Fourth Session, 42nd Parliament (2023)
OFFICIAL REPORT
OF DEBATES
(HANSARD)
Tuesday, February 7, 2023
Morning Sitting
Issue No. 258
ISSN 1499-2175
The HTML transcript is provided for informational purposes only.
The PDF transcript remains the official digital version.
CONTENTS
| Routine Business | |
| Orders of the Day | |
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2023
The House met at 10:03 a.m.
[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]
Blessings and Acknowledgments
Mr. Speaker: I invite T’Sou-ke First Nation Elder Shirley Alphonse to lead the House in prayer or reflection.
S. Alphonse: [SENĆOŦEN was spoken.]
Creator, Great Spirit, thank you for today and each one here, our members of the Legislature, our Chiefs, to recognize the day of September 30, to honour all students, from the first enrolled to the last enrolled, for those no longer with us and for those of us still here who walked through the doors of the residential schools.
We thank you, Minister of Indigenous Affairs, for the work done to make this special day possible and Phyllis for Orange Shirt Day.
Creator, Great Spirit, may we all walk together, stand by each other, work together every day with ÍY ŚW̱ЌÁLEC̸EN — good mind, good heart — for the good of our communities, for the sake of our children, grandchildren and those who will come behind us to the seventh generation.
HÍSW̱ḴE SIÁM.
Routine Business
Introductions by Members
Hon. M. Rankin: I’d like to recognize and welcome the Indigenous Elders, Chiefs, leaders, speakers and community members here today. I’m honoured that they’ve come to witness very important legislation being introduced in this place.
Thank you to Elder Shirley Alphonse of the T’Sou-ke First Nation for her beautiful opening prayer.
I’d like to welcome Phyllis Webstad, who was of the Orange Shirt Day, along with Sarah-Lee Philbrick and Reio Lance.
I’d also like to welcome Eddy Charlie and Kristin Spray of Orange Shirt Day Victoria, along with Katy Manamee, Anna McMillan and photographer Colin Smith.
Also joining us are Chief Robert Joseph and CEO Karen Joseph of Reconciliation Canada; Chief Don Tom from the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs; President Lissa Dawn Smith from Métis Nation B.C.; Chief Ken Watts of the Tseshaht First Nation; Robert Phillips of the First Nations Summit; Ray Harris, co-chair of the First Nations Summit; and Stephanie Holmes from the Indian Residential School Survivors Association.
Also in attendance are staff from the Declaration Act secretariat and the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation: Associate Deputy Minister Jessica Wood, Trenton McIntyre, Priscilla Sabbas-Watts, Savannah John, Matthew Kinch and Jennifer Melles.
Mr. Speaker, I’d ask, through you, for the House to please join me in making these special guests welcome.
L. Doerkson: I, too, want to build on the minister’s welcome. I specifically want to thank a woman who I believe to be a Canadian icon. She has unselfishly shared her incredibly touching life story. Who would have thought that an orange shirt could unite Canadians and British Columbians?
I’d like to extend a welcome to Phyllis Webstad. She is an incredible woman. She is an incredible leader in our community of Williams Lake.
Phyllis, you’ve touched me deeply so many times. Thank you for being here today. Welcome to this House.
Hon. D. Coulter: I have three guests, two from the Fraser Valley, here in the chamber, joining us today.
I have Amber Price, who is the owner of an iconic bookstore in our community called the Book Man, which I’m sure many people in the chamber are quite familiar with. As well, she has been championing the Chilliwack Mural Festival.
We also have Miel Bernstein, who is here. She runs a project called Project AIM. It’s a grassroots community organization providing education and barrier-free access to menstrual and incontinence products to those in need in the Fraser Valley and beyond.
They’re joined by their friend Laura Clegg.
I would like everyone in the chamber to please welcome these wonderful people.
A. Olsen: Just to add on to the introductions, I want to acknowledge the Chief of the Tsartlip First Nation, my Chief, Don Tom, who is in the House.
I’d like to welcome him to this place today.
M. Dykeman: It is my pleasure to introduce, in the gallery today, a constituent and friend of mine, Darian Kovacs, who owns and runs Jelly Marketing, an Indigenous-led digital marketing firm that specializes in providing lots of opportunities for people: offering WorkSafeBC programs and Indigenous digital marketing courses and works to make our workforce more diverse.
I was wondering if the House could please join me in welcoming Darian today.
K. Paddon: A very quick introduction. My best friend and partner of over 21 years, Drew Paddon, is up in the gallery, watching his favourite TV show live today.
Would the House please join me in making him welcome.
Hon. A. Kang: I see in the gallery today…. My administrative assistant is in the gallery. She’s a new addition to my ministry and a burst of sunshine into our office. We couldn’t do the work that we are embarking to do without her.
Thank you so much, Keziah, for being here.
Would the House please make her feel very welcome.
C. Oakes: I know we will be recognizing the B.C. legislative interns in the coming days as they find which caucuses they move to, but I just want to say it was lovely meeting them all.
I wish you so much success. Please know how important the role that each of you plays for all of the members of this House, and we wish you all the best. I look forward to working with you.
Mr. Speaker: Members, I have a special guest I would like to introduce today. It is my pleasure to advise you that we have a visiting Clerk from another jurisdiction on attachment with our House until the end of next week: Rémi Bourgault, procedural Clerk with the House of Commons of Canada.
The visit is one of a continuing series of attachments whereby our Legislative Assembly hosts clerks from other jurisdictions.
Please join me in welcoming Rémi to British Columbia and to our Legislative Assembly.
J. Rice: I have two guests in the gallery today. I wanted to welcome Paul Adams, who’s the executive director of the B.C. Rural Health Network, which has the goal of advancing rural health care in British Columbia. Paul and his member organizations and individuals are advocating for, as you can imagine, better health services in rural B.C. They work with us and other policy-makers.
I also wanted to introduce Dr. Jude Kornelsen, who is the co-director for the Rural Health Research Centre at UBC. She’s a health services researcher focusing on the needs of rural communities and has published some incredible papers.
They are two guests of mine, and I will be working closely with them in my new role as the Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Health. I’m really happy to have them here in the House today.
F. Donnelly: I also would like to acknowledge a good friend who’s joining us in the gallery today, Linda Duncan. Linda served as Member of Parliament for Edmonton-Strathcona in Alberta from 2008 to 2019.
As well as her political career, she has written many books and has had an esteemed legal career as a lawyer and a legal advocate and has done so many things. I would be here a long time mentioning all that she has done in that capacity, but I certainly want to mention the Canadian Environmental Law Centre that she was a strong part of.
Many of us formers — former MPs and recovering MPs — are here and welcome her into the House and ask the House that you join us in welcoming Linda to the gallery.
Hon. B. Bailey: I wanted to add my voice to my colleagues’ in welcoming Darian Kovacs and Jelly Academy to the House.
What’s important to know about Jelly Academy is they really understand that technology is for everyone. While some people pay full price for their excellent programming in digital marketing, they subsidize students of First Nations, Inuit and Métis heritage to have access to these incredible courses that provide 11 certifications in digital marketing. It’s a wonderful contribution.
We know everyone belongs in technology, and these guys walk the walk.
Introduction and
First Reading of Bills
BILL 2 — NATIONAL DAY FOR
TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION
ACT
Hon. H. Bains presented a message from Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor: a bill intituled National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Act.
Hon. H. Bains: I’m pleased to introduce Bill 2, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Act. This bill establishes the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a statutory holiday in British Columbia to be observed every September 30, starting this year.
The government of Canada established this day as a federal statutory holiday in 2021. This was in response to the call to action No. 80 from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to create a new statutory holiday honouring residential school survivors.
The statutory holiday provides an annual opportunity to publicly recognize the impact of residential schools on survivors, their families and their communities. It also encourages public dialogue and reflection regarding the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in British Columbia.
On this day, workers in British Columbia will have a paid day off to participate in public commemorative and educational events in a similar way to how we observe Remembrance Day.
Our government is committed to pursuing long-lasting and meaningful reconciliation with the Indigenous people of British Columbia. This government has listened to feedback from Indigenous partners, leaders and communities, in addition to British Columbia’s employers and workers, regarding the best way to observe the day. This new statutory holiday reflects this feedback.
This bill will enable British Columbians to observe this day and publicly honour residential school survivors every day.
Mr. Speaker: Members, the question is first reading of the bill.
Motion approved.
Hon. H. Bains: I move that the bill be placed on the orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.
Motion approved.
Bill 2, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Act, introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.
Statements
(Standing Order 25B)
LUNAR NEW YEAR
H. Yao: From lion dancing to distributing red envelopes, many communities in B.C. celebrated lunar new year last month with enthusiasm.
To many Asian cultures, like Chinese, Korean, Taiwanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Singaporean, Malaysian, Indonesians and many others, lunar new year is one of the most significant celebrations of the year. Many observe the lunar new year tradition with devotion and inclusivity.
Although lunar new year celebrations started in China, it is shared by many cultures, and due to social, economic and historical differences, every culture uniquely incorporates distinctive practices, traditions, heritage and beliefs into their celebrations, yet despite the diversity of cultural practices, all communities share the same hope for peace, happiness and prosperity.
Lunar new year is a great example of how multiculturalism and inclusivity promote diversity and creativity. People around the world that celebrate lunar new year also share the virtue of focusing on their love to their families, friends, colleagues and their neighbours.
Lunar new year originated from agrarian cultural needs, and the start of the lunar new year was a time for farmers to rest from their work and celebrate. Lunar new year marks the end of winter and beginning of spring, hence why it is also called a spring festival.
After thousands of years of celebration, lunar new year mimics the virtues of a culture that desires to have food security for years. As our world faces many different challenges, we, too, should embrace the teachings of lunar new year: peace, happiness, prosperity.
I am honoured to lead the effort and be joined by my government to announce, on January 6, 2023, the province of British Columbia’s first proclamation that January 22 to February 22, 2023, be lunar new year month. Let us join people who observe the lunar new year to champion peace, happiness, prosperity for all.
Happy new year. Gong xi fa cai. King hei fat choy.
LARRY FISHER
K. Falcon: Over the weekend, Surrey lost one of its great ambassadors, and I lost a good friend and supporter in the name of Larry Fisher. Larry was a very successful entrepreneur who started the Lark Group. He was a loving dad and a granddad and someone I’ve been very proud to call a friend for many, many years.
He was also a huge Surrey booster and a builder who rarely said no to any request. Any charity that had something going on, anything that would benefit any of the folks in Surrey — he was always the first to step up to the plate. He loved his community, and he loved this province very deeply.
As a result, anywhere you go in Surrey, you will see testaments to his legacy. The North Surrey Sport and Ice Complex, an excellent ice arena; the towers in city centre; the Bill Reid Memorial shelter for the homeless; Laurel Place for seniors; the Fraser Valley heritage car barn; Morgan Creek Golf Course. On and on it goes — all of that a tribute to Larry and the Lark Group.
Larry, you truly left your mark, and you helped spearhead some of the incredible growth and development in the city of Surrey while always thinking about those that were less fortunate. The city is a better place because of your involvement and your energy.
Every company, every contractor, every subcontractor, Larry Fisher knew by name. He worked with all of them, and everybody knew he was a handshake business person, the kind of person whose handshake meant you knew everything was going to get done exactly as he committed to do.
He was also a great supporter of our free enterprise system, because he recognized that a system that allows people to thrive and creates a quality of opportunity is the best way to generate revenues and wealth for the province to ensure that we’ve got the dollars needed to fund important services.
Finally, I’ll just say this. The one thing I couldn’t stand about Larry is that he loved early-morning meetings, and he would insist on meeting at six in the morning all the time, because his day started at five. This guy was a worker, and I’m sure that somewhere out there his work is continuing. He’s finding a new project.
I ask the House to please think of his memory.
VOLUNTEERISM
S. Chandra Herbert: If you want to change the world, volunteer. You want to get some cool jobs? Volunteer. You want to meet really interesting people? Volunteer. You want to gain skills to move on in your career? Volunteer. You want to meet that person that you’ve had an eye on for a while who’s maybe had an eye on you too? Volunteer.
My parents raised me as a volunteer. They taught me that if you want to change things, you get involved. You don’t do it because you want your name in lights. You don’t do it because you want to be celebrated by people. You do it because the work is what matters.
Every one of us has incredible volunteers in our communities who make our world better each and every day. They do it not for notoriety; they do it because it matters.
I want to give some notoriety to some volunteers in my community who’ve been showing up every year that I’ve been an MLA to be out on the street, in the snow, in the rain, in the hail, in the bright sun, to talk to residents, to make a difference, to find what can change to make their lives better.
Sharon Isaak, Alex Puttonen, Heidi McDonell, Spencer van Vloten, Trent McLaughlin, Don Allison, Janice Johnston, Paul Kopas, Thor Boe, Robin Sweeny, Morgane Oger, Bruce Murray — those are the key volunteers that show up for me. No matter what weather, no matter what time, they will be there to make that difference for our community — community events, community fundraisers, community meal, community snow-shovelling. Yes, that does happen occasionally in the West End. Normally we’re shovelling rain, but that’s another story.
If you want to make a difference, I say to volunteer. In my community of West End–Coal Harbour, we have so many great places to volunteer: Stanley Park Ecology Society, Gordon Neighbourhood House, West End Seniors Network, West End Community Centre, West End–Coal Harbour Community Policing Centre. I could just go on and on, because there are so many great ways to be involved.
So change the world. Volunteer.
LUNAR NEW YEAR
T. Wat: It is my pleasure to rise today and wish all British Columbians that celebrate the lunar new year a prosperous and joyful year ahead. The beginning of the Year of the Rabbit was marked on January 22 and is widely celebrated by Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Singaporean, Malaysian and many other communities in our province.
My colleagues and I in the B.C. Liberal caucus had the privilege of attending some of B.C.’s largest celebrations, such as the annual countdown at the Aberdeen Centre in my riding of Richmond North Centre, and the Vancouver Chinatown Parade.
Our visits to Vancouver Chinatown Business Improvement Association, Vancouver Chinatown Merchants Association, small businesses and community organizations during and after the celebrations also gave us some insight into the serious work that needs to be done to revitalize communities such as Vancouver’s Chinatown, which has been suffering from the consequences of the toxic drug crisis, rampant crime and a deeply troubling rise in anti-Asian sentiments.
We must reaffirm our commitment to making B.C. a vibrant and successful place, built on this foundation of diversity and acceptance. As the shadow minister for multiculturalism and anti-racism initiatives, arts and culture, I would like to wish all of you a happy lunar new year and, as the Year of the Rabbit symbolizes, one filled with fortune, wit and agility.
Gong xi fa cai. Gung hey fat choy.
COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS OF
ORGANIZERS AND
VOLUNTEERS
K. Greene: One of the very best things about being an MLA is celebrating and commemorating important events in our communities. Communities aren’t made of houses and buildings. They’re made out of homes and people coming together in service and companionship.
I recently had the opportunity to celebrate with Gulf of Georgia volunteers, with staff, board members and community leaders. For those who don’t know about the Gulf of Georgia Cannery, it was once a fully working cannery supporting Steveston’s fishing community. Today it’s a historic landmark that has been updated with interpretive signage, historic artifacts and engaging programming for students and the public.
Gulf of Georgia volunteers are dedicated in giving back to the community and being part of a hub that brings our neighbours together. I’d like to recognize all the different ways that volunteers contribute with a special nod to board members Kit, Joan, Susan, Ryan and Perry, who are also volunteers; and senior staff Elizabeth and Rob.
I was also honoured to be invited to the Bayit to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day with the Jewish community, including survivors of the Holocaust. It was a solemn and deeply moving event where we heard part of a child survivor’s story.
We all share the responsibility, all of us here and across British Columbia and Canada, to honour those who perished, those who survived and those that risked everything to save others. We can never forget what happens when hate is allowed to spread. Anti-Semitism, hate and discrimination have no place in our society. By remembering and, importantly, taking action, we commit to: “Never again.”
Thank you to community leaders for organizing such an important event. In particular, I’d like to thank Michael Sachs, Keith Ludke and Rabbi Varnai.
Every day that I spend in my community of Richmond-Steveston, I am grateful for people who are extending care and connection to the people around them. They are the reason that we are so fortunate to call this place home.
HEART MONTH AND
HEART HEALTH FOR
WOMEN
S. Bond: February is Heart Month and not just because it includes Valentine’s Day. It is a month when people and organizations focus on cardiovascular health, raising awareness of heart disease and supporting research and treatment across the country and around the world.
Heart disease is currently one of the leading causes of death in Canada. In fact, the number one cause of premature death for women in Canada is heart disease and stroke. This year, the Heart and Stroke Foundation is using Heart Month to highlight the stories of women, researchers and experts who are working to beat health inequity.
You see, while women make up just over half of Canada’s population, gender gaps in research, diagnosis and care continue to put women’s hearts at greater risk. Women face distinct risk factors for heart disease and can be impacted differently by heart conditions, even exhibiting different symptoms than men during heart attacks.
As a result, recent studies have shown that half of the women who experience heart attacks have their symptoms go unrecognized, and women are also less likely than men to receive their treatments and medications that they need to address their conditions or get them in a timely way. Tragically, women who experience heart attacks are often more likely than men to die or develop heart failure.
This Heart Month I invite British Columbians, and especially members in this chamber, to join me in learning more about the inequities that exist in research and care and do our part to increase awareness about the distinct heart and stroke factors that women face.
In Canada, heart disease and stroke claimed the lives of over 32,000 women in 2019, one life every 16 minutes.
It is time for us to work together to close the heart and stroke gender gap.
S. Furstenau: I seek leave to make an introduction.
Leave granted.
Introductions by Members
S. Furstenau: In the gallery today is Prof. Cara Camcastle and her partner, Lorne Young. Cara’s teaching career has included the University of California, Berkeley, Simon Fraser University and most recently the University of Victoria, where she’s teaching an introduction to Canadian politics. I had the pleasure of speaking to her class last week on the importance of electoral systems and good democratic governance in our province and country.
Would the House please make Cara and Lorne most welcome.
Hon. M. Mark: Can I have leave, Mr. Speaker?
Mr. Speaker: Proceed now.
Hon. M. Mark: I’d like to introduce a visitor in the gallery, Thomas Jin, who is my constituency assistant and who is now doing his internship with the government. We know how hard constituency staff work in our offices on behalf of our passion and our commitment to the community.
Will the House please join me in welcoming Thomas Jin.
Oral Questions
GOVERNMENT ACTION ON MENTAL
HEALTH AND ADDICTION
ISSUES
K. Falcon: The government’s current approach to mental health and addictions has utterly failed: over 11,000 lives lost, chaos and disorder on the streets of virtually every community across this province, a broken system that is costly, inadequate and impossible to navigate for increasingly desperate families.
The minister even acknowledges that the NDP don’t even track the funded beds that are available, nor do they know what outcomes they’re getting from any of the investments they’re currently making.
Now we know better is possible. But, frankly, the throne speech yesterday was a promise of more of the same failed approach.
Will the government admit that the status quo of the last six years has utterly failed and make a dramatic shift to a system of care that actually focuses on helping people get better?
Hon. J. Whiteside: I do want to thank the member for his question on an issue that I know all members of this House are concerned with. I know that many of us here have experiences in our communities, and our circles have been impacted by the mental health and substance use crisis in our province — a crisis, frankly, that is experienced in all jurisdictions of our country, of our continent.
Since 2017, our government has worked to build an integrated system of care for mental health and substance use. That approach is articulated in our Pathway to Hope, the vision that does, in fact, unite our investments in mental health services for children and youth, Indigenous-led solutions. It addresses substance use and builds out a system of care and treatment across the continuum, from community counselling through to detox through to treatment and aftercare.
There is no question that the significant progress that we made in 2019, after two intensive years of this work…. Significant progress in which we saw a significant reduction in mortality associated with the toxic drug crisis…. That progress was bedevilled by the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are working hard to catch up, to regain that ground.
We are very committed to supporting British Columbians through this crisis. We’re going to continue to do the work, continue to make the investments: $500 million in 2021 to stand up services. That is the work we’re going to continue to do with our partners.
Mr. Speaker: Leader of the Official Opposition, supplemental.
INVOLUNTARY CARE FOR
MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTION
ISSUES
K. Falcon: The problem is that everywhere you look, you can see very clearly that things are getting markedly worse, yet I just heard the minister stand up and defend more of the status quo. Doing more of the same thing and expecting to see different results is illogical. I recognize it’s become a bit of a hallmark of this government. There has to be a dramatic shift away from the current approach.
Interjections.
Mr. Speaker: Shhh, Members.
K. Falcon: Just focusing on publicly supplying addictive drugs to people struggling with addiction while, at the same time, decriminalizing crystal meth, heroin, fentanyl, cocaine is not going to end well. We need to focus on actually helping people recover from their addictions to get better so they can become productive members of society again.
We also have an obligation, where necessary, through involuntary care, if necessary, to take those that are most vulnerable and have been left on the streets to their own devices to be put into proper care so that they can be looked after as a caring and compassionate society ought to do. Your own Premier did briefly pay lip service to this idea but quickly backed off. Now nobody knows where government’s position is on this issue.
My question to the minister: will somebody in government clarify your position? Do you support involuntary treatment for vulnerable youth and adults that are at risk to themselves or others?
Hon. J. Whiteside: There was a lot packed into that question, Member.
I do want to start by assuring British Columbians that when it comes to investments that our government has made, the work that we do with our health authorities, with our community partners, with front-line providers…. That work is very much focused on the continuum of care and responses that are required in the crisis that we are dealing with.
We have over 3,200 publicly funded treatment beds in this province. We invested $500 million in 2021 to build out that integrated system. We have worked to increase our detox beds, care and treatment beds, aftercare supports. All the way through our system, we are building out those supports.
And importantly, we are working on mechanisms to keep people alive so that we can get them to treatment because we think keeping British Columbians alive and giving them a chance to recover is important.
We know that there are tools under the Mental Health Act that providers, that physicians have access to and that they use when it comes to the question of involuntary care. We are working hard to continue to support our front-line providers with respect to their use of those tools.
Mr. Speaker: Leader of the Official Opposition, second supplemental.
K. Falcon: The minister needs to know that what really matters is what outcomes you’re getting. It’s not a thick Pathway to Hope document that has no measurables…
Interjections.
Mr. Speaker: Members.
K. Falcon: …no definable metrics that you’re going to actually try and meet. It’s got lots of platitudes, but it’s not getting us to where we need to go, which is improved outcomes.
You cannot just say that we’re going to do more of the same when every year we see the rate of overdose deaths increasing — every year that this government has been in power. Every day. There is nobody I talk to — nobody — that looks around and thinks that the system we currently have operating is working. Nobody.
Every day we hear from desperate parents whose children are not well and need help but who are not getting the help that they need. Now, the number of children and youth under age 19 who have died from an overdose has more than doubled in the last two years to 65 deaths. This government had an opportunity over two years ago to make a difference with legislation that would have allowed for involuntary treatment of those exact same youths, but government abandoned the legislation.
My question to the minister is direct. Does the government support involuntary care for vulnerable youth, yes or no?
Hon. J. Whiteside: I think there’s no question, particularly when it comes to children and youth…. Certainly what I heard through our education system, what I hear from people in my community, what I hear from parents is the need to intervene and address mental health issues with children and youth before they get to be the kinds of problems that lead to addictions to addictive substances.
That is why our government has targets, is scaling up services for children and youth.
Interjections.
Mr. Speaker: Members.
Hon. J. Whiteside: So $55 million last week to announce an expansion of our integrated child and youth teams. Those services that are pulling together supports for kids throughout multiple agencies so we can wrap care around kids, those are providing important outcomes and important opportunities to connect kids to care and services.
We are scaling up access to the Foundry in many communities across the province. There is no question that those are critical investments to be made in our children and youth. We will continue to work with physicians, work with our health authorities with respect to the tools that they currently have under the Mental Health Act when it comes to circumstances under which an individual may need to be involuntarily admitted.
E. Sturko: My constituent Bob has been through hell since his daughter was admitted to Peace Arch Hospital with a substance use disorder. He was told that his daughter might be released less than 24 hours after being admitted. Bob felt helpless, desperate and afraid that if his daughter was released, she would harm herself or drink herself to death.
What is this government’s position on involuntary treatment that can save lives, and will this government commit today to reintroducing legislation?
Hon. J. Whiteside: I want to thank the member for her question and express my sympathy and shared concern for the experiences that her constituent has gone through and that we, of course, hear from parents.
Again, I know that many of us hear stories with respect to the challenges that people in our community experience with children and youth. I do want to say again, though, that children and youth are very much at the forefront of our ten-year vision in the Pathway to Hope. It is a roadmap that creates an integrated system of care for everyone.
Since 2017, we’ve invested nearly $240 million in new and expanded mental health and substance use care for young adults, including youth treatment beds. More than 28,000 children and youth receive community-based mental health services each year. You know, I’ve seen the Foundry services in action, where kids can access, very much barrier-free, really…. Access to primary care as well as mental health substance use treatment.
That is work that we are doing, along with our partners in school districts and health authorities, to really take the care to where kids are and wrap the services around them. We’re going to continue to do that important work with our partners.
Mr. Speaker: Surrey South, supplemental.
E. Sturko: Minister, thank you for your sympathy, but people need more than your thoughts and prayers, and a ten-year plan is cold comfort to people who are desperate for help for their kids now.
Let me remind you that in the last two years, 65 young people under the age of 19 have died from substance use overdoses. That’s more than double in the previous years. Parents like Bob are desperate to save their children as they watch them go in and out of the hospital but not receive treatment. Even if his daughter wanted treatment, Bob was told that the wait would be three to six months or cost tens of thousands of dollars, leaving a massive gap between basic stabilization and getting treatment.
Will the government support involuntary care if necessary and our plan for an accessible, no-cost, recovery-oriented system of care so that people who need treatment can get the help they need when they need it?
Hon. J. Whiteside: Again, these, of course, are areas of our health care system where we are working very hard with all of our partners to scale up the services. I think the member makes a really important point about that gap between, you know, an individual who is in crisis….
We’ve done a lot at the crisis end to ramp up peer-assisted care teams and such on that identification of the initial crisis end of things, and we need to do more work on making sure that we have a seamless process for individuals — for children and youth and adults — when it comes to accessing treatment.
That’s work that our Premier has committed to. Our Premier first talked about that seamless approach in the safer communities action plan last November. That’s work that we are undertaking with health authorities to build, and there will be more to say on that, obviously, in the coming weeks.
In the interim, what we are doing is continuing the work to expand the services, the investments for access to counselling, to care and treatment specifically for youth, including with respect to interventions…
Interjections.
Mr. Speaker: Shhh. Shhh.
Hon. J. Whiteside: …through our specific response to the toxic drug crisis, through making sure that the safe supply is available across the continuum of care — $53 million in early psychosis intervention supports, including 100 new full-time care providers in the system.
There’s just no question that the investments that are being made are significant. At the same time, we all know we are experiencing a rising tide of need as a result of the pandemic, as a result of the crises that our communities have been through over the last three years.
We are going to continue that work. We agree that there is more work that needs to be done. We agree and are very grateful, frankly, for the cooperation and for the sentiment across all parties of this House, through the Health Standing Committee last year, on the solutions that we’ve been working on. That’s important collaborative work that we need to do together in our communities to face this crisis.
MANAGEMENT OF
VANCOUVER ISLAND HEALTH AUTHORITY
AND CONDITIONS FOR HEALTH WORKERS
S. Furstenau: Health care in this province is in dire straits, and here on Vancouver Island, the problems are severe. This was apparent at CBC’s town hall last night, where people shared their heartbreaking stories while a senior Health official sat at the back of the room with her arms crossed, shaking her head. There is a serious organizational culture issue at Island Health.
A leaked Island Health employee satisfaction survey was damning. Of the 11,000 staff who responded, less than half felt satisfied with their management. Worst of all, overwhelming perception was that Island Health does not care about their well-being. The 2022 Doctors of B.C. report found that Island Health physicians have the lowest satisfaction with their health authority in the province, and it’s been declining year over year.
Doctors speaking out about their serious concerns about patient safety are threatened, punished and silenced. Island Health isn’t just punishing doctors, though. They’re punishing entire communities. The patients who are going without care are the ones who the minister must be accountable to.
My question is to the Minister of Health. Does he have confidence in Island Health?
Hon. A. Dix: Yes, I have confidence in Island Health, and I’ll tell you why.
Interjections.
Mr. Speaker: Members. Members.
The minister will continue.
Hon. A. Dix: Island Health has delivered over the last three years. That means Island Health, its doctors and nurses and nurse practitioners and health sciences professionals and health care workers, has delivered an extraordinary response to a pandemic that has faced the entire world, and they’ve done it together. Over the last 12 months, Island Health has been part of that. We have new-to-practice contracts for new doctors to bring them in to longitudinal primary care.
We’ve set records in the number of surgeries and diagnostic procedures we’ve done, which matters for people who need surgery and matters for people who need diagnostic procedures. We’re working hard to deliver care everywhere. I reject the idea that when people raise concerns, they are threatened. They are not.
We have an outstanding team at Island Health. We have an outstanding team that is doing its very best to deliver health care in very challenging circumstances — a worldwide pandemic — and have set records in the process.
We always have to do better. We always have to work harder with staff people. We always have to work harder with our teams to make sure that they’re involved in decisions, but I have confidence in Island Health to do so.
Mr. Speaker: Leader of the Third Party, supplemental.
S. Furstenau: When the Island Health employee satisfaction survey comes out and fewer than half say that they’re satisfied with their management, and they say that their health authorities do not care about their well-being, I would hope that the minister would be concerned about that. I would hope that the minister would indicate that as the representative for people in this province, he would demonstrate some concern about the conditions that are being expressed in a survey like that.
Let’s look at one situation in Island Health. There used to be four doctors for the Port Hardy Hospital. Come this summer, there will be one. Dr. Alex Nataros has come forward with solutions for his patients. Hiring physician assistants would be a way to meet the needs of people on the north Island who have been deeply underserved by the health system. They have seen hospital closures become a regular part of their lives, but his solutions are being rejected. Dr. Nataros has spoken out about the mismanagement of health care by Island Health.
In his own words, he is experiencing “continued harassment by the health authority leadership.” Those are the words of a doctor who is holding down the emergency room in Port Hardy, who is serving the needs of people in those communities. His experiences are echoed by doctors across the region and across the province.
It’s not doctors who are being punished; it is communities. It is people who are suffering. The minister says everything is fine, but that is not what people are experiencing.
My question is to the Minister of Health. Will he agree to meet with the health care professionals working for Island Health within the next two weeks?
Hon. A. Dix: With respect to the issues in the north Island, in the last week, we’ve taken specific action to support those communities. That means incentives to bring nurses and doctors to the region; additional diagnostic care in the region; supports to communities in the region, including for mental health and addiction issues; and those came because we did listen to communities, including the member for North Island, including representatives of North Island health who met with representatives of all communities and received their suggestions and, in fact, enacted those suggestions.
I think what I can say is that what you see is a very significant challenge in those communities and specific action to address those challenges, which I think is what you need to do. It’s why we put in place new-to-practice contracts in B.C., 109 contracts signed. They were against them.
We put in place a fundamental reform to primary care. We put it all, not the status quo, in one week. In one week, one-third…
Interjections.
Mr. Speaker: Members.
Hon. A. Dix: …of primary care doctors have moved to the new model, after 20 years of failure by them.
It is the absolute responsibility of Island Health to work with communities, as it is my responsibility, and we’ll continue to do that. The actions we took in Port Hardy and in Port McNeill and other communities were informed by those communities, and we are going to continue to act with that in mind.
DRUG DECRIMINALIZATION PROGRAM
AND ACCESS TO ADDICTION
SERVICES
S. Bond: As part of this government’s pursuit and implementation of decriminalization, there was a very specific letter — in fact, a letter of requirements — to support B.C.’s exemption. In the letter, there is a list of requirements, and I would like to just ask the minister about one of them.
The government has been asked to “ensure that individuals who desire treatment or other supports can access them when needed.”
Is the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions satisfied that this very specific requirement has been met and that people right across British Columbia can access treatment when they need it?
Hon. J. Whiteside: Thank you to the member for her question. More broadly, I want to thank this House for their support of this decriminalization program, which was a subject of discussion through the Health Standing Committee, which front-line providers, police, municipalities, people who use drugs, the whole continuum of people and stakeholders who are in this space have supported as an important way, as an important mechanism to reduce fear and stigma so that we can better connect people who need help to that care and support.
Of course, we are making the investments necessary in order to scale up the system of care and treatment. We’ve added 360 new treatment and recovery beds for adults and youth. We have over 3,200 beds in spaces across the province, $55 million for integrated child and youth teams, complex care housing. We are coming at this from all of the different angles across the entire continuum of care that’s required…
Interjections.
Mr. Speaker: Shh. Members.
Hon. J. Whiteside: …from addressing people who are in crisis, trying to connect them with care, working to close those gaps. We know there’s more work to be done. We know we all need to work together in our communities, to pull together to get British Columbians through that crisis, and I am grateful to be able to count on the support of this House to do that work, as well as our partners in the health authorities and front-line providers.
Mr. Speaker: The member for Prince George–Valemount, supplemental.
S. Bond: Well, one thing the minister can count on is the fact that this side of the House is going to continue to ask the hard questions about the fact that families across British Columbia do not have the access that is required in the letter of requirements before decriminalization moves ahead.
That answer shows British Columbians how utterly disconnected this minister is with the situation that families across this province are facing. I can tell the minister from firsthand experience that in my office, I hear from families that are desperate. They are at their wits’ end, and there are no treatment options, no services.
The letter of requirement actually goes on to say something else the minister might want to give us an answer to, because obviously the last answer was no. The letter of requirements also specifically says that this government must “meet the unique needs of people living in rural communities.”
How can the minister stand here and pretend that families who live in rural British Columbia have access to treatment when they need it? Because she knows they simply do not. Can the minister get up and tell us whether or not she believes they have met the criteria as laid out in the letter of expectations from the federal government?
Hon. J. Whiteside: You know, I think we’ve talked here today about the importance of building up a continuum of care, and that is work that is underway. I think there’s no question that we all know that there are gaps in that system.
Interjections.
Mr. Speaker: Members. Members, let’s hear the answer, please.
Interjections.
Mr. Speaker: Shhh. Members. Members, let the minister answer, please.
Minister will continue.
Hon. J. Whiteside: We have work to do that we have been doing since 2017 to build an integrated system of care out of a fragmented scattershot of services. That is a situation that requires working with all of our partners, which is the work that we have been doing.
When we talk about introducing complex care in communities like Bella Coola and Kamloops and Powell River and up the Sunshine Coast, that is part of the answer to this. When we talk about expanding sobering beds in Prince George, that is part of the answer to this. When we talk about expanding sobering beds on the north Island, that is part of the answer to this. When we talk about…
Interjections.
Mr. Speaker: Members. Members.
Hon. J. Whiteside: …the need to invest upstream, that’s what we need to do.
I think when all of the parties stood together last week and announced this move, we…. All parties stood. The police who stood with us, the federal government, public health, all of the stakeholders, including those who had lost loved ones to this crisis, stood with us to say that this move was an important move to make now. Not tomorrow, not next week, now, as part of scaling up treatment, as part of working on safe supply…
Interjections.
Mr. Speaker: Members. Members.
Hon. J. Whiteside: …as part of investing in housing, as part of our government’s safer communities plan. Because honestly, colleagues, we have to do all of the things in this space. We have to do all of the things in order to make progress for British Columbians and have their backs on this issue. That’s the work we’re going to do.
DRUG DECRIMINALIZATION PROGRAM
AND DATA
COLLECTION
K. Kirkpatrick: This is a two-term government that has had six years to put services in place but has utterly failed to do that work. They have failed to do even the most basic groundwork to support this decriminalization experiment. No wonder there was no mention of decriminalization in yesterday’s throne speech. The letter of requirements from the federal government says: “Data collection will need to start immediately…to establish a baseline.”
Is the minister satisfied that this very specific requirement from the federal government…? In order for decriminalization to move forward, is the minister satisfied that this specific requirement has been met, and will she explain to us what the baseline metrics actually are?
Hon. R. Kahlon: I appreciate the conversation today.
Interjections.
Mr. Speaker: Shhh, Members. Members.
Hon. R. Kahlon: I appreciate the exchange of ideas today and the conversation we’re having. I think there are two things that I really appreciate. One, a recognition from the Leader of the Opposition and commitment to support decriminalization. I think that’s….
He was asked by the media whether….
Interjections.
Mr. Speaker: Members. Members let’s….
Shhh, Members. Members will come to order.
Interjections.
Mr. Speaker: Members, a question was asked. The House Leader is going to answer the question.
Please continue.
Hon. R. Kahlon: Again, I appreciate the Leader of the Opposition making it clear he supports decriminalization. He was clear in the media. I also appreciate the Leader of the Opposition acknowledging that to do this important work, it’s going to require investments, because that wasn’t the case when he was the Minister of Health, when he saw deep cuts. It wasn’t….
Interjections.
Mr. Speaker: Shhh, Members. Thank you, Members. Members.
The minister will continue.
Hon. R. Kahlon: It’s hard to hear the truth, hon. Speaker.
Interjections.
Mr. Speaker: Members, whether you like it or not, the House Leader is going to finish his answer. So let’s listen to that, okay?
Hon. R. Kahlon: That wasn’t the case when he was the Minister of Health, when he cut health care funding. It wasn’t the case when he was the Minister of Finance, where he oversaw deep cuts to mental health services. In fact….
Interjections.
Mr. Speaker: Shhh, Members.
Hon. R. Kahlon: In fact, when he was the Finance Minister and the federal government, the Harper government, made deep cuts to health care transfers, he actually thought it was great. He was the only minister from across the country that thought that those health care cuts were fantastic.
In fact, Ontario’s Finance Minister at the time….
Interjections.
Mr. Speaker: Shhh, Members.
Hon. R. Kahlon: Perhaps the new members might not know this information, and they might want to hear this. The Minister of Finance called it a “frontal attack on public health care.” He said it was going to “lead to a reduction in the quality of health care across the country.”
Quebec’s Finance Minister said: “Totally unacceptable.” P.E.I. said: “I couldn’t believe what we were seeing.”
Interjections.
Mr. Speaker: Members, stop it.
Wrap it up, please.
Hon. R. Kahlon: You know what the Minister of Finance, now the Leader of the Opposition, said? He said: “From B.C.’s perspective, we think it’s a good thing. I appreciate the certainty.”
As much as I appreciate the minister, the Leader of the Opposition now, finding this conversation to be important — now he thinks investments are important — where were the investments when he was on this side of the House?
[End of question period.]
Interjections.
Mr. Speaker: Okay, the question period is over. Calm down.
Motions Without Notice
APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL COMMITTEE
TO APPOINT A MERIT
COMMISSIONER
Hon. R. Kahlon: I seek leave to move a motion to appoint a special committee to appoint the Merit Commissioner. Full text of the motion has been provided to the House Leaders from the opposition and the Third Party.
Leave granted.
Hon. R. Kahlon: I move:
[That a Special Committee to appoint a Merit Commissioner be appointed to select and unanimously recommend to the Legislative Assembly the appointment of an individual to hold office as the Merit Commissioner for the province of British Columbia, pursuant to section 5.01 of the Public Service Act (R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 385).
That the Special Committee shall have the powers of a Select Standing Committee and in addition be empowered to:
a. appoint of its number, one or more subcommittees and to refer to such subcommittees any of the matters referred to the Special Committee and to delegate to the subcommittees all or any of its powers except the power to report directly to the House;
b. sit during a period in which the House is adjourned, during the recess after prorogation until the next following Session and during any sitting of the House;
c. adjourn from place to place as may be convenient; and,
d. retain such personnel as required to assist with the Special Committee.
That any information and materials previously under consideration by the Special Committee appointed by order of the Legislative Assembly on June 2, 2022, for the same purpose be referred to the Special Committee.
That the Special Committee report to the House as soon as possible, and that during a period of adjournment, the Special Committee deposit its reports with the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, and upon resumption of the sittings of the House, or in the next following Session, as the case may be, the Chair present all reports to the House.
That the Special Committee be composed of the following Members: Mike Starchuk (Convener), Susie Chant, Fin Donnelly, Mike Morris, and Teresa Wat.]
Motion approved.
Orders of the Day
Hon. R. Kahlon: I call response to the throne speech.
Throne Speech Debate
N. Simons: It looks like everyone wants to stay for this response, so I really appreciate that. Oh wait, no, they’re asking for a minute to leave now. Maybe I’ll wait.
Mr. Speaker: Just take a pause. Let the members leave.
[S. Chandra Herbert in the chair.]
N. Simons: Thank you for this opportunity. I move, seconded by the member for Nanaimo–North Cowichan, that:
[That we, His Majesty’s most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in session assembled, beg leave to thank Your Honour for the gracious Speech which Your Honour has addressed to us at the opening of the present Session.]
With those words, I have an opportunity to reflect on our government’s plan for the future, as expressed through the throne speech that we all heard yesterday.
Of course, the throne speech addresses the many issues that we as a province, like other jurisdictions, intend to address in order to make lives better for British Columbians and those who come to this province and for the natural life of our province as well.
The responsibilities of government are vast, and the plans put forward yesterday reflect many of the initiatives that will be further detailed in the budget. But many, of course, are a continuation of the work that has been started, in 2017, to address the fundamental issues that are our province needs to face.
I’d like to take this opportunity, of course, to thank my constituency assistants, Amy Clarke and Rob Hill, who do an excellent job of responding to concerns raised by constituents, by organizations, by agencies that may have an interest in finding out how the provincial government may be able to provide assistance or guidance as to how to access government services.
Rob and Amy — Rob up in the qathet regional district and Amy in the Sunshine Coast regional district — represent a broad diversity of constituents, people who live very rural lifestyles, people who live off the grid in remote parts of our constituency and others who live on city blocks in the city of Power River, in Sechelt and the town of Gibsons.
The concerns and the issues that they raise are very broad, everything from wildlife issues to issues around people seeking homes to live in, everything from traffic on the highway to ferry services. The environment is an over-reaching issue that people raise.
What I notice in the issues that are brought to my office is that people bring them to us out of concern not just for themselves, but to reflect their friends and their community and the interests that their neighbors may also have. I thank each and every constituent who brings an issue to my attention, not only because it helps me to ensure that I do my job well but because it is brought to our attention in a way that reflects the community’s needs.
It’s a selfless act to bring a concern to a politician in the hope of finding assistance. I thank those constituents, whether they’re happy or not. The responsibility of us, as elected officials, is to reflect and consider the issues that they brought and to talk to our colleagues to find ways of addressing them.
I’d also like to thank the hegus John Hackett in Powell River at the Tla’amin Nation and the hegus Warren Paull of the shíshálh Nation, two nations that have populations on what we now call the Sunshine Coast. The work that they do with their councils is essential to ensure that the province continues to work towards strengthening the partnerships that we’ve created in a way that I think reflects the unique nature of our governing systems. It’s done in friendship — not without challenges, but in friendship and with a good heart — so that we can continue the process of reconciliation.
Other nations in my constituency include the Homalco, the Klahoose and the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh. I thank all the leaders and all the community members who do their best to make sure that our quality of life is good and that we look after one another.
We also have different regional governments, five regional governments, in the Sunshine Coast. The Sunshine Coast regional district, the qathet regional district, the first regional district not to be named after a geographic area. And qathet is a word meaning “working together.” The Powell River regional district changed their name to qathet. It’s been widely accepted and appreciated and is well known. Names of magazines and the hospital all reflect this new change.
I think it may be a symbolic change, but it’s in fact a very practical change as well and very reflective of the efforts that we’re making to work towards reconciliation.
I appreciate the fact that more discussions around place names take place in my riding. People are attached to names, and it’s not always an easy discussion to have. But I think when a community can have a name that reflects the feelings or the beauty or the location, it’s a good name to have.
I’d like to acknowledge the town of Gibsons, the district of Sechelt and the city of Powell River, as well as the Islands Trust representatives, who do a magnificent job of ensuring that we all work together, as the word “qathet” suggests we do.
Thanking my constituency assistants, thanking the legislative staff, thanking the local government and the First Nations Indigenous government I think exemplifies the fact that we all work as a team. There’s none of us that can do our jobs without the cooperation and the assistance and the good-hearted fellowship of our colleagues in all levels of government.
Now, I do represent a riding with quite a bit of diversity. I want to take this opportunity to thank the grade 3 class, Miss Liz’s class, at Madeira Park, who I visited the other day. We talked about this place, the provincial Legislature, and what we, as members of the Legislative Assembly, do here. The youngsters were absolutely engaged in the discussion. They knew what laws were, and they knew that government helps to make laws that reflect what we, as communities, want to see.
I was asking them for examples of what kind of laws they thought we would make. A little seven-year-old or eight-year-old said: “Where you’re allowed to smoke.” I thought that was interesting coming from an elementary school child. But then another one said: “How big your farm can be.” I thought: “Oh, that’s another interesting one.” One said: “How fast your dirt bikes are allowed to go.” Then another suggested it was all about when you’re allowed to hunt particular kinds of species of animals.
This, to me, reflected the unique community of Madeira Park, Pender Harbour, Egmont area — the upper and lower Sunshine Coast, to be specific. It just made me so happy to see these children engaged and interested with fun questions.
I was a bit worried that I might have come across as campaigning, although they do have a number of years to wait before they can vote, and I don’t know where I’ll be. But they all ended by telling me that not only would all of their family vote for me, including them, but Santa Claus and his elves would as well. The discussion kind of went from there.
As representatives of the Sunshine Coast, I want to say that the grades 2-3 split, Miss Liz’s class, were very welcoming and kind. They reflected what I think our ridings all have in them, which is good people, people who are very community-oriented, friendly people, welcoming people. Those are the people of British Columbia. So it’s an honour to serve as the member for Powell River–Sunshine Coast.
It’s an honour as well to reflect on what I think are important initiatives that we, as a province, are facing together. There’s no doubt about it that challenges over the last few years have strained some of the services and programs and, in fact, the personal lives of people in British Columbia — whether they know people who are struggling with drug use, if they know people who have suffered from health impacts, people who live in communities where they’re not necessarily feeling as safe as they were before, people wondering how there are going to be enough houses for people to live in.
I think that those being priorities of our province…. Ensuring that we do everything, recognizing Indigenous people’s rights and title, ongoing friendship and working together, I think that we’ve taken these big issues to heart. We, as MLAs on the government side, and I’m sure MLAs on the opposition side are working hard as well, need to advance the programs and the services and the funding that will continue to address problems or challenges as they arise.
I think the best thing that we can do as members of the Legislature is point to successful programs and successful results. We’ve had so many that it would be difficult to itemize specifically all. But if I just look at the area of health care, for example. The challenges facing people who work in our health care system have never been as high as they have been over the last four or five years, whether it’s the poisoned drug supply or the pandemic. We have seen incredible results that have been made possible by the committed members of our health care system.
There are nurse practitioners, nurses, care aides, doctors, you name it. In our health care system, they have all shown that results are possible, that patient outcomes are good. Our management of a pandemic that stymied many, many jurisdictions around the world…. We found a way here in British Columbia to ensure that we could maintain our economy, that we could protect people and that we could do so with, what we all remember and we should all continue to remember, kindness.
I think that the successes of our health care system, notwithstanding the fact that indeed there are challenges…. But the successes need to be identified. They need to be reflected on, and I think they need to be acknowledged as well. We have a system of care in our province that is envied by many, many people in other jurisdictions. And I think that when we recognize that our system has managed to make up for lost time in terms of surgeries, these are successes and results, individual results that have an impact, an incredibly important impact on each person affected by those positive results.
The results in our health care system I think indicate that what we’re planning and what we’re working on is successful. We have opened spaces for more nurses, and those nurses will be part of our health care system. We recognize that we need more doctors. A new funding model is going to help address that problem. Our schools, our institutions and our policy priorities all will continue to address the issues that we recognize that we have in British Columbia.
Public safety was an issue that was raised in previous parliaments. We obviously had exchanges in this House about public safety and about crime and about street disorder. Those are issues, obviously, that we see in news reports from every province and territory, but we also recognize that we have some specific challenges here in British Columbia. I’m just very pleased that continued efforts are being made to get the federal government to ensure that legislation governing our criminal justice system allows for provinces to take the steps necessary to ensure our communities are safe.
I’m pleased the Prosecution Service is looking at ways to ensure repeat violent offenders are not routinely released. However, I do also recognize that whenever we talk about individuals involved in the criminal justice system…. I’ve worked with so many of them. We recognize that they are individuals with families, with friends, with connections — with, many times, families and friends worried about them — and compassion has to be a foundation of everything we do with all populations. I’m pleased to see that we are helping, when people are being released from prisons, that they have a better adjustment.
I know back in the previous administration, I had a young former child in care — I was their social worker — who would go to prison and be released in a few months with a bus ticket to the location of his last offence and a small amount of money. I took issue with that approach, knowing that young people or young adults, when leaving a situation where there was nothing and going back to it…. We shouldn’t be expecting results to be better. If we release people without the supports they need, without a place to stay, without social agencies being there to ensure that they access their needs, then failure is a likely option.
This is something I think our work in recovery homes, our work for transition from jail back to community, is an important aspect of ensuring our criminal justice system is robust. It’s not about just locking people up. It’s about ensuring that people get the right kind of attention that they need in order to live a more productive and healthy life.
We all love hearing those stories of people who have come back from specifically challenging circumstances to show that resilience can be successful and that resilience, with support of agencies that we fund as a province, is successful. We need to keep doing that.
It’s not the kind of thing that makes a headline, when somebody doesn’t reoffend, but we know that there are those successes out there. We know that there are people who are turning their lives around, whether it’s through alcohol and drug treatment, whether it’s through personal counselling for trauma, and we should, perhaps, recognize those results. Those are results, we can say, as a province, that we’ve helped them to achieve. Obviously, we know, as we provide assistance to people to improve their own lives, that we have others who come along and will require that help again.
It concerns me that we have an opposition that fails to remember some of the actions that they took that may have had a significant impact on the challenges that we face now. We saw a continual effort to reduce spending in our social services and our social programming. We saw a continued effort to reduce costs associated with providing a robust health care system. We saw communities being weakened by the privatization of health care services.
When a small community of 10,000 people loses 200 employees to privatization and they no longer have access to the same wages, they no longer have access to the same employment supports, our entire communities — especially noticeable in smaller communities — are impacted severely.
We had families with parents who suddenly had to have two jobs in order to work to support their families. When two parents are working, it has an impact on the rest of the family, on the community and on the success of children as well. We can support those people, but it’s best if we can ensure that people are living with a wage that makes it possible for them to live in our communities with access to housing.
Specifically, if you want to talk about successes, we can look to our…. And when I talk about successes, I don’t mean to say that the work is done. I’m not pretending that we don’t have huge challenges as a province. I’m not saying that we have all the simple solutions, or anything like that. But in my constituency, I think, when we look at some of the investments in our housing, as part of the solution….
I know the throne speech mentioned a renewed housing strategy, to keep updated and current, because our needs change, but there are hundreds and hundreds of new homes — new places to live on the Sunshine Coast — and since 2017, we’ve seen that. Those are results. People living safely under a roof, in warmth, where there’s food — that’s a success; that’s a result. Each individual person who lives in a circumstance where they now have housing but where they didn’t previously, I think we can count that as a success. We can count that as an important result.
In my constituency, we have supportive housing in Gibsons, we have supportive housing in Sechelt, and we have supportive housing in Powell River. We have 120 new apartment living spaces for people in our community. They’re not without their own challenges. We have, in many cases, vulnerable community members who are adjusting to a different lifestyle, where they have some stability that they may not have had; they have predictability, which they probably didn’t have; and they have an opportunity to consider their place in their community.
When they’re not particularly afraid of losing their place to sleep, when they’re not worried about staying dry at night, and when they’re not worried about being unsafe, they have an opportunity to see themselves differently, and their priorities become different.
I think the reception from our community to supportive housing has been good, has been welcoming. The children at Gibsons Elementary School did art projects so that the new supportive housing unit in Gibsons could be well decorated.
Obviously, in some communities, we have people who are hesitant about change, about different kinds of development in their community. I reminded people, when I had the opportunity, that when you put a supportive housing apartment complex somewhere, it is in community. It must be in community.
There were concerns that it was close to the school. It was the school that drew the pictures. It was the school that said: “We welcome these community members here.” It was very possible and in fact very probable that one or two or three of those elementary school children walking up School Road, past that supportive housing complex, may know somebody in that place, may know that their uncle is living there now, and may be glad that they see a government that’s looking after their uncle.
These are successes, not always entirely measurable, but all of which have a significant impact on an individual basis. When children see that that people around them are interested in making other people’s lives better, there is an effect on those young people. There’s a recognition that we do live in community, that somebody who is suffering is part of our community. We look to help to address that — whether it’s food, housing, access to transportation or access to care.
Our communities look after each other. People in British Columbia communities look after each other. We know that it’s not easy. We know that there is more work to do, but we do. These are successes that are easily measurable. These are results that are clear to the people of the province. Since 2017, there are 120 apartments for people who didn’t have homes before. That’s just in my riding.
The Indigenous housing fund. No government before 2017 in British Columbia had invested in housing on land that we refer to as on-reserve land. In the case of Sechelt, it’s shíshálh Nation land. They were the first nation with self-government in British Columbia. They have a 34-unit apartment building being built, right on the 101 as you drive through Sechelt. It’s a beautiful building. It’s the cooperation of the Indigenous government with the province and provincial agencies that allow these projects to reach a successful conclusion.
Now, the building is going up, and it’s not just a building that will house 34 individuals and families, but it’s also a very clear statement of our government’s intent to continue to work with Indigenous governments, to continue to try and raise the standard of living of all people in the province, especially those in vulnerable communities. We won’t stop in that process.
This particular Tsain-Ko housing — the House of Clans, as it will be known — I think reflects our government’s approach that reconciliation is about understanding. It’s about knowing the truth. It’s also about taking specific action to start to address some of the challenges that communities have faced since our arrival.
Affordable rental housing: 42 units are being built in Powell River, with the Inclusion Society. In fact, those have been opened, once again providing homes for people who may not be able to afford to buy a home or to pay the higher rents that we’ve seen. We’re supporting agencies and organizations in our communities that know those communities the best.
Our province is supporting those agencies to achieve the needs of the community: the Lions Club, 104 units; the Kiwanis Society, up in Gibsons, 75; and 40 new affordable housing homes in Gibsons as well. I haven’t repeated any of these. These are all new housing on the Sunshine Coast. In Madeira Park, even, we have seniors housing that’s being built.
These are some of the results that we can say are a result of good public policy, good decision-making on the part of government. These are important to show, important to demonstrate. They reflect, in fact, the hard work that our province is undertaking.
Affordability is, obviously, a main issue, with worldwide inflation affecting everything. Food is, obviously, a great indicator of the impact on a personal household budget, not to mention businesses as well. Affordability is key to ensuring that people can live in our communities and eat healthy food and have warmth in their home and get to and from where they need to go.
The province, our government, has been actively and successfully implementing programs that support families, supporting families through the COVID crisis, supporting families with affordability, tax credits, a number of other initiatives that have helped individuals and families overcome some of the challenges that worldwide inflation has caused.
I want to say…. As a province, we don’t…. We would like to see food security, and we continue to work towards food security for communities. It’s not just about the affordability of food; it’s about access to healthy food. It’s about ensuring the necessary food is where it needs to be.
I know that through the COVID crisis and at the height of the COVID crisis, we did support families on income and disability assistance with significant increases in their assistance, the monthly allowance. Following the end of that particular program, we increased social assistance and disability assistance rates by a record amount, recognizing that that work needs to continue, that inflation continues to challenge us all. We’re going to see more affordability measures, as mentioned in the throne speech yesterday.
Those are results. To a family that’s receiving more funding than they previously did, that’s a result. Every single individual who received more funding sees the benefit of government’s priorities and sees the impact that those programs has on them.
I think when we look at results…. We can look at individual results and look at collective successes. Ultimately, we’re addressing the needs of people who have expressed their concern to us. We can demonstrate that we listen to the people of British Columbia.
We look at child care. There’s another example of successes and results. The biggest new social program in a long time in this province has provided better opportunities, more opportunities for families to take advantage of having child care spaces in their community. We’ve increased the number of daycare spaces. We’ve lowered the cost of daycare spaces. We’ve ensured the quality of our spaces. I think that we can point to that as an incredible result for British Columbians.
No, we’re not finished. We’re not finished that yet. We’re not finished our housing. We’re not finished our affordability measures. Those are all part of it. We haven’t finished addressing the issues around community safety.
I think it’s clear…. The results we’ve seen already show we’re on exactly the right path. As challenges come over us…. Whether it’s weather events, like flooding and a heat dome, whether it’s fires, we know that we are capable of rising to the challenges and then continuing on with the fundamentals of governance. I think that’s clear.
One last thing I want to mention. I was very pleased, in the last session, when we passed the Indigenous child welfare legislation.
Now, Indigenous child welfare legislation was probably the biggest issue that prompted me to get into provincial politics. The last job I did for the previous government was to review the death of a child, the death of a toddler, who had been part of the child welfare system. When I looked into that…. As a director of an Indigenous child welfare agency, I was asked to conduct this investigation with the consent of the nation and, obviously, the province’s consent.
What I found was that during the previous administration…. In fact, the Leader of the Opposition was responsible for deregulation. The minister, now the Leader of the Opposition, gave an award to the Ministry for Children and Family Development at the time called the Deregulation Sprint Award.
The deregulation sprint the Leader of the Opposition was so pleased about reduced the regulations around how you place children in care. Instead of doing a full home study on a foster parent prior to placing a child there, they saw a less expensive and more expeditious way of placing a child with family members.
What they neglected to do under the previous government, in the ministry that won the Deregulation Sprint Award, was to let social workers and both non-Indigenous and Indigenous child welfare organizations know about this change in legislation. When it was faxed over to these agencies, half of the guidelines were missed. Agencies were told that they had to first try this form of placement. Well, the first child placed under this less regulated system was the child whose death I investigated.
I just say this as a cautionary tale. You look at the actions of the previous government in order to predict their future actions. When you have members of a government that stand up and talk about whether or not government cares about the issues facing those who are vulnerable in our community…. Look at what they did. Look at what they did to the child welfare system, not just because of the system but because of the impact on the little children. There was a massive impact. When you try to cut MCFD’s budget by 24 percent all at once….
You see a change in approach by our government reflected in our throne speech. You see a government that understands that there are no easy solutions. You can’t just wipe out a budget and say that’s addressing the budget issue. If you wipe out the budget of an agency or an organization or a ministry like Children and Families, you’re going to have an impact on everybody, whether it’s lower satisfaction among the people who are doing the important work or going to homes at two in the morning after a report from a neighbour who is concerned about a child.
These people need to be supported. We can’t go to a system where governments make decisions simply based on a crass numerical calculation. It turned out they only cut the budget by 11 percent all at once. That was bad enough, but they won the Deregulation Sprint Award. That might have convinced me that we need to have people in this place that understood child welfare policy. It happened. Last session we recognized that Indigenous communities need to have autonomy over child welfare.
This wasn’t all of a sudden. The Indian Homemakers, who I’ve mentioned before, from the ’50s and ’60s and ’70s, were the ones advocating for autonomy. They were the ones advocating for support for families that needed to be supported. They knew the impact of colonization. They knew the impact of economic isolation.
[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]
I’m really pleased our government took those decisions and recognized we don’t do everything right. I mean, we know there are agencies, organizations or people that can do it better. We don’t have a problem with that.
We support Indigenous child welfare legislation. We support the autonomy of Indigenous communities over child welfare issues. It’s all about strengthening community, supporting families, ensuring that children are supported in their community.
I think the approach that we have, as reflected in this throne speech, is one that continues that — intelligent, policy-based solutions to big challenges. When you find an easy solution or you suggest there’s an easy solution for everything, beware. It’s not realistic. We have multiple challenges. We have multiple approaches to addressing those challenges. This throne speech shows how we’re going to do that, and I’m really proud to support that.
People want to have lunch, Mr. Speaker. So I move adjournment of debate.
N. Simons moved adjournment of debate.
Motion approved.
Hon. R. Kahlon moved adjournment of the House.
Motion approved.
Mr. Speaker: This House stands adjourned until 1:30 p.m.
The House adjourned at 11:52 a.m.