Orders of the Day

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

[2:30 p.m.]

[R. Leonard in the chair.]

Budget Debate

(continued)

R. Merrifield: It’s truly a privilege to rise in this place to represent the extraordinary people of Kelowna-Mission.

As I watched the Finance Minister deliver her budget speech, I reflected just on the amount of work that it takes to prepare that budget document. I want to acknowledge, first and foremost, the staff that worked tirelessly to assemble our provincial budget, and I thank them for their efforts on behalf of B.C.

I knew not to expect a true budget, one that was detailed and attached to financial statements and predictions, one that could be read in a comprehensive and thoughtful way, one that you would expect from any company in the private sector. It’s really more of a communications exercise.

This communications exercise, known as Budget 2022, completely missed the conversation that British Columbians are having, the conversations that happen outside of these walls and are far more important, sometimes, than the ones happening inside — ones like the cost of living and inflation, COVID and what happens next, and fear.

You see, people can’t afford groceries right now. People can’t afford to fill their gas tanks. People can’t afford clothing for their kids. Even as I stand here today, it’s a difficult time in history to even deliver a speech like this, because while we might sit here in the comfort of this House and its walls, there’s a war going on outside.

This budget communicated absolutely nothing towards the conversations that are happening outside. This budget was not about making life more affordable for British Columbians. If anything, it actually promised that life is about to get more expensive. Let’s hope this is yet another promise broken by the NDP government, but I fear that it won’t be in this tax-and-spend budget.

You see, British Columbians were told that it will get more expensive with the addition of three new taxes: a brand-new tax on online marketplaces, increasing taxes on used-car sales and increased taxes on the purchase of home heating systems that use fossil fuels, like natural gas furnaces.

When questioned about the announced used-car tax, the minister shrugged it off as “closing a loophole.” Well, the minister can call it closing a loophole, but if all you can afford is a used car, this tax prevents you from getting a good deal. Ding-ding. This tax is going to cost British Columbians $30 million annually and affect the lower socioeconomic groups in greater measure. Those are the NDP’s words, not mine.

Or what if you’re unable to afford the conversion to electric heat? Now you’re going to have to pay more for natural gas. And this is huge. Home heating systems that use fossil fuels — natural gas, for example — will have their sales tax increased from 7 percent to 12 percent. Ding-ding. Ring up another $9 million annually from the taxpayer.

Or what if you can only buy used products because you can’t afford new? What if your online marketplace is literally your lifeline? But now? Now you’re going to be taxed on goods that were already taxed. Ding-ding, another $100 million annually out of the pocket of the taxpayer.

[2:35 p.m.]

It’s very important to remember at this point that there is only one taxpayer. There aren’t any new budget items that make life more affordable for the taxpayer — just the opposite.

Surely this NDP government is going to address the cost of housing. They promised, twice. Nope, not in this budget. There’s nothing to help people desperate to buy a home as prices skyrocket except for the NDP praying for high interest rates and — get this — a slowdown in housing starts.

Think about that for a moment: a slowdown in housing starts. What? We have a massive supply issue that the minister finally acknowledged, and we want housing starts to slow down. How are we going to house the 40,000 new immigrants that are coming? It’s exactly the opposite of what we need. So the NDP’s housing plan is based on what — hope, prayer?

In the Central Okanagan, the average price of a single-family home is now over $1 million; last year, $829,400; and in 2019, it was $667,700.

This NDP government would love to blame that on the B.C. Liberals and our time in government — which I like to call “squirrel” — but it’s not. I’d like to remind us all that in 2001, our economy was in the tank. Housing prices hadn’t risen in many, many years, not because B.C. wasn’t a desirable place to live, but because you couldn’t find a job, because no one wanted to buy a home, because nobody wanted to live in B.C. In fact, Alberta was the No. 1 place for net in-migration.

It took us five or six years to actually get an economy back up and running, but once we did — yes, housing prices have taken off. This NDP government promised to fix them, in 2017, and promised again to fix them in 2020. So I would ask: is this what the NDP considers success?

When I started my election campaign in September of 2020, I got together a young group of individuals from our local college and university. I asked them: “What do you want from your elected officials? What do you want from government?” One said: “I will vote for whoever lowers my rent.” I said: “Really? That’s where you’re going to stop — lowering rent? What about housing? What about overall housing and opportunities in housing?”

This group of 20-something-year-olds said it’s no longer a dream. They no longer believe. They are simply hopeless when it comes to housing. Now, at that time, average house prices weren’t $1.1 million, as they are today. So is this what the NDP considers success — hopeless generations of university students? No, the NDP consider it revenue.

Richard Zussman: “…High revenues are driven in part by the double-edged sword of housing. Buying a home has beyond increasing unaffordable while the increase in property transfer tax continues to support the province’s bottom line.” The NDP are profiting from the housing market. Last year the NDP collected more than $3 billion in revenue from home sales through the property transfer tax.

Where is the NDP’s promise of 114,000 new homes after five years? Well, it’s about 5,000 actually open and occupied. At this rate, it will take the NDP over 100 years to open up all of those affordable units. Renters are still waiting for the $400 rebate that was promised in 2017 to help cope with soaring rental rates. But this promise was also made in 2020, so that’s a promise made twice, a promise broken twice.

Then there’s just British Columbians that want to go to work, that want to build and grow and afford a life and get ahead and make ends meet.

[2:40 p.m.]

We know that in order to be serious about rebuilding the economy post-COVID, we must get both parents into the workforce, because without both of them working, they’re not going to make it. Without an affordable and accessible child care plan, it is not possible.

Door-knocking a year ago, the number of parents that I talked to…. Some had tears streaming down their face, begging for child care spaces, begging for a space. They’re desperate to find child care and get back into the labour force. These are highly trained, qualified professionals who are opting out and staying home because they can’t find a daycare space. Why don’t we have child care to help them? Has this government kept its promise from back in 2017 for $10-a-day daycare? Nope, $10-a-day daycare is not here when people need it the most.

In fact, children born when the NDP formed government will likely age out of child care before they’re eligible for any supports, but the story also just keeps changing. Now it’s not $10-a-day; it’s $20-a-day-average child care funding. It doesn’t take a math wizard to figure out that an additional 5,000 spaces on top of 6,300 net new spaces that we have opened doesn’t even touch the 25,000 spaces that are needed today or the 40,000 children that are born every single year in B.C. We are so far behind. We’re not going to catch up at this pace, but that’s if they could actually open 5,000 new spaces.

Mark my words: this government isn’t even going to come close. So how are we going to take care of our kids? Well, how important is education to this NDP government? Schools? Not in this budget. This budget doesn’t have anything more than a proportional increase relative to the increase in the number of kids. What? That doesn’t make any sense. We’re already overcrowded.

Stephanie Higginson, BCSTA president:

“We’ve called on the province to fund the cost of portable classrooms for some time, and we are disappointed to see this request ignored. We’ve also asked for assistance with the cost of maintaining aging buildings and are concerned that this cost pressure remains for boards of education…. Without a recognition of the cost pressures faced by school districts, we will have to make difficult decisions at the board table instead of investing in the innovative educational programs students deserve.”

In my riding, we are at the breaking point of overcapacity. Schools are bursting at the seams with portables at brand-new schools. When we’ve introduced cutting-edge, thoughtful, amazing, un-siloed approaches that could actually enhance schools, enhance affordability in my community, we’re met with: “Oh no, that’s not how we do it.” Does this budget address that? Does this budget address actually dealing with the overcapacity? Nope, not at all.

This budget isn’t even engaged in the conversation. When it comes to what’s happening outside these walls, when it comes to inflation, when it comes to the cost of living — it doesn’t matter if it’s child care, if it’s housing or if it’s education — this budget completely ignores it. But it even goes so far as to exacerbate it.

Teri Mooring noted a number of concerning omissions from the budget. It “disproportionately affects disabled students and learners with diverse needs. No meaningful changes to address the systemic underfunding of inclusive education to support equitable access and outcomes for students with disabilities and diverse needs.”

I can’t ignore the voices that are on our lawn from parents with autistic children — demanding, begging, pleading, sobbing — asking government just to keep the system that is in place, in place. Sure, expand it. Sure, get rid of the knotholes in terms of the actual diagnosis, but please do not take away their funding. What does this budget do? It’s actually going to spend $114 million just to make the transition happen.

[2:45 p.m.]

That’s not on funding for kids. That’s not on their special needs. So what is this government spending on? Well, they’re forecasting a $5.5 billion deficit in 2022, of which $3 billion is in contingencies. This is despite Budget 2021 promising a “specific timeline, approach and plan” to balance the budget. There’s no path to a balanced budget. Oh, wait. This is just another broken promise.

So what replaces the promise? Taxpayer-supported debt. Well, that’s expected to grow by $29.1 billion over the fiscal plan, nearly $6,000 per British Columbian. That’s a $6,000 credit card bill per person, one that they didn’t ask for and didn’t choose.

If this budget is talking about lowering the cost of living, it must be laying out the road map for economic recovery, right? Spoiler alert: it isn’t. Rather than show British Columbians how we’re going to get back to normal and see our economy grow, this budget is mute and not involved in the conversations happening outside of the walls.

We have an economic plan that was finally released after five years in government, and it’s nothing more than recycled promises and a plan to plan. Well, let me tell you: that doesn’t work. Rather than try to stimulate the private sector economy and restore dreams for our next generation, this budget is all about government bloat and overhead.

Fiona Famulak, who is the CEO of the B.C. Chamber of Commerce, says it is “disappointed that the government did not take steps to address the high operating costs associated with doing business in British Columbia, some of which are the result of government policies.” This budget was an opportunity for government to help businesses navigate through and beyond a very difficult two years. The opportunity was missed.

We’ve got $7.2 billion, though, in general operating contingencies that’s been included over the fiscal plan for public sector bargaining and caseload growth. However, no negotiating mandate has been published. The StrongerBC economic plan? Well, that only got $11 million in direct funding last year. That’s less than the Premier’s office.

There’s no relief for key competitiveness issues facing businesses. There’s no employer health tax relief, despite other provinces taking action to reduce theirs. There’s no action on split assessments. There’s no relief for energy-intensive, trade-exposed industries, which provide good jobs and stable revenue for the province — oh, yeah — and bring wealth that helps to fuel things that we love, like health care, our environment and our social infrastructure.

This government brags about how great our recovery has been, how many jobs are back and how strong we are, but I would beg to differ. If our economy wasn’t built on the back of the taxpayer through government bloat, well, we’d have revenues to match. We’d have revenues that are going up, not going down, in our industries and in our revenue generators and not through additional taxes but through corporate personal taxes.

We’d have a surplus if we were the strongest, like other provinces, but instead, this government is predicting more public sector jobs, rather than stimulating the private sector and creating real jobs. Ding-ding, another $12 million bill. Oh, I am mistaken. A $12 billion bill for our poor taxpayer. So there are now over half a million taxpayer-funded public sector jobs, up 116,000 people, a 30 percent increase. Private sector? It hasn’t recovered yet.

How about more trades to help lower the cost of construction and help with housing affordability? Nope. That’s not part of this government’s conversation. They aren’t talking about it. In fact, that’s where they’re cutting from, because despite there being a one-million-jobs shortage over the next decade, the ITA budget for training investments is actually decreasing by $8 million over the course of its fiscal plan.

What else are people outside of these walls talking about? Fear, and what getting back to normal looks like.

[2:50 p.m.]

We’re desperate for more capacity in our hospitals and are concerned that it’s not enough. That was certainly made evident in the last two years of the pandemic, but in the last year, we’ve seen no investments in more ICU beds. Our ICU beds almost shut down our entire society. Last year the budget had $250 million extra for surgical renewal, and we did 12,648 less surgeries than the year before. This year we’re going to put $300 million into surgeries. How many less will we do this year?

Have the front-line workers been asked about what they need, about how they would solve the problems? How about getting more family physicians? There are 800,000 unattached patients in B.C., and there’s nothing in this plan to get more. Each and every single week, my office and I are contacted by people desperate to find a family physician. We have a lot of future promises that aren’t even going to address the needs of today.

The Richmond Hospital has been delayed from 2029 to 2031, despite promising shovels in the ground from the NDP in 2021. The Surrey hospital has had only $2 million spent on planning, and it’s estimated to be open at the same time as St. Paul’s, which is 2027. But don’t worry about it, because the Surrey hospital, the second hospital, only has 168 beds, and there’s no additional ICU capacity.

Despite promises of a Kamloops cancer centre, it’s now just in preliminary planning, according to the budget, with no funding or timelines to be seen. That’s just one small part of the cancer needs of our province. You see, we’ve been promised a ten-year cancer plan for the last three years, but we don’t have one yet. I can tell that you in Kelowna our cancer centre was built in the early ’90s and is in desperate need of just a simple renovation.

Yes, we also need more people, more equipment and more capacity. Do you know why? It’s because the conversation, outside these walls, is about the fact that one out of every two people is going to have cancer in their lifetime. Are we ready? No, not even close. Is this what causes us fear? For sure. People are not getting taken care of. They’re not getting their surgeries. They’re in a holding pattern, waiting.

I have constituents that have been delayed surgical times, four times, after having a date. When I reached out to one of them last night, she responded back to me: “I am in a constant holding pattern, waiting for the cancer to get me.” Does anxiety grow in the absence of communication? Absolutely.

Do you know what else grows, especially after social upheaval, isolation, division and uncertainty? A mental health tsunami. Yes, it manifests as we lose British Columbians every month to opioid addictions, but it’s also about the mental health illnesses in our youth — eating disorders, depression, anxiety. The only increase to the Mental Health and Addictions budget is for communications and advertising. It’s the same amount of money that could be actually used for 200 treatment beds.

Treatments are where the real conversation is happening. Out there — outside of these walls, at the UBCM, the Urban Mayors Caucus — well, they’re screaming for treatment beds. This NDP government had better deliver more than a communications plan. They need to get into the conversation about complex treatment facilities and mental health supports. My riding is one. We’re desperate, and we have not seen one funded.

If we choose not to act, the stakes are too high. We’re going to continue to lose our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, dear friends and co-workers — and not just today, because the mental health tsunami in our youth is our overdoses of tomorrow.

Well, I’ve heard a lot of fancy speeches in the last little while about the environment and our environmental plan and how much money this NDP government is spending on it. It’s not the conversation that happens outside these walls.

[2:55 p.m.]

Outside these walls, we talk about the cost of living, the fear, disaster and calamity. We talk about 500 lives lost. We talk about wanting to get through COVID, and this budget isn’t talking about our environment. The big number the government likes to tout is the $1 billion in new funding to continue existing CleanBC measures and implement new initiatives identified in the road map. But a lot of it is just about moving money, like axing CARIP and now adding $76 million over three years to establish a new local government climate action program.

At this time, there’s no timeline provided as to when this is coming. When is it going to be up and running? The funding for this program falls under the communities and land base bucket. What about urgency, priority? If you’re spending money — right? — that makes it a priority.

Well, the performance measures under CleanBC are not about urgency. For the current year, the target for emissions is 7 percent below 2007 levels and then 10 percent the next year. This NDP government promised and bragged about being at 40 percent below by 2030, but it’s unclear how this will accelerate to that point over the next eight years when we’re just at 7 percent this year.

Additionally, in the discussion part of the implementation of the CleanBC Roadmap, it’s itemized that 2030 policies have not begun. But planning and consultation…. What? This NDP government was a year late in getting the road map out, and they still have yet to implement anything. But we did add a tax to those that are already not able to afford anything more, while giving breaks to those that can afford expensive electric vehicles.

There is money to help with the rebuilding of communities, but Professor Jean Slick from Royal Roads University says the B.C. climate change initiative needs to look further than recovery: “What we really want to see going forward is that we take action to stop creating disaster risks.” But there isn’t money for that.

Speaking of urgency, the money that is in this budget for B.C. wildfire services came out of a report in 2018, finalized in 2019, planned for in 2021 and, now, funded in 2022. One can assume that this was actually because of the fires in 2017-2018 but was not ready in time to help us through the fires of 2021. So now we’ve spent another $649 million in 2018 and $881 million last year of unbudgeted amounts to fight these fires — never mind the pollution that these created and the money to recover from them.

I’m not saying that we shouldn’t spend this money to help those communities who are devastated by these fires. But I would argue that if this NDP government had done its job, we wouldn’t be spending so much on recovery, and we could spend more on climate change planning and resiliency. No urgency or priority or action from this government — lip service.

In Kelowna, we want to get back to normal. But people are full of fear and angst, not about what wearing a mask looks like or not having vaccine passports anymore but about what our economy is going to become and if we have any reserves if there is a World War III. My constituents care about the economy, about driving an actual plan for recovery. My constituents care about mental health and getting treatment facilities and complex care facilities for those that need it.

My constituents care about health, getting critical surgeries and cancer treatments done, having a family physician while planning for the future. My constituents care about having affordable and accessible child care. My constituents care about the environment and not choking from smoke. My constituents care about being together and removing division. My constituents care about the cost of living and inflation and having a responsible government. My constituents care about hope.

We don’t have any margin right now. The margin has all been spent. The surplus that was left for this government is long gone, and this NDP government isn’t planning to have any in the future.

[3:00 p.m.]

Rather than join the conversation about the cost of living, economic recovery, mental health, environment, health care or child care — the conversations that are happening outside of these walls — what do we have? Pretty speech that is as deep as the page it was written on by the communications department.

This budget proves that this government doesn’t want to engage in the real conversation of life happening outside these walls. Worse, this NDP government isn’t listening to the conversations that are taking place outside these walls, even the ones that are on our front steps. It’s time to listen. It’s time to take action. It’s time.

Thank you for the time today to represent the riding of Kelowna-Mission and all of the amazing people within it.

Deputy Speaker: Recognizing the Minister of Education.

Hon. J. Whiteside: Well, thank you very much, Speaker. Nice to see you in the chair there. It is such an honour today to stand before you today in strong support of our government’s Budget 2022 as the MLA for New Westminster, as B.C.’s Minister for Education and soon to be the Minister of Education and Child Care.

There is a lot to celebrate in this budget and in our government’s plan to build a stronger British Columbia for everyone. We are supporting people now while building the strong foundation for a strong recovery. This includes record investments for children and youth in our education system.

I say that indeed this budget is about helping people now, about setting our province up for a strong economic outlook as we come out of the pandemic. I want to start, just for a moment, by talking about how I see these choices play out. Indeed, budgets are about making choices, and we will always choose people and their communities. I see how that rolls out in my own community of New Westminster, which has, as many communities across the province, come together to support each other through the pandemic. New Westminster is a beautiful, resilient community.

I wanted to talk about how our government has been there to support people and communities and businesses in my local community and how inspiring it’s been to see how everyone has come together. Whether it’s been through COVID support for small and medium-sized businesses….

I want to say that more than 100 businesses in New Westminster were able to benefit from that program. I want to thank the Downtown Business Improvement Association, the uptown business improvement association, the folks at the River Market and the chamber of commerce for their support of businesses in New Westminster during this extremely challenging time.

I’ve seen, as well, how our community has come together and how our government has supported not-for-profit organizations, community-based organizations, whether in the arts or organizations that deliver services, to provide services to people. Those organizations have also appreciated the support and the relationship that we’ve had over the course of the pandemic.

I think about organizations like New West Family Place and their team, led by Dana Osiowy, who is so passionate about the work that they do, providing services for children and families. Dana will tell you that it’s all about the early years. They are so passionate about providing the opportunity for kids and families to come together — whether it’s outdoor play sessions, whether it’s the beautiful new space they’re using in the Massey Theatre for drop-in for kids and parents, whether it’s all of the parenting support that they provide for parents and children.

[3:05 p.m.]

They really know that it is all about the early years. What Dana said is that the early years are so much more than just child care. It is about having a government that has entrenched the importance of the early years and the incredible early childhood educators who are doing this work and really supporting the development of those services and the workforce that’s providing those services.

I can tell you that my great-niece and goddaughter, Abby, who is just 14 months, has started to go to the drop-in centre and absolutely loves the opportunity to engage with the other children. I know that these programs made a huge difference for parents during the pandemic.

I also wanted to, at the other end of the age continuum, just talk about some of the other important services provided by groups like the Seniors Services Society. Now, they have been providing…. As we know, seniors were particularly impacted by the pandemic. Organizations providing services to seniors had a really difficult time pivoting and continuing with their important work of providing connection, fighting isolation of seniors throughout the pandemic.

The Seniors Services Society has continued to help assist seniors with improving their digital literacy so that they could participate in connecting with the outside world via Zoom and other online platforms. They’ve continued to help with housing navigation, with outreach. They were able to outfit their vehicles so that they could continue to safely support grocery shopping and meal delivery to seniors.

They’re expanding the work that they do under the SHINE program, the Seniors Housing Information and Navigation Ease programming, which will support directly, at the Ross Towers project in New Westminster, services for seniors, including light housekeeping, meal delivery, a shuttle bus, support calls. All of these are really important services that try to support seniors to stay in their own homes and also prevent the isolation.

Whether it’s direct-service providers or not-for-profits or organizations like the Lookout Society and the Purpose Society, who are key organizations on the ground providing affordable services, working with government on making sure that those with low incomes, those people who are homeless, have the services and supports that they need….

Whether it’s those organizations, or groups like the Fraser River Discovery Centre that provide such an important focus on one of the most important natural resources, economic resources, that we have in the province…. That is the Fraser River. The Fraser River Discovery Centre supports our knowledge. They are interested in environmental stewardship, and they perform a very important educational role in the community by teaching children, youth, families and everyone in the community about the importance of the river.

The common thread throughout what happens in my community and what I see directly in my community is that the investment that this government makes in people is definitely translated into this strong resiliency on the ground. I think we really see that in terms of our government’s investments in education as well.

We all know that at the heart of any great community is a great school, a great school with a great team of staff, with educators who are beloved by their students, where communities can really come together. We heard about that a little bit earlier when the member for Courtenay-Comox was talking about the work of the school district in her community and about the welcome centre. Many schools now have welcome centres that work to build outreach with newcomers to their communities.

[3:10 p.m.]

That is, I think, a very important thread through all of this. That is the relationships that are built in community that support people, whether they’re already in a community or whether they’re newcomers. We see those schools using an emphasis on not just being a place of learning and intellectual development but also providing that very important role of being a community hub — being the heart of a community.

We know that schools are certainly places of intellectual development, but they are also really important places of mental and emotional support for children and youth. They can be safe havens for children where they also access food and mental health supports and where they grow, learn, thrive and achieve their best. Schools are places where students are mentored and begin their journey in life.

I want to take a moment just to recognize the incredibly important work that the staff in our schools do, from teachers to educational assistants to clerical workers and bus drivers; custodians and maintenance workers; the principals and the vice-principals; district administrators; and of course, the trustees, as well, on our boards of education — the role that parents play through the DPACs; the role, also, that rights holders play in our education system.

I mean, it takes a village, for sure. It takes a strong team of dedicated professionals to make our education system among the best in Canada and the world. I want to thank them not only for their extraordinary work during the pandemic but also for their ongoing leadership in classrooms and school communities.

I think particularly, really, about the challenges that we have been through collectively, in British Columbia and Canada and, now, in the world. We have had some very dramatic and traumatic experiences, whether it is the uncovering of unmarked graves on former residential school sites or whether it is the war unfolding in Ukraine right now. All of those situations show up in classrooms, because kids have questions.

Kids may feel insecure about the news that they hear and about events unfolding close to home and far away from home. Schools play a very important role. Educators and staff play a very important role in providing assistance in kids interpreting, understanding and feeling safe about the events around them. So I’m particularly grateful for the work that I know is going on in schools across British Columbia, as school staff and educators are supporting children and youth to understand what is happening globally today.

I am so proud of the work that our government is doing to build new schools; to strengthen our programs; our commitments around diversity, anti-racism and mental health; and to enhance child care programs within schools. These important investments are moving forward and have moved forward despite the incredible challenges placed on our schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, I would say that an investment in children and youth and our education system is a critical part of how we build back better in a post-COVID world.

Over the past year, we have navigated the pandemic. We have adapted to the new challenges across our system. Throughout, we have been united. We have been united in an understanding that keeping kids connected to their schools and connected to their teachers and to the staff is critical. So we prioritized in-class learning for students, because we know how important it is, not only for their intellectual growth but because of their mental and emotional well-being and because of the important connection to programs and supports that they access through schools.

[3:15 p.m.]

We worked with all of our partners across our education system to ensure that a range of supports and health and safety plans were front and centre so that students could continue to learn safely in schools. We know the sacrifices that everyone has been making this year and over the last two years. Those sacrifices will have such a long-term, positive impact on students, because we were able to keep our schools open and keep them safe.

I think that probably one of the things that characterizes our collective experience in the pandemic the most is a sense of uncertainty. I know that for many students and families, school was one of the only constants and their only sense of normalcy. The importance of that we saw reflected in work done by the BCCDC in an assessment of the impact of that short period of time in the early days of the pandemic when we closed schools for a short time. But we saw the analysis of the negative impacts of school closures on children and youth repeated in study after study, in Canada and internationally. So that sense of stability and normalcy was absolutely critical to maintain.

Students in British Columbia have spent more time learning in class than their peers across the country during this pandemic. That is due to the extraordinary work of staff on the front lines of our education system, the support from advocates and trustees and parents, and we all owe them more than a huge thank-you for their work in making that possible, because that is going to make all of the difference in the future for this generation of kids who have experienced this pandemic.

Of course, to support all of that required significant investments. So we did make significant investments in schools to make sure our system was supported to do this work. Beyond the operating and capital investments that you will see in Budget 2022, we’re also working with school districts to ensure that they’ve used the 2021 COVID relief funding to, indeed, hire the additional staff, make the improvements to ventilation, support remote learning where it has been needed and to increase the cleaning protocols in schools. That was all really important work that was supported with significant investments from the federal government and from our government.

In fact, before the pandemic even began, our government had invested $50 million to support HVAC and ventilation upgrades and improvements to the infrastructure of our schools. Since the pandemic started, we’ve invested $114.5 million to support school districts in upgrading ventilation in thousands of classrooms across British Columbia.

Just recently we made additional funding available to school districts to implement targeted improvements with a focus on deploying portable HEPA filtration units in classrooms that don’t have access to mechanical ventilation systems. Just to give you a sense of how districts are using those resources, we had the Richmond school district purchase 293 HEPA units; Burnaby school district purchased 350; and in the Central Okanagan, school district 23 used funds to assist with utility costs, filters and system controls. We have been there to support these important investments directly around dealing with the pandemic.

As we continue to support school communities, Budget 2022 ensures that our K-to-12 education system will have the highest-ever school operating funding. Budget 2022 ensures that our education system also has the highest-ever budget of $8.2 million to support students and invest in schools and child care. It transfers the responsibility for child care from the Ministry of Children and Family Development to the Ministry of Education to become the Ministry of Education and Child Care on April 1, 2022, and I’ll talk a little bit more about that in a bit.

[3:20 p.m.]

I want to say that our funding commitments to the operating, to the capital, investments in our schools, to child care…. Our investments in Budget 2022 hit a record level of $27.3 billion over three years. That is a direct investment in the children, the youth, the communities of our province. That includes the move of $2.259 billion in operating funds for child care programs over the next three years.

I think we all know that, really, education is about people. About 90 percent of what we spend in our education system is related to people — to teachers, to education assistants, to support staff and all of the staff who provide the education and deliver the services.

Government is providing school districts with $511 million over the next three years for enrolment growth. In Budget 2022 alone, there’s $250 million more for funding of public schools compared to last year. Our government’s budget includes funding boosts to expand early learning and on-site school child care programs to the tune of $105 million in increases in child care funding. Overall, our government’s budget offers record high investments at a time when students and staff are looking to us for steady leadership, for ongoing and increasing financial stability, for the supports that they need so that they can be launched for the most success possible in their lives.

There are a number, of course, of…. It’s been discussed here, and it’s clear that we know the pandemic is taking a toll on the mental health of students and staff. We have been there to support them and will continue to be there to support them. Our government’s budget this year includes $2 million, through multi-year funding, to continue to support critical student mental health initiatives in schools, building on our $5 million investment in mental health funding provided in 2021 and our $24 million equity of opportunity supplement provided to school districts to support children and youth with mental health needs and those living in low-income families.

Our mental health in schools strategy embeds mental health and substance use programs and services for students throughout the education system and expands on Pathway to Hope, our government’s strategy to transform mental health and substance use care for children and young people. Navigating the pandemic has been, no question, challenging for everyone in B.C., and we know there have been impacts on everyone’s health. Our province also offers a range of supports that all education staff can access to help with anxiety, stress and worry, including free access to phone-based supports, with a counsellor network, through the B.C. COVID-19 Mental Health Network.

What happens in terms of how we can provide such wonderful education and supports to students? Well, we need the infrastructure. We need the schools, the places to do that. Indeed, the places in which students learn are critical to their intellectual stimulation but also to supporting their mental and emotional well-being.

The places in which students learn are important to support student and staff safety as well. Our government continues to make historic investments in schools so that communities and families have access to the safe space they need to thrive. We continue to make record investments — $2.65 billion in provincial funding budgeted over the next three years for new and expanded schools, for seismic upgrades and replacements, maintenance programs, accessible playgrounds and property purchases for future schools.

Our budget’s three-year capital funding of $2.65 billion includes $1.3 billion for expansion and replacement projects that address enrolment growth and reduce portable use, $793 million to accelerate the seismic program and $554 million for routine capital to maintain and improve schools throughout the province.

[3:25 p.m.]

In the coming year alone, the ministry plans to invest a total of $930 million in capital funding, because we are building schools. We are providing safe spaces for children to learn. We are maintaining and improving existing schools. This amount is more than double what the previous government spent on capital prior to 2017.

If we look at how this investment plays out in a community like Surrey, where we know it has experienced dramatic growth over the last number of years, we continue to work to make investments in new and improved schools in that community. In fact, since September 2017, the Ministry of Education has approved more than $475 million in major capital projects in the Surrey school district, along with $85 million in routine capital spending to improve and maintain existing facilities for students and staff.

Over the last 11 years, student enrolment has increased 11 percent, from 65,000 students in 2010-2011 to 72,000 in 2021-2022 in the Surrey school district alone. That enrolment is expected to continue to grow at an average of more than 1,000 students per year for the next five years. Indeed, our government has been working very closely with both the city of Surrey and the Surrey board of education to make up for lost time, to build new and expanded schools where they’re needed.

Just last week the school district hosted the member for Surrey-Cloverdale to the official opening of Maddaugh Elementary, which has given more than 600 students a better place to learn. Two weeks before that, the school district held the official opening for the Grandview Heights Secondary school, which added 1,500 new student seats to South Surrey. For the first time in recent memory, the Surrey school district hasn’t had to purchase portables, either in the 2020-21 or 2021-22 school years, to manage enrolment growth. So, yes, capital investments in Surrey are working, will save the district millions in portable costs that they had to endure under the previous government.

Once complete, in 2025, projects funded by government since 2017 will have created 9,425 new student seats and resulted in the district not having to use approximately 380 new portable classrooms. Families in Surrey are seeing the results of this investment. We’ve had to play catch-up, but as Surrey continues to grow, we’re continuing to work with our partners to expand access to education in Surrey.

When it comes to the issue of climate change and the environment, which is very much on all of our minds and very much a priority for government, our investments through schools, again, come through. Our government’s priorities, again, you can see in how we are investing in education. In CleanBC, we are reducing pollution and powering our future and K-to-12 education by providing $23 million for the carbon-neutral capital program, which supports a wide variety of green and environmentally friendly projects in school districts, and $15 million for the bus replacement program, which is helping to bring more electric school buses to communities.

In May and June, we were excited to see the first electric school buses hit the streets in 13 districts, including Sooke, Vernon, Nanaimo and Ladysmith. Many more are coming in the months and years ahead. We’re also building schools to adapt to climate change. For example, the new secondary school in West Kelowna is being designed with future climate impacts in mind and will incorporate non-combustible materials in construction.

[J. Tegart in the chair.]

We are investing in accessible playgrounds, $5 million to build modern accessible playgrounds — already, through the playground equipment program, which has provided playground sites for 49,000 children, 200 playgrounds across the province.

These are all very important initiatives. I’m going to leave it to my fabulous other colleagues to comment on other areas of investment that we are making that improves communities, but I do want to make a comment about our government’s commitment to reconciliation and how that plays out in the work that we do in education and in our investments. We know that education has an important role to play in reconciliation.

[3:30 p.m.]

I was very struck when I had a chance to visit the Mill Bay Nature School in December in Mill Bay, close to Duncan, and see the work that we are doing, that educators are doing, on the ground with children to provide a sense of what reconciliation really looks like in a community. That school operates on the principle of Q’shintul, of walking together. They are in relationship in a very profound way with their natural surroundings and with each other and with the land — the First Nations on whose land they operate.

That has stayed with me in a really profound way. I think about that experience when I think about all of the work we’re doing: the 18 First Nations languages approved and taught in schools, the increase in targeted funding for Indigenous learners at $98 million, all of the work we did to support First Nations through COVID, all of the work we’re doing on supporting Indigenous education and also addressing anti-racism throughout our education system.

Through this budget, we’re supporting people now. We’re building the foundation for a strong recovery. Our investments in K-to-12 education and child care will set students up for success in school and in life. The leaders of tomorrow are in our classrooms today. That’s why this investment is so important for us.

I appreciate the opportunity to speak to the budget on behalf of my constituents and in my role in education. Thank you very much.

B. Stewart: It’s a pleasure to rise in this House again on such an important topic, the budget. This is the sixth budget that I’ve had the opportunity to observe as a member of the Legislative Assembly of B.C.

I guess the thing about it is that British Columbians, when they elected this government, had high expectations and hopes that things that were promised would be something that would come forward and be a part of the budget process. No doubt COVID has had an impact on some of those — the focus, etc. But I think that the fact that we’ve been at this a couple of years…. One of the things I think any good business or government would have is a very clear, precise strategy, knowing that there are certain achievables and measurables in terms of what it is that they’re trying to achieve.

If we go back…. We’re talking about the uncertainty that British Columbians face. It wouldn’t be appropriate to not talk about the uncertainty that the world is facing today with the crisis in the Ukraine and all of the people across British Columbia that were here on Saturday in Victoria. I think that there are certainly a lot of things we need to do in regard to that. The budget obviously isn’t about that, but I do think that it’s important to know that those people are looking for certainty. As best they can, they need to know the direction of their government.

I was reading some of the reports about their prime minister yesterday, and he really clearly is trusted by a lot of people. I see in the last election he garnered over 72 percent of the vote. I’m thinking that this is a person that resonates and strikes with people, and he actually does what he says. This is more challenging because he’s in a totally different situation than what we face here in British Columbia. But on the other hand, there is a responsibility for government to at least attempt to do what they say that they’re going to do.

I think that probably it’s pretty clear that in the 2017 election, which they were successful in, six budgets ago, they wanted to effect change and affordability. They immediately…. We heard it yesterday. We saw that the minister was talking about the fact that people that are foreign buyers are the problem: “So let’s increase the foreign buyer tax to 20 percent. Let’s add the speculation and vacancy tax. Let’s add the school tax. Let’s add more taxes so that we can make certain that we knock the stuffing out of those people that think that they should have a second home or be a foreigner that’s investing here in British Columbia, because they’re the ones that are taking.”

[3:35 p.m.]

We heard the numbers: 18,000 units that are now put back into the marketplace because of contracts or renting, etc. — 18,000. We have 60,000 people a year moving to British Columbia. We’ve got a refugee crisis in several places in the world, and we just opened up our borders today. We’re going to fast-track refugees, and no doubt many of them are going to find their way to British Columbia. Where are we going to put these people?

The problem with the budgeting process that the government uses is that it’s aspirational — a lot of words, a lot of talk about how we’re going to have not only the affordability but things that are going to help people being able to know that they can rebuild, get back to work, to being able to afford.

As a former Housing critic, I know that that seems like it’s unattainable. I can tell you, as somebody that started working a long time ago, it seemed like it was unattainable, but I was successful in gathering together enough for a modest down payment — albeit it was at a different point. I’ll tell you what, though: inflation was like what’s coming around the corner.

When I started working, inflation was in the teens. Wage and price controls existed. My first job, outside of jobs that I had during school work, which were modest…. I remember them telling me that my wages were going to be suppressed by this federal program of wage and price control. I only made $500 a month. You can only imagine how far that went. But I had a friend. We rented a place together, and I bought a car and bought my insurance on a payment plan. It’s what you do. The bottom line is that I got by, and I was successful enough to learn how to manage my money.

I was taken aback, looking at this budget and thinking about the aspirational promises and the amount of money that we’ve heard the previous member go on about, and there’s no doubt. The government is spending money; they’re spending tons of money. But one of the things that we have to look at is: are we getting the results? Are we getting the progress that we need in terms of the projects that they all talk about? Everybody wants to be part of that success.

Having been a former member of the executive council, of course I like the idea that we were going to have connectivity to every last place in British Columbia. I travel to some pretty remote places. Connectivity was different back in 2009, when I was first elected, to what it is today. Nobody talked about 5G. They didn’t even talk about 4G. They didn’t talk about the download speeds we’re talking about. It costs money, and I understand that we need that. That’s an infrastructure that I’m glad the government is continuing to add to.

I am concerned about the things that they’re not really addressing. As I drove to the airport last night, I couldn’t help but notice — because I’d been off the streets for a day or two — that the gas prices in my riding were, all of a sudden, almost at $1.70. I’m thinking: “$1.70? It was like $1.55 last week.” I know that in this House, we’ve had questions about surcharges on trucks bringing fuel from Alberta. We don’t want fuel.

Well, let’s be realistic here. We saw what happened in the November tsunamis that we had come through, and the fact that the TMX was down. No gas coming into the province from Alberta. We had to get it and import it from Washington state. We’re not self-sufficient. We don’t have the refining capacity. The bottom line is that it’s unrealistic. I know that there is an agenda about fixing things around emitting carbon and things like that.

I don’t think there’s anybody in this House that has spent as many days living in a polluted country like China, based in Beijing, going around and looking at what hap­pened in Japan after Fukushima, after they shut their nuclear reactors down. They shut 51 of 54 reactors down, just like that. These are reactions to things….

They want clean energy — don’t get me wrong — but they’re using what’s cheap. That happens to be just the soft coal that puts out high emissions. Now, we can clean that up for a cost. At least, I’ve been told that. I’m not an engineer. But I can tell you that the question from the member from Skeena earlier today was about expanding LNG. Well, you know what? LNG is a huge reduction in terms of their overall emissions.

[3:40 p.m.]

It doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re going to have cleaner output. We’re already a relatively…. I mean, we embrace electric cars. We embrace higher miles per gallon, better transit — even in a fairly low populous province like we have — but the situation is we’ve got to be realistic about what we can achieve and what we can’t.

If we can influence something like China or Vietnam or these other countries to suck up and use LNG in place of that…. And they will, because the bottom line is that there’ll be a limitation on where they can get coal, unless they want to buy it from places like Russia — which I’m sure that they’ll continue to sell, as a willing buyer, willing seller. The bottom line is that it is very much a part of what I think our cleaner energy plan should be.

I know that in this budget there’s a penalty against fossil fuels on heating devices. The advertising had even got to me. I had problems with my furnace in January. I’m surprised, because it’s a very high-energy-efficient furnace, but it was 26 years old. Needless to say, this furnace…. I had it explained by the technician. I thought we could just kind of keep replacing parts and keep it going. He said, “No. These are the things that wear in a furnace,” etc., and had to explain.

I said: “Well, okay. Should we look at a heat pump?” He said a heat pump will not work in this climate. I said: “Well, why not? I’m told that there’s rebates, etc.” This whole idea that I’m going to be able to save the planet by putting in a heat pump…. We hit minus 23½ at my house during the wintertime — colder than that at the Kelowna Airport, north of that, and I’m sure much colder in the Peace River and places like that. It is not a solution that’s practical. It’s idealistic.

It works in the Lower Mainland, where these tempera­tures work. It’s great because during the heat dome it would have given some of those people the ability to have cooling as well as heating, etc. I think it’s a great idea. But this is a big province, and the reality is that we’re sitting here talking about stuff that is not really practical for the climates that some of us in this province represent.

I know that we do want to make certain we address this. I know we have to build more resiliency. I think the government did a great job in kind of getting back to helping restore things in Sumas Prairie, on the Fraser Canyon and the Coquihalla. I know that the Speaker’s riding…. They have a very difficult situation. They have a whole highway that services five communities that’s been obliterated. It doesn’t exist. There’s nothing left. There are little patches, etc. How do you rebuild that? You have to go back to the drawing board, and you have to kind of find a new alternative. I don’t know what that is.

I do think that people were expecting in this budget, not only for their priorities and the government priorities, to have a clear strategic plan, but the one that continues to surface is the affordability crisis. The rising cost of housing…. I know on the weekend I was looking at some new rental units that have come on in my riding. They start at about $1,350 for a single bedroom and rising to about $2,000 for a three-bedroom, but there is availability. As I said before, when I first moved away from home, I was quite happy to share a trailer with two other working friends or whatever. We split it up, and we got by.

I do think that things that people really besides affordability…. Part of that is the affordability of child care. I know that the minister has made a lot of statements in this House about how affordable child care is going to happen, but it’s a big task. It’s not as simple as converting and putting it into the public school system, bringing early childhood educators in. The reality is you’ve got to have capacity.

The 60,000 people that are immigrating here every year, growing every year, are likely going to be people that need child care. They would love that, so that both parents could maybe work, make things a little bit affordable. The reality is that in the five years since this was promised, and now the sixth year, it looks like that we’re not getting $10-a-day daycare. It looks like that we’re getting closer to maybe $20-a-day daycare, and it’s for a fraction of the people that really need it.

[3:45 p.m.]

I empathize with them. When I found out what my daughter was paying for child care when she was raising her three daughters, I was shocked that it was over $2,000 a month. That kind of makes you wonder whether it’s worth working. She did question that. Anyways, they did get through it. There was help that we provided, whether it was daycare through my wife or other help, but the bottom line is that it’s one of those barriers to people being able to make ends meet. I think that it’s a good thing that they’re addressing it, but I think that their strategic plan is still out of sync with the reality of what they’re going to be able to deliver.

One of the things that British Columbians are really looking for…. I think that they don’t want slogans. They don’t want to be pitched or sold or whatever. People tire of that. What this budget doesn’t do…. It doesn’t bring the conclusion, in campaign promises that have been promised yet undelivered. You know, there are lots of things. I talk about child care, housing, transportation.

We’ve heard a lot about the fact that we’re going to have a new access to Delta, Tsawwassen and South Surrey. What we have is a delayed plan of a particular bridge that the government did not like or that somebody…. I know that they say the Mayors Council said that they don’t really like that. I’m thinking: “Well, the Mayors Council, of some of those communities” — I think there are about 30 of them in that group — “what interest do they have in that bridge for their communities?”

I don’t understand. Personally, if I were the mayor of Delta, Ladner or other places like that…. What about the border? What about the Peace Arch border? That is an important international access point for goods and services to get down into the state of Washington. We have other ones at Highway 15 and others in the Lower Mainland. However, we still need to have connectivity. We have not been able to eliminate truck traffic.

We soon found out, with the pandemic, that trucks, unfortunately, are part of the supply chain, and we need to have them unless we can find a way to electrify everything and have it so that those vehicles can run back and forth. Maybe there’s an increase in train traffic. I don’t know the answer.

The bottom line is that we know that goods and services and traffic and transportation are going to increase to Vancouver Island. That means that Tsawwassen is going to get busier. South Surrey is growing, with the Peace Arch border crossing, as well as some of these other things. I think the fact that the new tunnel hasn’t got anywhere, other than that we’re in the planning stage. We’ve got to go through an environmental assessment review, which is going to take time. I know that the government recently announced some investment in and around Steveston Highway. The big thing that people are looking for is: where’s the connectivity?

They would like to see, I think, the SkyTrain going from Richmond. It makes logical sense to go out that way, to get people out of their cars and get them into the SkyTrain. But I mean, is that going to be possible in a new tunnel? I know they have a transit lane. I think that we’ve seen the success of the Canada Line. I mean, I rode it within opening days, and I couldn’t believe the traffic counts were exceeded. They were even exceeded within days of opening, and the Evergreen Line….

The bottom line is that public transit works. We’ve got a barrier. We’ve got the agricultural land reserve. We’ve got the ocean. We’ve got the mountains. There are only so many places where communities can grow, and we need to have these investments. By delaying it, it not only, obviously, delays the connectivity, but it increases in costs. The fact is that people have to tolerate hanging out in a tunnel or merging into lanes and stuff like that.

I think that people are looking for results. After six years, you’d expect that we’d start ticking boxes: “We’ve got this school built. We’ve got this hospital built.” We don’t. They’re not happening. There’s lots of talk, but not much action in terms of delivering. I think that probably, when it comes to estimates, we’re going to be asking a lot of those questions — my colleagues, who are working on child care spaces; myself, on transportation; housing. We’re going to be asking those questions, because, look, you can’t be spending….

Do you know what the budget was prior to the 2017 election? The budget for this province was under $49 billion. Well, this budget is over $70 billion. That’s a staggering amount. What do we get for that extra $20 billion a year? I think the situation is that that’s what British Columbians are asking about.

[3:50 p.m.]

They don’t have the things that they were expecting — affordability, child care and these other things. Gas prices — now we have the highest gas prices in North America. I think that it does beg the question about: where is the money going, and why is it happening? Why is it not resulting in the result that we’re looking for?

Then we’ve got things that just drive people crazy. We’ve got three new taxes. That’s on top of the 23 that we had in the prior budgets. But anyway, we’ve got a tax on the online marketplace. As the minister described, it’s closing a loophole. But obviously, people are looking for affordability, shopping online.

I guess my question about the marketplace transactions is: is it going to be a situation that if we start buying at garage sales, they’re going to have to pay PST? Are we going to start having auditors running around and trying to capture that? I guess what we’re looking at is…. I think some of this is low-hanging fruit.

Increasing taxes on used car sales. Maybe there is a transactional difference. I don’t know how much is missing there, but I do think that the situation is that these are for the people. We heard the stories about the minivan that cost $10,000. The fact is that, “Hey, I got a deal,” or, “I got it from a friend,” or whatever. “They gave me a bit of a break.” All of a sudden, when they go to register it, the Black Book value is $11,000. “You now owe us X amount of provincial sales tax on that.”

I do think that this is a tax that’s directed at the wrong people. I think that if we’re talking about affordability, we should be looking…. Where are the other loopholes or gaps that we’re missing? I mentioned the home heating fuel one, which I think is completely founded on the basis that we’re going to have CleanBC.

I don’t think any one of us would not support having clean energy as something to augment or replace…. But the idea that we’re going to tax home heating fuels…. We saw the same thing when we brought the carbon tax in. I was here in 2009. I can tell you that the carbon tax was evil and was hated by the rural parts of British Columbia. My colleague Donna Barnett from the Cariboo loved to talk about the fact that everybody drives a pickup truck in Peace River and stuff like that. They do. They’re ranchers. They’re farmers. They work in the oil and gas industry and stuff like that. They’re already paying that.

We paused on that because when we were here, we had a deal with Washington, Oregon and California. We also had the hydrogen highway. The bottom line is that as soon as 2008 hit, they reneged. They backed out of the agreements that we had to have clean fuels and move ahead. But it was an attempt. We were investing in clean technology, but now we’re just jacking it up.

On top of it, as the member for Abbotsford West will remember, it was revenue-neutral. We returned that money, the carbon tax, back to people. We encouraged people to invest in their homes, to upgrade their windows, their roof, their insulation, etc. We did it for schools — the SUCH sector. We gave them money and resources out of that so that they could meet those targets and lower their emissions, and here we are. None of that exists. It’s all at the level of where the ministries and the government make a decision.

We should really look at this. Unfortunately, I think the fossil fuel tax and the idea of switching over to heat pumps is just one of those poorly thought-out…. It sounds great on paper. Probably works in the Lower Mainland, but it doesn’t work outside of Hope.

What about other tax revenue? I remember when, sitting in government, we were hoping to eliminate the property purchase tax. It was a goal. It was aspirational, but we wanted to do that. It was less than $1 billion. Last year, it brought in $3 billion into the province in the coffers. When government is spending over $5.491 billion more than they’re taking in on a $71 billion budget, and they’re getting revenue windfalls like this, I’m thinking that that’s a lot of spending without the results that I think people expect.

One of the things that has happened…. There has been a lot of talk about jobs. I didn’t see anything. I know there is some investment in the post-secondary education and an announcement at BCIT.

[3:55 p.m.]

One of the things that we need in a province — and part of the reason we have a housing crisis, in my opinion, is that we think of people that do land development and buildings and stuff like that…. It should be done by government, because they’re getting a profit out of it or something like that. I hate to tell you, but that’s the way a democracy works. They take that. They pay taxes. They invest in it. They buy more property, and that’s just the life cycle of that.

I think in the jobs sector we’ve seen the public sector grow by almost…. I think it’s 150,000 new public sector. We’re over a half-a-million public sector jobs. What about the private sector? We need immigration. We need people to come here. We need skills training, etc., and we need it now.

This budget could have addressed that in the sense that it should have been paramount that we were going to train more people, attract more people in to be not only the province that we can be, but the fact that people want to move here…. We’re building 40-some thousand homes a year. We need 60. We’re 20,000 homes a year short, just in terms of our overall supply demand. We can’t build more because there is not enough.

We just had legislation that came out that’s going to increase the responsibility. I did speak to that, about a couple of European craftsman. I talked about a fellow by the name of Zeljko Bizecki. He worked for me. His wife worked for me, and his son still works for me. His son has worked for me for 30 years, so he’s been around a while. He was a master craftsman, masonry craftsman.

The bottom line is, are we going to take that person, because he doesn’t have the red seal or some other certification, and just say: “Well, you know, you don’t cut it anymore.” I can tell you that this guy could put anybody that handles masonry products to shame. Anyways, I do think that was one of the areas that was a missed opportunity in this.

A couple of other things we haven’t seen. I have heard the members that know more about this, but I know that we’ve talked a lot about the fact that…. With autism and individualized care, we’ve talked a lot about the fact that family-centred care has worked, and it was something that was a change that we made. We do need to put more money. I don’t disagree with that.

The idea that we’re going to create hubs…. Well, if I happen to live in 100 Mile House, is there going to be a hub there? Or what if I live in 70 Mile? Or what happens if I live at some place like Sheridan Lake Ranch or something like that? I mean, there are all sorts of places. There are thousands and thousands of families that probably need access to that help, and they’re going to have to go to places. Maybe it’ll be in Williams Lake. Maybe it’ll be in Vanderhoof. Maybe it’ll be in Prince George.

The bottom line is that isn’t accessibility. The fact is that parents and families need to have access to that funding so that those children get a chance to make their way in life.

We heard about another thing, as we heard about the opioid crisis and the increase in mental health and addictions, and I’m sad to say even the mayor of Kelowna, who was on the Urban Mayors Caucus…. They wanted to bring complex care. The fact is that there are two in Vancouver, one in Surrey and one other in a fourth place. And the money that they’ve got is $8 billion more — for advertising? I just can’t quite understand that.

People that are in that…. We heard this on the financial service and government committee that I served on last year. We heard from all sorts of service providers. They said, clearly, that what they’re providing in terms of care is not enough to deal with the complex care needs that they have in their communities. We need to do something different.

I know the minister, during estimates, said that there was going to be super complex care coming out, and I’m hopeful that these ten will work. But I do think that we need to get on with it, because we can’t go from six people a day dying from opioids. We’ve got to find other ways to treat these people. We’ve got to make certain that they’re safe. I’m sure the government has heard lots about that, but let’s make certain that we bring results to the whole idea about this particular opioid crisis.

One of the things that was kind of late in the piece was the fact that in the budget, government had a holdback system, and as a minister, you only got this holdback if you delivered your budget within the parameters of what it was and the government balanced its budget. There was a couple of key things.

[4:00 p.m.]

Well, that wasn’t legislation that the B.C. Liberals brought in. That was Paul Ramsey back in 2000. He stood up, and he said that if this legislation didn’t pass, it was a vote of confidence, and they’d call an election. It did pass. It was good legislation, and it meant that you had to live within your means.

I think about a picture that’s in the Vancouver Sun today about a little girl that has three jars in a kitchen, and it’s got coins, and she’s got savings and toys and other funds, and she’s divvying up the way that she manages her money. I can’t help but think now that’s a good way to teach young people about managing it. I don’t see that that’s being practised on the government side, in the sense that we need to make certain that we’re balancing these things.

We’ve taken away that responsibility. That 10 percent holdback is now actually automatic if the government doesn’t balance its budget. We heard from the member for Kelowna-Mission talking about the fact that there’s no plan to get to balance. We’ve got three years of deficits, and as a minister, you’re going to be entitled to still collect your holdback. I do think that that’s just…. How does that incentivize you to get to that place where you’re thinking of the taxpayer money as if it was your own pennies that you were managing?

I do want to finish up. I do look forward to estimates in talking with the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure about his plans, knowing what the cost estimates are going to be on the roads. What’s it going to cost to rebuild Highway 8? When is it going to start? When are those people going to have their transportation issues resolved?

I do think there are many other things that we could talk about today, but I see that I’m running short of time. But I will finish with one quote. It has to do with the roadbuilders association. “We support local and diverse hiring, but preferred union mandate remains an unacceptable use of taxpayer dollars.”

J. Brar: It is a real honour for me to stand up in this House on behalf of the people of Surrey-Fleetwood and respond to Budget 2022. This budget reflects the choices government is making that are needed to build a stronger B.C. and make life better for people by investing in B.C.’s economic, environmental and social strengths.

I will come back to the budget in a couple of minutes, but first, I would like to convey my sincere thanks to the people of Surrey for electing me five times as their representative. That is certainly a rare honour for me and for my family. My heartfelt thanks to the people of Surrey-Fleetwood for giving me the opportunity to serve them and for putting their faith in me. I am just in this House because of the people of Surrey-Fleetwood.

My special thanks to my two staff members — Navneet Kahlon and Prab Sandhu — in my Surrey-Fleetwood constituency office and Paige Falkins in Victoria. They are exceptional people doing an excellent job serving the people of British Columbia and assisting me on a daily basis.

Last but not the least, thanks from the bottom of my heart to the love of my life, my friend, my adviser and my beautiful wife, Rajwant Brar, and to my daughter, Noor, and my son, Fateh, for their love and unconditional support to me during my political journey in service of the people of this beautiful province.

I also want to say that the people of Ukraine are under attack as we speak. I, with my colleagues, all members of this House, stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

[4:05 p.m.]

Coming back to the budget, I am proud to talk about Budget 2022, dedicated to building a stronger B.C. Over the last few years, British Columbians have been challenged in many ways we have never imagined. The investments our government has made in people — in health care, child care, Internet for rural and remote communities, and housing — are important building blocks that have supported British Columbians through the pandemic.

Budget 2022 reflects the choices government is making that are needed to build a strong B.C. and make life better for people by investing in B.C.’s economic, environmental and social strengths. This budget supports bold actions to fight climate change and to protect people and community from climate-related disasters. The budget helps with the cost of living by reducing child care costs and delivers a comprehensive approach to respond to and prevent homelessness.

This budget makes investments needed to close the digital divide and grow an inclusive, sustainable economy. The budget continues to strengthen the public services British Columbians rely on. As we continue to respond to the effects of the pandemic, we will be building on our strengths to prepare us for the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow.

B.C. is in a strong economic situation for recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and recent climate-related disasters. I would like to say thanks to Dr. Bonnie Henry and the Minister of Health for the best response to COVID-19 to keep our people safe and to build the confidence of British Columbians and the business community in our economy and social services, moving forward. Our economy is better today because, working with people, our response to COVID-19 remains the best in North America.

Budget 2022 is about building a strong economy for everyone. Our economic recovery plan is working. We are, indeed, building a strong economy for everyone. Under the B.C. Liberals, the economy was working for the wealthy and well-connected only, as they gave massive tax breaks to the wealthy and forced the middle-class people to pay more through bridge tolls, MSP premiums and ICBC rates.

We are building an economy that works for you and your family because an economy built for all is an economy built to succeed. Today B.C. leads Canada’s economic recovery with 100,000 more people working than when the pandemic started. Our unemployment rate is the lowest in Canada at 5.1 percent, and our job recovery rate is now 102.4 percent, compared to pre-pandemic levels.

B.C. remains the best place to do business in Canada. Employers are willing to pay more, because we have the best economy and a strong foundation to sustain a strong economy for a long time, such as affordable child care, a trained workforce and affordable housing.

As a result, wages are rising after a long, long time to make life better and more affordable for people. Businesses and people from within Canada and around the globe are moving to our province. They’re moving here.

[4:10 p.m.]

Last year alone 36,000 people moved to B.C. from other provinces — not from other countries, from other provinces. Never before have so many people moved to B.C. from other provinces. In fact, under the B.C. Liberals, British Columbians were leaving the province and moving to other provinces. That is a fact.

Our government has a vision for B.C.’s economic future: an inclusive, sustainable and innovative economy that works for everyone. Budget 2022 is making strong investments to ensure that people across B.C. are poised to benefit from sustainable economic and resource development, today and in the future. This includes investing in growing sectors like life sciences and supporting the recovery of sectors that continue to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, like tourism, non-profits, the arts, culture and the music sector.

Our strong B.C. economic plan makes life better today and prepares us for tomorrow. It builds off our strong economic recovery and moves B.C. forward, setting out to tackle two of our biggest challenges moving forward: inequality and climate change.

B.C. continues to lead Canada’s economic recovery, with 100,000 jobs added in just 2021. B.C.’s economy is strong, and forecasters show that it will continue to grow in the next decade. The province’s economy expanded by an estimated five points in 2021 and is forecast to expand by four points in 2022 and 2.5 in 2023. Those are the facts about our economy.

Budget 2022 continues to invest in affordable housing. I know that members have been talking about affordability, but during the 16 years, they have done absolutely nothing to make life more affordable for the people of British Columbia. I would like to hear what they have done during the 16 years.

People who live and work in B.C. should be able to afford a safe and secure place to call home. That lack of affordable housing is hurting people in B.C. and holding our province back. Housing affordability is a serious and deep-rooted problem. For 16 years, B.C. Liberals refused to build affordable housing, allowed massive rent increases and let dirty money and speculation drive up real estate costs. That’s what happened in B.C.

B.C. Liberals will double down on those bad choices that created these problems if given the chance again. Newly elected leader of the B.C. Liberals, Kevin Falcon, has frequently criticized our government policies…

Interjection.

J. Brar: And the member is clapping there.

…designed to tackle speculation to cool the market. During the leadership race, on September 28, 2021, he opposed the speculation and vacancy tax that has brought 18,000 rental units into the market in Metro Vancouver. Clearly, they haven’t learned any lesson from their past mistakes.

Our government is working hard to tackle the housing crisis by addressing speculation, closing loopholes, cracking down on fraud, making renting more secure and building more affordable homes for people across British Columbia. We put our Homes for B.C. plan in place in 2018 to work with partners to build 114,000 affordable homes for British Columbians, with an investment of $7 billion over ten years. This is the largest investment in affordable housing in B.C.’s history.

[4:15 p.m.]

Through our Homes for B.C. plan, more than 32,000 homes are completed or underway in communities across the province. I’m proud to say that we have more housing completed or underway in three years than the B.C. Liberals built in 16 years. That’s the record.

Budget 2022 builds on these investments with annual funding of more than $1.2 billion each year, three times the level of funding in 2017 under the previous government. To keep up with the thousands of people moving to our province and making sure businesses can find workers they need, we are continuing to accelerate our investment in building more homes people can afford. Because we know that communities need more homes for a range of incomes, we are providing more resources to accelerate the delivery of mixed income projects through the community housing fund, and rental and home ownership opportunities through the HousingHub.

We are funding supportive housing units for people at risk of homelessness. We are also making historic investments in housing for Indigenous people by funding homes both on and off reserve. We are committed to building affordable housing for the people of British Columbia.

Child care. Budget 2022 is once again making historic investment in child care. Child care must remain a core service, available to any family that wants it, when they want, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Affordable, accessible and quality child care is the key to building a strong society, and it remains the main focus of this budget. Since launching the Childcare B.C. plan in Budget 2018, government has invested $2.4 billion to build an affordable, accessible and high-quality child care system to ensure that families, especially women, can participate in the workplace.

Since 2018, government has funded more than 26,000 new licensed child care spaces — the fastest space creation in B.C.’s history. After signing a historic agreement with the federal government in 2021 to accelerate the development of the system, this budget makes further investments for more spaces. We are delivering 30,000 new spaces for child care under the age of 6 within five years and 40,000 within seven years. We are also creating more before-and after-school spaces, including nearly doubling the seamless day program from 24 to 44 school districts.

Budget 2022 brings B.C. closer than ever to government’s planned $10-a-day child care. Through a new agreement with the federal government, fees for full-day child care will be reduced by 50 percent — 50 percent — to an average of approximately $20 a day by the end of 2022. Budget 2022 builds on that investment by cutting average fees for preschool and before-and after-school care to less than $20 a day for the 2023-24 school year.

Our government is fully committed to providing affordable, accessible and quality child care. We are saving families more money as we move closer than ever to our planned $10-a-day child care.

This budget also provides $3.2 billion additional funding for health care. Public health care is the key to building a strong economy and strong community, making sure people can get health care when and where they need.

[4:20 p.m.]

Health care continues to be a key priority of this budget. This budget commits $3.2 billion over three years to build an even stronger health care and mental health care system for British Columbians, including funding for new urgent and primary care centres, speeding up emergency response time and supporting First Nations primary care centres to build services closer to home.

This budget builds on previous investments we have made to give people faster and better access to the day-to-day health care services they need. We’re opening new urgent primary care centres in communities across the province. We have already opened two urgent primary care centres in Surrey, and more to come moving forward.

Seniors are benefiting from better primary care, home care, long-term care and assisted living. Waiting times for hip and knee replacement surgery are falling, and the number of MRIs being done each year has increased by over 23 percent. We are continuing to fund the Pathway to Hope, with a $500 million investment to improve mental health and addictions care across the province. Health care is better because of our government’s investment of billions of dollars to improve services.

Keeping in time, I will go to my last segment first.

Budget 2022 is good for the people of Surrey. This budget reflects the choices the government is making that are needed to build a strong Surrey community, to make life better for people by investing and building new schools for our kids, extending the SkyTrain to Langley, replacing the unsafe Patullo Bridge, a new second hospital for patients and more. People of Surrey have made a lot of progress during the last four years, a lot of progress. We are putting the people of Surrey first and making different choices than the previous government.

For 16 long years, the B.C. Liberals refused to build affordable housing, public transit, new schools and a new hospital for our fastest-growing city in the country. B.C. Liberals would double-down on the bad choices if given the chance again. Members of the official opposition repeatedly mention the city of Surrey in their budget speeches and during question period. It’s a kind of new development, believing the people of Surrey will trust them. The House Leader of the official opposition mentioned Surrey during his budget speech more than 50 times.

I can understand the pain of losing Surrey. They lost Surrey because they refused to build new schools for our kids, because they refused to extend the SkyTrain to Langley, because they refused to replace the unsafe Pattullo Bridge, because they refused to build a new hospital for the people of Surrey and they forced the people of Surrey to pay unfair bridge tolls. Sixteen years of history of their bad choices speaks for itself. You cannot hide it. There is no way they can hide it. The people of Surrey believe in actions. They believe in actions, not in misleading slogans of the new Leader of the Official Opposition, Kevin Falcon, and the members sitting on the other side.

[4:25 p.m.]

Let me tell you that we are fixing the damage to the city of Surrey caused by the B.C. Liberals’ bad choices during the 16 years. People of Surrey have accomplished a lot under our government during the last four years. Let me tell you what we have accomplished in just four years.

These are the facts.

One, the new Leader of the Official Opposition, Kevin Falcon, forced the people of Surrey to pay unfair bridge tolls. We have eliminated the tolls on the Port Mann Bridge and the Golden Ears Bridge, saving a driver who commutes every day approximately $1,500. We changed that.

Two, Kevin Falcon and the B.C. Liberals increased MSP premiums many, many times to give tax breaks to their wealthy friends. We have eliminated the MSP, saving individuals around $800 and families up to $1,800. The B.C. Liberals are ready to bring the MSP back. They passed a resolution in their convention to bring the MSP back.

Three, the B.C. Liberals refused to replace the unsafe Pattullo Bridge for a decade for the people of Surrey. We are building a new Pattullo Bridge as we speak, to provide safe crossing to the people of Surrey. It is under construction right now.

Four, the B.C. Liberals refused to build new schools for our kids. They only funded one new school during the last four years, between 2013 to 2017 — one school, at a time when student enrolment in Surrey was the highest in the province.

We are building schools. As of March 2021, we have funded and completed the construction of 11,275 new seats. During the first four years of our government, we have built seven new schools — five elementary schools, two secondary schools — and 16 additions in schools. In other words, to be clear, we have built the equivalent of 17 new elementary schools in just four years.

A history of bad choices of the B.C. Liberals and good choices of this government is very clear. The B.C. Liberals built only one school for our kids during last four years, and we built the equivalent of 17 schools, as of today, during our first four years. That is absolutely clear.

Five, the B.C. Liberals and Kevin Falcon refused to build the SkyTrain to Langley. They actually asked for a referendum to the people of British Columbia. Yes, they also refused to build the SkyTrain. We are building the SkyTrain to Langley, and we have committed already $3.2 billion for this project in this budget.

Six, for 16 years, Kevin Falcon and the B.C. Liberals also refused to build a new hospital for the people of Surrey, a second hospital for the people of Surrey. The people of Surrey deserve a second hospital. Surrey is the second-largest city in B.C., and by 2041, Surrey is projected to surpass Vancouver as the largest city in B.C.

Look at the story. The member mentioned from time to time the 1990s. During the 1990s, the B.C. NDP government purchased a parcel of property near 152 and Highway 10 in Surrey to build a second new hospital for Surrey.

The B.C. Liberals took over in 2001 and made a false promise to the people of Surrey to build the second hospital. In 2005, Gordon Campbell, Premier at that time, held a campaign event at the site, promising to build a second hospital for the people of Surrey, but did nothing, absolutely nothing, to build this second hospital at that site after winning the election. In fact, they permanently abandoned the idea in 2014, when they sold the site to their rich friends.

[4:30 p.m.]

Newly elected leader Kevin Falcon was sitting at the cabinet table when the decision to sell the land for the second hospital was made. He was there. It is very shocking that the B.C. Liberal members from Surrey remained completely silent and secret at that time, when the land was sold to build the second hospital.

[R. Leonard in the chair.]

We are moving forward on a new hospital. Budget 2022 allocates $27.4 billion for our capital plan. That includes building a new hospital and cancer centre to meet the needs of the people who live, work and play in Surrey. Land for the new hospital has already been acquired beside Kwantlen college in Cloverdale. The business plan for the project was approved last spring. The request for qualification, RFQ, for the new second hospital and cancer centre has been issued.

Through the RFP process, Fraser Health will identify a shortlist of up to three proponents that will be invited to participate in the next stage — a competitive selection process — and that is the RFP process. That will determine which team we’ll choose to eventually lead the design and construction of the project.

It is shocking that the newly elected leader of the B.C. Liberal Party, Kevin Falcon, during a recent radio interview…. This is what he said. I would like to quote that. He says the land the NDP government acquired for the second hospital in Cloverdale is “not a great location,” for the second hospital and that he would take a hard look at moving it again. So once again, he would delay or cancel the project, just like before, when Falcon and the Liberals sold off the land. They are going to stop the project.

I fully support the budget.

L. Doerkson: I thank the previous member for his words. Certainly, I’m going to try to focus on the 2022 budget and the things that have happened over the last year, not referring to that dastardly 16 years, which has become an absolute joke.

I think that more British Columbians want to hear what is happening in the coming year than what happened during that time. Over the last five years, the accomplishments that this member has laid out…. I think I will bring some of them into question in the coming moments. I am proud, of course, to speak on behalf of Cariboo-Chilcotin. I bring greetings from that region.

I outlined my hopes for the budget in the throne speech, and I’m not shocked to know that many of those hopes have not happened. The hopes that I have are the same, or very similar, to the ones of people from Cariboo-Chilcotin and, certainly, from people of British Columbia and probably Surrey as well.

I’m not the only one that had problems with the budget. I want to share a few quotes to preface my comments, to put it into perspective.

Fiona Famulak from the Chamber of Commerce of B.C. says: “The B.C. Chamber of Commerce is disappointed that the government did not take steps to address the high operating costs associated with doing business in British Columbia, some of which are the result of government policies. Some businesses have been resilient through this pandemic, but that doesn’t mean that they’re thriving. Many have had to assume significant debt just to keep operating.”

With respect to groups like the live events producers of this province…. When we met with them the other day, their stories were heartbreaking. They have been closed for two years.

[4:35 p.m.]

Frankly, they don’t care what happened a half-decade ago. They want to understand what is happening now to repair their businesses, to save their finances. The gyms, dance studios, all of those types of businesses that have been forced to close under mandates by this government, are desperately awaiting help in the budget of 2022 and didn’t see it.

It’s not just businesses. BCTF — these are their quotes: “‘Status Quo’ Public Education Budget for 2022 Fails to Address Critical Teacher Shortages, Inclusive Education, Ventilation Improvements and More.”

Teri Mooring: “Unfortunately, in the context of high inflation rates, the overall increase of 3.83 percent” in B.C. ed funding “is expected to fall short of the high rates of inflation we are seeing.” She noted “a number of concerning omissions from today’s budget announcement by the Minister of Finance, including no plans to address the critical teacher shortage in B.C., which disproportionately affects disabled students and learners with diverse needs; no meaningful changes to address the systematic underfunding of inclusive ed to support equitable access and outcomes for students with disabilities and diverse needs.”

It’s certainly a different picture than what we’ve heard this afternoon.

The budget “provides little for small businesses hoping to see measures to reduce costs and help with recovery, says the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. CFIB appreciates the B.C. government did not introduce some new taxes or additional costs. However, small businesses are still feeling the cost increases in the form of…paid sick days, rising property taxes, the employer health tax, carbon tax increases and inflation.” Again, a bit of a different outlook from some folks other than myself.

I’m going to address the taxes in a moment that they didn’t recognize, because there are some for certain. I spoke last week of the fear that is being held in my riding — the shockwaves that have been sent through our communities with respect to bills like Bill 23 and Bill 28 and old-growth deferrals. At that time, I mentioned the concern of so many of the value-added businesses that have done business for decades in the Cariboo-Chilcotin and, certainly, other businesses throughout the province. I mentioned at that time that not only were they fearful, but they have not been able to reach out and receive any serious response from the ministry.

Well, they got the response, and now the fear is turning to reality. These businesses may have to actually send back deposits because they’re not in a position to secure logs to build log homes in this province, in the next year. It is that dire. It has been that immediate. So again, a bit of a different picture.

The woodlot federation has also been desperately trying to reach out and understand why they are a part of this old-growth strategy, when, in fact, they really are asking for this government to come and to look at their properties, look at how they manage the forests because they feel that we have much to learn. I’ve seen some of those, and they are incredibly well done. I don’t disagree.

These are having serious effects not just in Cariboo-Chilcotin but throughout the province. Weeks ago I read and noted how many businesses are being affected by these forest policies in the Lower Mainland. I think that the government has admitted where we’re going in this budget, because they’ve actually limited, over the coming years…. The amount of revenue will be declining by almost $1 billion from the forest sector.

The damage that is on the horizon for the forestry sector is serious, and it’s significant, and it needs to be noted.

The suggestion that the government is simply closing loopholes with respect to taxes or certainly their thought that they’re going to close those loopholes is going to cost British Columbians a significant amount of money. We heard millions of dollars earlier.

[4:40 p.m.]

They’re introducing new taxes. I don’t care how they explain that, but the fact is it’s a new tax on used cars. I want to spend just a couple of minutes on this. This has been introduced, with respect to the purchase price of a used car, compared to a determined value of that same car. You’ll pay tax on that air between. Where have we heard that before? Air tax.

The fact is that there’s a lot of confusion around this and how it will be calculated. For the members that are shaking their heads, I would love to hear how in fact…. Who will decide the value of that car? Will it be decided by the insurance broker? Will it be decided somehow by a government tax collector? How will this be decided?

The cars will be purchased either at car lots or in driveways. One way or the other, you’re going to have to decide the value of that car, to determine that tax. If you’re going to introduce a tax like that — frankly, I don’t want to give the government any ideas — certainly, what happens with the TV that you purchased at 50 percent off? Are we going to start paying tax on MSRP? It’s shocking, really.

Tax marketplace items. Now, I understand that this will be a tax on platforms that are able to collect money, but we also know that Facebook is looking at doing exactly that. Are we going to see a time when somebody puts their used tires up for sale for $500, and we’re going to have Facebook collect tax on that? How will that result in the end price for a consumer?

Will it be extended to other marketplaces? Will it be extended to flea markets and garage sales? As I said before, I don’t want to give the government any more ideas. These are loopholes that the government says that they’re closing up. Well, a loophole…. Increasing taxes from 7 to 12 percent on home heating systems that will use older types of fuel — things like natural gas — just simply doesn’t make sense in Cariboo-Chilcotin, and they don’t make sense in many parts of this province.

My home, with a wood-burning stove and a natural gas furnace, can be cold on the coldest night in the Cariboo-Chilcotin. I can tell you that a new high-efficiency natural gas furnace may cost me $5,000 or $6,000 to upgrade from my older system, but I’m going to pay an additional tax and be penalized on that because I don’t go to a heating system that might be three times that and not work particularly well in my climate.

Now, I’ll certainly qualify that statement by saying that I’m not an expert in heating equipment, but it is concerning to know. I would be shocked if it were even a percentage point, in the north, that actually used these types of heating systems that have been discounted. While the rest of the natural gas users in this province will pay an additional tax, will that tax be extended to repairs, parts, etc.? I’m very concerned about that, because this will affect so many people.

These are all, as I said, loopholes being closed up by the government, but it’s coming at a time when expenses and living in this province have become incredibly expensive. At a time when we see not only the price of real estate and fuel and other things rising so swiftly, why would any government introduce more taxes?

I was also concerned about the fact that the word “rural” was really only uttered twice. I think that in the throne speech it was said once. I’ve tried to convey my concerns with respect to things that many British Columbians simply take for granted.

[4:45 p.m.]

Many of us are able to pick up our phones or a tablet and simply connect to Wi-Fi to fill out a homeowner grant property form. Or there’s the assumption that you could just plug your computer in and simply reach out to your doctor via Zoom or Teams. That is taken for granted in this province — the ability to call a tow truck driver after your vehicle has broken down, or worse, heaven forbid, that you have to call 911 and that you need first responders to come to your location.

This has not been the case in rural B.C. I can tell you that five minutes east of 100 Mile House, five minutes west of 100 Mile House, you cannot connect in any way. The same for Williams Lake — five minutes east or west, you cannot connect. I am glad that there is more money for connectivity, but it cannot take five years to get there. The government is asking us to do too much online. The government is asking us to do too much online to not provide that service to all British Columbians. In rural B.C., it is a significant challenge.

I spoke about my hopes that we would see funding remain for families that are dealing with the serious challenges of autism. When I talk about the serious challenges, I have had the pleasure, actually, of going to Blue Sky’s Autism in Lone Butte. I’ve seen their connection and their commitment to people, parents, families and children that drive hours to get to their location. It’s an incredible place to witness the care that is provided by this facility.

When we talk about hubs being in areas like Kamloops or Prince George or other centres that are larger, I have to point out that in rural B.C., a place like Anahim Lake is 3½ hours west of Williams Lake. It is a long ways out there. They’re being serviced now by people from Williams Lake, in some cases — certainly, in Lone Butte, with respect to Blue Sky’s Autism. They can make that drive, and they have made an unbelievable commitment to get service for their children, for their family. But to take that and put that any farther away…. It will be an absolute impossibility for these people to access this care.

I sincerely hope that the government will reconsider what so many have asked them to reconsider. Last week we heard in this House how great this new system will be. But I’m here to tell you that I have talked to dozens of people in my riding — had the pleasure of meeting with hundreds online — and I have yet to hear from anyone that has said this will be better. Now, I can appreciate that there are families that are looking forward to getting some of that funding, but it should not come at the cost of the families that are currently being helped.

I spoke about this before, with respect to keeping keepsakes at my back door and keeping a bag of packed clothes and such because the possibility of evacuation is more and more real all the time. I have had to evacuate, in 2017. Fortunately, last year I did not.

There are a number of dollars that have been allotted this year, and again, I’m happy to see that. But I want to talk about emergency response just for a moment, because I think there are a number of different things that could fall into that category. The first one, of course, is a simple response to either wildfire or flood.

Now, we’re just about to freshet season in Cariboo-Chilcotin. We can see that it’s warming up. I can see that the San Jose River and other water bodies are already above their banks, and they’re not unfrozen yet. So I know that that is going to be a serious issue in the coming weeks.

It’s not just the response, I mean, to flooding or fire. Last year in the Cariboo-Chilcotin, we were outgunned. We were told that we had the resources that we needed to fight the fires. And yet consistently over that period of time, we heard from private contractors throughout this country — I heard from them as far away as Saskatchewan; certainly, I heard from them from Alberta — that wanted to work in this province but could not be hired for whatever reason.

[4:50 p.m.]

While we’re not here to debate that, we are here to debate what the future looks like. I am making a plea for more resources. I know that in the budget there’s an allotment for funds that will allow us to do year-round work in B.C. Wildfire. I’m not sure what that looks like because we do year-round mitigation now. I hope that that is not going to be a situation of bureaucracy and such. I hope, genuinely hope, that this money will go to resources to helping to fight fire.

Last year we saw times when there were dozens of fires in the Cariboo-Chilcotin and 12 or 13 or 14 helicopters.

When you see a fire that is 4,000 hectares and B.C. Wildfire has listed six or eight people working on that fire, does that sound, to anybody in this place, like that is a well-resourced fire? When you know that it’s a kilometre or two or three away from your community or your home — trust me — it is unsettling.

The other response that I’m talking about now is after the water recedes and after the fires are out. I am advo­cating — currently for a rancher in the South Cariboo — that we are stuck in the cracks of a system that is extremely complex and extremely slow to react. For this rancher, B.C. Wildfire actually lit controlled fires that burned parts of his ranch.

Now, he didn’t say to not light it. He just wants it acknowledged that that was a part of fighting fire. But he needs to be compensated, because we, the province — in the act of protecting ourselves and fighting against fire — burned parts of his ranch, trees, winter feed, summer feed. We burned fence lines.

We need a much quicker response after the fact, and we need it for our Crown lands, as well, because our Crown lands must be replanted. The fences must be fixed. You cannot wait a year on this, so I certainly hope that some of these funds are destined for that kind of a response.

It’s not shocking to hear that that response has been slow. The people of Lytton are still waiting — seven months, eight months after the fact. Last week we were advocating for temporary housing in Princeton. Insurers are desperate to get some of this work going because their clients, the residents of this province, the taxpayers of this province, have limits. Because of inflation, that dollar is not going to go as far. So trust me: they’re worried too.

We have had a number of horrifying new phrases introduced in the last year or two, when you think about things like heat domes, flash freeze and atmospheric rivers. Last week the Williams Lake Tribune had a post about thundersnow. Imagine that. The next event is lurking around the corner. I’m fearful that it’s freshet, and the fact is we must be far more committed to being ready for these events in the future.

With respect to the work that I’m talking about on our Crown lands and after the fact, it would be hard for me to be convinced that it’s not having a very serious effect in a number of different ways on our landscape. What I’m referring to are areas that I have talked about before. Places like Dog Creek Road, White Road and Frizzi Road have all been forgotten by the governments at all levels.

When I refer to these areas, I need to put it into perspective that there are people that have had to leave their home because the land is slipping. Their homes have come off their footings. In the case of Frizzi Road, the Bednarz family is losing their business. Slowly, it’s just falling into the river valley, and this is because of a change on the landscape.

[4:55 p.m.]

It must be noted that this work is incredibly important, because when we look at areas that have been burnt, they do not recover on their own for years. It is creating an absolute nightmare of water all throughout my riding, for certain. I can’t speak to other areas on that, but that is why it is extremely important.

We talked a little bit…. The previous speaker talked about the care system, the health care system, and the great strides that we’ve made and improvements in the last little while. I want to say this with absolutely no disrespect to the people that are working in health care. I have a daughter that is an incredible nurse and cares so much about her patients, and I have been treated by nurses that care so much.

In our health care system, I am seeing a far different vision of what I’m hearing in some of these budget speeches. We have advocated for people that are stuck, again, in the system. I’ve had the help of the ministry to try to get those people through the system, and it has not ended well for some of these taxpayers.

Last week the 100 Mile House Free Press reported…. I want to congratulate the Doyles on the birth of their new baby, Liam, but during the course of that birth, they found themselves waiting for an ambulance, in a very serious emergency situation, for nearly an hour and a half while volunteer firefighters stayed by their side to comfort them. The ambulance was not available. It just simply was not available in 100 Mile, and it had to come from Clearwater, 130 or 140 kilometres away.

It’s a much different picture in rural B.C. when it comes to health care. We have had shortages, not only of staff but of hours in the hospital. Can you imagine pulling on the front doors of Vancouver General Hospital, and they don’t open because they’re locked? That has happened in rural B.C. So I do not see that that is not a serious situation, and it’s not the picture that’s being painted by the government. This is something that is happening consistently in rural B.C.

While we’re talking about health care, I’m happy to see that the hospital is still on the books, obviously, in Williams Lake. I’m sure people are excited about that, but I do have concerns about the project itself, certainly in light of what we have seen with respect to inflation and rising costs throughout the province. The number of, I think, $219 million has not increased. I looked at other projects that have been on the books for a while now as well, and they haven’t increased either.

My fear is that we are desperately underpriced in some of these projects and that while we’re projecting large cost overruns…. Are we going to see these projects come in on time, on budget, or are we going to see very heavy cost overruns? I’m very fearful of that.

The last thing I want to talk about is near and dear to many people in my riding: wildlife. Now, we have been lobbied. I’m sure that every person in this House has received letters from people asking us to use science-based decisions to make any kind of a decision when it comes to wildlife.

I can respect that, in the past, we’ve discussed the possibility that the public has been able to convince us to make decisions that perhaps were not science-based. I want to encourage the government to reconsider those thoughts. When we make decisions about limited-entry hunting in the Peace regions, when we make decisions about grizzly bear hunting or anything else in this province, we cannot listen to different special interest groups. We have to pay attention to the science, because it is affecting us in a massive way.

I have information, from the same ministry, with respect to moose in my riding, and to be honest, I can’t figure it out. One says that there’s an absolutely abundant supply. The other one, just from a few years back, says there’s not.

[5:00 p.m.]

Again, I’m not an expert. All I can tell you is that I get a sense that there are not as many as we think. We are not making these decisions based on science. I’ve had it admitted to me, actually, in estimates, as well, for the record. We must use science to make these decisions.

I do have concerns. I’m looking forward to questions in estimates in the coming weeks, and I thank you very much for the opportunity to represent Cariboo-Chilcotin here today.

H. Sandhu: Before I begin my response, I would like to acknowledge that today I am standing and speaking to all of you from the unceded and traditional territory of the Lək̓ʷəŋin̓əŋ-speaking nations, today known as and represented by Esquimalt and Songhees Nations. I do thank them for their stewardship of this land.

I also want to express my thoughts and send prayers to people of Ukraine. I cannot believe that this is happening in 2022. We have learned from our history that war hurts many innocent people, even the troops and their families from both sides. War leaves devastating impacts for years to come on many generations. I stand united with everyone and pray for peace on earth.

My response to the budget. It is my honour to be standing here as an MLA for the people of Vernon-Monashee. I am always truly grateful for that opportunity. I wholeheartedly speak in favour of Budget 2022.

We all know that the last year has been tougher and more challenging even than 2020, as we faced the ongoing pandemic with rising cases, new variants, the ongoing opioid crisis, more loss of lives, then fires, a heat dome, floods and major damage to the roads and infrastructure. I can imagine how challenging it must have been for the Finance Minister, Treasury Board and staff to create this budget while they kept people at the front and centre of their decision-making by continued focus on improving vital services, investments and infrastructure, climate action and economic recovery, while ensuring not to implement any cuts on vital services or layoffs.

Our B.C. NDP government had to step in to deal with crisis after crisis during the most challenging times in the province’s history and needed to invest in people, businesses, tourism industry, health care, mental health and recovery after major catastrophic events. I am proud that, despite many challenges, our government has done a great job.

It’s not only me who is saying that, being a member of government. I get many calls, cards and emails from constituents who applaud the work of our B.C. NDP government. I will read a small part of one of those emails.

This message is from one of my constituents, James: “MLA Sandhu, as the democratically elected member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for my riding, I am writing to you to convey my thanks and support for the way your party has handled this pandemic. You’ve managed to balance the fine and public health, the economy and social pressure, and for that, most of us are grateful.” This email was very kind and long, but I’m only sharing one quote.

Despite the challenges we have faced and unprecedented, significant investments our government had to make to support people, services and the economy, this budget provides record-level capital spending that will strengthen B.C.’s economic recovery and support opportunities across the province by building environmental, social and economic planning directly into capital investments.

We are ensuring a future where all British Columbians have the opportunity to thrive. Whether it means more affordable child care spaces, more accessible green transportation, options for equal opportunities for employment or investments into B.C.’s infrastructure, we are working to build a stronger B.C.

[5:05 p.m.]

Over the next three years, taxpayer-supported capital spending will total $27.4 billion, helping to create 100,000 well-paying jobs in communities throughout B.C.; reduce our infrastructure carbon footprint through low-carbon building technologies, designs and practices and green transportation; create employment and apprenticeship opportunities in local communities, particularly for traditionally underrepresented groups who want to build a career in the trades; advance reconciliation with Indigenous people; ensure access to services people depend on like health care services and safe places for kids to learn; support our trade corridor and businesses to keep goods and people moving.

The capital plan grows our province’s social, economic and environmental strengths, setting B.C. up to work through the challenges ahead and build our economic resilience.

Under flood recovery and fires, we are investing $2.1 billion to “build back better” from fires and floods and to protect people in communities from future climate-related disasters. That includes $1.5 billion in funding to rebuild from last year’s floods and wildfires and more than $600 million to strengthen our readiness and respond to future wildfires, floods and extreme weather events.

Some people from my riding, in Vernon-Monashee and the Okanagan, were affected by fires. As I was driving last week, thinking spring is coming, I got very excited. Then I started to worry about what summer will hold for us. I was hoping that we won’t have to face fires or similar catastrophic events as we did in 2021.

These investments…. This $2.1 billion investment brings back the hope. I am hopeful and optimistic that we will see the difference. As the Premier said, we should focus on fighting fires all year long. This provides me with great reassurance.

It is ironic to hear criticism from members of the opposition, who seem to be so confused during question period, when they criticize our government for not spending enough or more and then later, in budget speeches and on social media like Twitter, criticize our government for spending too much on services like child care, health, housing and to support people in general.

I understand it is their job to criticize, and they do need to show people that they are doing their job. What is problematic is the confusion and lack of clarity or facts. Many people ask me this question. They’re actively asking: “What is happening with the B.C. Liberals? Why are they so wishy-washy and not able to make up their mind?” I’m not saying this. These are the words from the people of B.C.

Last week the member for Surrey–White Rock was speaking. I got a message on Wednesday, February 23, from a constituent who happened to watch the speech. I quote this message. Again, it’s not my words. Here is the quote: “I am just laughing listening to this guy about the child care. He has to do more homework.” There is another line I won’t read because I think that was a little bit too harsh. So I put that in brackets. I will show respect, so I won’t read that. Some people are noticing.

Interjections.

H. Sandhu: Members say that people talk to people. Members can heckle all they want. The previous speaker said we need to talk to people. This is what exactly I’m sharing. I shared two examples, and I’ll share one more at the end about child care. If you’re looking for stories, stories are around you.

When you try to discourage others not to tell the posi­tive sides of the budget and the work we’ve done, then…. I think people want to heckle, which is not the way. If you want to work…. We’re telling what we’re doing. You tell what you are doing and what you stand for instead of taking very confusing stands. People are confused.

The member was also saying that daycare centres are closing on February 23. I was so confused, as my constituency of Vernon-Monashee is getting hundreds of child care spaces — hundreds. I had the honour to do a groundbreaking for new child care centres in Vernon and Coldstream, along with our local leaders. In fact, one of the new ones in Vernon is close to completion and is well within the budget. It’s in the news article, again, if members are chuckling.

[5:10 p.m.]

Not only that, but I also got the invite to go for an opening ceremony this week, on Monday, for a brand-new, amazing private child care centre, so people from that sector are also seeing the opportunity. The owner is so grateful for the affordable…. Our investments. He is also opening this private daycare space. So of course they see the opportunity.

Perhaps members of the B.C. Liberal caucus need to do their homework instead of heckling, as mentioned by constituents. To look around, as people are, too, noticing these…. People are noticing these confusing messages.

Interjections.

H. Sandhu: You do that. And what just happened? Do it more. You can heckle all you want. You had the opportunity to share your response….

Deputy Speaker: Members. Members.

Member, please address the Chair.

H. Sandhu: Truth is always bitter. I understand it’s hard to swallow, but that didn’t deter me.

Some members of the opposition say that we have not kept our promises, but according to an independent study published by CBC, again, in September 2021, we fulfilled over 80 percent of promises from 2017 to 2020, just within three years. Again, I don’t make up stuff like some members do here. I do my homework, and people know, and we have facts and you can look it up yourself. We continue to do more.

Despite having to deal with unforeseen circumstances, we’re working hard towards building a better province. Once again, people see it all. In that case, they see the desperation by sharing false information and the opposition’s failed attempt to relate to people. When you say one thing and stand for another, people clearly see that. I am glad they do. People have not forgotten B.C. Liberals’ cuts and austerity followed by massive privatization. People, when they are listening, find it’s ironic for the same people to pretend to stand up for the same services they slashed.

Health care is still bleeding. I would say it’s still bleeding due to the decades and to have underfunding, cuts, massive layoffs and privatization, which our B.C. NDP government is diligently trying to fix, because we’re big supporters of well-supported health care.

Interjection.

H. Sandhu: Member, you can heckle all you want. This is 17 years long, a health care worker who worked through those cuts and family working in health care right now. We see when cuts are implemented. We see when services are added. I have family members, a daughter and husband. They are still here, seeing the difference when you’re supported and when you’re not.

Other incomplete information the B.C. Liberals are spreading to people about PST on used vehicles without sharing details…. Let me share some facts and background information so the people of Vernon-Monashee know.

The government is making changes to counteract tax evasions in private vehicle transactions. Starting October 1, 2022, B.C. will align with other provinces by making a change in how the PST is calculated when they declare the price is well below the expected value. The PST will apply to the higher of either the declared purchase price and the average wholesale value according to an industry-standard price guide. For fairness, the purchaser will also have the option to show an appraisal if their specific vehicle is worth less than the average wholesale value.

The change is expected to capture $15 million in tax revenue that was previously being lost to the underreporting of vehicle purchase values. This is not a new tax. PST has always been on used cars. It is a change to bring us into line with most other provinces who are already doing it. We’re not increasing taxes on used vehicles. We are addressing issues with the underreporting of the purchase price of used vehicles from private sales.

Budget 2022 clearly focused to address these many, many issues we have and focused on serving people. Here in the Okanagan, we are seeing lots of investments, and some investments in my riding you will hear about, but in the surrounding communities you will not hear from the members of the opposition, so I’ll briefly touch upon Kamloops Royal Inland Hospital.

[5:15 p.m.]

A new patient care tower will better access care for more people in the community through 107 new beds, new, larger operating rooms and an expanded emergency department. The project will be completed in 2025.

Kelowna General Hospital. An expansion to imaging facilities and new PET and CT equipment will help to support shorter wait times for diagnostic imaging for patients. Again, it’s expected to be completed in 2022.

Penticton Regional Hospital. A new six-storey patient care tower and parkade will include an ambulatory care centre, surgical services and a new space for the UBC faculty of medicine. It’s expected to be completed this year, 2022.

We also got a new nurse practitioner in Lumby, and I am sure that we will continue to build on the progress that we’re making. My communities in Vernon-Monashee will continue to benefit from such investments. Our government has also added 602 seats for nursing courses in our post-secondary institutions. The best option is that it includes the options of bridging programs. Care aides can do LPN, and LPNs can bridge to become an RN. This will help to train nurses faster, and it will help them to grow in their profession.

Not only that, the B.C. NDP government also added 20 respiratory seats and 17 anaesthesia assistant seats at the TRU in Kamloops. It is no secret that once government implements cuts and secretly takes away taxpayers’ money from Crown corporations to create an illusionary balanced budget on the backs of hard-working people, systems and structures then fall apart, like health care and other services that people rely on. This comes with serious consequences that we all have seen. I have seen it firsthand.

People lose lives due to these gaps in the system, whether the members of the opposition agree or not. But the reality is that historic investments to support mental health initiatives have helped a lot of people. Yes, we need to continue to build on the progress, because prior to 2017, under the B.C. Liberal government, we had no consistent supports or investments in place. In fact, they closed Riverview Hospital’s mental health facility overnight, which left hundreds of vulnerable people on the street with nowhere to go and no place to take care of them.

This is all about choices. Our government also understands that the economy is only sustainable when we have healthy and thriving communities and a supported society. It is not one versus the other. We know that the small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of communities, and the economy runs on the backs of workers. Therefore, we need to look after both aspects and support everyone. It is all about priorities. Our priority is people, sustainable jobs and climate action, focused on an economy with equal opportunities and services, so we can continue to build a stronger province by leaving no one behind.

So taxes and choices. I know that in the past I have heard one member repeatedly about the tax on Netflix and bubbly drinks — and complaining. Then I have been thinking about how, if you can afford those bubbly drinks and Netflix, perhaps you can pay the tax, and that tax can be invested in services. Nobody died without having a bubbly drink or watching Netflix, but people die without having proper services.

The other thing is that members don’t like when we say what happened in the past and what got us where we are. I will share one example, and I can only share related to my profession. Say I worked a shift and I forgot to give a patient a very important medication at 6:00 p.m. before leaving. The nurse for night shift comes on at 7:00, and the patient has serious consequences and is perhaps close to dying.

The nurse is running around, having to deal with this event and trying to help this patient so the patient doesn’t lose their life. So would I be at fault, or the nurse who is trying to clean the mess that I’ve left? The answer is clear. There is no need to feel very offended. In fact, let’s try to find ways to work together.

[5:20 p.m.]

Now I’ll highlight that in the housing sector in Vernon, there are major investments that are being made. We have built and have underway 460 different housing units. There are massive investments in Kelowna and Penticton. I have all of the numbers, but I won’t take too much time explaining every number of units under which category and the dollar figure. But there has been progress being made.

I have been told by individuals and stakeholders that they have never seen — and those individuals were not even historically B.C. NDP supporters — the record number of investments in Vernon-Monashee and area that they have seen since 2017. They are openly talking, whether it’s on social media or wherever and to me personally, and it is very encouraging. So it’s okay to appreciate what’s done right.

Post-secondary education. Kelowna, Vernon and Salmon Arm have 376 new student housing. In Vernon, it’s the first-ever student housing that is being built at Okanagan College and 60 units at the Salmon Arm campus. This project is a mass timber project that is supported through $68 million in capital funding, to be completed in 2023.

Education sector. Our government has made investments in Penticton, a Francophone community school. Now families will have a permanent school home for their school community. In Kamloops, the replacement of Parkcrest Elementary, after the fire loss, with the addition of 120 new spaces, is scheduled to be completed by September 2024. This includes a neighbourhood learning centre with child care spaces in the community. Kamloops is also getting an additional 525 seats for students at Valleyview Secondary. In Kelowna, we’re getting a new school for 750 students. It’s now complete. In Vernon, we had an expansion of BX Elementary School. The government of B.C. provided $11.1 million for 240 additional seats at BX Elementary, nearly doubling the size of the school.

We have made transport and infrastructure. I’m only highlighting the Okanagan region because other members have shared other investments across the province. In Sicamous, Highway 1, the R.W. Bruhn Bridge. Replacing the R.W. Bruhn Bridge on Highway 1 in Sicamous will provide people with more reliable and safer transportation options. This project will be completed in 2025.

In Chase and Salmon Arm west, we’re creating four-lane sections of Highway 1 near both communities. It is expected to be completed in 2023.

I have been hearing from people since my election, as I mentioned, that they have never seen the record number of investments at this scale before 2017. I have heard from individuals and people from different political stripes and from non-profit organizations, stakeholders and investors who I regularly meet. Last night I saw a social media post from Margaret: “The B.C. NDP is definitely delivering on their promise of affordable, safe, quality child care. Big win for children and families.” Margaret further writes in brackets: “Not to mention everyone else, because if we don’t have child care, we don’t have workers.”

At the end, I conclude my remarks by saying thank you to the Minister of Finance and her team for their hard work, and I thank the people of Vernon-Monashee for their resilience, ongoing kindness, showing great community spirit and for giving me the opportunity to be your MLA. I also encourage all of you to contact our office if you have any questions regarding the budget or any other concerns. We’ll be happy to provide you factual information, and we will be happy to bust some misinformation.

I would say let’s unite together and stand strong for peace in the world. Take care, stay safe, stay healthy, be kind to yourself and others. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak in response of this budget. I wholeheartedly support Budget 2022.

[5:25 p.m.]

E. Ross: It’s my pleasure to get up on behalf of Skeena and respond to the budget.

Affordability seems to be the key topic in this budget. Affordability has been talked about for the last five years at least by this NDP government. It’s always about the promises of affordability. But unfortunately, those promises, like every other promise, has been broken, especially when we’re talking about 20-plus new taxes or increased taxes that have made affordability a dream for most British Columbians.

If it’s not increased taxes and new taxes, it’s the downloading of costs, downloaded to the business community. Everybody knows when a business community gets a new cost, that’s just added on. That’s passed on to the consumer or the ratepayer — this, on top of the inflation that’s projected to be anywhere from 5 percent to 7 percent for all Canadians, including British Columbians, on top of what’s being proposed already for the new taxes coming down the pike that were just mentioned in this latest budget by this NDP government.

In fact, if anything, this is probably the most unaffordable time in B.C. history. And this government is just getting started, as we heard in the budget. Houses, which were unaffordable two years ago, are going to become more unaffordable. Gasoline, diesel — unaffordable. As prices goes up for gasoline and diesel, food prices, like we’ve seen in the past few years, are going to continue to go up, making life even more unaffordable for British Columbians. So much for the promise to fix fuel prices that was made by the Premier a few years ago. We do know that they made a complete listing of all of the fuel prices across B.C. I don’t know how that was supposed to make fuel affordable.

[J. Tegart in the chair.]

At the same time, this NDP government opposed the twinning of the Trans Mountain pipeline that was bringing crude oil to refineries in Washington as well as refineries in Vancouver that could have made the supply of gasoline even cheaper today for British Columbians.

We got a good look at what it means for a shortage of gasoline and diesel when the washouts of the highways actually made the Lower Mainland put gasoline and diesel on rations. I have never in my lifetime known gasoline or diesel to be rationed. Not only did it show how susceptible our supply chain is for fuel but also how reliant we still are on gasoline and diesel in all parts of B.C., including Vancouver Island.

Vancouver Island gets all their gasoline shipped in. At any given time, they’ve only got three days of supply of gasoline and diesel to actually carry over the whole Island. If any supply chain is actually disrupted for a long period of time, Vancouver Island is in a bad spot.

As we see the broken promise of affordability go out the window again for British Columbians, it strikes me, as one of the original supporters of LNG in B.C. back in 2004, when we had 18 LNG project proposals on the books for B.C.… It was actually First Nations that joined together in 2004 and created a group called the First Nations Limited Partnership and went to lobby the provincial government to actually support LNG in B.C. It wasn’t the other way around, like I’ve said before in this House.

Today it just dawned on me that the energy issue in B.C. is wide open for politics. It’s wide open for rhetoric. This is to the detriment of British Columbians. There is no energy policy in British Columbia — none, except when it comes to actually making fuel and home heating costs go higher for British Columbians, especially those in the north and the colder climates.

We’re fortunate in Skeena, in the last couple of years during COVID, because we took a hit economic-wise just like everybody else, but we had an industrial base. We had the aluminum smelter, and we had LNG Canada.

[5:30 p.m.]

Retail, like small businesses all across B.C., took a huge hit. Just like for everybody across B.C., we have a lot of businesses that closed their doors forever, which is pretty sad, because small business, like it’s been said many times in this House, is the backbone of B.C. It’s the backbone of our society. Yet all across B.C., we saw it not only with restaurants. We also saw tourism companies actually go under when the cruise ship industry was ignored by this government.

When we’re talking about affordability, energy is the foundation of affordability in British Columbia. Might I say, even in Canada. It affects everything. So to leave energy in the political realm actually brings us down a road that I don’t think British Columbians want to travel down. You’ve only got to look at Europe right now, to see what Europe is going through, to know that it’s time to stop talking politics about energy.

Specifically, Germany. Germany decided to actually go down the road of eliminating not only fossil fuels but nuclear energy. Now we find out that Europe is on the verge of designating natural gas as clean energy, because now they know the mistake they made in terms of shutting down natural gas and nuclear power plants, because their people are suffering for it. The people are suffering for the political decisions that shut down natural gas sources and nuclear energy.

It’s not their leaders that are suffering. It’s not their government that is suffering. It’s not the politicians that are suffering. It’s the German citizens and European citizens who are paying anywhere from five to six times higher home heating bills than normal — this during one of the coldest winters on record for Europe.

That’s not all. This crisis that we’re seeing right now in Ukraine is an invasion from one country to another. But there’s a lot more at stake here. There’s a lot more being talked about over there, because one country has got resources that another country wants.

When you think about Europe and the energy crisis they’re going through, mainly…. We’re not talking about a shortage of energy in general. We’re not talking about that, because there are lots of energy sources all around the world, especially here in B.C., especially when we’re talking about LNG. We’re talking about a political decision to limit energy sources being used by European citizens. What places like Germany did by going down a political road of eliminating natural gas as a clean energy source is they actually became dependent on another country for fuel sources to heat their homes.

When one jurisdiction becomes dependent on another jurisdiction, they’re at the mercy of that other jurisdiction. I think that is what we’re actually seeing in Europe right now. That’s why there is a call-out to the rest of the world to actually help Europe with the supply of natural gas. It’s to help offset the dependency that Europe has on Russia, because Russia can turn off the taps any time.

Russia, when talking about their LNG sources or their crude oil sources or their resources in general, doesn’t have the same environmental standards that we do here in B.C. They just don’t. I think that’s what the conversation is that’s happening in this House when we’re talking about B.C. LNG being clean, safe and ethical.

B.C. leads many jurisdictions all around the world in terms of high environmental standards and employee rights. Now Europe is trying to play catch-up. Germany is now quickly going to build two LNG terminals to address the negative impact of the Ukraine crisis. They’ve got to act fast. But they are proposing to move much faster than what we’re doing here in B.C.

[5:35 p.m.]

We got LNG Canada across the finish line. Yes, the B.C. Liberals did 95 percent of the heavy lifting. The B.C. NDP government actually got it over the finish line, the remaining 5 percent, by giving LNG Canada the biggest tax break in B.C. history under the PST, by giving them a break on carbon tax, at 30 bucks a tonne, and getting rid of the LNG tax that the B.C. Liberals had proposed. This is quite ironic, because right now the NDP government are actually proposing to increase taxes on fossil fuels and home heating fuels for British Columbians.

Meanwhile, the Energy Minister said in this House that the B.C. Liberals were actually in bed with the oil and gas industry. The B.C. Liberals wanted that LNG tax. They wanted that PST revenue for B.C. They certainly didn’t propose a carbon tax at 30 bucks a tonne when the rest of British Columbians are going to get taxed at 170 bucks a tonne pretty soon, pretty quickly. It wasn’t the B.C. Liberals that proposed that — or approved it, for that matter. It was the NDP government. So to mention that somebody in this House is in bed with the oil and gas industry…. Perhaps the Energy Minister should look in the mirror.

B.C. natural gas is not only key to our own economy and emissions, but it’s key to many countries who need cleaner fuels from a stable, non-aggressive jurisdiction like B.C. That’s why it makes more sense than ever now to have a clean energy policy. You’ve got to consider that overall, with the politics and rhetoric in B.C., it’s okay to ship LNG to the United States so the United States can export LNG to Asia, but it’s not okay for B.C. to develop their own export terminals outside of LNG Canada and export LNG from B.C. directly to Asia.

That doesn’t make sense. Given the economics of this, there is no reason why B.C. couldn’t be exporting LNG right now to Europe. Anything is possible in a crisis. I think Europe really could use B.C.’s help, especially the citizens.

That’s just one part of our economy. When we’re talking about economy…. An economy actually addresses a lot of the issues that I’ve tried to address ever since 2004, specifically lifting people out of poverty. We’re talking about individuals and families. Here in B.C., we’re going in the opposite direction. We’re actually shutting down the forestry industry all across B.C. Who is going to get hit hardest? It’s going to be people in places like north Vancouver Island.

I heard the conversation about how this NDP government is going to transition these workers into other jobs. What jobs? The tourism economy was ignored when the cruise ships decided not to stop in B.C. ports. The fish farm industry in north Vancouver Island is going to get taken away by the Canadian government.

Let’s not forget who actually got the ball rolling on getting rid of fish farms in North Island in the first place. It was the NDP, this current NDP government. When they mentioned to the fish farms up there that the tenure for their fish farms actually laid in the hands of the B.C. government…. That is true, but once the B.C. government understood that Canada was going to shut down the fish farms in North Island, this government went silent.

Nobody is standing up for jobs or families in North Island, and 18,000 jobs in the forestry sector alone will get lost. Eighteen thousand families not knowing if they’ll stay in B.C. Where do they get transitioned to? A forestry worker or a fish farm worker making anywhere from 350 to 400 bucks a day is going to transition to what? Where are they going to work? Tim Hortons today…. A job there is a great entry-level job, but it won’t pay a mortgage in today’s housing market, not when the average house price is anywhere from $800,000 to $1.2 million just for a house.

[5:40 p.m.]

Where is that transition job going to go? It won’t go to manufacturing, because guess what. The logging deferrals that you’re talking about will actually shut down manufacturing jobs all across B.C., including Surrey.

The same goes for the fish farms. In my last speech, I mentioned how fish farm technology could save salmon, specifically steelhead, which is in danger of going extinct. The member for Stikine, by way of Twitter, ridiculed that, made no mention of the jobs, made no mention of the steelhead or any other salmon for that matter — made no mention of it.

What I offered to do was actually go back up to the north Island and explore it, because the fish farm companies are the ones that told me they could utilize the newest technology to help salmon, wild salmon, succeed in British Columbia. I’ll go back. I’ll walk through those plants. I’ll talk to those workers. I’ll talk to those First Nations. I’ll confirm whether or not they were telling the truth in terms of what their technology could do for wild salmon.

You’re talking about more jobs. Just in north Island alone, for one company, 6,000 jobs are going to be lost. Nobody’s standing up for them. And 6,000 families are going to have to determine their future. Nobody’s standing up for them, not even their own MLAs.

Not to mention that fish farms in north Island actually contribute over $500 million to the economy — $500 million. They contribute a tax base to their communities. They contribute revenues to this government so this government can use it on programs. The largest agricultural export in B.C., and this government is happy enough to be quiet about it, quiet about the families who will have to consider where their children finish their school.

Has this House ever considered the pressure that would be taken off wild salmon if you actually go back and take a good look at the facts and science behind fish farms to begin with? So 60 percent of salmon in B.C. is supplied by fish farms. When this supply is taken away, more pressure will be put on wild salmon stocks, because the world is growing, the population is growing. They need protein. They want protein. If you take away this supply, then that idea of Alaskan fisheries intercepting B.C.-bound salmon is going to get worse. You can’t stop the hunger for food in a world that has a growing population.

We’re being very shortsighted in terms of the resources that B.C. has to offer the world, not to mention the benefits that can come back to British Columbia itself. When we’re talking about fish farms and the comment made by Stikine on Twitter in relation to my comments made in the House, nobody has talked about Kitasoo.

I know Kitasoo as Klemtu. It’s a small village on the coast of British Columbia. It’s in the North Coast riding. They’ve had a fish farm for over 17 years. They have a plant right inside their community to process the product that comes from their own fish farm. They’re going to get shut down. Nobody’s talking about that. Nobody’s standing up for them. When they get shut down, what’s left for them? I’ll tell you what’s left for them: Indian Act welfare. That’s what it is. That’s all this community has in terms of jobs and revenues.

Reconciliation doesn’t mean anything, the word means nothing, unless you’re lifting Aboriginals out of poverty and getting them away from the horrible social issues that they’ve been facing. It means nothing. Everybody across Canada knows what it means to have a job when you’re trying to address unemployment, poverty. But do you know how to address the suicides?

Read a report from across Canada — anyone — and talk about what these First Nations leaders are trying to do and what they’re trying to address. They’re not trying to address reconciliation. They’re trying to stop their kids from going into government care. They’re trying to stop their members from going into prison or keep them out of prison. That’s what they’re doing.

[5:45 p.m.]

If you’re not addressing that, the word “reconciliation” means nothing. It’s actually a shameful term if you’re not addressing the social issues that elected First Nation leaders have been trying to address for the better part of 20 years.

I do understand that the fish farm effort is getting undermined and actually will get wiped out of B.C. by the federal government. I understand that, but there is such a thing as lobbying, and I do know that this provincial government has lobbied the federal government in the past.

In this case here, where we’re talking about forestry, where we’re talking about mining, where we’re talking about fish farms or LNG, all we need to do is actually lobby the federal government, in the same way that this Legislature lobbied the federal government to get rid of tariffs on modulars built in China for the LNG Canada project. It got rid of tariffs, to make LNG Canada possible. That was the result of lobbying. There is no reason why this government can’t go to Ottawa and actually lobby on behalf of those workers that are going to lose their jobs and their lifetime dreams in the north Island.

In terms of where we’re heading, the Ukrainian flag was raised outside the Legislature, and many of us are wondering: “What can we really do to make a difference?” I think that today we made it clear, in terms of what the options are, when we were talking about the pension plans that invested in Russian companies that helped finance a war.

We can pull that back. We can pull back that mandate, but we can also help Europe get off Russian LNG. We can help India get off coal. We can get China off coal. We’d get them all off coal by shipping them a clean energy alternative. That’s where we can make a difference, a huge difference, because the stranglehold that Russia has over Germany and European countries is the same type of stranglehold that coal has on the developing countries.

You can’t stop the need for energy. You can’t stop it — especially when you’re thinking about India and China, where their citizens want the same standard of living as what we take for granted here in Canada, here in B.C. We have a moral duty to help out the world. All we need to do is fast-track the seven projects currently in B.C. that are waiting for permits. We can help change the politics around the world, because energy is foundational to everything that we do.

The question is: will this government actually pick up on this? LNG Canada is a good start — six million tonnes of LNG, just for the first two trains alone that were approved in this Legislature — but let’s not forget that LNG Canada’s project was proposed to ship out 26 million tonnes of LNG. We need those other two trains approved, and we need them approved quickly. I didn’t even know that only two trains had been approved until last year. I’d thought all four trains were approved.

Why would LNG Canada only build two trains that just cover the costs? That doesn’t make sense. All four trains, totalling 26 million tonnes, are ready to go, ready to be built. Somebody has got to answer to that — it’s either going to be the government or it’s going to be LNG Canada — to understand why 26 million tonnes are not actually being shipped over to Asia as originally planned.

Really, it’s something that I think everybody has heard over the last 30 years: to think locally or act — what is it? — internationally…. Or is it act globally? I don’t even know what the term is. Does anybody know what the term is?

Interjections.

E. Ross: “Think globally; act locally.” Thank you to the member for Vancouver-Langara.

[5:50 p.m.]

We’ve talked a lot about electric cars, yet we’ve never talked about what will actually make electric cars a permanent part of our future and where B.C. can play its part. We’ve got a lot of mineral resources that we can utilize for batteries. I’ve seen the budget. There was a celebration of $700 million in mining exploration, like that meant something

Exploration is a crucial step, in terms of determining what’s in the ground, but really, what you’ve got to do is approve those mining permits so that we can get that out of the ground and into the manufacturing facilities to make these batteries for the electric-car future. The $700 million of mining exploration means nothing unless we put a shovel in the ground, never mind that we haven’t quite figured out what to do with these batteries once they’re expended or, for that matter, how to make them more affordable. In terms of how to actually help out the electric-car future, we’ve got to address that.

I mean, we’re thinking about what it takes to put up a communication tower on top of a mountain, for example, to help service a mining operation — a 140-day waiting period. That’s crazy, especially when you consider that there are already two communication towers there right now. But we’ve got to study it.

For a world that needs our resources, whether we’re talking about the mineral resources or LNG, is there any appetite for B.C. to become part of the global solution? If there is, we’ve got to reconsider how the 140 days has to be amended. To put up a communication tower beside two existing towers doesn’t make any sense.

When we’re talking about energy, it’s the same thing — whether we’re talking about fertilizers or plastics, products that come from LNG, things that we could be doing better — in making sure we also export LNG to countries that need it but also consider a value-added industry coming from LNG, making fertilizer from LNG here in B.C. instead of shipping it to another country and then buying that fertilizer back from them.

We could actually develop a plastics industry here, instead of shipping it overseas and then buying the end product, but we’ve got to get away from this energy dependence. We’ve got to get away from it. We’ve got great hydroelectricity; I agree with that. But the idea of getting rid of the clean energy program, like this government talked about last year, and then buying electricity off the North American grid when we know for a fact that energy on the North American grid is actually fuelled by coal, brown power, doesn’t make sense. None of this makes sense.

If we don’t consider energy independence, then we’re going to lapse into energy poverty. This is what Europe is going through. They’re dependent. Ask any elected chief and council what it’s like to be dependent — dependent on somebody else, namely the Indian Act. It’s awful. It’s horrible. That is not what we owe to British Columbians for our future.

We’ve got to become part of the solution in energy, in our resources, not just for the sake of British Columbians but for the sake of the world, that wants our energy, that wants our resources. If we don’t do that, there’s a dark future ahead for British Columbians, and there’s a darker future for countries around the world — like those countries in Europe, in Germany — in India and China.

With that, I will take my place, and I’ll listen to the rest of this debate today.

B. Bailey: I’d like to respond to the budget, which I’m very happy to support, wearing two hats. First, I’ll speak a bit about how this budget impacts the technology sector writ large and, second, how this budget will impact folks in my riding of Vancouver–False Creek.

[5:55 p.m.]

Before I do that, I’d like to just take a moment to respond to the member for Cariboo-Chilcotin, who asked for an explanation on the PST loophole closure on secondhand cars. While he was speaking, I was shaking my head. The reason I was shaking my head is that the member framed this issue as us introducing a new tax. That is, frankly, simply false.

I love talking about cars or anything to do with cars. This is my wheelhouse. I grew up with a collector of old cars. I work on old cars. I’m completely lousy in the kitchen, but if you need your oil changed, I’m your girl.

I’ve actually bought and sold quite a lot of secondhand cars — in fact quite recently. I think the member probably knows this, but just in case, how do you determine the value of a used car? Well, market value, right? Market value is what I want to sell it for and what you want to buy it for. The determined amount that we negotiate is market value for that car. That is the amount that PST should be paid on. It seems pretty simple.

In fact, there’s a bit of fudging that goes on, because people can, right? There’s no clear directive or incentive not to skirt around the edges of the rules on this, and lots of people do it.

What happens is, if I’m selling a car for $10,000 and you agree to pay that amount, that would be $1,200 owed to the government for PST. But what’s to say, when we have our transfer papers, you ask me: “Could I say that I bought it for $5,000? I’ll still give you the $10,000, but could I say that I bought it for $5,000? Then I only have to pay $600 PST.”

People do this, right? Folks selling cars feel pressured. They want the deal to go through. They’re trying to be friendly, and folks buying cars want the deal. People don’t really think about this as tax evasion. I don’t think folks doing this recognize that what they’re participating in is in fact fraudulent. This is tax evasion, on a small scale. It might seem kind of harmless, but when you add up the amount that’s not coming into provincial coffers as a result of this behaviour, it comes to, we estimate, $15 million. It’s quite real.

This little thing that happens in this transaction, this tax evasion, is what we’re referring to as a loophole, because we can close it. We can figure out how to close it. Other provinces have done this. Rather than the declared value being what’s written on the transfer papers, if there is a situation where a car is sold below what the value of that car should be, it needs an explanation. Otherwise, the expected price would be what the PST is charged at.

How do you determine that expected value? What happens currently is often…. Coming back to my $10,000 car example that sold for $5,000, you’d buy the car. The person would get their $10,000. The government would get their $600, instead of $1,200. The person could go, then, and have their car evaluated, and it would be valued at $10,000, maybe higher or maybe slightly lower, but around that price.

What is going to change is that there’s going to be a book price. Some other provinces have solved this by using — I usually refer to it as blue book, but I understand the appropriate name for Canada is — the Canadian Black Book. That will provide an expectation — given the variables of this particular vehicle, the age, the condition, the mileage, any modifications, all of that — of what one would expect that car to be worth. If the price is significantly below that, then questions are raised.

In this way, we’ll be actually making efforts to ensure that this tax evasion does not continue and that we’re collecting the correct amount. So in no way is this a new tax. This is simply a question of closing a loophole on behaviour that we want to curb, because, frankly, it’s tax evasion.

[6:00 p.m.]

To suggest that this is a new tax is quite a stretch, and I wonder if the other side is suggesting that tax evasion is something that they support. That would surprise me greatly. Perhaps they just misunderstand what it is.

Interjection.

B. Bailey: It’s certainly not that we think everyone is a criminal. That’s a ridiculous thing to state. This is a small issue, obviously. If we thought everyone a criminal, we wouldn’t expect $15 million in the coffers. This is a small issue that needs to be closed. So that’s how it works.

I was really excited to read the budget. Like many folks, I stayed up very late that night reading over what had been included and what not. I was very, very, very happy to see the multiple continued supports to our vibrant and diverse tech sector, and I’d like to spend a little bit of time speaking about that now and go through a number of these pieces and underline their importance.

Specifically, the budget continues our commitment to grow the clean tech economy. This is really, really important. In British Columbia, there are a number of areas in our tech sector where we’re right at the precipice of being world leaders. We have the capacity to really continue to feed these sectors and see us become even more important in how we compete with other parts of the world. The clean tech sector is definitely one of those.

Funding for clean industry and innovation is definitely in this budget, including enhancing the CleanBC program for industry. We see increased equity tax credit, as well, to access the venture capital for clean tech investments for small business. So I know that some folks may not be that familiar with some of these programs, so I’ll spell them out a little bit.

The venture capital tax incentive program is an incentive to encourage investors to make early-stage equity investments in tech companies. That helps B.C.’s small businesses develop and grow. So this is an important incentive. Early money is the hardest money to get. When you’re building your company and growing it, risk is highest early on. Investors don’t want early risk, generally. The investors are looking at risk-reward ratio. Early money that has more risk tends to be more expensive. This is very, very challenging, and yet so necessary in order to grow your company.

The government has had this program available for quite a long time. But what’s different in this budget is that we’re including a bit of a bump-up — $2.5 million, specifically — for the clean tech sector. Individuals receive a credit of up to 30 percent of their investment and may claim up to $120,000 per tax year. This is a temporary tax credit that will go from 2022 to 2024. That $2.5 million bumps up from 37.5, so it allows additional investments in that particular sector, which we highlight in this budget.

We’re also really focusing on the skills gap issue by investing in micro-credentials and work-integrated learning opportunities. I just want to pause here a little bit and talk about why that’s important. In technology, there are often very unique and specific roles within particular software development, for example. You might train as a computer scientist, but there are so many variations of what that can mean. For a particular company that you join, there might be a skill set that you have some training in but are not fully immersed in. To have an opportunity to do work-integrated learning really helps folks develop their skills, and it also helps the company. It’s absolutely a win-win.

When I recently had the opportunity to meet with many, many people — both employers and employees — consulting on the innovator skills initiative, we heard again and again and again the importance of work-integrated learning and how effective it is. Both sides of the equation really, really value this opportunity. It’s a great way for young people, particularly, to get some fantastic experience. It’s a wonderful way for businesses to have a chance to get to know young talent and to continue bringing them into their organization and perhaps lead to long-term careers within that organization.

[6:05 p.m.]

Micro-credentialing is also really important. I’ll give you an example from animation. It used to be that someone would go in and do a two-year animation program, say, for example, at Capilano College, and after that two years, they would then go out and look for work. But that sector has grown so quickly in British Columbia. We, in fact, are one of the leaders in the world. Animation houses are wanting to hire people more quickly. We saw that sometimes students were leaving after one year in a program.

That’s not really that beneficial to the student who doesn’t then complete, it’s not necessarily beneficial to the university that loses a student partway through the program and it’s not necessarily beneficial to the organization that’s hiring the student, because they’re partially trained.

An interesting solution for that challenge is to get very, very specific on the micro-credentialing that might solve for that issue. Rather than a very broad training with some specific training, go specific.

We see organizations, we see companies, that are actually providing micro-credentialing within their own organization in order to ensure that they’re getting the skills that they need. They’re saying to us: “Wouldn’t it be great if we could, in fact, train people up more quickly so that they can enter business and become a really important part of our team without necessarily having those longer-term training programs?”

It’s also great for students, because it’s not nearly as expensive and they get to immediately start work. There’s a lot of benefit to micro-credentials, and there is interest in doing things like stacking micro-credentials.

For example, coming back to the animation example, digital artists and animators could do one aspect of training, go into the workforce, come back out, do additional training, grow their career, go back into the workforce, and so on. That’s just one example, but you see this true across the tech sector — a lot of interest in work-integrated learning.

The world-class $163 million trades and technology centre that we’re committed to building at BCIT that we see in the budget is actually a tremendous offering to the tech sector. It’s focused on trades as well, of course, but smaller training will be available there for the tech sector as well. There is a lot of excitement around that.

Of course, this is important because, as we hear from many industries, and I refer to the tech sector as an industry even though it’s not really, it’s across all industries…. What we hear from that sector is the biggest challenge to growth and the biggest challenge to the future is talent. We hear that everywhere we go, in many, many sectors, perhaps even more so in the tech sector, because of the competitive nature of it worldwide. Again, coming back to that BCIT building, it’s just really well received.

I’m going to share with you a quote from the league of Canadian innovators, which is a national organization. Tessa Seager, here in British Columbia, says, upon reading the budget: “Access to talent is the number one barrier to growth facing Canadian scale-ups. Today’s plan to modernize skills training and future-ready our workforce lays the ground work to overcome that barrier, while also recognizing that building a sustainable labour force requires action on child care, affordable housing and climate resiliency.”

I just want to pause here for a moment, because this is something I’m hearing a lot when I meet with tech companies. For me, having been in the sector for two decades, this is a sea change. It used to be that if you mentioned child care, you were thought to be left of Castro. That’s not the case now. I meet with CEOs who are very results-driven, and they recognize that an important part of their success is child care and an important part of their success is housing.

When we ask the question of tech leaders, we say: “What are the barriers that you’re hearing about? What are the barriers that matter to you? What are you hoping for, from government?” They lead with child care and housing. I find that amazing and encouraging. It really speaks to, I think, the reality that all of us have come to realize, as a result of the pandemic if not before: child care is not a social issue. Child care is an economic issue, as is housing.

We’re also investing to ensure folks are not left behind — 280 additional First Nations and rural and remote communities, 92 percent of First Nations communities in B.C., will have high-speed internet. You can’t underestimate the importance of this. Connectivity needs to be available for everyone. So it’s very exciting to see the important work happening there.

There is also $90 million for the expansion of the engineering and computer science building and construction of a new engineering lab building at UVic, supporting 500 additional tech seats. We have extended the SR-and-ED tax credit for five years to August 31, 2027.

[6:10 p.m.]

For folks who aren’t from the tech sector, what is the SR-and-ED tax credit, and why are we investing in it, and why does it matter? It matters quite a lot, in fact. This is an investment tax credit, an ITC, that’s part of the scientific research and experimental development program. It’s a federal program that’s topped up by provincial dollars.

What’s really important about this program is that it actually drives innovation and experimentation. That is so important. When you’re running a business, it’s risky to do things differently. It’s risky to try new things. To have a government that will encourage that risk and help fund that risk and provide a return on your investment in that risk is absolutely integral.

The basic amount is 15 percent federally, or if you’re in the enhanced program, it’s 35 percent. B.C. adds a 10 percent top-up to a maximum of $3 million. So I was really pleased to see that that was also in the budget.

The budget also included the first project of its kind in the world, the conversion of one block of the University of British Columbia, Point Grey campus, into an integrated energy system: the clean, connected and safe transportation testbed. The testbed is a city-scale living laboratory. It will emulate critical links between energy, transportation, information and communications technology and urban design that will be used to test how interactions between vehicles, infrastructure and pedestrians can be optimized to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The budget provides $4.6 million in B.C. knowledge development funding for the testbed.

Also, to foster innovation, there is $200 million provided to R and D in the life sciences sector. I spoke earlier about particular areas in British Columbia’s tech scene that really have potential to be world-class, and without question, the life science sector is one of these, if not already world-class. It’s such an important part of what’s happening in the sector in British Columbia.

On success of extraordinary companies like STEMCELL and AbCellera and many, many others, this is a sector that has 11,000 active companies in British Columbia and employs more than 20,000 people and $5.4 billion in annual revenue. We actually have the fastest life sciences sector in Canada. So I’m sure folks are really happy to see that continued support at such a high level.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Those are just some of the highlights that I wanted to bring forward from a tech lens on this particular budget.

I’d now like to transition and highlight a couple of things that are particularly relevant to my riding of Vancouver–False Creek. First, I want to start with child care. There’s $193 million in child care spaces, over 5,024 new spots. Child care, like so many places across our beautiful province, is just so important to my riding, which is full of growing families.

Unlike when the B.C. Liberal government was in power and destroyed the sector of early childhood development, our government has invested nearly $15 million in ECE support just in my riding, not to mention the tens of millions of dollars invested across British Columbia.

From the cost savings to growing families to new licensed daycare spaces to early childhood educators receiving wage increases, there is light on the horizon to re-establish a thriving early childhood education industry. However, we’re not out of the woods yet, due to COVID-19 and rising inflation. Parents have talked to me about the rising costs of food, making it difficult for families to thrive.

Families in my riding have saved through fee reductions and benefits an estimated more than $6 million. Total new licensed spaces funded through Childcare B.C.: seven in this budget. Total early childhood educators, ECEs, getting a raise through their wage enhancement wage: $525,000 going to 31 ECEs.

That’s just highlighting Vancouver–False Creek, but looking provincewide, we’ve invested an historic $2 billion in child care in our first three years of the Childcare B.C. plan. With Budget 2021, we’re investing an additional $233 million over three years that will help families throughout our province, bringing a total investment of child care to $2.3 billion.

[6:15 p.m.]

Remember, this is really about the economy, right? It’s the right thing to do for families, but it’s also a massive contribution to the economic growth that our province is continuing to enjoy.

The total amount that parents have saved through three reductions: $688 million. The total number of bursaries for students pursuing a career in child care: over $16 million for over 8,000 bursaries. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve invested more than $320 million to support 4,500 child care centres.

I want to talk a little bit about some of the work that’s going on in the education file in my riding, specifically Henry Hudson Elementary in the Vancouver school district. It’s being replaced under the ministry’s seismic mitigation program and will provide a 390-student-capacity replacement school, which is scheduled to complete in 2024. That replacement school will include low-carbon design features, a neighbourhood learning centre space for before- and after-school care and a preschool, as well as a facility for child care services funded by the city of Vancouver.

I want to pause here for a moment, because in this budget, you see that we are moving Child Care into Education, and boy, is that good for families. I know my children are grown and adults now, but what a difference that would have made to my life when I was racing between daycare and schools. For myself, my kids were at different schools. One was in French immersion. Two weren’t. I had one in child care. It was just constantly a race and a pressure. The stress that parents live under with those types of circumstances are enormous.

I want to tell you about a parent that I met with a few weeks ago in my riding, named Crystal. She has two children. One is at preschool, and one is at elementary school. Unfortunately, they’re quite a ways away from each other. She has to travel by bus to get them there. Where she goes to take the bus, there are a bunch of folks who smoke, and she has child who has severe asthma. So she’s been trying to ride her bike to do all of this transport back and forth. She literally spends two hours of her day every day doing this while trying to hold down a full-time job as a single mom. It’s simply too much for folks. It really is.

Now, the experience that she’ll have when the preschool is located where her elementary school is, is a completely different experience than what she’s having right now. So it might not seem like a massive change, but I think this is a seismic shift for parents, and it’s going to make a tremendous difference to their well-being.

I want to speak a little bit about another issue of paramount importance in Vancouver–False Creek, which is strengthening health and mental health services. There is a lot in this budget on this. I’ll just highlight a few particular areas. We’re advancing the primary care strategy by adding new urgent and primary care centres and working in partnership with the First Nations Health Authority to continue creating up to 15 First Nations primary care centres throughout our province.

We’re continuing a strategy to reduce wait-lists for surgeries and diagnostic imaging with $303 million in new base funding over the next three years. We’re reducing emergency-call wait and response times by adding more paramedics and dispatchers, with $148 million over the fiscal plan for the B.C. emergency health services action plan. This is so important. All of us agree — it doesn’t matter which side of the House you’re on — that when you call 911, you deserve to have a fast response, and this is a commitment to that.

We’re improving wages, working conditions, job security and stability for thousands of support service workers, the majority of whom are racialized women, while improving outcomes for patients by bringing these workers back to the public sector after 20 years of contracting this work through private companies. We’re continuing to support actions of the Pathway to Hope to expand mental health and addictions care, supporting with significant Budget 2021 investments that bring increased annual expenditures since 2017 to over $375 million annually.

Budget 2022 also invests an additional $875 million for the 2022-2023 pandemic recovery contingencies, for ongoing COVID-19 influenza vaccination programs, PPE for health care workers, enhanced measures to limit the risk of COVID-19 for vulnerable residents in long-term care and assisted-living facilities, increasing mental health supports for Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities and funding for the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.

[6:20 p.m.]

Another issue that is really relevant in the riding that I represent, Vancouver–False Creek, is the issue of homelessness. There’s been a lot of talk about housing in the last week in this House. I’m not going to repeat my comments on housing, but I will speak a little bit about homelessness.

People will benefit from a new cross-government ap­proach to both prevent homelessness and quickly respond to assist people experiencing homelessness to become stably housed. Budget 2022 invests $633 million over the fiscal plan to expand services and shift the approach to homelessness in the province from reactive to proactive. How are we going to do this? Providing $35 million over the next three years to respond to the heightened risk of homelessness faced by former youth in care through improved supports for these youth beyond their 19th birthday.

I just want to stop for a moment there and share some personal thoughts. I got to live with a group of young people who were in foster care. I was fortunate enough to be from a stable, middle-class family and didn’t have the experience of being a foster child, but the local stable that I worked at when I was a girl in Nanaimo was actually a foster home. Because of my love for horses — and my parents didn’t share that love — I spent my summers there and my weekends there. I came to have many foster sisters who I still love to this day and consider part of my family.

Boy, oh boy, the support that you get — it ending on your 19th birthday — is just such a…. It’s a kick in the teeth. It’s not how families act. It’s certainly not how my three children have been treated, and it’s not how we treat children in our families that aren’t foster children. I don’t think that 19 is adulthood anymore, it strikes me. The supports that we provide to people….

I know for myself that my children really experienced support probably up to the age of 24 or 25. I find it personally heartwarming, thinking about the people that I love who grew up in foster care, to know that that’s changing and that they’ll have support until the age of 27. When we have people in care, we are their guardians, and this is, without question, simply the right thing to do.

I also just want to mention that we’re beginning to transition services for family with support needs. There’s been a lot of discussion in our province in regards to this transition, and Budget 2022 starts that process.

It’s about creating inclusive services for children and youth with support needs with an investment of $172 million over three years. This includes establishing family connection centres throughout the province. Of this amount, Budget 2022 invests $114 million to begin the transition to a needs-based system, as has been recommended, with early implementation to begin in two regions. Findings from these two pilots will inform the development and implementation of the provincewide system to be in place by 2025.

I’ll just close by mentioning quickly that there is also support for inclusion and antiracism work. We’re working in partnership with communities around the province to draft antiracism data legislation, which will be introduced in spring 2022. This legislation will help government to provide better and more equitable services by enabling the consistent collection, use and disclosure of demographic data, and help identify gaps in services to Indigenous and racialized communities.

Now, I could speak for much longer. There’s a lot in this budget.

Noting my time, I will stop there and thank the Minister of Finance for this excellent document. I’m delighted to speak in favour of it.

B. Bailey moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. D. Eby moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

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

The House adjourned at 6:25 p.m.