Orders of the Day

Private Members’ Statements

BACK TO SCHOOL

D. Routley: This being our first day back to school, so to speak, back in May, when we were asked for a title for a statement this day, I put up the title “Back to School.” It would be the first opportunity to speak about what we just witnessed over the past month in this province: an annual rite of passage of teachers, students and communities, as the entire flow of the community shifts with kids going back to school.

But it’s not just the traffic and not just the social circumstances of those parents, who get a little break and those teachers who come back from a bit of a break. There’s so much more to what happens every September.

This September I want to read a few things that were given to me as points that I might mention in back-to-school conversation around our government’s performance. Then I want to get to the piece that I really want to focus on. But I am proud of these achievements.

[J. Isaacs in the chair.]

We all know that it takes a strong economy to have a strong public education system, and it takes a strong public education system to have a strong and thriving community and economy. Towards those ends, our government is proud that we’ve spent $1.6 billion in seismic upgrades — invested so far in the 2½ years that we’ve been in government, less than 2½ years. The school capital projects in that time have totalled $2.7 billion. We have seen $1 billion more put into schools in the last two years, in terms of student support in classrooms. This is a total increase of 17.1 percent, while enrolment has only grown by 3.2 percent. That is for the first time since 2006.

All 60 school districts are forecast to see an increase in funding over the coming school year. This is very important. That $1.6 billion invested since September 2017 in new schools, expansions, seismic upgrades and property purchases allows communities to grow.

A friend of mine who runs a bicycle shop was looking for a community to open a new shop. This was at the same time that schools were being considered for closure, about ten years ago in the community I represent. He said: “One thing I would not look for in a community where I’m going to locate a bicycle shop is closing elementary schools.” It’s clear that this is a link, and it’s clear that people are liberated by their public education experience.

We’ve also invested in Indigenous education in an effort to make reconciliation a real matter. We’ve invested $400,000 towards Indigenous teacher–training seats and curriculum development in B.C. universities. We’re leading the way as the only jurisdiction in Canada with a tripart agreement that ensures an equitable education for First Nations students, no matter where they live, and $100 million over five years for an agreement that supports First Nations students in B.C. who attend on-reserve First Nations schools or off-reserve public or independent schools. This is so important, and it’s really part of a game-changing reality for First Nations and our relationship with First Nations as the province of British Columbia.

Now I’d like to focus on another aspect, which I’m so proud of, and that is the focus on mental health that this government has brought, with the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions. That has been transferred into the Education Ministry and the education system. Teachers, administrators, districts are embracing an effort to uplift people — young, vulnerable people — who are suffering with mental illness and addiction issues.

We are very proud that this year we hosted the School Community Mental Health Conference. That brought to­gether 500 educators and community partners who focused on making life better for students who struggle with mental health challenges. We’ve invested $3 million to support professional development and new school mental health programs focused on prevention, wellness, promotion and early intervention.

Madam Speaker, this is so important, because today I drove over the bridge at which a terribly tragic occurrence happened: the death of Reena Virk. This was a local girl who was bullied in school throughout her school career, and it ended in a terrible tragedy. She was murdered at that bridge.

[10:10 a.m.]

We have heard so many stories. Each year we don pink shirts and talk about how we are standing in opposition to bullying and supporting students who find themselves shunned. That word “shunning….” Bullying can be physical; bullying can be psychological. It’s the act of shunning a person, I think, that excludes. The exclusion and the isolation — that is where these issues really take root, I believe.

I would appeal to parents, teachers and people in the community to redouble our efforts to identify when we can see that young people are struggling, to find a way to reach out and get past some of the things that scare us, some of the things that concern us, and to get to the ones that really ought to. Complacency is one of the greatest challenges in dealing with issues of mental health. Complacency — it hurts. Recognition, acceptance and embracing are suicide prevention.

D. Davies: It gives me great pleasure to reply today to the statement “Back to School” — first of all, as the Education critic, as well as a teacher myself and a father of two children that are in school right now.

As the days get colder and the leaves start to fall — by the way, I’ll say that it snowed in Fort St. John this morning, about four inches, so fall is definitely upon us — this can certainly only mean one thing. That is, the first month of the school year is behind us. It gives us time to be able to reflect and look at what this means for all British Columbians.

Back to school always feels like excitement clashing with apprehension. That’s really what September means to many of us, certainly myself, as I recall, being a former teacher. Regardless, though, of being a parent or a teacher, these are exciting times. Of course, this year there is a little extra apprehension, as we are moving forward with looming contract negotiations that don’t necessarily seem to be going well. The need for more schools and the need for more teachers is also ever-present.

As I mentioned, as a former teacher, I used to relish in the month of September — getting the classroom ready, preparing all the things we need to do as teachers. But it happens all summer long. We’re always thinking about how we can make our classrooms more inclusive, ways to make our classrooms more welcoming, collaborating with other teachers, thinking of new and better ways we can inspire our young people. It’s a very hectic time in a teacher’s life but incredibly fulfilling, as you see the bonds within the classroom being made and the unique dynamic starting to form.

I know administrators and educators are feeling settled now. They’ve gotten a feel for the classes, the tasks at hand have already begun, and the understanding of many of the student needs is well underway.

For students, of course, the fog of summer has lifted, and they’re back into the routine of the school year. Clubs and other sporting opportunities are underway, and business is as usual. I know that many of you folks here with kids have an understanding and are looking forward to a sigh of relief that accompanies this one-month milestone of the first school month behind us. Now we’re looking forward to the break of Thanksgiving coming shortly.

In the spirit of this, though, I’d like to look at some of the accomplishments of British Columbia students, focused on giving students a better education environment for B.C. students. It’s important to highlight that British Columbia students do have some of the best outcomes in the world. B.C. schools are places where we are seeing the best graduation rates in decades, and that is due to a concerted effort by administrators, parents, teachers and even students.

First Nations school completion rates have continued to climb upwards as efforts toward reconciliation and Indigenous studies provide a welcome space for students and a chance to share in culture and knowledge in ways that, unfortunately, have not been the norm. Elementary and middle schools are a challenging time for kids, regardless of their circumstances. But I know that many anti-bullying programs that are focused on inclusion and acceptance are making their way, in progressive ways, throughout all of our schools in British Columbia.

[10:15 a.m.]

With that said, I’d be remiss if I didn’t touch on one of the biggest issues right now, I believe, facing British Columbia children, and that is the dangers of vaping and nicotine addiction. The mental and physical ailments, not to mention some deaths, are a very real concern for many. Youth are getting hooked on nicotine at alarming rates, and that seems to show no signs of slowing down, at least not until there is strong action by government to put the livelihoods of kids over everything else.

Last spring my colleague from Kamloops–South Thompson brought forward a comprehensive bill that aims at taking action against this epidemic. Other jurisdictions are taking strong, decisive action on things like vape flavouring. I can only hope that in the spirit of back to school and mutual care for the livelihood of our youth of this province, a determined action will be set forth. I look forward to seeing progress on this issue as this legislative session continues.

In closing, to all the students of British Columbia, I do say good luck in an incredible school year.

To all of our teachers and administrators, thank you for all that you do.

D. Routley: Thank you to the member for his reply. I was pleased to see him come into the chamber when this came up because I thought that he might be the one replying. I’d like to take an opportunity to congratulate him for his many years of service to the students of British Columbia. I’m sure he probably feels a little hankering for the classroom now and then when he’s in this place, certainly in September.

I know that a lot of the anxiety students feel is what teachers have felt for the last little while, before the school year starts every year. My family were all teachers. My grandmother, my mother, my sister — everyone is a teacher. I remember, at end of year, the stress and the demand and then, at the beginning of the year, the anticipation but also the stress of that.

We need to give everyone support wherever we can, as they’re going through that, and settle kids into their routine as quickly as possible, as the member points out. This is a really important aspect of supporting people — the family, the community as a whole.

Again, if I may take it back towards the mental health and addictions issues and support for those students, bullying and mental health issues are so significant. As we start the year with the positivism that the member encouraged students to view this with — an opportunity and a new beginning — let’s make a new commitment that the word “inclusion” will be forefront in our minds, particularly at a time when, around the world, we’re seeing so much exclusion and so much conflict based on who people are and what they look like and how they live their lives and what they believe in.

These are the things that can be the division points between kids, and I hope that there will not be complacency in adults and leaders who see these things happening. We need to intervene and not only support the student who’s a victim of that but also the student who is, unfortunately, repeating those kinds of messages — to help support students in not embracing those kinds of ideas about one another and to encourage them to be inclusive and accepting of each other.

I know this is an odd place, sometimes, to be using those terms, but I do think that we all need to remind ourselves, at this important time of the year, of how crucial it is to students who struggle that we recognize that, that we give them support and that we see them and hear them. Many thanks to the member for his fine words about the students of British Columbia.

POLIOPLUS

R. Coleman: Many years ago, when I was a young child, in the basement of St. Ann’s Catholic church, there was coffee after church. Someone walked up to my mother while I was standing beside her and asked this question: “Does Richard have polio?”

I didn’t. My mother said I didn’t, but I wore orthopedic shoes. I think that’s why the question came, because polio was such a big issue at the time. Two children in my neighbourhood were struck by polio and disabled. One person I know, one family, lost a child to polio. So I wanted today to bring up PolioPlus and talk a bit about the history of polio and where we’re at today.

Polio, for most people who don’t realize, is a virus. It was discovered in 1908.

[10:20 a.m.]

In 1916, a major polio outbreak took place in New York City. More than 2,000 people across…. At that period of time, when more than 2,000 were struck with it, 6,000 people died, and a whole bunch of others were paralyzed, thousands of them, as a result of polio.

In 1929, the iron lung was invented to try and keep polio victims whose respiratory systems couldn’t handle it.

In 1955, Dr. Salk, Jonas Salk, found, basically, a vaccine for polio. It wasn’t until the U.S. government licensed it in 1906, one that was developed by Dr. Albert Sabin, that they moved forward.

Things for polio globally changed in 1979. Rotary International decided they wanted to do something about it, and they put in a multi-year project in the Philippines to immunize six million children.

From there, in 1985, Rotary International, with PolioPlus, which is the charity they have — the first and the largest internationally coordinated private sector support to a public health initiative — started to fundraise. Their commitment was $120 million U.S.

In 1988, Rotary International and the World Health Organization launched the global polio eradication initiative. At the time, there were an estimated 350,000 cases of polio in 125 countries.

The international commission for certification announced that polio had been eliminated from the Americas in 1994, largely due to the work of PolioPlus.

In 1995, health workers and volunteers immunized 165 million children in China and India in one week. Rotary launched the PolioPlus Partners program, enabling Rotary members in polio-free countries to support fellow members in polio-affected countries.

In 2000, a record 550 million children, almost 10 percent of the world’s population, received the oral polio vaccine. The western Pacific region, expanding from Australia to China, was declared polio-free. The Rotary International Foun­dation raised $119 million in a 12-month campaign. Rotary’s total contribution to polio eradication at that time exceeded $500 million U.S. Six countries remain polio-endemic: Afghanistan, Egypt, India, Niger, Nigeria and Paki­stan.

In 2004, in Africa, a synchronized national immunization date in 23 countries targeted 80 million children, the largest coordinated polio immunization, or any immunization, in human history at the time. The number of polio-endemic countries dropped to four: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan.

In 2009, Rotary’s overall contribution to the eradication effort nears $800 million. In January, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation pledges $355 million and issues Rotary a challenge grant. This announcement will result in a combined $550 million in additional support for polio eradication.

India surpasses one year without a recorded case of polio and is removed from the list of countries where polio is endemic. Polio remains endemic in just three countries. Rotary surpasses its $200 million challenge fundraising goal more than five months earlier than expected.

In 2014, India goes three full years without a case caused by the wild poliovirus, and the World Health Organization certifies that the Southeast Asia region is polio-free. Polio cases are down 99 percent since 1988.

Rotary International is a community that brings together people across the world, a remarkable organization. They have — get this — helped to immunize more than 2.5 billion children against polio in 122 countries. They reduced the polio cases, as I said, by 99.9 percent worldwide, and they won’t stop until they end the disease for good.

Sometimes leadership comes from the most interesting places — a group of volunteers in the Philippines who cared about their country and their children. Today 2.5 billion children, because of the work of Rotary, the World Health Organization and those partnerships, have been saved from the scourge of this terrible disease.

[10:25 a.m.]

R. Singh: I would really like to thank the member for Langley East for bringing out such an important issue and talking about the great work that Rotary has done all over the world to combat this disease, polio.

Coming from India, having been born there and been brought up there, “polio” was a word that I used to hear very often. As a young child, a lot of times I would go and I would see kids who could not walk properly or whose hands were not properly developed. I would curiously ask my mom: “What’s wrong?” She would just whisper: “You know, they are affected by polio.”

As the member mentioned, with the help of Rotary, a campaign started in India. I’m a witness to that. We would see billboards all over talking about the immunization against polio. We would see the ads.

I was so glad to hear — I was also doing my research — that since 2012, India has been polio-free. I remember when my child was born. He was born in India in ’99. Every time I went to the doctor, he would make sure that he was immunized for polio. So I know the firsthand effects of polio, and I really, really appreciate the work of Rotary.

This also brings us to the important issue of immunization. Being a mother who always wants their children healthy, I made sure that my children were immunized. My son, who was born in India, when he came to Canada, was immunized for different diseases. So is my daughter, who is in grade 6 now.

With the recent global measles outbreak, this issue about immunization came into focus all over again. A lot of times we ignore it. We just think that this is something not important. But with this outbreak, it made all of us realize that any child can be vulnerable to that.

I was so happy to see that with the start of the new school year, within a week I got a big notice from the school, tracking the immunization record of the children. Because I was so anal about immunization, I called my public health unit just to check how my child was doing, and they told me that she got one dose of measles, but that was not correct. Somehow she missed it. And if this notice had not come to my home, I would have just completely ignored that.

It is so important — the immunization and the work that our government is doing for the well-being and for the health of our children. It is very important, and I think it’s very commendable. We should all….

I’m really glad about your statement today, Member. It just brings us to the importance of health, the importance of the immunizations and what they can do for every child’s well-being.

R. Coleman: Thank you to the member for their comments.

Later in life, after I found out I didn’t have polio as a child, I had the opportunity to tour Pearson hospital. If you ever had the opportunity to go there, you would be struck, at that time in the ’80s, by the iron lung, which was invented back in about 1929.

People that had polio have since needed assistance for disabilities and technical aids to actually communicate and be able to live independently. We’ve come such a long way on that, as a society, by the work of a number of non-profit organizations, obviously led by the bringing up of the issue by Rotary International.

It is humbling to know that for volunteers in my community, from my Rotary clubs…. PolioPlus is one of the focuses they have. It’s humbling to know they have that worldwide. It’s amazing to know they could put together a volunteer army that could literally immunize hundreds of millions of children in a short period of time in any given country and do that in such a way that you change the lives of billions.

[10:30 a.m.]

As I thought about this topic today, it struck me that 2.5 billion children have been immunized against polio in 122 countries. Is the next great leader saved because of this? Is the person that will cure cancer for people saved by this? Will countries’ futures change by new leadership that will bring peace to countries that are war-stricken? You cannot measure what this could mean and has meant to the world.

To Rotary, PolioPlus and their partners: thank you, thank you, thank you.

RECONCILIATION

M. Dean: Hay’sxw’qa, hon. Speaker. [Lək̓ʷəŋin̓əŋ was spoken.] Hay’sxw’qa gwns âne ’techul Lək̓ʷəŋin̓əŋ y Xsəpsəm Tung’exʷ. Hay’sxw’qa si’em nakwilia.

I just said good day to everyone; thank you for coming to Lək̓ʷəŋin̓əŋ and Xsəpsəm land; and thank you, hon. colleagues, in the traditional Lək̓ʷəŋin̓əŋ language.

I’d like to acknowledge that as MLA for Esquimalt-Metchosin, I also represent all Indigenous people living in our community and, in particular, the Songhees, Esquimalt and Scia’new Nations.

I’m able to talk here with permission of the generous and wise teachings of Elder Dr. Elmer George. We asked him if he would teach the local language to me, and very kindly, he agreed. He also teaches the children in Esquimalt. My whole team and I attended the first lesson, and we learnt about much more than simply language. He has given me permission to use the words and sentences that he taught me in these chambers and out and about in our community. I feel very honoured to learn and to speak this traditional language.

I also want to thank Elder Shirley Alphonse from Cowichan, now living in T’Sou-ke Nation. She helps me regularly with protocol and cultural learning and understanding. It was she who introduced me to Elder Elmer, to ask for his teachings.

I also thank our Lieutenant-Governor of the province of B.C. She led the way as a community figure in learning an Indigenous language and always using it, wherever she is and whoever she’s with. I was inspired by her leadership and personal action. I took my own action because I recognize that reconciliation must mean action.

We must, of course, recognize the wrongs in our history. We must recognize the impact of colonization, of colonialism and the harm that it has caused and continues to cause. We must take action in all aspects of our lives in order to achieve reconciliation. At a government level, I’m very proud of the steps that we’ve taken.

I am so honoured to work with and paddle alongside the first-ever Indigenous woman cabinet member, our Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Training. She herself said that one of the proudest days of her life was making the announcement of free post-secondary education for youth who have been in care, because, of course, we all know that Indigenous children are overrepresented in the care system. So this policy provides a pathway for those youth to achieve their potential and have opportunities for their lives ahead.

We’ve banned birth alerts, which is a big step in moving the child welfare strategy away from apprehending children and towards keeping families together. I know of professional Indigenous women who were in a meeting, and when they heard that news, they burst into tears.

These are examples of actions that are having a profound effect and paving a way for reconciliation. We must continue to do more. We’ve invested in affordable housing on and off reserve for Indigenous people of British Columbia. We’ve invested in language revitalization. We heard a lot about how Indigenous languages were banned and efforts were made to eliminate them, when we were at the Orange Shirt Day event in Victoria this year. Children were abused and shamed for using their own languages in day schools and residential schools. We’re working with Indigenous communities to revitalize language and recognize how important it is within culture.

[10:35 a.m.]

We do support, and indeed, we had a provincial proclamation for, Orange Shirt Day — to emphasize the need to recognize the history of residential and day schools and the intergenerational trauma that has resulted and continues to result from that oppression. In fact, just recently I bumped into a local Indigenous woman outside my constituency office — just last week. She commented and spoke to me directly about how important it was for her to see me at the Orange Shirt Day event.

We also made a historic decision to implement revenue-sharing from gaming with Indigenous communities. This supports communities with reliable funds that can be used to support their communities with what they need and what their priorities are. We’re working with Indigenous people and local communities to put the principles of the UN declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples into action. We’ve committed to co-develop legislation with the First Nations Leadership Council to bring the principles of the UN declaration into provincial law, and legislation will be introduced this session.

I’ve also been very closely involved with the provincial work in response to the national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and I want to take a moment to recognize the enormous courage of the survivors and families who have brought us to this moment.

In honour of the women, girls and two-spirit peoples who have been stolen and those who have survived, I’m committed to taking action and supporting change. The path forward to end violence against Indigenous women and girls and two-spirit people must be informed by survivors, family members and communities, and involve healing and ceremony.

I attended the final session of a series of community engagements over the summer, led by an Indigenous woman leader, based on Indigenous methodology. It was extremely valuable work. As it was the last session, we held a ceremony to close the whole series of sessions.

Our plan for our province will be informed by this work and will be developed with families, Indigenous partners and communities, and it won’t only take the government of British Columbia. It takes all of us, as British Columbians. I ask everyone in this House: what will you do to advance reconciliation? What actions will you take to make sure that the calls to justice of the national inquiry report are met?

Hay’sxw’qa.

D. Ashton: I would like to thank the member for Esqui­malt-Metchosin for her comments today.

I rise today to talk about First Nations reconciliation, something everyone in this province needs to continue and improve. I know advancing First Nations reconciliation is a goal shared by all members in this House.

At this point in time, I would like to thank the original people of the Okanagan for sharing those incredible, bountiful lands that I live on, in conjunction with many of them.

I would also say that from that bountiful land, each one of the caucuses in this House has received a box of Golden Delicious Aurora apples. Please remember where they came from — the wonderful Okanagan — when you bite into them.

Efforts in regard to reconciliation laid the foundation upon which we continue to build throughout each year, with continuous engagement of First Nations. British Columbia has done a lot more to advance First Nations reconciliation, but are we perfect? No, we’re not. But the previous Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation did an incredible job of advancing the cause of equality for all, something that I’m incredibly glad to see the current minister continuing.

British Columbia has been leading the charge within Canada, working to improve the quality of life for First Nations through new economic partnerships, resource development, revenue-sharing and the treaty process. Also made were great strides to close the social and economic gaps between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities through the advancement of housing, health services, education, skills training and employment programs for First Nations and close to 500 economic and reconciliation agreements with First Nations to date. In fact, B.C. was the first province in Canada to establish revenue-sharing with First Nations, providing a new stream of income for mining, forestry and other resources.

Revenue-sharing is a path to partnership that provides a percentage of what the province receives from resource development on First Nations traditional territories. Funds from revenue-sharing go directly back to the communities to use it where it is needed the most. British Columbia has signed 24 revenue-sharing agreements with over 40 First Nations.

[10:40 a.m.]

In total, revenue-sharing provided…. More than $26 million in direct mining tax revenue has been shared in these communities. With respect to forestry, what was introduced was more consultation and revenue-sharing agreements based on harvest activities on their traditional territories. No less than 240 of these agreements with 154 First Nations include more than $420 million through forestry revenue-sharing agreements. Again, this money was passed into the communities.

In terms of the energy sector, LNG in particular, government has reached 62 natural gas pipeline benefits agreements with 29 First Nations for four proposed natural gas pipelines. That’s both governments. It was started…. We all know where it was started, but we know it’s carrying on, and that’s incredibly important for all the people of British Columbia and specifically all the people of Canada.

However, we recognize that reconciliation goes beyond simply providing greater economic opportunities. We soon learned that the constant engagement between First Nations groups and the B.C. government was essential to maintaining respectful government relations and support for reconciliation and self-determination.

Another first in Canada was holding joint cabinet meetings with First Nations leadership. This provided First Nations with direct access to the executive branch of government and generates opportunities to advance the cause of reconciliation — something I am very glad to see continue.

As you know, Canadians from all walks of life value health care. In remote and sometimes isolated communities, the importance of health care becomes all the more vital, espe­cially in Aboriginal communities. In order to establish provincial health standards across the board, the B.C. First Nations Health Authority became the first of its kind in Canada.

Finally, we all know that education is a key that unlocks the potential for individuals to succeed. To that end, partnerships have been established between Aboriginal communities and school districts. The aim is to improve outcomes so that Aboriginal children will grow up with the best possible opportunities to succeed.

Between 2017 and today, the high school completion rate for Aboriginal students has increased from 39 percent to 63 percent. I see now, with recent data, that between 2017 and 2018 it has risen to 70 percent, and I say thanks to all that have made an incredible difference in making that up. But we still have a long way to go. It’s worth noting that in 2015 the Indigenous graduation rate was 24 percent lower than for non-Indigenous students. That gap has now been reduced to 16 percent, but again, it’s a number that needs to be reduced sooner than later.

We all have come an awful long way, but there’s a lot more to be done. Every student in British Columbia should be given the best opportunity to succeed. Overall, a pathway to reconciliation that continues to improve the outcomes for Indigenous people in our society is imperative. However….

Deputy Speaker: Thank you, Member.

M. Dean: Thank you to the member for Penticton for your support for reconciliation.

I ask everyone in this Legislature to consider their own actions, because we’re all in leadership positions, and we can all take actions that do promote reconciliation. Since being elected in 2017, I’ve created space and options and taken advantage of opportunities to take personal actions to enact reconciliation in my life.

In 2017, I arranged for Elder Shirley to do some smudging through the Legislature buildings. This included the Pre­mier’s office, cabinet offices, MLA offices and staff offices. In fact, I remember the smoke blowing up from the basement. It was swirling around people’s ankles as they walked around the precinct, and they must have wondered exactly what was going on in the buildings. Yet Shirley recalled for me days when chiefs weren’t even allowed in this building. I suspect that this was probably the first time there’d ever been a smudging here.

This week she’s offering smudging to all MLAs and Legislature staff on behalf of the Office of the Speaker. I’ve also worked with Shirley and the Speaker to look at ways to increase Indigenous representation and engagement in the precinct, like maybe some signage, some traditional language, some art and parking for elders.

I also walk and I take part in the Moose Hide and the Stolen Sisters campaigns. These campaigns are filled with really important ceremony, and I learned so much from my experience and participation. It’s a real honour to be invited, to be an ally and to be part of those movements. I invite and I ask all of my colleagues to think deeply about taking part and about why these are important ceremonies and movements and events.

[10:45 a.m.]

As my colleague the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Training says, we must all paddle together in the canoe. I do, again, ask everyone in this House to do all that you can, in all of your actions, to make progress towards true and lasting reconciliation.

Hay’sxw’qa.

RESILIENT RURAL COMMUNITIES

C. Oakes: Cariboo North is a resilient riding. It is made up of hard-working men and women who have certainly experienced their share of challenges.

Recently we’ve all witnessed firsthand the clear message from logging truck drivers, who made the convoy down to Vancouver to get the attention of the NDP government. The convoy included contractors and subcontractors, important small businesses in our rural communities. They want to go back to work. They do not want handouts. Most of all, they want a government to take some action.

Unfortunately, the recent action by the government — cancelling over 330 applications to the rural dividend fund — is another reason why loggers, regional district directors, local governments and small business stakeholders are deeply upset with what is going on in Victoria these days. As Williams Lake mayor Walt Cobb put it, “They’re robbing Peter to pay Paul,” by cancelling the $25 million rural dividend fund to finance a forest worker support program that doesn’t even cover the whole province.

The whole purpose of the rural dividend fund is to help small communities with a population of 25,000 or less to diversify local economies, instead of being fully reliant on single resources that characterize so many forest-dependent communities. At the most recent annual meetings at the Union of B.C. Municipalities, local governments were questioning why there is no new money to help forest workers.

On July 19, the Finance Minister announced that B.C. has a $1.5 billion surplus. Most of the wealth in this province is generated from natural resources, and nearly all of it is extracted from rural British Columbia. It is done so by hard-working, taxpaying men and women who have helped build this province. So with a $1.5 billion surplus, why is it necessary to cancel the rural dividend fund to divert funds elsewhere? This makes absolutely no sense.

It costs a lot of money for logging truck drivers in the Cariboo to drive all the way down, on their dime, to Vancouver just because they felt that government is not listening — all for the simple reason that people struggling in the forest industry want to go back to work. They have large payments due on their equipment, and many have not worked since last winter. I have talked to many families impacted. There has been a lot of concern and, quite frankly, a lot of tears.

The most common question being asked of me by my constituents is: how can it be, when they have been good-paying, taxpaying citizens who have contributed so much to the livability and vibrancies of their rural communities, when they have always been willing to step up to assist other parts of this province…? When they are in need, why are they being abandoned?

There are a lot of things government could do to put people back to work. One of the areas of action that should be addressed is the restoration of the land base being impacted by several years of record-setting wildfires. Wildfire mitigation and restoration of watersheds should be a top priority, especially in the Cariboo.

[10:50 a.m.]

Following the 2017 wildfire season, experts joined together with government on a think tank on how to restore the ecological balance and resiliency of the Cariboo and look at how we can ensure the safety and protection of our communities. First Nations and business stakeholders, like Community Futures, had applications in to the rural dividend fund to do just that.

We should be listening to experts that have come forward to say that we need to look at addressing wildfire mitigation in the same way as we look at earthquake preparedness on the coast. Local experts, First Nations elders who know our area share a vision to look at ecological resilience and the recovery of wildlife populations.

So where are we today? The government is paralyzed and failing to do anything to make our forest industry competitive again. On September 10, Teal-Jones, the largest privately owned timber harvesting and lumber product manufacturing company in British Columbia, announced that it was curtailing all of its operations in British Columbia because: “Current stumpage rates remain high relative to lumber prices, and harvesting costs have been adversely impacted by new regulations to bring out more residual waste fibre.” We are talking about the loss of hundreds of jobs and even more contractors, subcontractors and small businesses.

Before I conclude my remarks, I hope that the member opposite who will be responding on behalf of government can answer a few questions. Why has British Columbia lost its competitive edge in the forest industry? I would also like to know, from the member responding, why the government refuses to re-examine the manner in which stumpage fees — that is, the amount of money logging companies pay the government for timber on Crown land — are currently calculated. Everyone in the industry knows that the way stumpage is calculated poorly reflects current market conditions. It is one of the reasons B.C. has become the highest-cost producer in North America.

R. Leonard: I’m pleased to speak to the member for Cariboo North’s statement on resilient rural communities. Resiliency is about being able to spring back in the face of difficulty and change. It is an important topic to address in a severely shifting world.

I’m proud of all of the work our government is doing to support rural communities through today’s many challenges and to become more resilient through increased diversity. Preparing for future catastrophic events, the firefighting budget was increased this year by 58 percent. Budget 2018 invested $72 million to support wildfire recovery and resiliency activities in B.C. communities, and our commitments to continue to grow.

Sixty million dollars over this past year for the community resiliency investment program is helping lower wildfire risk around communities, with fuel and vegetation management, planning, cross-training, FireSmart activities to protect residents’ private property. Receiving funds relative to their wildfire risk, rural communities across B.C. — like Strathcona regional district next door to me and like Quesnel, in the member for Cariboo North’s own constituency — have received significant support. The list is long.

Our government has topped up funding under the forest carbon initiative by $13 million over the next three years. From unplanned reforestation in areas impacted by the 2017 wildfires to transporting uneconomic wood to local pulp mills, pellet plants and camp facilities, we’re seeing diversification in rural communities with this $290 million federal-provincial investment.

As climate change turns up the dial on more extreme weather, resiliency is also key to agriculture. Impacted by wildfires the last two years, this year it’s been hit with flooding. Ranchers whose haying was devastated by the Chilcotin flood have till October 15 to apply to emergency management B.C. for uninsurable flood losses.

[10:55 a.m.]

The first regional food hub to foster growth and innovation in order to diversify the agricultural sector is being developed in Quesnel for the Cariboo region. More hubs are at the feasibility business plan stage in Salmon Arm, Hazelton and Courtenay.

New or improved high-speed Internet in rural communities, with 45.4 million federal and provincial dollars, will finally help 154 rural communities — 44 of which are First Nations — from Prince Rupert to Vancouver to access education, economic opportunities and even telehealth.

Last April saw the first increased investment in tech programming in more than a decade. It’ll see 40 IT graduates coming out of North Island College and 1,000 additional tech grads across B.C. by 2023. The tech sector is growing with good-paying jobs contributing to rural resiliency.

Nearly a quarter of this May’s intake of the rural dividend fund — that’s $4.6 million of nearly $19 million — supported local governments, First Nations and NGOs responding to economic challenges from the loss of a main employer or the impacts of a natural disaster.

There’s $100 million in the new northern capital and planning grant. As the Premier said: “The people of these communities have contributed to our prosperity in B.C., but they’ve not seen a fair share of return to their communities. This will help turn the tide.”

This past spring an historic revenue-sharing agreement was signed, which will see First Nations communities receiving stable, long-term funding. First Nations communities will determine their own priorities with a share of provincial gaming revenues. When the past government closed nearly 200 public schools in rural communities, when they changed the K-to-12 funding that mostly hurt rural schools, when they closed rural hospitals and downgraded services in dozens of other centres, when they cut seniors services and eliminated long-term care beds and when they cut ferry services in the north, were they supporting more resilient rural communities?

When 100 mills closed and 30,000 forestry jobs were lost, did they stand up for rural B.C.? As the Premier has said: “We need each other. Urban needs rural, and rural needs urban. We can’t have one without the other.” That’s why our government is forward-looking, committed to supporting people in their communities in so many ways to create a truly resilient British Columbia.

C. Oakes: I do want to thank the member opposite for their contributions to this debate.

I had hoped for a response on the two questions I asked: why has British Columbia lost its competitive edge in the forest industry, and why has British Columbia become the highest-cost producer in North America? Perhaps the member opposite would come back to me with a response at a later time, because I think it’s an important part of the conversation.

The member started her debate today talking about springing back in the midst of incredible change. I think for all of us in this House, we are looking at how we support our communities to transform and to be resilient. One of the ways that we have supported communities for many years is through the rural dividend fund.

It is incredibly difficult and shortsighted of a government to suggest that we expect, look and hope for communities in rural British Columbia to spring back when all of the resources that are provided to these communities to do that have been removed.

What do you say to a First Nations community that has faced multiple years of wildfires and economic challenges — because even our First Nations’ communities are highly dependent on forestry-related activities — to be told when they put forward their rural dividend application this year that their project will not move forward? These are critical times for these communities, because there is fear and there is concern about making sure we’re doing the important work on mitigation.

I talked to another First Nations two weeks ago, and while funds have been put forward around mitigation, the message I’m hearing back from communities on the ground is it’s great to have consultants, and it’s great to have people to do workplans. What we need in our communities are boots on the ground. What we need in our communities is the ability to have funds that have direct impact in our communities to make sure that we look at what our interface is in communities, not just our municipalities. But what do our First Nations communities have for interface fire mitigation?

[11:00 a.m.]

What do our unincorporated communities like Nazko have on the ground? They’ve repeatedly been denied funding to make sure this important work happens in their communities.

I want to go back to another comment the member made about making sure…. We’ve been affected by floods this year. I appreciate the funds that were put forward in the Cariboo-Chilcotin when floods happened there, but flooding impacted Cariboo North significantly. I have constituents who have lost bridges and private property. They’ve been flooded out for an entire season in Nazko, and there is nothing that they are eligible for.

The member opposite talked about a fair share and getting funds back to communities. I hope that we will be able to work together, both urban and rural, to make sure that we get people back to work, back to contributing, and that we ensure that there is a fair and reasonable expectation of funds coming back to rural British Columbia.

[R. Chouhan in the chair.]

Hon. C. James: I would ask that the House consider proceeding with Motion 11 standing in the name of the member for Port Moody–Coquitlam.

Deputy Speaker: Members, unanimous consent of the House is required to proceed with Motion 11 without disturbing the priorities of the motions preceding it on the order paper.

Leave granted.

Private Members’ Motions

MOTION 11 — INTEREST-FREE
STUDENT LOANS

R. Glumac: I would like to move the motion:

[Be it resolved that this House unanimously supports interest-free student loans in British Columbia.]

We all know that getting a degree at a university is a very important part of gaining the skills we need for today’s jobs. I grew up in a household, myself, that placed a very high value on post-secondary education, not because my parents had a post-secondary degree but because they didn’t. In fact, my mom was born in former Yugoslavia, and she grew up on a farm. She didn’t have the chance to have a higher education, and she reminded me every day how important that was. I’m sure a lot of mothers across Canada did the same. In fact, that’s maybe the reason why, in Canada, we have the second-highest ranking in the world of students that have completed post-secondary education.

In many countries around the world, university tuition rates are very low, or in some cases, they’re even free. But in Canada, tuition is expensive, and that means student debt is high. Nearly 50 percent of all students graduate university with student debt, and more than 60 percent of those have student debt of more than $20,000. When you consider that it can take over a decade to pay back debt of this amount, that can mean thousands of dollars in extra payments for interest.

It’s those students with the fewest financial resources that have to borrow the most to go to university. These students, the ones with the highest debt and the least means to pay, don’t need things to be even harder by also needing to pay back interest on the student loans that they’ve taken out. That is why our government has eliminated interest on student loans in British Columbia.

As MLAs, we’ve all heard from students. We know how hard students work to get a degree and how hard it is to repay the student loans. Not having to pay back student loan interest has made a huge difference for a lot of students in British Columbia. We’ve heard a lot of stories. I wanted to quote from a recent graduate, Leah May, who wrote the following:

“I’m 31 and the first one in my family to attend post-secondary school and graduate with a child and youth care degree, specializing in Aboriginal studies, co-occurring disorders and child protection. After school, I participated in a global affairs internship in Uganda for six months, and I was not able to start paying student loans back right away.

[11:05 a.m.]

“I worked hard to put myself through school while having to work part-time to keep the bills paid and make my dreams happen. I’m truly grateful to have the opportunity to be able to pay back my $50,000 student loan without interest. Thank you for making this possible.”

There are countless testimonials like this. I wanted to read one other, which is from Sara Rutishauser, who wrote the following.

“As a hard-working single parent living in one of the most expensive cities in the world, paying such high interest rates on my student loans was a real burden. Last year I paid almost $1,000 in interest. This money could have been spent on rent, food or activities for my children.

“Now that this interest has been removed, I can breathe a sigh of relief and know that not only am I much closer to paying off my student loans, but I also worry less about living paycheque to paycheque and can begin to finally save money. For this, I am grateful.

“Thank you for thinking of all the hard-working B.C. students that continually strive to improve their quality of life as well as others’ around them. Education has dramatically improved my and my family’s life, and I thank you.”

These are just two examples of students that have bene­fited from interest-free student loans. There are many, many more and many, many more to come. Our economy, our society, is better with each student that graduates with a degree or diploma.

I’m proud to be part of a government that recognizes this and has taken away the interest on B.C. student loans.

S. Gibson: A pleasure once again to rise in the peoples’ House here in our province. I appreciate the motion. I’ll be responding to that in some detail.

I was kind of reflecting on my experience as a post-secondary instructor — at University of the Fraser Valley, at Trinity Western and also as a contract instructor at Douglas College and the Justice Institute — and realizing the significance to our young people of earning an education today. We can’t underestimate that.

A privilege for me in our former government, from 2013 to 2017, was to serve as a Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Education, focusing on independent schools, and now with my colleague from Vancouver–False Creek and previously South Surrey as a critic for Advanced Education. I take this file very seriously, and I appreciate the initiative today. I believe that whether it’s university, trade or specialized program, students today need every opportunity to achieve success. I might add my own experience, having been a student for a number of years myself. I completed two undergrad degrees in 4½ years, working almost full-time. I know what it feels like to make friends with Chef Boyardee and Mr. Noodles.

The education that we are planning for our young people today is something priceless. I even think about my little grandchildren. What challenges will they have when they reach the age to enter university?

Now, I appreciate the motion, and I appreciate the fact that this government is getting behind interest-free student loans, but it seems almost trivial compared to what is taking place in the general financial milieu of this government — especially looking at ICBC and others. It’s quite shocking, frankly. We’re hearing accounts of students that have to literally put off their post-secondary education because of their car insurance bills. I find it unbelievable that this government would not take that seriously.

I want to take a moment for the record. I think it would be fruitful to enumerate some of the positive impacts that we had on education when we were government, and I was pleased to be there at that time: cost-saving initiatives introduced that have benefited hundreds, indeed thousands, of post-secondary students. During our time in government, we allocated more than $1 billion in non-repayable grants and loan reduction.

[11:10 a.m.]

As part of our Budget 2017, we reduced the student loan interest rate nearly $11 million for that year and $17 million for each succeeding year. We created financial aid programs benefiting numerous students in adult upgrade, a strong focus on trades training, the B.C. completion grant, loan reduction programs, the B.C. loan forgiveness program for eligible students who commit to working in underserved communities and the B.C. training and education program — $70 million there to eligible children born before 2006 to help kick-start the registered education savings plan.

We also developed a program for students on open textbooks. One of my colleagues will be referring more to that. I can tell you, as an instructor teaching university students, textbooks are a big deal. They’re very expensive now. So the open textbook program, the first of its kind in Canada, is exciting, and I was really excited about that, just as a student. I wish that that program had existed when I was doing my grad degrees.

The program reduces student education cost and allows the instructor to customize the program, which is good. It’s flexible, which makes it quite attractive. And 34,000 students have benefited by $3.9 million since it kicked in, in 2012.

These are good programs. I know the entire House will be supportive of just acknowledging the value of those.

We have the single-parent employment program. I want to honour one of my colleagues, who was minister at the time and now the MLA for Surrey South, for initiating this. This initiative removes barriers to employment for single parents to become productive working contributors to society.

Deputy Speaker: Thank you, Member.

S. Gibson: Thank you very much, hon. Speaker. I appreciate the opportunity to speak to this.

S. Malcolmson: I’m honoured to stand in this Legislature representing Nanaimo and grateful for a summer of getting a lot of deep wisdom and good advice from people back at home. I’m thankful to my awesome constituency staff, Darcy and Pam, and everybody in the community that gave me advice, including those who shared some of their stories to bring into today’s debate this morning.

It’s feeling a bit back to school to be back here in this place. Glad to see all my colleagues from both sides of the House. I want to salute the Green Party leader for his news this morning of moving on, in a way, and am thankful for his work.

On the back-to-school theme, I’m hearing real relief at home. After 16 years of the old government making life very expensive for a lot of people, looking after those at the top and not after students, we’ve made real change and taken action for students to make life more affordable.

I got a note from a former VIU student. He said: “Thank you for taking the first step to address the issue of ballooning student debt in our province. Removing interest on student loans means those who had to borrow to get to school aren’t penalized for it with extra money that they have to pay back. This was the right move, and I’m so happy you have done it.” High interest fees on student loans put a really unfair burden on students.

I was intrigued to hear the previous speaker, the Liberal speaker, talk about the good things that the Liberals did for students. In fact, they doubled basic undergraduate tuition fees. Graduate tuition almost tripled. Between 2001 and 2006, it increased by 184 percent. And they eliminated the grant program entirely.

The record is clear. It was very tough on people. Higher education should be opening doors for people, not making it harder to get ahead, and the saddling of student debt on our young people has made it really tough.

Interest on B.C. student loans was among the highest in the country, and a survey said that the average student debt in B.C. was $34,000. Andrew, a VIU student, wrote to me. He said: “My student loan payments were $980 a month, with roughly $330 of each payment going to interest alone, and this does not include what my wife was paying.”

That our spring budget eliminated student loan interest entirely is a huge relief for students.

[11:15 a.m.]

Sarah wrote to me about this. She said: “As a single mother of two kids, I needed a student loan to finance my education, and I graduated with a $35,000 loan to repay. Interest on student loans equates to a more expensive education for populations of students who cannot afford to pay the tuition up front.”

I really want to emphasize the unfairness of this. Students from low-income families pay significantly more for their education. Put another way, students who have the means or the savings or the family support or the connections to self-finance, pay less for their education, for their college or university degree. That is not fair, and we are starting to take steps to remediate that.

In contrast, the previous government ignored repeated calls to take this action that we have taken. Even once we brought it in, the current leader of the B.C. Liberals — who was once the Minister of Advanced Education, so arguably has responsibility for the mess that we put students in — stood in this House and said that he wouldn’t want to eliminate interest on student loans, as people might get carried away with debt.

He is still opposed to eliminating the interest on student loans. If the B.C. Liberals were to return to power, B.C. Liberals would make life more expensive again for students. And again, he had all kinds of advice, including…. The leaders of many of B.C.’s institutions said: “Please remove interest. It would make a huge difference.”

Our solution to remove interest on student loans was a campaign commitment. It was the fair thing to do. It’s making life more affordable. It was a direct response to what students asked us to do in our communities and, to make post-secondary education more accessible, is just one of the many steps we’ve taken.

At Vancouver Island University alone…. The tuition waiver, which was born at VIU, has now been spread provincewide. Developing ecotourism partnerships….

Deputy Speaker: Thank you, Member.

S. Malcolmson: There is much to do and much to cele­brate.

R. Sultan: The government has eliminated interest on student loans, which will save students about $22 million annually. My initial impulse is to say, with a banker-like harrumph, that the purpose of higher education is to develop our knowledge workers of the future and an important lesson they should learn is financial discipline.

Then I pick up Bloomberg on the weekend and see that the Bundesbank of Germany, the bastion of discipline and prudence, appears to be reluctantly embracing negative interest rates. That’s right. They might pay you if you take their money. So all of my economic training has been turned upside down, and free student loans are not as unconventional as at one time they might have seemed.

So instead of railing against free money, let me suggest that this initiative is, in reality, a mere slogan designed to camouflage this government’s very weak — very weak — two-year track record in higher education compared with our own 16 years of accomplishment and progress. Let me cite three points to illustrate this.

One, on average, B.C. students, thanks to the tuition policy that we endorsed for 16 years, paid less than one-third of the cost of the post-secondary education. You might say that we had already cut the true price by two-thirds, not requiring any loan at all because they weren’t charged in the first place.

Secondly, seven public university campuses were added to the public post-secondary system in our 16 years prior to 2017. In two years, what has this government done? Well, they haven’t really announced any new universities not already announced by us previously.

[11:20 a.m.]

Third point. Projects initiated by our previous government have been reannounced with great enthusiasm and pride by the minister, who conveniently overlooks the fact that they were already in the works and planned by another government.

For example, the $126 million energy systems engineering building at Simon Fraser Surrey, including an incubator program — a great accomplishment, but that happened to be our project. Secondly, the $122 million Emily Carr University of Art and Design redevelopment project. The $48 million health sciences centre at Camosun. The $36 million Chip and Shannon Wilson School of Design at Kwantlen Polytechnic. Northern Lights College’s $33 million trades training centre. The $30 million Industrial Training and Technology Centre at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops. The $22 million upgrades in the Spruce Building at Kwantlen. The $20 million marine, automotive and trades complex expansion at Vancouver Island University. The $18 million Silver King campus at Selkirk College in Nelson. The $10 million trades training facility at the College of the Rockies. The list goes on.

The minister has said: “I’m proud to be a part of a government that is investing in students.” That is what she said in September 2018. We are proud, too, of the minister’s endorsement of our accomplishments. We look to more in the future. Perhaps we shall see some actual innovation and progress initiated by this government than merely repeating those of our own.

S. Chandra Herbert: I stand proudly in support of our government’s work to reduce and actually eliminate tuition interest. It’s something that I must say, and I’ve heard from a number of Liberal speakers trying to the change the channel on what the motion is about, because they sat in government as ministers, as folks like us, on the official opposition, united with student leaders, faculty leaders and people from the entire educational system to call for the elimination of interest rates on tuition fees, and they refused.

I’m glad that they’re standing up to talk about past investments the government has made on behalf of the people of British Columbia, but I do want to suggest that instead of saying “us, the Liberals” or “us, the New Democrats” paid for these new universities, we remember that it’s actually the people of British Columbia.

We might want to pat ourselves on the back — and by goodness, politicians are very good at that — but I would caution my friends on the opposition side to remember that it wasn’t them that created universities. It was the people of British Columbia. Indeed, it was their advocacy that did that work, not so much themselves as builders and master planners. Certainly, they didn’t get there on interest rates.

I would say that in terms of interest rates…. For a time, I remember that one of the things we argued was that it was easier to get a car loan with a lower loan interest rate than students were paying in British Columbia for their tuition fees. We argued again and again, and my friends on the other side refused to act.

Now, it may be because of a problem of perspective. I understood the member from Abbotsford argued that, well, he had it tough too, while going through college and university. In the days that most of the members of this Legislature attended universities and colleges, it was possible to completely pay for your tuition fees through a minimum-wage student job. I know folks have talked about how, oh, they worked two or three jobs, and they crashed on couches, and so on.

Perspective blinds us sometimes, because costs have gone up considerably. Indeed, the cost of tuition fees increased three times. It tripled under the watch of the former B.C. Liberal government. I believe it went from the lowest tuition fees in the country to some of the highest. Housing costs, of course, it almost doesn’t need to be said, under the former government, for young people…. Well, jeez, when you had a home that used to cost $350,000 now selling for over $1.5 million, rents that used to be $800 now $1,600 — those are problems that were created over the last 16 years. Before that…. I can’t claim any government is perfect. Indeed, everyone needs more work.

[11:25 a.m.]

I do say, though, that this is a matter of philosophy. Do we think that people should be valued for when they get education? Do we think we should make it easier for people to get education so that they can participate in our communities and our economies?

I believe so, and the New Democrat government believes so, very strongly. That’s why we eliminated the interest rate on tuition fees. For people in my community, it was one of the most popular announcements I think we’ve made. Certainly, I heard from a huge number of constituents who said it will allow them to get better food for their families. It will allow them to finish their schooling so that they can actually get their degree and move into a more specialized field. They were raising kids, trying to pay the rent and obviously finding that challenging when you had the additional interest on the tuition fees that they were having to deal with.

I know my friends on the opposition, the leader, felt that people would get carried away — I think that was his phrase — by eliminating the interest on tuition fees. I would say again that that’s a problem of perspective. If you have a lot of money, maybe you’ll get carried away because it doesn’t matter to you how much you spend. But if you don’t have very much money and you’ve been raised in a family without a lot, you watch every penny. You watch every dollar. You know how difficult paying debt back will be because you’ve had to deal with it most of your life. So that is a difference in perspective.

I think we need to value that there are people who don’t come from money. There are many of our constituents who don’t come from money, who don’t live in fancy houses, who don’t have fancy cars. That, in fact, is most of British Columbia. But I guess if you come from entitlement, sometimes you think of entitlement as just the average privilege for everybody. That’s not the case. That’s why taking action like this matters.

Again, there are many people in our province who feel voiceless, who feel government never acts for them. I heard from them this time. They felt that they were being acted for, that they were being heard and that they were valued by government for once.

Certainly, they’ll come back at us again for other changes and other things we need to do, but we need to continue to make life more affordable for people in this province.

S. Cadieux: The importance of education can’t be understated. I’m not here to argue against the elimination of student loans. In fact, our government had started the reduction of those interest rates while we were in government. But let’s think about this for a second.

We were always told that getting a university education will mean a difference in your lifetime earnings of up to $1 million. Those were numbers a long time ago, so I’m sure it’s much higher. So really, education is an investment in one’s self and in one’s future. The reduction in student loans, while it’s saving an average student $1,700, is great news for that individual. It’s not saving the taxpayer those interest payments. In fact, the taxpayer’s picking them up. So the government’s now spending tens of millions of dollars to cover the costs of that interest. The money is still owed, and the interest is still accumulating.

Arguably, if someone goes to university and takes out loans to do so, but then, at the end, is able to be employed — and employed at a much higher rate than they would have been otherwise — they are, then, arguably, in a better position to pay than they would have been if they didn’t go to university. But again, I’m not arguing that this isn’t a good move for students.

However, I’ve also been told by students repeatedly, every time I met with any of the student union groups, that their preference would actually have been for upfront student grants, something this government has promised and not delivered. The elimination of the accumulation of debt in the first place would actually be a much better way to deal with those individuals who have the biggest challenge with going to university and where we want to equalize and find a way for those individuals to attend.

Now, again, I’m not arguing against helping students out. If this is the way we do it, then I’m fine with that. But the member before me talked about the problem of perspective, and I agree. It is a problem of perspective. The reduction of student loan interest cannot be taken alone in isolation as a wonderful gift to individuals, not when the current government has increased 19 new taxes for British Columbians to pay. Not when ICBC rates are steadily increasing and when young people are seeing the most exorbitant jumps in that.

[11:30 a.m.]

Let’s not forget the new TransLink tax, the parking tax in the Lower Mainland that is seeing students who are going to university pay 24 percent tax to park their car. For one young woman that I know, that was an extra $300 she had to pay, just in that tax alone.

Arguably, I want to see people go to university. I want to see people have that opportunity. We want to make that a reality for as many people as possible, and frankly, there’s a track record of doing so.

When VIU announced their tuition waiver program, I was the Minister of Children and Families, and at that point in time I was working with the other universities to get them to come on side and do the same, because it was the right thing to do for kids from care. I still agree that it’s the right thing to do for kids from care, and I was supportive of the government’s expansion of that program.

While I was the minister and that program was initially announced, we also increased the availability of other supports from grant programs for those students, acknowledging that there are additional costs to going to university, beyond tuition. Because I recognized that there were a lot of single parents on welfare in our province who didn’t want to be there, who wanted to be working but couldn’t get ahead, we introduced the single-parent employment initiative. The single purpose of that was to ensure that those individuals could have access to education and training so that they could access the job market.

As of March of 2017, I understand that more than 4,500 people have participated in that program. That’s a program that allows single parents on welfare to continue to receive their benefits, to receive full child care while they go to school, to receive the tuition or costs associated with receiving that education, to get employment and to then keep their medical benefits and child care for a full other year while they get employed in their new field. That is about providing opportunity to British Columbians, and it’s a good way to support all students.

B. Ma: Taking a little bit of a different tone here, I’d like to share a story. In February of 2007, which was well into the B.C. Liberal government’s reign, as vice-president internal for the Engineering Undergraduate Society at the University of British Columbia and as a councillor on the UBC Alma Mater Society, I had the great privilege of joining many of my colleagues here in Victoria for our very first Lobby Days event.

In addition to lobbying for — you’ll recognize this — mass transit out to UBC and access to child care for students, we also lobbied for what was then summed up best in the form of a cheer: “What do we want? A reduction on the proportion of student tuition payment while simultaneously increasing the quality of education.” “When do we want it? Over the next three to five years.” Well, we thought that these were very reasonable requests with very reasonable timelines. Off we went, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, to Victoria to lobby on behalf of students for change. In digging through my files for information about that fateful day — would you believe it? — I found my notes.

I met that day with six MLAs, starting with NDP members Charlie Wyse, David Chudnovsky and the current hon. member for Vancouver-Hastings, who now serves as the Minister for Social Development and Poverty Reduction. Now, according to my notes, David Chudnovsky told us that we needed to be less polite and tactful in our approach in lobbying MLAs. “The government gave hundreds of millions of dollars in tax cuts to the rich, while students remain poor,” he said, “and you need to push harder and not be shy about demanding change.”

My next session was with the B.C. Liberal member for Fort Langley–Aldergrove, who was the Minister of Forests and Range and who serves today as the member for Langley East. According to my notes, the member was generally non-responsive to what he referred to as “our politically suggestive advances” about how the absolute cost of post-secondary education was too high for lower-income students to bear.

My third session was with B.C. Liberal member Valerie Roddick, and the next thing I participated in was my very first viewing of question period, which I described in my notes as “a gong show.”

[11:35 a.m.]

Finally, the last section of my notes was dedicated to a meeting I had with the hon. member, who is still an hon. member today, for West Vancouver–Capilano, who you heard speak earlier. My notes read:

“This member was by far the most engaged in this issue of all the MLAs we met today. He is an alumnus of the faculty of engineering at UBC, as well as law at Harvard.

“His interest in the quality of education at UBC seems sincere. He states, however, that he is not sympathetic to the debt incurred by a student because a student will not bat an eye to drop $26,000 on a low-end car, so why should they be batting their eyes at paying for their education? This, of course” — again, from my notes — “may be a statement that applies to students at Harvard, but it certainly does not apply here at UBC, where the simple act of owning a vehicle, even an $800 beater, is impressive, let alone a $26,000 one.

“The member is a very friendly and engaged person, but it was frustrating throughout the meeting to speak with him. He consistently attempts to compare Harvard with UBC, even though the distinction between them was clearly made in the beginning of the session. No promises by the member were made.”

I had the honour of serving as a student politician alongside many, many brilliant people. I’ve avoided naming anyone in particular because, frankly, 12 years is a long time to bring up what somebody did in university. Though I found all of their work honourable and good, I simply don’t know where they are in their lives, and I don’t know if they’d appreciate being named now or not.

Some of these students — many of these students — went off on their own to much greater things. Many others continue to be heavily involved in politics, serving as staff and volunteers for the B.C. NDP, for the federal Liberals, for the NDP, the Greens and, yes, even the Conservatives.

The point is that we were people from all over the political spectrum who came together on the issue, in 2007, of reducing the financial and debt burden for post-secondary students. Despite our partisan differences, we all saw the value in supporting young people in pursuing higher education.

Today’s motion to support interest-free loans for students is a small but important step in that direction. Can’t we all come together again today?

J. Yap: An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. Higher education is not the only way to success, but it certainly opens up opportunities and prepares students for the competitive workplace.

According to B.C.’s labour market outlook, 77 percent of future jobs will require some form of post-secondary education. Statistics also show that British Columbians with an undergraduate post-secondary degree can expect to earn an additional $827,000 over their lifetime.

In an era where artificial intelligence is taking over the human workforce, 166,000 job openings over the next decade in B.C. will be occupations with a high chance of being affected by automation. This is why we have to plan for the jobs of tomorrow. To do that, we need to equip the next generation with the best knowledge and skills. Education is the passport to the future.

For students in B.C. already faced with a whole variety of challenges, the NDP’s interest-free student loan is nothing more than another slogan. We are all too familiar with this scenario. They talk the talk but never walk the walk. They make the same announcement again and again with no real action, putting on quite a show.

In contrast, our former B.C. Liberal government devel­oped practical programs to help make costs more affordable for students and make it easier for graduates to get out of debt faster. We put in place grant and loan options, such as the B.C. loan forgiveness program, to encourage people to work in the publicly funded health care facilities in an underserved community in B.C. Since 2001, the B.C. Liberal government disbursed approximately $4 billion in student financial assistance to make education more accessible.

As a former Minister of Advanced Education, I also oversaw the B.C. open textbook project, introduced in 2012 — the first government-sponsored initiative of its kind in Canada. Our goal was to provide flexible and affordable access to higher education resources by making openly licensed textbooks available. With this goal in mind, we committed $1 million to develop 40 open textbooks in popular first- and second-year post-secondary subject areas, such as math, chemistry and business.

[11:40 a.m.]

In the following year, we committed an additional $1 million for more textbooks in skills training and technical programs. Such an open education resources program has not only broken down barriers and lowered costs for students but also offered flexibility for teachers to adapt materials to the needs of different courses. This is what I call making real progress and real changes to students.

Since 2012, nearly 34,000 students in British Columbia have saved almost $3.9 million using free open textbooks. Around 275 faculty members at 23 public post-secondary institutions in our province are currently participating in this project, which we B.C. Liberals proudly initiated.

These were our real, tangible actions, unlike the numerous reannouncements made by the NDP’s Minister of Advanced Education. Those were all projects initiated by our B.C. Liberal government, including the two programs I just mentioned.

The other side of the House pretends to care about students, but actions show who they really are. Since coming into power, they have added 19 new or increased taxes. These taxes hurt average British Columbians. It means parents; it means students.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

To truly help students, how about finding a solution to the worst traffic bottleneck in British Columbia, the George Massey Tunnel, so that students can attend school on time instead of being stuck for an hour or two every day in this traffic nightmare? When a man repeats a promise again and again, he means to fail you.

We are counting how many times the NDP will make the same announcement before carrying it out. So far, it seems like that will never come, only leaving students and others deeply disappointed.

J. Brar: I’m really pleased to rise in this House today to support the motion introduced by the member for Port Moody–Coquitlam, asking this House to unanimously support interest-free student loans in the province of British Columbia.

I have two children going through the education system, and I completely understand this. I also want to make it very clear that this is a motion about student loans, not about the Massey Tunnel. Education is the greatest gift that we can give to our children. Accessible and affordable education is a great source of opportunity for everyone in our province.

We believe that access to education should never depend on how much money your parents make. If you have the grades and the drive to study hard, you should be able to get the education you want. The reality is this. The B.C. Liberals don’t believe in accessible and affordable education. That’s why they ignored the call from students for 16 years.

Their interest rates on student loans were too high. As a result, the average student with debt owes about $27,000 at the end of an undergraduate degree. And a student who has to borrow to pay for their education will end up paying over $10,000 more than a student who is lucky enough to be able to graduate without taking on debt. That’s not fair. It puts an unfair burden on our students, and that sets our young people up to fail.

As of March 31, 2018, approximately 200,000 people had student loans worth a total of $1.2 billion in this province. Clearly, the previous government ignored calls from students, and the interest rates on student loans were too high for 16 long years.

It’s interesting to note the B.C. Liberals gave away billions of dollars in tax breaks to the wealthy and big corporations, and they chose not to give any breaks to our students. The interest rates on student loans in B.C. were the highest in Canada under their watch. It was prime plus 2.5 percent.

We, the members on this side, are committed to removing interest on B.C. student loans, and this will improve the lives of British Columbians by making life more affordable. Budget 2019 is making life better for people and opening the door to opportunity so everyone can reach their full potential.

[11:45 a.m.]

Our government listened to students and delivered on its mandate to eliminate interest on B.C. student loans, effective February 19, 2019. As of February 19, 2019, all B.C. student loans stopped accumulating interest. As a result, 200,000 students will save about $22 million in interest payments on these loans in 2019-20.

A typical undergraduate student has $11,200 in B.C. student loans and $28,000 in total student loan debt, including both federal and provincial loans. Eliminating interest on the provincial debt will save this undergraduate about $2,300 over the ten-year repayment period. With this decision, we are helping young people and new families get off to a good start in their life. Making life more affordable means more young people can feel confident about putting down roots and building a life right here in the province of British Columbia.

I would like to conclude with a quote from a parent named Albert Seinen, who made the following remarks with regard to the interest-free loans. “I have three daughters, two of whom, for sure, want to go to university. We help out but cannot afford their tuition and our own cost of living. They are significantly worried about debt and how they can afford to go. They will go a long way to help them. It will also send a personal message that our country values its citizens and is going to support them. I’m grateful to be part of this.”

I fully support this motion to make student loans interest-free, and I hope the members on the other side finally get the answer to this and will also support this motion.

J. Thornthwaite: Thank you for the opportunity to speak today in support of this motion: “Be it resolved that this House unanimously supports interest-free student loans in British Columbia.”

Higher education has proven to be one of the greatest returns for students. Whether it’s a diploma, trade or degree, students can expect to earn an additional $827,000 over their lifetime, yet many students struggle in British Columbia to be able to afford a post-secondary education. Eliminating interest on student loans is one step, but this government promised affordability, especially to young people, yet little action has been taken to effect real change towards the goal of keeping more money in the pockets of students.

One of the biggest issues for students in my riding is affordable student housing for those that attend Capilano University. It is challenging for anyone to find affordable housing on the North Shore, let alone students. Since the NDP government took power in 2017, overall rent hikes have been approved to 9.37 percent — certainly not making life more affordable.

Housing counts as one of the largest expenses for students. So does transportation. The number one issue for my constituents is transportation. Being able to effectively use the transit system, especially from the North Shore, is often not easy. My daughter, for instance, is attending UBC and faces a difficult decision, as there is no fast and effective way to get from the east of Seymour to UBC — a journey that can take up to two hours using transit. She uses her vehicle. Yet insurance costs and rising gas prices are crippling for many young people.

Earlier this summer I called on TransLink to have an express bus from Phibbs Exchange directly to UBC, just like they have them from West Van. But a real investment in rapid transit is essential for students trying to get to post-secondary institutions in the Lower Mainland and all of the 12,000 students who are enrolled in Capilano University that must commute to the North Shore.

Almost daily, commuters in my riding face crippling gridlock. As a result, students and faculty are often late for class. Investing in rapid transit, as I have long advocated for, would not only save students time but also help them get out of their cars.

I recognize there is a study going on right now about a fixed link to the North Shore. Unfortunately, we don’t know the terms of reference, nor if there will be consideration of SkyTrain around the Second Narrows. I will plead again: don’t forget about the district of North Vancouver, and don’t forget about the Second Narrows and a connection to Phibbs Exchange.

[11:50 a.m.]

However, the most worrying expense for students currently is car insurance. Under the NDP, students are now finding it more unaffordable to pay for their car insurance than the cost of the car in the first place. We’ve heard numerous instances in the news. My other daughter, who attends Capilano University, is being forced to sell her car, which she only purchased a year ago, instead of renewing her insurance later this year. The cost is going to be too unaffordable for her because she needs the car for work. She’s not alone. Many teens are facing the same dire situation.

Plus ICBC now levies an additional $130 to $230 per policy if a learner driver wants to use their parents’ vehicle, for example. No other insurance in Canada charges these fees, and rates do not typically increase by adding a learner driver to a policy.

Students are paying through the nose for higher costs of living in British Columbia. They’re struggling to afford, or even find, housing. Transportation costs are going up, and new drivers are facing massive increases in their ICBC premiums, as are their parents. While it would be a useful step for students to hold interest-free loans, I think there are much bigger investments that need to be made in order to make life more affordable for all students.

J. Routledge: I rise in support of the motion: “Be it resolved that this House unanimously supports interest-free student loans in British Columbia.”

I’m proud of our government for having taken first steps to making post-secondary education affordable again. I say again, because it was when my generation was at that “wacky” age the Leader of the Opposition reminisces about that post-secondary education was affordable. Tuition cost me $600 a year. I paid less than $100 a month for my share of a three-bedroom apartment in downtown Toronto.

I, too, was the first person in my family to go to university. I had to work every summer so that I could go back to school in the fall, and there were lots of summer jobs in those days. We usually landed something the first day we went looking, but they were minimum-wage jobs, like in stores and restaurants. Now, I did notice that a lot of the boys in my circle tended to get summer jobs in construction and were paid a lot more than minimum wage. At that time, young women weren’t yet welcome on construction sites. Now that, I thought, was wacky, and it turned me into a feminist.

I worked every summer, but I still needed student loans to make ends meet during the school year. What’s more, I was able to pay off my student loan within one year of graduating, because in those days, a university degree was the ticket to a good job, a ticket that was still being honoured by the postwar social contract — a social contract that promised each generation we would live better, more secure lives than did our parents. That is, until the present generation.

Now, I’ve spoken in this House before about the previous government’s infatuation with neo-liberalism and their obsession with deregulation, privatization and program cuts that so deeply deepened inequality and unravelled social cohesion in this province. Today, I’d like to talk about one way that legacy is playing out in my community.

Burnaby North is home to the British Columbia Institute of Technology. BCIT trains experts, innovators and professionals who shape our economy. Just last week, BCIT was the first Canadian post-secondary institution to win the Envision Gold award for sustainable infrastructure. Apprentices in the trades program who worked on the winning project clocked 6,900 hours.

Students in forensic nursing learn how to see the signs of human trafficking. Engineering students anticipate the future by working on such things as highway design that will be ready for driverless cars. The centre for rehabilitation engineering has developed technology that can tell when an injured police dog is ready to go back to fighting crime, because a working dog can’t tell them when they’re healed.

[11:55 a.m.]

These are just a few examples of the important work going on at BCIT every day. Think of all the life-saving, world-saving ideas yet to be researched, tested and put into practice, but only if students can afford to continue with their studies.

Student loans make post-secondary education possible for many students. Like Sam says, in their own words: “When I started at BCIT, I was working at the same time to pay for all the bills. I ended up performing at an average level and wasn’t able to participate in the activities that were providing opportunities to other students. But once I got a student loan, my grades improved, and I was able to participate in extracurricular activities that increased my confidence.”

As Maria said: “Student loans are such a gift for those of us who don’t have extra money for university. But with interest, they can become an unmanageable burden so quickly.”

Interest on student loans is a burden students shouldn’t be expected to bear. My generation found that post-secondary education was a great equalizer. It opened doors we would never have been able to walk through without the assistance of student loans. Interest on student loans slams those doors in the faces of students today — students who just might be the future Jonas Salk, who invented the vaccine against polio that we heard about earlier today; or Josephine Cochrane, who invented the dishwasher; or Marie Curie, without whom radiation treatments to fight cancer wouldn’t be possible.

Let’s make student loans interest-free.

J. Routledge moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. C. James moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

Mr. Speaker: This House stands adjourned until 1:30 this afternoon.

The House adjourned at 11:57 a.m.