I went to a high school in the Vancouver East­side that was considered a very troubled school in the Lower Mainland and that served a lower-income part of the city, but I still remember having lots of access to teachers and lots of access to teaching assistants. I remember free before- and after-school programs and special programs for faster learners and gradual learners and flexible learners. I remember teachers who weren’t so overworked that they couldn’t keep their head up after the classes ended for the day, which meant that they were able to have lots of energy to volunteer after school and support students.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that as a teenager growing up in Vancouver Eastside in the ’90s, I would probably not be the best personal source of information when it comes to judging the economy. Oftentimes when people refer to the dark ages of the ’90s, especially those on the other side, they talk about how it was terrible from an economic perspective. So I’ve done a little bit of research.

I’ll turn to the Business Council of British Columbia, who released a study in 2013 that was entitled A Decade by Decade Review of British Columbia’s Economic Performance. It took a look at the ’90s, where the NDP was in government; the ’80s, where the Social Credit Party was in government; and then the first decade of the 2000s, where the B.C. Liberals were in government. Some of the findings surprised me, because I had heard so much rhetoric about how terrible the economy was supposed to have been back in the ’90s.

According to this study, A Decade by Decade Review of British Columbia’s Economic Performance by the Business Council of British Columbia in 2013, the NDP government, of all three decades — so of the Social Credit government, the NDP Government and the B.C. Liberal government — actually led in GDP growth, in job creation and in exports. So three out of five of the major indicators of how an economy is doing. That was quite surprising to me, particularly surprising because it flies completely in the face of all the negative rhetoric that we often hear from members opposite about what happened back then.

[5:10 p.m.]

I was originally very proud to hear the Minister of Finance talk about how B.C. is an economic leader in Canada and has been and is expected to continue to be under the B.C. NDP government. She explained that B.C. has the strongest economy in the country, with the highest projected real GDP growth, lowest unemployment rate and biggest wage gains nationwide. I was so proud to hear this incredible accomplishment by our government.

Now, based on what I’ve learned from this study back in 2013, it turns out it’s really just business as usual. The NDP government does produce good economic results. So I’m very pleased to be able to have that continue.

Going back to my experience in the ’90s…. Eventually, we weren’t in the ’90s anymore. As the years passed, we entered the early 2000s. The government switched over, and we had a B.C. Liberal government.

What I noticed is that post-secondary tuition started to rapidly climb. Colleges were turned into universities without additional funding. I saw seniors grapple with rising MSP premiums. I started to watch as my friends struggled to care for their young children, as tuition fees were added on to adult basic education that carried their hopes of a better life further away from them.

This is what I saw after a prosperous ’90s. In the early 2000s, I was seeing all of this happen before my eyes. Then I watched as contracts started to get ripped up. It was with the teachers. It happened with the health care workers. I watched as funding started to stall or get cut on critical social services, and each time the most vulnerable suffered the most.

It was the children who were left without adequate support in the classrooms. It was the seniors waiting alone in their rooms for a bath once weekly, if they were lucky. It was the families and people on income and disability assistance who wouldn’t see an increase in over a decade.

As time went on, I found myself watching housing fly out of reach of the average person. I watched as people lost hope of ever finding stable housing again — rental housing, let alone owning a home — and I watched as speculators bought up condos and sat on them empty, like piggy banks in the sky.

Then, of course, the headlines came about the Wild West of campaign financing here in B.C. Rules, if you can call them that, so loose that you could practically buy an election here in B.C. from overseas, and it’d be legal. Turned out ICBC’s in a dumpster fire, and what’s worse, there’s evidence that the previous government hid the truth from the public about just how bad it was.

Then money laundering entered the headlines, showing that money laundering had been running so rampant in the province that everybody in the world seemed to know about it except British Columbians. Then we had whistle-blowers coming forward claiming how the previous B.C. Liberal government actually knew about it all and did less than nothing. In fact, they may have actively been thwarting attempts to address it. Now we hear about sweetheart deals worth $16 billion with political campaign donors to purchase power British Columbians don’t need for money that it’s not worth.

When we’re talking about supporting the people of B.C., about lifting them up, about making life more affordable, improving the services people count on and creating good, sustainable jobs, we have to recognize that the road to doing this has been fraught with the demons left behind from the past. That’s what makes the last 19 months that this government has existed so remarkable. In spite of the traps left behind by the former government, we’ve still been able to make so much incredible progress on so many files.

B.C. Budget 2019 builds on the good work of B.C. Budget 2018 and continues our commitment on housing, child care and more. So far, in addition to provincewide programs, North Vancouver has already benefited a great deal from the new government’s investments.

[5:15 p.m.]

North Vancouver has seen new schools announced. Handsworth Secondary School will be receiving a total rebuild, fully funded by the province. People compared this experience positively, in contrast to the fight the community underwent to replace Argyle Secondary, which took years under the B.C. Liberals.

Students at Mountainside were also given good news. They will receive a full seismic upgrade. What’s remarkable about that announcement is that the announcement came…. The funding commitment to seismically upgrade Mountainside came within six months of a confirmed engineers report confirming that they did need seismic upgrading. So the time lapse between the confirmation of a need and the confirmation of funding to address that need was incredibly short.

Norgate Elementary School also received a new playground. What I understand is, throughout the province, between B.C. Budget 2018 and B.C. Budget 2019, we have new classrooms for 5,500 students underway already.

Housing is another area that the North Shore has bene­fited substantially from. I remember when advocates from Hollyburn Family Services first approached me with a conundrum that they had been dealing with for many years. Hollyburn Family Services operates a youth safe house on the North Shore that had not ever received stable provincial funding. They’d been operating for over ten years.

For a variety of reasons, they were coming up short in the current year, and they came to me for help. I was so incredibly grateful and proud to have been able to work with the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to be able to provide them with that stable funding for the first time in a decade.

Youth in the North Shore now…. Well, they had a safe place to go before, but they’ll continue to have a safe place to go, moving forward, in part because of the incredible commitment that our government made to support what is undoubtedly one of the most important services that is offered on the North Shore by Hollyburn Family Services — not that they don’t have other also very critical services.

A few months ago the Premier of the province joined with the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and also announced 4,902 affordable mixed-income rentals. Again, this isn’t just funding announced but rather units confirmed. From what I understand, that announcement was actually the single largest number of affordable housing units ever confirmed in one go. And 100….

Interjection.

B. Ma: Why, yes. That’s right. It is excellent. It is. I mean, my tone is kind of moderate here, but it was incredibly exciting. And 196 of those units of very affordable housing will be built right there on the North Shore.

The Kiwanis North Shore Housing Society has received $10.6 million towards a 106-unit, six-storey seniors housing project on Whiteley Court, and the Sanford Housing Society and Hollyburn Family Services have also been granted $9 million for a 90-unit family-oriented project adjacent to Phibbs Exchange.

Family units are so incredibly important on the North Shore because families don’t do very well in studio and one-bedroom units, which there tend to be more of. So two-bedroom, three bedroom units for families are very difficult to find, and these additional 90 units will be life-changing, just absolutely life-changing.

I know that oftentimes when people think about affordable housing projects, they think: “Oh, well, they’re probably $1,600 a month for a one-bedroom unit or $2,200 a month for a two-bedroom unit. Who in their right mind really thinks that that is affordable?”

Actually, it’s important to emphasize that these projects that we have funded through B.C. Housing, the 196 units of very affordable housing for the North Shore, are very affordable. Each project is expected to meet certain affordability requirements. B.C. Housing has set a requirement that 30 percent of all of the units in the building be rented out at below market and that 50 percent be rented out through rent-geared-to-income. That means that the more money a family makes, or the less money they make, the more or less they pay for housing, which is incredibly affordable.

[5:20 p.m.]

And 20 percent of all of these units will be deep subsidy units. Therefore, people on income assistance…. That means that some of these units could be going for as low as $375 a month. I don’t think that you can rent a tent site for that much.

D. Routley: Maybe a doghouse.

B. Ma: My colleague here says you might be able to rent a doghouse for that much.

Instead, because of the funding offered by this government, we’re able to offer people and families beautiful new units that they can live in and prosper in for that amount. It’s really quite remarkable. Of course, in addition to the supply-side measures, we are tackling speculation and vacant homes through the speculation and vacancy tax.

Children and families, I think, are huge winners in this. I mean, let me say it again: I think that B.C. Budget 2019 really benefits children and families with children — and not only on the child care front.

On the child care front, we’ve done an incredible amount of work in a short period of time. In B.C. Budget 2018, $1 billion was committed to improving child care in this province over three years. What the Minister of State for Child Care has done with 2018-2019 money, in one year, has been absolutely remarkable.

She’s introduced the child care fee reduction program that allows child care operators to reduce their child care fees by up to $350 per month, per child. She’s introduced the affordable child care benefit, which allows for families to apply to receive a subsidy of up to $1,250 per month, per child, for a family, and it’s income-tested.

There are programs to improve wages for early child care educators. There are programs to invest and build more new child care spaces. I mean, the North Shore alone has already received funding to create 200 new child care spots. We were also benefactors of the $200-per-month child care pilot program, which is effectively a $10-per-day child care pilot program. We were able to convert a North Shore Neighbourhood House–run child care facility in the North Shore into a $10-a-day child care pilot facility.

I was also given the absolutely incredible honour of being able to tell some of these families that they were going to be paying a maximum of $200 per month, per child. I remember, in particular, one mother who was there with her two four-year-old twin boys. I had gone up to her, and I sat her down. I told her the good news, and I remember the look on her face. She looked at me as though I was trying to punk her. I remember that she kind of looked at me and said: “Is this a joke?” — like, kind of looking around. “Are there cameras here? What are you really saying?”

It took her a while to really grasp the gravity of what it was that I was saying, that for her two boys each, for the equivalent of full-time care, she would pay no more than $200 per month. When she finally came to grasp what it was that I was telling her, she was absolutely floored. I mean, literally floored — as in, she curled up in a ball and fell off the bench and laid on the ground.

Her sons went up to her, really worried about their mother on the ground. I was also quite worried as well. I asked her: “Ma’am, are you okay?” And she said: “Yes. This is the most incredible day, and I just cannot stop thinking about all of the opportunities that I can now give my children that I could not afford before.” She broke down into tears, and for the next 20 minutes, just couldn’t lift her…. She had her head in her hands, with happy tears just streaming down her face.

In addition to all of this incredible work that’s already been done on the child care front, B.C. Budget 2019 also introduces a new program, which I am also quite floored by. It’s called the B.C. child opportunity benefit.

[5:25 p.m.]

At first, it’s easy for a lot of people to look at a new social program and imagine: “Well, that’s probably not going to impact me. I probably make too much money for it. Those kinds of programs usually max out at a very, very low family income.”

But the B.C. child opportunity benefit is different. What it does is it gives cash back to families in the form of a monthly cheque. It provides family support of up to $1,600 for one child for every year — $1,600 per year for one child, $2,600 per year for two children, $3,400 per year for three children, $4,200 per year for four children, and an additional $800 after that. So up to that amount every year until the child is 18 years old.

There is a current program that currently provides, I believe, families $55 per month per child, which is less than…. This new B.C. child opportunity benefit is worth almost 2½ times what the current program is worth. And the current program only goes until the child is six years old, whereas this program goes until the child is 18 years old.

Now, the maximum benefit is paid out for families who make a combined family income of $25,000 or less. But the benefit continues onward until it eventually phases out. For one child, that phasing-out point for a family is a net family income of $97,500 a year. Net income — that’s after-tax income. I really need to emphasize this, because that is very different from gross income. Now, $97,500 per year, gross income, might not sound like a lot, but if you take into account that it’s actually net income, it actually becomes much more substantial.

The phasing-out point for two children is $114,500 per year. For three children, it’s $131,000 per year. For four children, I think it’s about $148,000 per year. So families making $148,000 per year — net income, after taxes — can still receive benefits from the B.C. child opportunity benefit if they’re a family with four or more children.

Again, that is actually quite a remarkably high phasing-out point for a social program. It’s almost $150,000 net income. I hazard…. I don’t want to guess how many taxes people pay in order to net $150,000, but it’s a lot more than $150,000. Yeah. I am just really quite impressed that we were able to get that into this budget, and I know that this will help families absolutely immeasurably.

The final piece that I want to chat about today is around the student loan interest elimination, because not only has it been getting a lot of media attention, but I have been hearing about it so much from my constituents.

I have been hearing about it so much from not only students who are currently in university and post-secondary education but former students who have recently graduated, even former students who have already paid off their loans. I’m also hearing it from high school students. A lot of people are very excited about this change — about the elimination of interest on student loans.

Now, it is important to note a few caveats. First off, the elimination of interest on student loans begins effective…. I believe it was February 19, 2019, the day of the budget speech. It does not impact interest that was applied to those student loans in years previous. Unfortunately, the change only impacts student loans moving forward. It doesn’t impact the past. And it’s a really good reminder that elections do matter.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

This entire budget is a reminder that elections do matter — that different governments make different choices and that these are the kinds of choices that governments can make.

[5:30 p.m.]

The second point that needs to be stated is that only B.C. student loans are affected. That means that if you have a federal-provincial combined student loan, only the B.C. component is impacted. The federal component may continue to rack up interest. We’re unable to impact that.

Finally, it’s also important to note that we’re only talking about government loans here, so government student loans. If a student has a line of credit with a private bank, then they may not see a benefit from this change. All in all, a lot of great stuff here in this budget.

I must admit, I’ve forgotten entirely what time I started speaking, so I have no idea how long I have been going. But I’m very comfortable in saying, emphatically, that I am very….

Interjection.

B. Ma: I’m hearing that I have two minutes left, but the light did not go on.

I will take that as an opportunity for me to say thank you so much to everyone in this House, both government members and Third Party members but also official opposition members, for all of the work that you do in order to improve lives for all of B.C., in order to help us create the best budget that our government is able to put forward. I’ll be looking forward, very much, to voting in favour of the B.C. Budget 2019.

S. Cadieux: It’s my privilege today to respond to Budget 2019 on behalf of my constituents in Surrey South. I would agree with the member opposite — that elections do matter. I definitely agree with that. The decisions that governments make have lasting impacts. In this case, the decisions that government is making with this budget are going to have long-lasting impacts, and they’re not all rosy.

Before I begin my formal remarks, I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge what an amazing community my community of Surrey is. It was illustrated this weekend with the Surrey Memorial Hospital gala and the Coldest Night of the Year walks.

Surrey raised over $200,000 for homelessness at the Coldest Night of the Year and $4.8 million for our hospital, a total of over $5 million donated by our caring community in one night. I want to congratulate all the event organizers, participants, donors and sponsors for contributing to that show of generosity and support.

I’d also like to take a second to thank my constituency assistants, those who make it possible for me to be here and keep the office running in Surrey. Anisha Virk and Lucy Redies do a great job day to day. I also want to take a second to thank recently retired CA Sharon Crowson, after 16 years of service — first eight years with Kevin Falcon in Cloverdale and then another eight years with me, spanning Panorama, Cloverdale and South Surrey. And Annie Christiaens, who, after four years, left to launch her business. I’m just so excited to see and support her new adventure as an entrepreneur.

Of course, I’d like to thank my constituents in Surrey South who continue to entrust me to represent them here in Victoria. I’m honoured and privileged to represent my community.

Now I’d like to first start by giving credit where credit’s due on the government’s budget, where there are some welcome measures. I particularly like the rate increase for foster parents and home-share providers. There’s a small increase for post-adoption assistance. That’s positive.

As an arts supporter, I like the additional support of the Arts Council. It’s something I can applaud. The investment in much-needed child and youth mental health supports is nice to see, and a continued commitment to Foundry centres, an initiative our government launched, is welcome.

In fact, there are many things in this budget that continue or recommit things that were policies of our former government, like the reduction in the small business tax, which we announced in 2017; like the elimination of the PST on electricity for business, which we announced in 2017; and, of course, balanced budgets.

But this budget is, of course, perhaps more notable for things that are missing. In not even two years, the NDP has already decided to stay the course. The media has referred to it as a stand-pat, status quo budget. But staying the course means there’s a lot missing, and there’s a lot of hypocrisy. So let’s dig in a little bit.

[5:35 p.m.]

While the NDP government has made some investments in child care that I would say, overall, were welcome investments — we know families in our communities were challenged to find affordable child care and welcome those investments — the reality is, while campaigning, the government promised $10-a-day child care to voters.

This budget adds no additional money to the child care commitment over last year, so no additional $10-a-day pilots. So what do we have? We have 1.7 percent of spaces in the province at $10 a day. We have 1,000 additional children covered by subsidies that were not previously covered. We have child care rates that are increasing to cover the costs of the employer health tax and other increasing costs for providers. We have only a few thousand new child care spaces of the proposed and promised 22,000.

The biggest gift to voters in the 2019 budget doesn’t even reach voters until 2020. It’s something that should have been announced next year in the 2020 budget. But the NDP announced the child opportunity tax credit, which is still 20 months away.

After spending five years listening to the then opposition, now government, berate and lecture me about the state of play at MCFD, I do find the hypocrisy quite stunning. Leaving aside the investment in foster parents, which I have already acknowledged I support, where is the investment in kids aging out of care? They had all the answers while they were in opposition, but there’s nothing new there.

The adoption rates, which were improving under my watch, I’m told are back to pre-2014 levels. Where’s the focus on outcomes for the kids who need permanent homes?

In their opposition years, the NDP liked to remind me of the wait-lists for infant and child development and early childhood interventions at child development centres. It’s something I knew well and was very concerned about, frankly. But where in the budget, this or last, is there money to support those very real needs that they said were necessary and that they would fund? They’re not there. It’s just that simple.

What about the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction? A poverty plan is coming. It’s still coming. When in opposition, they swore it was ready to go. But two NDP budgets later, it’s still coming, and people are still waiting.

Now, I am not — and I will state that very clearly for the record — against working to reduce poverty. It’s the right thing to do. So I’m not at all surprised to see a small increase for people on income assistance. I’m not opposed to a rent bank. Rent banks can be a good tool when used in tandem with other supports. But they won’t alleviate poverty.

I’m not opposed to making the system that exists fairer, as some other announced changes in the budget will do. But they, too, will not alleviate poverty. They are just more band-aids on a broken system that traps people in poverty.

From this NDP government that claims to have the most vulnerable at their core, where is the real change? Where’s the vision? Why not an expansion of the single-parent initiative project? Why not extend something different but similar to people with disabilities on income assistance? Why not a program to help the working poor train to increase their skills so they can get that promotion so they can move up and better support their families?

Why isn’t this government seeking to encourage people to work as they are able? Why isn’t there anything here to springboard people to a better life — a hand up instead of just more of the same?

Now, looking more specifically at Surrey, there’s not much in the budget there either. The NDP has talked about a new Surrey hospital. In fact, I’ve heard members in this House repeat that claim. But it’s not in the budget. It’s not going to get going in the next three years. The Peace Arch Hospital has the land for expansion, but I’m told the NDP isn’t interested in using the available land. They’re looking for a new site. So maybe that’s why it’s not in the budget, despite the promise to voters.

There’s no new money for the Surrey SkyTrain, so we know that the money previously promised will only allow a partial line to be built to Fleetwood, not all the way to Clayton Heights and not, as originally planned, all the way to Langley. It means no new transit or rapid transit for the rest of Surrey, the fastest-growing city in the province, and no new transit to Newton or Panorama. I’m surprised the ministers representing those areas don’t seem more concerned about that. There’s certainly nothing for Surrey South, Surrey-Cloverdale or Surrey–White Rock.

[5:40 p.m.]

The Massey replacement isn’t accounted for in the three-year plan, so we know for certain the minister and this NDP government don’t care about congestion or goods movement on the main connection between our Washington border and our commerce centre. Yet the Premier has written off $90 million in real construction work on the shelved Massey project and promised hundreds of thousands to his buddy in Washington state to study high-speed rail to Seattle — a project that, if initiated, is estimated to cost British Columbia something like $60 billion, with a “b” — and we still don’t even have decent bus service in our fastest-growing city.

If that’s not a vanity project with your $600,000, I don’t know what is. Again, an awful lot of hypocrisy from a government and a Premier that spent many an hour and many a comment criticizing the vision of the previous Premier.

Now, on schools, there aren’t any new major capital investments south of the Fraser either. That means no new spaces for K-to-12 or post-secondary students. The NDP government has recommitted, of course, in this budget to Grandview secondary. While this is an important and welcome project — without a doubt, one that Surrey, and my riding in particular, needs — it’s not new. It was delayed.

This is disappointing from a government that campaigned on eliminating portables in four years. That’s the promise that they made to parents. We’re nearing the two-year mark — the time by which the NDP government had promised to cut the number of portables in half. But the government isn’t on track to meet either its two-year or four-year goals — not even close. In fact, the NDP government’s own budget flyer, which boasts about their school investment, says: “We are creating 5,500 new student spaces throughout B.C.”

Well, we know that Surrey alone needs 7,000 spaces today to eliminate portables. In their first 18 months, the NDP announced $166 million for 2,500 new seats. Great. Project cost escalation has already added $45 million during the delay period. So they’re at a total of $211 million, but the promise they’ve made to parents is one they can’t keep. They are now coupling their commitment, conveniently, with commitments already in place and funded by our previous government, for another 2,755 spaces. So it’s some creative accounting of schools that will eventually be announced.

For land that has just been acquired but not funded, they are quoting, in their latest Surrey press release, 7,000 seats underway that will be there for 2021. I am still beyond skeptical that that can occur, given that it takes about three years to build a school and that ground hasn’t been broken on the biggest of these commitments, Grandview secondary.

Meanwhile, the number of portables in Surrey has grown. This year, the Surrey school district added, I think, about 25 portables to get up to 333, and they’re estimating, already, a need for 25 more in the 2019-20 year. Their own document says that they’re building 5,500 spaces. There’s no new capital. Government is behind on their commitment; that much is certain. But I’m worried that they’re not even trying to catch up. Schools have been delayed; project costs have increased. Meanwhile, Surrey keeps growing. There’s no sign of that changing any time soon. But not only is government not getting ahead; they aren’t even keeping pace.

Now, I am proud to also serve as co-critic for Advanced Education, along with my duties as MLA, and I’d like to turn my attention there for a minute — although I will, of course, have much more to say when we have a chance to examine the budget in detail during estimates. The world continues to change and evolve rapidly, and new students are entering our province’s colleges, universities and trade schools. The world is changing; there’s a revolution happening. Technology is disrupting faster than ever, and our systems are not keeping pace with that change.

What is this government’s plan to address the rapidly changing ecosystem, as the minister calls it? We don’t see any new post-secondary seats south of the Fraser on the horizon in this budget. In fact, there’s no new capital funding for post-secondary listed in this budget, save two projects in greater Victoria.

[5:45 p.m.]

Where are the investments in innovation, in changing the way we educate our students for the jobs of tomorrow, in adapting to a world where employees need ongoing upgrading and cross-faculty programming? Where is the visioning of the institution of the future and the investment in the steps that it will take to get there?

Now, government took a significant step in eliminating interest on student loans. As we heard from the speaker before me, it’s made a big impact on a certain group of people: the students that have loans. So the 30 or so percent of students who utilize loans will see — and this is from the budget documents themselves — a modest average $2,300 in savings over a ten-year repayment period. I’m sure those individual students are happy. But it comes at a cost of over $318 million. That’s the choice government made. They made that choice, because it was one that they had promised.

At the same time, they promised a grant program, and there is no word of that. They could have made a different choice. They could have, given the fact that interest rates are at an all-time low, made a choice to help students prevent taking loans in the first place and accruing that interest. They could have made a choice to incur that $318 million over the same three-year period to implement a program of needs-based grants, to the tune of $100 million a year. I would argue that would be a far better way to support students and promote access to education. Again, I’ll investigate this in estimates with the minister.

Let’s also ask about the investment in student housing. Everyone knows we’re in need of student housing. That’s not a surprise. And last year the government committed $450 million. Now, that $450 million is committed over six years, and it’s a significant percentage of the capital plan for post-secondary as a whole. It crowds out, perhaps, money that could be used for expansion and for innovation. But it is a needed investment in housing, and it targets 5,000 new beds.

Of that $450 million that’s promised over those four years, $238 million has already been committed for 762 beds, of which 142 are not new — just repurposed — at an average cost of over $300,000 per bed. That leaves only $212 million to build the rest, the rest being 4,238 beds at an average cost, then, of less than $50,000 per bed. So how will this work, exactly — and when, in that six-year period, if they’ve already committed the money that would be there for the first three years?

There was also a line in the budget document about ride-hailing and a commitment of $3 million per year to bring ride-hailing in and modernize the taxi system. I find that fascinating, because somehow government knows already how much it’s going to cost for the passenger transportation branch to hire enough staff and do any necessary work to modernize the taxi industry when the details have yet to be determined on what, exactly, it’s going to take.

At least they would have you believe that, given that they have a parliamentary committee sitting right now, deliberating yet to deliver recommendations to the minister that could significantly alter, one way or the other, the staffing and other costs that would be required to bring in ride-hailing. Colour me cynical, but I just don’t see how that is a budget line we can count on.

The NDP ran on, and continued to tout, affordability. It’s a topic that’s a household conversation, but they are loathe to define what that means or how they will measure success. They made bold promises on housing affordability, but is it anything more than a slogan? Is there anything more in their arsenal than building homes for the most vulnerable and taxing people with more than one residence?

There’s nothing in the budget to increase the market rental supply. There aren’t more rentals being built, and if no more rentals are built, no one can afford to buy a home, so then no one is vacating the existing rentals. There’s nothing to encourage housing supply whatsoever.

How do we make it cheaper for young people to get into market if there are fewer houses to buy? One way might be to help them with the down payment. Oh, wait. We did that, and the NDP axed that program.

[5:50 p.m.]

Then, of course, the NDP also likes to crow about the modest decline that we’re seeing in average house prices, which I would argue, and experts who watch the market would argue was already starting to self-correct before the NDP took office. But they would like to talk about this modest decline as an example of how great their policies are. Of course, they are only referencing Vancouver, because housing prices are continuing to climb in the suburbs. Unless, of course, you believe that a few percentage-point decline in luxury homes over $3 million is improving affordability, I’m not sure that this plan is anything more than lip service.

The NDP are quick to offer up that they’re hoping to see a large drop in housing values, which, of course, is not good news to any of those young homeowners that have stretched themselves to get a mortgage in the Lower Mainland, where now with even a modest decline in their housing values, they could be faced with losing their homes.

This is just basic personal finance. This isn’t rocket science. But the reality is that the issue and solutions are too complex and multifaceted. The NDP are tossing out slogans that make people feel like they’re on your side, when the reality of the initiatives being undertaken by government have no hope of making average single-family housing more affordable or more available, no hope of actually curbing speculation and absolutely every intention of targeting the wealth of everyday hard-working homeowners.

Now I’ll turn to the economy. The budget document predicts growth at 2.4 percent, 2.3 percent and 2 percent respectively over the next three years. Spending, however, will increase at nearly 6 percent a year over that same time. With this budget, the NDP will have grown spending by 26 percent or $13 billion. Then, of course, there’s the debt growth of 25 percent. Wow.

I won’t say that infrastructure spending isn’t required. It is — not that the province’s financial position, largely thanks to the work of the former government, can’t support that. But my, how things change. We have a Premier who’s boasting now about this budget and the debt he’s incurring on all of our behalf. Yet while in opposition, he decried time after time — actually, anytime anyone would listen — that the B.C. Liberals were growing the debt and how horrible that was. Yes, you bet his actions are hypocritical, and he’s hoping and praying that nobody notices. Well, Premier, I noticed, and I’m watching.

It won’t come as any surprise to most, but since forming government in 2017, the NDP has already introduced 19 new taxes — 19 in less than two years. How much more are they planning to take from British Columbians? Over the next three years, the fiscal plan will cost British Columbians an extra $1,100 each. For a government that claims to be focusing on affordability, that, too, seems a bit hypocritical. How can taking more of your hard-earned money make your life better and more affordable?

We have an increased carbon tax and a government that’s going to raise a whopping $6 billion through this tax — a tax the NDP campaigned against and voted against when it was originally brought in. Now they see it as an easy cash cow. Hypocrisy once again. British Columbians will pay more to drive their cars, heat their homes, purchase the goods and services they rely on because, yes, the businesses that supply those goods and services will have to pass on that cost to the consumer.

Remember, I’m not against the carbon tax. I was here when we brought it in. But we also made corresponding cuts to other taxes for folks. The NDP has decided that they know better how to spend your money, so it’s all going to government’s general revenue. Despite their talk and all the grandstanding about it going to green initiatives, only 15 percent of the money will fund green initiatives. The rest — general revenue.

I know people didn’t like the MSP, and they’re happy to be relieved of that bill. We were going to eliminate it too. But wait. The NDP says they’re eliminating MSP. They’re saving everybody money. But they aren’t. Firstly, many people didn’t have a MSP bill. Either their employer covered the cost, or they were low income and exempt.

[5:55 p.m.]

Second, the tax hasn’t been eliminated. It has been transferred to businesses as a payroll tax. It’s worth reminding this House that the government’s own MSP Task Force recommended against a payroll tax. Why did they do that? Well, there are a few reasons. First, because it decreases competitiveness because employers then have to find other ways to make up the new cost, some of which….

Some of the small businesses I’ve been talking to are doing one of these things: laying off staff or not hiring new people, reducing benefits for their staff, reversing planned wage increases for this year, increasing prices. So any way you slice it, we all still pay.

Perhaps the biggest surprise in this go-round is the creatively named speculation tax — quite the name for a tax that does nothing to address speculation at all. In fact, home flippers are exempt. Anyone who buys and sells a home within a year doesn’t pay. It’s worth noting that with this budget, 1.6 million homeowners on Vancouver Island and in the Lower Mainland, including in Surrey, are being hit with a surprise declaration process for this tax.

While the speculation tax isn’t new in this budget, the rules and rollout for the tax sure are. British Columbians who live here and contribute to their communities naturally assumed that the tax wouldn’t impact them, but they’ve learned that isn’t true. Homeowners were in for an unpleasant new year’s surprise when tax declarations started arriving in their mailboxes.

It turns out the NDP have decided to administer this tax through a negative-billing option, a practice that’s banned in the private sector, by the way. That means that all homeowners are billed for the tax, and it’s up to them to prove they qualify for an exemption. Applying for an exemption requires filling out a form that asks for quite a bit of information, some of it quite sensitive — email addresses and a social insurance number. That leaves many homeowners questioning why government requires that information, how it’s going to be used and who has access to it.

Some of the exemptions actually require further information, whether it’s about marital status, family living arrangements or an employment situation — and in some cases, to present a copy of a person’s will. Are you kidding me? That has got to be some of the most personal financial and other information in a person’s life. For government to suggest that you have to present a copy of the will to prove you’re not a speculator, especially when, in most cases, that will be because someone has died, I think is just downright distasteful. Homeowners have to repeat this every year from now on, and this tax is not going to do anything to help affordability.

Despite all of those 19 new taxes, the NDP is adding $14.5 billion in debt over the next few years, $10 billion supported by taxpayers. By 2021, the debt load will read $82 billion, with no plan to stimulate economic growth, no plan to attract investment from the private sector, no plan to make B.C. more competitive on the global stage. They’ve added payroll taxes, carbon taxes and union benefit agreements that will drive up the cost of building our infrastructure while freezing out 85 percent of the construction workforce.

Why does it matter? The NDP says it doesn’t. They like to tell you that that only matters to the 2 percent, but they’re wrong. It matters because families rely on the private sector for their jobs and their incomes. Small businesses, run by families, rely on a competitive and strong economy. The NDP would have you believe that we can run a province and an economy as a tight little circle, with government union jobs for everyone and health care and education and child care and that somehow expanding these sectors will support a thriving economy — but alone, they cannot.

We need the private sector to thrive. We need family businesses to thrive. We need the local pizzeria to thrive, the big forest company and gas company and tech company alike to thrive. To do that, we need a competitive marketplace, a competitive tax climate, not one that layers on costs through legislated wage increases, tax increases, health care premiums, property taxes and taxes on capital investments.

[6:00 p.m.]

This is the same old NDP, the same old tax-and-spend NDP. This budget has no vision, very little prudence and a whole lot of smoke and mirrors. It’s not a better B.C., and I won’t be supporting it.

Hon. J. Darcy: I am honoured to rise in my place and speak in support of Budget 2019. As the MLA for New Westminster and the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, I am incredibly proud to be part of a government that is committed to making life better for people in my community of New Westminster and people right across British Columbia. It’s why we run for office, it’s why I ran for office, and it’s what drives me and my colleagues every single day.

Let me begin by thanking the wonderful people of New Westminster. It is a tremendous honour to represent our extraordinary community in this place. I want to thank them for the trust that they show in me and for the tremendous support that they show every single day in so many different ways.

I want to thank my wonderful husband and son and my dear little grandson, who gives very special meaning to the work that we do in this place, because what we do in this place is really about his future.

I want to thank all of the courageous families throughout British Columbia who have stepped forward to share their often heartbreaking stories with me but also to say they want to help and they want to make a difference. And I want to thank all the heroic people on the front lines of the overdose crisis: the first responders, the health care workers, the community workers, the peers, the families, the volunteers who go above and beyond every day in order to save lives in this province.

I am very lucky to have an exceptional team of staff supporting me, both in my constituency office and here in Victoria. To my amazing constituency assistants — Keefer Pelech, Jessica Lar-Son and Taz Khandwani: thank you for the wonderful work that you do every single day, supporting the people of our community.

To the awesome staff in my minister’s office — Alex MacDonald, Anna Lindsay-Baugh, Sarah Gotto, Lori Larson and Raymond Liens: I want to thank you for the skill, the dedication, the sound advice and, yes, the patience that you demonstrate every single day.

I want to thank the excellent staff in the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions, led by Deputy Minister Neilane Mayhew. It’s a small but mighty group of smart and committed people who give true meaning to the words “public service.”

I’m very proud to support Budget 2019, because it is all about creating opportunities for people so that they can thrive. It’s about lifting people up so that everyone can meet their full potential. We are putting thousands of dollars back in people’s pockets with the biggest middle-class tax break in a generation, and we’re creating new opportunities so that people and business can thrive.

By creating the new child opportunity grant benefit; by eliminating interest on student loans; by fully eliminating MSP premiums, starting January 1, 2020; by sharing stable, long-term funding with First Nations communities; and by moving forward with CleanBC, the largest investment in climate action in B.C. history, and with it, thousands of good, family-supporting jobs, Budget 2019 is good for people, it’s good for our communities, and it’s good for our economy.

Let me begin with housing. When our government took office 18 months ago, we inherited a crisis of housing unaffordability of gigantic proportions, a crisis that quite frankly the old government ignored. Almost every person who comes to visit me in my constituency office is affected by lack of affordable housing. Whatever the issue they come forward with, inevitably, lack of affordable housing is part of their story — from people living paycheque to paycheque fearing evictions if they can’t meet their rent, to young people who can’t afford to raise their families in the community that they grew up in.

Last year our government announced an ambitious 30-​point plan on housing, from cracking down on speculation to investing in supportive housing to strengthening the Residential Tenancy Act, which is critically important in my community because nearly half of our residents are renters.

[6:05 p.m.]

Through the Building B.C. supportive housing fund, we’re increasing the number of modular homes to a total of 2,200 now. And very importantly, many of them will have 24-7 wraparound supports, including health and well­ness services.

In Budget 2019, for the first time in B.C. history, the province will also be funding local organizations to operate rent banks that will provide short-term, low- or no-interest loans so that renters don’t end up on the street because of a crisis. I am so proud of that initiative on behalf of our government. My community, New Westminster, were leaders in initiating a rent bank locally and in championing this provincewide.

Our Homes for B.C. plan, introduced last year, is already showing some results. The housing market has begun to moderate across all segments, and 17,000 additional homes have already been built or are under construction. We can’t fix the housing crisis overnight, but we can act now and plan for the future, and that’s what we’re doing. We’re doing that by working in partnership with local government, with the private sector, with the not-for-profit sector, with faith organizations.

I want to congratulate the city of New Westminster, the mayor and council, for their leadership in protecting rental stocks and preventing evictions, in embracing supportive housing and setting an example for other local governments to follow.

What can I say about child care? It’s an issue that I hear about probably more than any other issue from young families in my community. Last year marked the beginning of a made-in-B.C. universal child care plan, the largest investment in child care in British Columbia’s history.

I want to share with you what a young New West mom called Laura Cornish told me just a couple of weeks ago. “The affordable child care benefit and the child care fee reduction initiative drastically reduced the cost of child care for my family. Our fees before any reduction, for two kids, were $2,425 a month. Our fees after qualifying for fee reduction and income-based assistance, $867 for both kids.” That’s a reduction of $1,557 a month. Laura says: “It means that we don’t have to live paycheque to paycheque, that we can both work and save for retirement and for our kids’ education.”

For another young family in New Westminster, the $750 reduction in their child care fees means that they’re able to move ahead with their dream of starting a small business without going deep into debt. Affordable child care is good for families, it’s good for kids, and it’s good for the economy. This year we’re committed to doing even more to make child care more accessible and more affordable.

To make sure every child has the opportunity to thrive, Budget 2019 introduces the new B.C. child opportunity benefit, which gives support to most families for every child they have up to the age of 18. For the first child, that benefit will be as high as $1,600 a year; for a family with two kids, as much as $2,600; and for three children, as much as $3,400. In total, the B.C. child opportunity benefit will put nearly $400 million into the pockets of hard-working families, focusing on those people who need it the most.

I’m also so excited that we now have a minister responsible for Poverty Reduction, and for the first time ever, we have launched the beginnings of a poverty reduction strategy for British Columbia. This budget takes important steps forward to lift people up and to open doors of opportunity for all British Columbians, with initiatives like raising disability and income assistance rates by another $50 a month, for a total of $1,800 a month in the last 18 months; helping more British Columbians become job-ready through improvements to Work B.C.; and increased support for family members who are foster parents, in addition to the child opportunity benefit.

Last week on budget day, a number of post-secondary students were in the galleries, including several from Douglas College in New Westminster. They were literally jumping up and down for joy about this government’s full elimination of interest on student loans. Some of them have been advocating for this change for years, and they were here in the chamber to see it happen.

Simka Marshall, who’s a geography student at Douglas College who was here that day, said: “Interest-free student loans remove an unfair tax on the poor.” I couldn’t say it any better than that.

Let me turn now to the commitments in this budget for mental health and addictions care. We know that approximately 84,000 children in our province are experiencing a mental health challenge at any one time and that only one in three are getting the support that they need.

[6:10 p.m.]

We also know that 70 percent of serious mental health challenges emerge before the age of 25, and the research shows very clearly that if we can identify and address mental health issues early and provide the supports that our young people need earlier, there’s much higher chance that these challenges won’t become as severe.

I’m so excited that Budget 2019 is making crucial investments in child and youth mental health. We’re investing $74 million to help strengthen social and emotional development programs for young children, school-based programs for mental health and wellness promotion, prevention and early intervention for students at risk or who are experiencing early signs of mental health or substance use challenges and, very importantly, integrated service teams comprised of educators, counsellors, mental health practitioners, substance use workers and other professionals to support children, youth and their families in schools and in the community.

I’m excited that Budget 2019 will also invest further in expanding the Foundry network, the one-stop shop youth centres that bring mental health and substance use and core health and social services together under one roof so that young people, aged 12 to 24, can find the support that they need. Central to that Foundry model are the partnerships that they’ve built with community agencies and school districts, with health authorities and also across government.

They also have truly impressive peer support programs that are critical to their present and future success. Already, the seven existing Foundry centres have supported thousands of young people to be able to turn their lives around. We have four more in the works in Penticton, Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows, Terrace and Richmond, and with this budget, there will be several more.

We decided, from the beginning, as a government that what we needed to do if we were going to truly transform mental health and addictions care in B.C. was what I’ll call a whole-of-government approach — led by the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions but working very closely with the ministries of Health, Children and Family Development, Public Safety and Solicitor General, Education, Municipal Affairs and Housing.

The decision to embed mental health and addictions supports in our modular housing program is part and parcel of that strategy, and so is our investment in primary care, in everyday health care, which very importantly will now and in the future include mental health and substance use services.

Urgent primary care centres are now expanding — access to urgent primary care and same-day access for mental health and substance use supports with extended hours. There are currently four of these urgent primary care centres in operation. Five more are slated to open this spring.

This past weekend I was overjoyed to join the Minister of Health in announcing the first four patient care networks in the Fraser Northwest region. There will be a total of 65 new health care professionals who’ll be joining with family practitioners in the clinics throughout Fraser Northwest to provide team-based care. This includes rapid access to mental health and substance use professionals. Through a rapid-access program, this includes….

It’s great news for New Westminster, because one of those patient care networks will be in my community. I can’t tell you how many people have come to me over the past few years, not being able to have access to a GP or a nurse practitioner. Now in this new patient care network in New Westminster, there will be three new GPs, four nurse practitioners, 5.5 RNs, as well as a clinical pharmacist.

Over the next three years, the goal is to have these patient care networks in place in 70 percent of communities across B.C. We know — and this is where the mental health and substance use piece comes in again — that it’s so critically important for every aspect of health care that people know they can access those health care services through one door, which can provide them with the supports they need, and no one has to hear the words: “Take a number.”

The reality is that one in five people in British Columbia will experience a mental health challenge this year. And many will suffer in silence, too afraid or too ashamed to reach out for help because of stigma. Too often mental illness is still regarded as a sign of weakness, and too often addiction is seen as a sign of moral failure. What we’re saying is that by integrating mental health and substance use care into primary care, mental health and addictions are health care issues — period.

[6:15 p.m.]

As Canada’s first and British Columbia’s first Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, my most urgent priority to address the unprecedented public health emergency that continues to take the lives of so many of our loved ones across B.C. By the end of this day, four more people will die from an unpredictable, toxic, illegal drug supply on the streets. That’s why we are continuing to escalate our response every month, every week, every single day — to save more lives and to connect people to safe medication alternatives, to treatment and to recovery options as soon as possible.

In Budget 2019, we’re continuing expanding on the significant investment first announced in 2017. We’ve increased support by an additional $30 million for a total of over $600 million since our government took office to help to tackle B.C.’s overdose crisis.

Earlier this month the B.C. coroner released her latest report on the overdose crisis. In 2018, a total of 1,489 people lost their lives to overdose. This number is virtually the same as the number of deaths in 2017, and it is horrifically high. We must never, ever forget that every one of those deaths is a father or a mother, a brother or a sister, a co-worker, a dear friend — each of whom leaves behind families and entire communities devastated by their loss.

We do know, based on research from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, that 4,700 overdose deaths were averted in the last year and a half, thanks to the life-saving supports that have been put in place in B.C. This includes scaled-up distribution of naloxone, many more overdose prevention sites and supervised consumption sites, and better access to opioid agonist treatment. We know these interventions do work. And we will continue to use every tool in our toolbox to address the overdose crisis and to save more lives.

Take-home naloxone kits are now available in 1,500 locations. Almost 137,000 of these kits have been distributed free of charge, and 36,000 of those have been used to reverse an overdose. We’ve nearly doubled the number of overdose prevention and supervised consumption sites — over one million visits in the past two years, thousands of overdoses reversed, not one single life lost. We’ve also expanded evidence-based approaches to treatment and recovery, and they are making a difference.

We’ve supported, last year, the new therapeutic recovery community created by Our Place Society here in the south Island. We’ve launched a made-in-B.C. model at the St. Paul’s Hospital HUB, which provides a wraparound umbrella of services to support people with addiction and mental health challenges; and just this month, also at St. Paul’s, a leading-edge pilot project, which offers people who’ve had an overdose takeaway Suboxone treatment.

We’ve also continued to increase access to opioid agonist treatment and injectable treatment, because we know that not everyone’s path to recovery, not everyone’s pathway to hope, is the same.

Earlier this month I was in Kelowna for an announcement with the Interior Health Authority that they’ve increased access to medical treatment for opioid use disorder at a clinic in Kelowna, and the number of people who will receive treatment there is expected to double. It was incredibly moving to hear Andrew Leeking, a former construction worker, speak at that event. This is what he had to say:

“About a year ago, I was one of those guys in the alley pondering death, wondering whether I deserved to live or not.

“I’m a father and a husband, but I’m also a drug addict. And I lost all of that due to my choices. I have to live with that, but it doesn’t mean I have to stay at that. I’m just one of thousands afflicted by this disease. I developed an opioid addiction when I became homeless. I’d never done it before. It was a coping mechanism for me. I didn’t really care if I lived or died,” Andrew said.

“I personally had three people die in my arms. I watched nine people die in the year I was down on the streets.

“I have an eight-year-old little girl who thinks I’m her Superman, and I want to be that guy again.”

Andrew paid an emotional tribute to the doctor and the nurses at the mobile overdose prevention site who helped him get his life back. He said: “It’s only through education, support, not condemning, just encouraging. They all add up, eh? Finally, I woke up, and I just said there has to be a better way.”

[6:20 p.m.]

Today Andrew is on Suboxone. He’s in a supportive recovery house. He’s a client of this clinic in Kelowna. He says it’s through the programs that are being offered now that actually give people a chance…. “I’ve been given a chance, and I’m running with it with all I’ve got.”

Earlier this month I also took part in an announcement in Fraser Health about expanding the hours and services of the Roshni Clinic in Surrey to better support people in the South Asian community who are struggling with substance use.

This is the story Aman told at the press conference. He said: “I’m a client of the Roshni Clinic. My story started in 2013 when I was injured at work. I started self-medicating, first as a social drinker, but it quickly turned into everyday drinking. It impacted all parts of my life. Then I joined the Roshni Clinic. I took part in counselling. In group classes, I learned from others’ experiences. I learned from the doctors and nurses. They are Punjabi-speaking, Hindi-speaking, English-speaking. Everyone is here to help. And it’s turned my life around.”

These are incredibly powerful testimonials to the work that’s happening on the front lines every single day with the critical investments in treatment and recovery made by our government.

We’re also working to build integrated service teams in order to do outreach in communities for people living with mental health and addiction challenges. Just last week the city of Vancouver approved moving forward in partnership with Vancouver Coastal Health and our government with a new state-of-the-art rehab centre, including withdrawal management, sobering services and supportive housing.

We’re working with several local police forces to get people the health support they need. Now, in some communities, instead of arresting people who are living with addiction, police are connecting them to health resources and treatment options, and we will continue to be bold and innovative until we turn the corner on this terrible crisis.

Over the past year, my ministry has also been working on a broad strategy for mental health and addictions care that will be released later this year. The actions that result from this plan are critical to the health of thousands in our province, so we’re taking the time to get it right.

But we haven’t just waited to develop the strategy before we take action. We’ve already been doing things like increasing support for agencies like Dan’s Legacy Foundation, to double their number of therapists, and supporting a special demonstration project at Mountainside Secondary, which is really about partnerships between schools and communities to ensure that students get the support that they need.

Earlier this month, with the Ministry of Education, we announced funding for programs that will support new school-based mental health programs based on prevention and early intervention. This will support all of our school districts and independent schools.

As well, the Ministry of Children and Family Development has launched a new EASE program, which stands for everyday anxiety strategies for educators. It’s a made-in-B.C. program specifically for our teachers, to help K-to-7 students who are experiencing anxiety.

These are just a few examples of how we are working in partnership at community levels and across government. It’s an all-hands-on-deck approach that’s already making a difference.

Just before I conclude, I would like to touch on our government’s really historic commitment to embracing the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, our commitment to implementing UNDRIP, with a commitment to introduce legislation in this House, the historic first and substantial revenue-sharing agreement with First Nations in B.C.’s history, with over $3 billion in gaming revenues going to First Nations.

Our government has also, in the area of mental health and wellness, signed a historic tripartite agreement with First Nations and the federal government that fundamentally transforms relationships around mental health and wellness, an agreement that puts First Nations communities in the driver’s seat to ensure that the programs and the treatment centres that we develop are community-driven and nation-based. It’s just the right thing to do on the path to reconciliation.

On climate change, it really is historic. This is a defining issue of our generation. Budget 2019 provides over $900 million for CleanBC, putting our province on the path to a cleaner, brighter low-carbon future.

There’s so much more that I could talk about, but I fear my time is almost up. Historic infrastructure spending that will also create thousands of jobs; $550 million additional supports for public education; and reducing small business taxes from 2.5 percent to 2 percent, a big difference for so many small businesses in our community.

[6:25 p.m.]

I would be remiss if I did not mention, finally, the significant investments in Budget 2019 for my own wonderful community of New Westminster — the $106 million for the new Westminster Secondary School; the replacement of Richard McBride Elementary; a seismic upgrade for Lord Tweedsmuir Elementary; phases 2 and 3 of Royal Columbian redevelopment, which is moving ahead; the replacement of the Pattullo Bridge; and the upgrading of the New Westminster Law Courts.

I could go on, but now I know that my time is indeed up. I am very proud to support this budget, a budget that truly works for all British Columbians. This is a budget that makes clear choices. It puts people at the centre of our priorities. It is a budget that will make a real difference in the lives of people in my community of New Westminster and in the lives of people across British Columbia.

Hon. J. Darcy moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. D. Eby moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

Mr. Speaker: This House stands adjourned till 10 a.m. tomorrow morning.

The House adjourned at 6:26 p.m.