Routine Business

Prayers and reflections: N. Letnick.

Introductions by Members

Hon. J. Horgan: First of all, I want to compliment the Leader of the Opposition on his tie. Looks good.

I also want to acknowledge, in the gallery, two dear friends of mine who are not strangers to this place. Those who were elected in 2020 may not have come upon my friend Kody Bell and his faithful sidekick, Mark Bridges. Both Kody and Mark are here today.

They have been invading Speakers’ offices going back to Bill Barisoff, going through Linda Reid and up to this present day. The current Speaker will have the privilege of having them come in for a visit in the next little while.

A few pointers for those who don’t know Kody and Mark. Do not give him your keys. Do not give him your phone. The number of people that Kody contacted on the way into work today who are saying, “I haven’t heard from you in years,” is a testament to that.

They’re both great guys. They are passionate about this institution. They love to come here to watch the vigorous debates. More importantly, they like to come and engage with all the people in the Legislature. They stand out in my mind, over 18 years now, as two of my dearest friends and dear friends of this place.

[10:05 a.m.]

I know, Mr. Speaker, you will have some good candy and food for them to eat when they descend upon you. Hang on to your phone.

Would the House please make Kody and Mark very, very welcome.

K. Falcon: I, too, want to compliment the Premier on his fine choice of tie. I’ve always felt that there’s a lot more…. We’re becoming more alike as we get older, John — excuse me, Mr. Premier — as things go along.

I would like to also welcome in the gallery today…. As we know, all members of this Legislative Assembly rely so hard and so much on the constituency assistants that do such great work for us. They deal with the public. Most of the time, when you’re dealing with the public, it’s a fantastic experience. I’ve heard rumours that every once in a while, maybe, it’s not always perfect. I can tell you that the constituency assistants do an exceptional job on behalf of all of us.

Today in the gallery, we’re joined by all of the constituency assistants for the members of the opposition. I’d sure like the House to make them welcome.

P. Milobar: Today I just want to take a brief moment to mark a birthday, back in Kamloops, of a dear friend, a longtime colleague — on the heels of a civic election, it seems fitting, I guess — and, certainly, a mentor of mine when I first started in politics. Pat Wallace has a birthday today.

She served for over 30 years on Kamloops city council. She was a staff person working for Claude Richmond back when he was a minister in this place as well. She has given a good portion of her adult life to the betterment of our community.

I just want to make sure this House wishes Pat a happy birthday. I won’t disclose her age, though. She would kill me for that.

T. Wat: Today is the birthday of my second grandson, Ashton Chung.

I’d like the House to wish my grandson Ashton a healthy and happy birthday.

I’d also like to share the exciting news that I had a third grandchild this year. My granddaughter — I have two grandsons and one granddaughter — was born on July 11. She’s now, with the whole family, with me, and they are leaving soon. I want to share with you that I’m a proud grandmother of two grandsons and one granddaughter.

Mr. Speaker: Members, we can continue with the introductions after we finish with our earthquake drill. The House will have a brief recess. We will all be participating in that drill, with further instructions given to you by the Clerk’s office. I think it’s also raining. So maybe you can take an umbrella or jacket with you when you go out, just in case.

At approximately 11 o’clock, we will come back to the House. At the time when you hear the bell, please come back as soon as possible. We’ll continue with the morning agenda.

The House is now in recess.

The House recessed from 10:08 a.m. to 11:03 a.m.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Statements
(Standing Order 25B)

SMALL BUSINESSES IN KELOWNA
AND APPOINTMENT OF DAN ROGERS TO
CANADIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BOARD

R. Merrifield: I rise to celebrate the small businesses in Kelowna that employ much of our population. The Kelowna CMA is home to over 30,000 small businesses and was actually acknowledged by the Financial Post as the most enterprising region in Canada. In my riding, you can enjoy several great shops, restaurants and services that provide for our community.

If you want to go out for an extraordinary meal, head out to the Fixx Café, but if you just need a coffee, the Bean Scene or the Marmalade Cat Café is more your speed. For shopping, there’s no better fish than Codfathers or produce than Don-O-Ray’s or the Sunshine Market for those last-minute items, heading home to the Upper Mission. To show someone that you love them, well, go and visit Marie at Earthly Creations. But for those big shops, head to Peter’s Your Independent Grocer.

We need to support our small businesses now more than ever, which is why it is so great that we have a champion of our business community in the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce and the executive director, Dan Rogers.

[11:05 a.m.]

Dan Rogers has been the executive director of our Kelowna chamber for many years, having come from a political life in Prince George to the Okanagan. But his hard work and efforts for our entrepreneurial community are now being recognized by Canada, as just this last week he was appointed to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce board of directors at the national AGM and policy conference in Ottawa. Rogers is serving as the second vice-president with the Chamber of Commerce Executives of Canada and will represent the CCEC on the Canadian Chamber board for the next three years.

Would the House please join me in celebrating this new appointment for Dan Rogers and, in doing so, celebrate the whole entrepreneurial spirit of Kelowna.

RECIPIENTS OF PREMIER’S AWARDS
FOR EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION

S. Chant: Last Friday I had the opportunity to attend the Premier’s Awards for Excellence in Education. This was a live event attended by people from all over B. C. and held at Government House. We were introduced to over 30 educators who have made significant contributions in a wide variety of areas.

Through vignettes on the big screen, we watched committed, engaged and compassionate teachers, administrators and support staff doing exemplary work with their school communities. The awards were in categories that aptly described the winners’ ongoing contributions as follows.

For community engagement — Sandra Richardson, vice-principal, Penticton Secondary, school district 67, Okanagan-Skaha. District leadership — Ivano Cecchini, executive director of facilities and planning services, school district 43, Coquitlam. Extracurricular leadership — Christina Horwood, teacher, Oak Bay High, school district 61, greater Victoria. Indigenous education — Birdy Markert, district principal of Indigenous education, school district 54, Bulkley Valley.

Outstanding new teacher — Rupinder Aujla, teacher, Ellison Elementary, school district 23, Central Okanagan. Outstanding support of the school community — Nicole Rishaug, student success team advocate, Mount Boucherie Secondary, school district 23, Central Okanagan. Outstanding support, teaching assistant — Elaine Tattrie, teaching assistant, Gibsons Elementary, school district 46, Sunshine Coast. Outstanding team collaboration — Megan Kang, Meghan Stewart, Tricia Yurkowski, Westcot Elementary, West Vancouver. School leadership — Ian Levings, principal. School equity and diversity — Nerlap Sidhu.

I, for one, am very grateful that our kids and our future are in the hands of these marvelous people that we call teachers, administrators and support staff in our schools across British Columbia.

WILF SMITH

L. Doerkson: On September 1 of this year, Cariboo-Chilcotin lost an amazing icon, loved and respected. Last weekend almost 1,500 people gathered in the Williams Lake Stampede grandstand to pay their final respects to Wilfred “Wilfeo” Leslie Smith.

Wilf Smith is a long-time auctioneer with B.C. Livestock. He started his career in partnership with his brother, Al, after attending auction school in the U.S. He was known for his quick wit and commitment to his family, our community and, of course, his clients.

He volunteered his time and auctioning skills freely to groups like Williams Lake Stampede, the Harvest Fair, Ducks Unlimited and 4-H. Darrell Williamson said it best, and with a chuckle, when he told me the best thing about Wilf was that once you put your hand up once, you were good for about six bids without having to put it up again. He could have been quoted as saying to one of his colleagues, Larry Jordan: “Larry, everybody here wants to buy something, so take their bid. Take it even if it looks like they’re just thinking about it.”

Joking aside, he was well loved by the staff, colleagues and clients of B.C. Livestock, who made it clear in their tributes during his service that they all had admiration, respect and trust in Wilf Smith. Bruce Rolph, Larry Jordan, Stephanie Matussek, Curtis Jette, Jay and Al Smith, Cordy Cox-Ellis, Wayne Jordan, Wade McNolty and Jack Billings all did extremely touching tributes to Wilf. They used words like firm, honest, supportive, caring, hard-working and loyal to describe him. This was a man that a handshake met everything, and for sure it meant his word. Most knew that of Wilf.

[11:10 a.m.]

I, along with the Cariboo-Chilcotin, send our love and our prayers to Wilf’s family — to Darlene, his wife. He’ll be missed by so very many people.

May he rest in peace, Wilf Smith.

TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION
AWARDS RECIPIENTS

B. Bailey: Earlier this month, with the Minister of Citizens’ Services and the Minister of Energy, I attended the annual technology innovation awards, or the TIAs. Think Oscars for tech companies. Staged before a sold-out crowd of more than 700 people, the province’s largest, longest-running tech awards celebrated 12 outstanding companies among a multitude of deserving nominees.

Start-up of the year went to VodaSafe, an underwater scanning technology used to help identify swimmers in distress and prevent drownings.

The inaugural award for GameChanger, Climate Leadership was presented to HTEC, who are unlocking hydrogen’s potential to reduce pollution and climate change by building hydrogen supply solutions and station networks.

I’ll quickly run through the other ten winners. Dapper Labs was the big winner of the night, taking home both the Spirit of B.C. Tech and the Excellence in Culture Awards. GameChanger, Diversity and Inclusion went to Hootsuite. The Vancouver Airport Authority won for excellence in industry innovation for their great work on their digital twin.

Excellence in Technology Innovations went to MeetAmi Innovations. The Growth award went to AOT Technologies. Advanced Cyclotron Systems won the Export award. Company of the Year, Scale went to Redlen Technologies. GeoComply won the Company of the Year Award for anchor companies.

The evening’s final award, Person of the Year, went to Josh Nilson, who is originally from Willow River, B.C. and of Indigenous heritage. Josh is a co-founder of East Side Games.

I want to end by quoting Josh, because I think his words are very, very important. “I think I’m a voice right now in getting the word out that ‘tech is for everyone….’ I think my job is just to hold the door open so other people can come in…. I’ll help amplify their voices and support them in whatever way I can.”

Congratulations to all the winners and to Jill Tipping and her team at B.C. Tech for putting on a world-class event celebrating the extraordinary talent in our tech ecosystem.

RETIRING LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS
IN COLUMBIA RIVER–REVELSTOKE

D. Clovechok: With the municipal elections behind us, I’d like to acknowledge three outstanding individuals who chose not to run for re-election, with a snapshot of their accomplishments.

Karl Sterzer served the village of Canal Flats for eight years, first as a councillor and most recently as mayor. He worked closely with the ʔakisq̓nuk First Nation on their Columbia Lake Recreation Centre. He delivered a forward-thinking OCP that focused on affordable housing. He attracted new businesses to town and a new community daycare, which is scheduled to open very soon. The Premier, actually, was out in Canal Flats at one of those celebrations.

Karl continues to be a passionate advocate for the Columbia Valley. He’s going to be missed.

Jerry Wilkie served the folks of the RDEK, electoral area G, for 14 years. Jerry’s passion for the environment was instrumental in establishing the Columbia Valley local fund, which was the first of its kind in Canada. The fund provides local financial support for important projects that contribute to the conservation of valuable natural areas.

With Jerry…. Politically we couldn’t be further apart. He’s a staunch NDPer. But we worked well together. I learned a lot from him, and I know I’m going to be getting him out to door-knock with me during the next election.

Clara Reinhardt served the community of Radium Hot Springs for 14 years, six years as a councillor and mayor for eight. Clara achieved a great deal for her community with her colleagues in the Columbia Valley. Most recently Clara was recognized in Ottawa as a community champion by the Forest Products Association of Canada. One of her biggest highlights was Radium’s new community centre and building it all with B.C. wood products.

In my riding, I have the honour to work with 49 local government elected officials, in addition to the elected school board trustees. These three individuals epitomize the calibre of government representatives we have here in British Columbia.

Thank you, Clara, Jerry and Karl.

SMALL BUSINESSES IN KOOTENAYS

B. Anderson: Small businesses are the economic engine of British Columbia and employ over two million people. Our government knew it was essential to keep small businesses open during the pandemic. So we invested $530 million, with a total of $1.5 billion in COVID relief.

Child care centres are small businesses. Our government is lowering child care fees so more parents can work in places like small businesses but also in hospitals, forests and schools.

[11:15 a.m.]

On the East Shore, you can find artisans like Barefoot Handweaving and North Woven Broom, which made the brooms for Harry Potter. That’s right. Our small businesses are serving the world and Hogwarts.

In the Creston Valley, we have farmers feeding our communities, like Kootenay Meadows, run by Erin Harris and her family. Best milk ever. With investments from our provincial government, the food hub recently opened, which will help even more businesses start, expand and flourish.

In Kaslo, the pharmacy was instrumental in getting people vaccinated. During the pandemic, they did home delivery to support people’s health needs.

Thanks, Ward and the team.

At Sunnyside Naturals, you can get everything from delicious tea to crystals from Hana and her staff.

In Salmo, stop and grab a refreshing beer at Erie Creek Brewing.

In Nelson, DeVito’s has been around since 1926, with four generations working there, including Shelley and Vince’s sons, John, Matt and Joel. They not only sell high-quality footwear, but they are also the largest shoe repair in Canada.

Start-up businesses like CertiCraft are moving to the Kootenays, providing craft cannabis cultivators like Rosebud Farms their novel software.

Do you want to see a true cross-section of the Kootenays? Head over to Oso, where, if asked for an espresso bean recommendation, owner Jon will launch into a personal journey with you to find your perfect fit. Just ask our Minister of Environment.

This week let’s celebrate all of our incredible small businesses in all of our communities.

Tributes

E. GEORGE MacMINN

Mr. Speaker: Hon. Members, I wish to acknowledge that later today a memorial service will be held for George MacMinn, who passed away at the end of August at the age of 92.

George was known to many of us and was highly regarded, given the mark that he left on this institution. He was a force in strengthening the role of the Legislative Assembly and the manner in which it conducts its business and was deserving of the many accolades that were bestowed upon him during his life in recognition of his remarkable service to this institution.

At the time of his retirement, 2011, from the position of Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, to which he was appointed in 1993, he had served this institution as a Table Officer for an unprecedented 54 years of service. His contributions to the Legislative Assembly will, no doubt, continue to be reflected in how this institution operates for a long time to come.

I simply wanted to take a moment to honour his service and memory today.

Oral Questions

ATTACKS BY REPEAT OFFENDERS AND
ACTION ON JUSTICE SYSTEM REFORMS

E. Sturko: The crisis of violence, random attacks, social chaos and disorder on our streets continues with more victims every day. Yesterday we learned of a woman who was robbed and sexually assaulted just blocks from this very Legislature. This woman wasn’t alone. Innocent people, front-line workers and police officers are facing barbaric attacks every single day.

This week an RCMP officer was murdered in the line of duty. Now we’ve learned that her accused attacker had a history of being arrested and charged with assault. He was arrested last year and charged with the assault and resisting of a police officer and then released. This March he was again arrested and charged with assault and again released. On Monday, a warrant was issued for his arrest when he failed to show up for court. At the time of the fatal stabbing, he was on conditions, not allowed to possess any weapons.

Enough is enough. Enough is enough. The soon-to-be Premier’s catch-and-release program has failed.

How many more people have to be assaulted, victimized or even die in our province at the hands of violent offenders before this government will take action?

[11:20 a.m.]

Hon. M. Farnworth: I thank the member for that question. All of us in this House take the matter of public safety incredibly seriously. That is why we have been working both at the local level and the provincial level with our police institutions on changes that they want to see that will make their work more effective and better. That’s why I pointed out yesterday the number of initiatives that have been undertaken to do just that.

We also know that there have to be changes to the Criminal Code, because when changes are made to the Criminal Code in how the police do their duty, how they enforce the laws — and how those changes come about sometimes because of case law at the Supreme Court — those are in the jurisdiction of the federal government.

It’s why we have been aggressive with the federal government in terms of the need for change in some of those areas. It’s why the Attorney General and myself — in Halifax — along with Attorneys General and ministers of justice from other provinces right across this country, who are dealing with similar situations, have said there have to be urgent changes done. We are working to do that.

At the same time, we are putting in place those initiatives identified in the LePard-Butler report that can do what police are wanting. The restoration of the prolific offender management program is a key priority. From the mental health side, how to deal with the mental health issues that more and more police are seeing on the streets; peer assisted PACT teams — the number one recommendation that they want to see in place.

We are working as hard and as diligently as we can to ensure that we are keeping the streets and communities of this province safe.

E. Sturko: You know, this government has had five years to take on these challenges. We recognize that it is difficult. However, I want it on the public record that the case law which I believe my friend is referring to, R. v. Zora, talks about the provisions by which prosecutors may ask, may seek, may request the detention of people who may cause harm in our communities.

In R. v. Zora, it does allow for prosecutors to bring forward information when it is a matter of public safety or where our justice system may fall into disrepute. They can ask for dangerous prolific offenders to be held in custody. This is no guarantee, but they should be asking, because it’s a crisis. We can’t afford any more inaction.

Kenneth Solowan is a prolific offender accused of brutally attacking, with a machete, two strangers who were loading luggage into a taxi. He has a long criminal record and past weapons charges. But according to the police: “He was recently granted bail and immediately breached his conditions.”

Violent stranger attacks like this should never be just accepted as a fact of life. Yet day after day, we see violence on our streets as prolific offenders are released and then breach bail and probation conditions.

The NDP government keeps telling us what they can’t do. When will they say what they can do and actually keep British Columbians safe?

Hon. M. Farnworth: I’ll answer the question from the member and then the comment from the Leader of the Opposition.

I have been outlining all the things that we have been doing and can be doing — initiatives that police have been asking for that we have been implementing over the last five years. There’s a significant amount of work that’s been done.

[11:25 a.m.]

Police have asked for witness protection programs, witness security programs to build stronger cases so that when people do commit violent crimes, they can be put away for a long time. Police have asked for forensic services that have been in place — that weren’t here, that we have put in place.

Police have asked for support teams in communities such as Terrace, such as Kamloops, such as Kelowna, with additional police resources to help deal with the challenges that they face — mental health teams, the peer assisted teams, the mental health experts to deal with those complex challenges that we know police face that are more complex than ever. We have done those things.

I know the Leader of the Opposition somehow seems to think that when you go to the federal government to talk about the Criminal Code: Oh, that’s just a meeting. No, it is not just a meeting.

The Criminal Code, Leader of the Opposition, is the responsibility of the federal government of Canada. Those changes….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Members, we heard the question. Let’s continue with the answer.

Hon. M. Farnworth: Those changes are being sought by British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and Yukon.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Please continue.

Hon. M. Farnworth: We understand that dealing with these issues requires a collaborative approach of local government, the provincial government and the federal government. We are going to do everything that we can.

Interjections.

Hon. M. Farnworth: I think that comment from the opposition says that they’re not really interested. They’re not really interested. But we are. We are, and we will continue every single day doing our job.

ACTION ON COMMUNITY SAFETY
AND ROLE OF INCOMING PREMIER

T. Stone: Well, could the gulf between what this government thinks is happening in this province and what is actually happening on the ground be any larger? Talk about a government completely and totally out of touch. The Solicitor General and his colleagues have had almost six years to take action. They’ve had six years to hold meetings with federal governments, to talk about Criminal Code implications. They’ve had six years to address what has been a rising challenge of prolific offender attacks that are terrorizing British Columbians.

All that really matters to British Columbians are the results. The results are that people increasingly do not feel safe in their communities, because they aren’t safe in their communities. That’s on this minister. That’s on this government.

The catch-and-release program that the incoming Premier oversaw for five years while being Attorney General has been an unmitigated disaster. This NDP government is dragging its feet when it comes to something as important and as critical as people’s right to feel safe in their communities.

When it comes to orchestrating a backroom takeover of the NDP leadership, the incoming Premier acted lightning fast to eliminate from the race a young woman who actually had the temerity to challenge him. While busy playing politics and stacking the deck in a leadership race, the incoming soft-on-crime Premier left our streets in chaos and our communities in fear.

The members opposite can laugh. British Columbians are not laughing at all.

What is it going to take? What is it going to take for the NDP to take real action to put a person’s right to feel safe in their communities above the rights of criminals to reoffend in British Columbia?

Hon. M. Farnworth: First off, for the member’s information, the changes that we have been talking about, that all provinces are concerned about, took place in 2019. We’re now seeing the unintended consequences of those changes.

In terms of the rules and the laws in place, they are exactly the same as when they sat on this side of the House. In fact, the same head of the prosecution service is the person that they appointed. For five years, we have been making investments in policing and support services that they have been asking for, and we will continue to do that.

We have increased funding for victim services. I hear the Leader of the Opposition talked about victims.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members, please.

[11:30 a.m.]

Hon. M. Farnworth: “Here we go,” he says. Here we go. When a young woman is sexually assaulted or when a woman is raped and they need support services — trauma-informed services from experts with the training, who know how to deal with these terrible situations — they go to sexual assault centres. Guess what. Did they care about that when they sat on this side of the House? No, they did not.

Interjection.

Hon. M. Farnworth: Shame, hon. Member? What’s shameful was cutting the funding.

Mr. Speaker: Members, Members.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members, shhh. Just hold it.

Hon. M. Farnworth: You cut the funding. You cut the funding for those centres that served victims, hon. Member. You cut the funding.

We restored that funding to make sure that funding is available right across the province. We know what needs to be done at the provincial level. In turn….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members, wait for your turn, please.

The minister will continue.

Hon. M. Farnworth: Thank you, hon. Speaker.

We’ve been working with local governments, we’ve been working with police forces, and we’ve been working with communities on what needs to be done. We also know that the work needs to be done with the federal government, and we are going to continue doing it till we get the changes that we need and that will keep streets in this province safe.

Mr. Speaker: Opposition House Leader, supplemental.

T. Stone: Well, the prevalence of violent random attacks has never been worse in British Columbia than they are right now under this government. That’s on this government. If the Solicitor General is going to stand up again and say, “Well, it didn’t actually become a problem until 2019,” why in God’s name didn’t he take action three years ago?

Why didn’t you take action back in 2019?

Mr. Speaker: Member, through the Chair.

T. Stone: The fact of the matter is that it’s getting worse and worse by the day in this province, and everything that this government has tried has failed. The answer that the Solicitor General just gave typifies this blame-everyone-but-themselves approach, which they are now becoming well known for, on this file and many others.

Now, the fact of the matter is that this government has ignored a whole range of actions, solutions, ideas that we have brought forward and that have been informed by mayors, informed by law enforcement and others — such as issuing policy directives to the Prosecution Service and assigning dedicated Crown counsel to prolific offenders.

Clearly, the NDP are hung up on their ideology. They haven’t taken action on these. It has been talk, talk, meeting, meeting, talk, talk and more meetings. It starts with the soon-to-be Premier, who wrote the handbook called How to Sue the Police. That was helpful. He even opposed the successful B.C. Liberal prolific offender management program, informed by best practices, calling it “aggressive policing tactics.” That’s the incoming Premier’s view of that.

What else did the incoming Premier say? He said: “It’s time to wean police from our taxes because crime is at low and acceptable levels.” These are the views of the soon-to-be Premier of British Columbia.

When will this NDP government abandon the soft-on-crime approach of this incoming Premier and end his catch-and-release program?

Interjection.

Mr. Speaker: That’s not very smart. Members, please.

Just hold it, Minister.

When the question is asked, please take a pause and let’s listen to the answer.

Hon. M. Farnworth: I do find it interesting that the members of the opposition want to talk about a leadership race, when they should go back and look at the last leadership race that they just had, and the fact that their winning candidate….

Interjections.

[Mr. Speaker rose.]

Mr. Speaker: Members, are we going to continue like this and waste our time? If not, let’s proceed with a proper question-and-answer period.

The minister will continue.

[11:35 a.m.]

[Mr. Speaker resumed his seat.]

Hon. M. Farnworth: Thank you, hon. Speaker.

Their winning candidate couldn’t stick to the spending rules.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members, the Chair can hear both sides, and the Chair can decide what’s appropriate and not. You don’t have to tell me, please.

The minister will continue.

Hon. M. Farnworth: Thank you, hon. Speaker.

I guess when the member stood up to ask that question, the facts really triggered him, because that was their record when they were on this side of the House. They cut funding for sexual assault centres. They cut funding for victim services. They cut funding to the support services that people need, that police rely on, knowing that there are experts out there that they can put in place to help them when they’re doing a very difficult job.

We want changes that will make sure that those engaged in violent crime go behind, are kept off our streets, where they belong. That’s why the ministers in Halifax talked about and want action on things, so that we can have a reverse onus, not just on those who use weapons such as a gun, but on those who use knives, for example, or use bear spray or other things that will….

Interjection.

Hon. M. Farnworth: Exactly hon. Member. That’s what we want done.

That’s done at the Criminal Code of Canada. That’s what we are determined to ensure takes place. That’s why we are working with the federal government on those changes, along with the other provinces. That’s why we’re putting in place the initiatives that we have done since we took office five years ago to ensure that police have the tools they need to do the job.

Mr. Speaker: Opposition House Leader, second supplemental.

T. Stone: Well, the difference between their leadership race and our race is that we actually had multiple candidates running for our leadership — seven candidates, to be exact — while I think all British Columbians have always known that the fix was in on this NDP leadership race.

I’ll tell you this much. As someone with three daughters, I am shocked and appalled that not only did they disqualify a young woman who stepped forward; they are smearing her, smearing her every day moving forward. That’s appalling. Every member over there should be ashamed of that.

Interjections.

T. Stone: What is so funny?

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members.

T. Stone: You bend yourself like pretzels to remove a young woman from your leadership race, who has organized and signed up more memberships than your soon-to-be-incoming Premier, and now you’re smearing her. Unbelievable. What a reflection on the members opposite.

Interjection.

Mr. Speaker: Member, you’re heckling your own member.

Members, let’s hear the question, please.

T. Stone: At a time when people need to have trust in their leaders to take on big challenges, it’s clear that the incoming Premier has a massive cloud over his head. British Columbians are going to be led by a soft-on-crime former Attorney General who abandoned public safety and by an NDP that has abandoned democracy. When the former Attorney General spent the last year scheming his takeover of their leadership race and the elimination of all opponents from said race, what he wasn’t doing was his job of keeping British Columbians safe.

For over six months, we have called for action from this government — which I mentioned in the previous question and which wasn’t answered by the Solicitor General — yet this government refuses to take action. British Columbians continue to be assaulted and attacked — people stabbed; people struck in the head with steel pipes; women being followed into their apartments and being assaulted; prolific offenders being released over and over again and then reoffending, sometimes only a couple of hours after their release. This madness has to stop.

When will this NDP government abandon the soft-on-crime approach of the incoming Premier and put the public’s right to safety above the rights of criminals to reoffend?

[11:40 a.m.]

Hon. M. Farnworth: You know, hon. Speaker, our new Premier-to-be is going to come into this House, and he is going to do the same…. He’s going to bring the same commitment that he showed when he took office as Attorney General…

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members.

Please continue.

Hon. M. Farnworth: …and set in place the body, the commission, that brought back a report into the unmitigated failure of the previous government when it came to money laundering in this province, money laundering that fuelled….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Shhh. Members. Members, let….

Hon. M. Farnworth: Thank you, hon. Speaker.

The money laundering led to unmitigated organized crime, drug dealing, trafficking, all of the kinds of things that it fuelled, because they….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members, Members.

Members, have the courtesy to listen, please — all of you, both sides.

Continue.

Hon. M. Farnworth: Money laundering fuels organized crime, hon. Member. It’s that simple. What part of that equation don’t you understand?

Hon. Speaker, the LePard-Butler report, again, which the Attorney General commissioned, with the 28 recommendations…. As soon as that report has been received, three of those recommendations are being acted on, including the one that they criticize, which is the repeat offender management program. He has committed to it going ahead. That’s why it’s going ahead.

Interjections.

[Mr. Speaker rose.]

Mr. Speaker: Members, take it easy, please. Please.

The minister will continue.

[Mr. Speaker resumed his seat.]

Hon. M. Farnworth: Thank you, hon. Speaker.

Those recommendations are being implemented. On the changes that we are seeking at the federal level to the Criminal Code, we are all united on this side of the House — and, I would hope, on that side of the House — to make sure that they get done. The tools that police have been asking for, for the last five years and that we have implemented have been initiatives of this government. They have been put in place, and we are going to continue to do that.

They’re upset that we have a leader who’s going to carry on the good work of our Premier. I will put our new leader against their leader any day.

Mr. Speaker: Leader of the Third Party has the floor.

GOVERNMENT ACTION ON
CAMPAIGN STATEMENTS

S. Furstenau: I hear the opposition talk about actions, solutions and ideas, and I think about two — over two — years ago, when we brought the proposal to bring psychologists into MSP and incorporate them into primary care and how much that would have helped to meet the needs of people over the last two years, if it had happened.

Free prescription contraception, biodiversity legislation, an end to old-growth logging, the renters rebate, a medical school at SFU, meeting our climate change accountability targets, stopping Site C, affordable housing, police reform, pay equity, community health centres, a review of fracking. These are just some of this government’s promises — promises made in election after election, promises made by the Premier, by the ministers, by backbenchers — promises made to the public and not delivered on.

After nearly six years, I think the members opposite need to ask themselves what they stand for. They called a snap election. They got the majority they wanted so badly. They have all this power, and they’re not demonstrating the courage to deliver. They should look to the three years that Dave Barrett was in power for an example of courageous leadership.

To the Premier, after so many broken promises, why should British Columbians trust this government?

[11:45 a.m.]

Hon. M. Farnworth: I thank the member for her question, because this government has done absolutely amazing work over the last five years. You know what, hon. Speaker? For a young family, young parents with young children, who want to have child care — cheaper child care, more affordable child care than ever existed when they were on that side of the House — that’s pretty amazing.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Shhh. Members.

Members, please.

Hon. M. Farnworth: When people were concerned about MSP premiums and how much that impacted the family budget in doing away with those, that’s pretty amazing.

When people were struggling with car insurance that was going up and up and up and members on the other side, when reports came out, said, “Oh, it’s going to go up,” and then, “Oh no, no, no, it’s not going up,” just before an election, the national election, they jack the rates up, and all of a sudden we are able to give them car insurance that is significantly, 20 percent, cheaper than it was before. That’s pretty amazing.

When we bring together a climate action plan that’s the best in this country, that’s pretty amazing. We’ve got a lot more to do, and we’re going to do it.

Mr. Speaker: Leader of the Third Party, supplemental.

GOVERNMENT OPENNESS
AND TRANSPARENCY

S. Furstenau: When this government was in opposition, they used to rave about the need for more honesty and transparency. Now this Legislature is shrouded in secrecy. This government says one thing and does another. In compromising the trust of the public, they are perilously close to disavowing democracy itself. They have passed restrictive FOI legislation. They have threatened to revoke the party status of their opposition. Lobbyists are embedded in their party infrastructure.

The Canadian Association of Journalists gave this government the Code of Silence Award for its dedication to denying transparency, openness and the public’s right to know. Less transparency, less trust, more corporate influence — this is not the party that they sold themselves as to British Columbians.

To the Premier, in his own words, how would he describe a healthy democracy?

Hon. M. Farnworth: I thank the member for her question. A healthy democracy recognizes the injustice that was done when they took office in 2001 and refused to recognize two people. They were so scared of two people, when they had 77 seats, that they would not even recognize them as official party status. And when we took office….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members.

[Mr. Speaker rose.]

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Is the member for Surrey–White Rock asking a question?

Take your time.

Please continue.

[Mr. Speaker resumed his seat.]

Hon. M. Farnworth: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

When we took office in 2017, we corrected that and made official party status for when there are two individuals. That allowed that member and her colleagues to become an official party in this Legislature.

[End of question period.]

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members, question period is over. Please.