Orders of the Day

Hon. R. Kahlon: I call continued second reading on Bill 2.

[S. Chandra Herbert in the chair.]

Second Reading of Bills

BILL 2 — NATIONAL DAY FOR
TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION ACT

(continued)

M. Lee: I’m pleased to stand in the House today to speak in support of Bill 2 to make the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation on September 30 a statutory holiday. As we all recognize in this House, the relationship with Indigenous peoples in our province and in our country is one that comes from a very dark history for our nation, and one that must be acknowledged in order to make progress and build towards a better B.C.

As the member for Saanich North and the Islands and the Minister for Reconciliation and Indigenous Relations said, reconciliation is hard work. It’s important that we all reflect on the history of residential schools and witness and honour survivors and their families. We need to honour their resilience and their strength and reconfirm our commitment to meaningful reconciliation.

As has been said, this proposed legislation is one small step in our continued collective efforts towards truth and reconciliation. We recognize that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, in its actions, action 80, called for the establishment of a National Day of Truth and Reconciliation as a statutory holiday.

[2:50 p.m.]

By moving with this legislation on the floor of this Legislative Assembly, B.C. will join Canada, Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the Yukon to recognize September 30 as a statutory holiday.

This comes after years of the official opposition calling on the government to provide certainty to families and businesses as to whether they would recognize the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a statutory holiday in the province here of British Columbia.

As we reflect on the meaning of truth and reconciliation through this national day in our province and the role we all have to play in this vitally important process, it’s important that the government does the same.

At the committee stage, I expect the critic for Labour, the member for Shuswap, will be joining in the committee stage to ask the Minister of Labour and perhaps the Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, as I would, to address the work of government with our First Nations on this day, and what work will be done in the lead up to this day, including the ongoing work regarding sacred sites.

Last week on the floor of the chamber, we had recognition of the introduction on the first reading of this bill. Many members, respected elders and First Nation leaders were in the assembly in the gallery to witness the introduction of Bill 2.

We also had, in the library rotunda, a press announcement where we had powerful statements made, including by Phyllis Webstad, the member from Cowichan…. Cariboo-Chilcotin. Sorry, I have Cowichan on my mind. Still do. We’ll get to that in a moment.

The member for Cariboo-Chilcotin certainly gave a wonderful introduction to Phyllis, and we all recognized her work. She spoke in the library rotunda of all that has become of Orange Shirt Day, on the day that her own orange shirt was removed from her, and how so many of us across our country and in this province have taken the responsibility to wear that orange shirt, to wear symbols of that orange shirt and to commemorate with others, certainly on this day and on other days, to remember the survivors — those who didn’t survive, their families and the witnesses.

As Phyllis said, it’s not just about one day. It’s about every day.

The Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation paid good tribute to Eddy Charlie, another person who spoke powerfully at this gathering after this bill was read on first reading. Eddy referred to reconciliation as being a river and that it’s continuous.

He also revealed the ugliness in our province and why this day is so important — because of how non-Indigenous people see Indigenous peoples. He used the word “monster.” As a survivor of the residential school on Kuper Island, Eddy certainly speaks to that with much strength.

For those of you who had an opportunity to speak with Eddy and to sit with him, as I did, you feel the strength of his message, the strength of the importance of this day and the recognition that when we look at reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and Indigenous nations in our province, we need to do that through many lenses, including in the context of residential schools and what those schools did, what we did as a country, to Indigenous children and families.

[2:55 p.m.]

That’s why raising people’s awareness of what happened in the residential schools and understanding why this is important is important to underpin the work that we continue to do in this chamber, with this government and with First Nations in our province, around reconciliation.

But reconciliation must be more than just a day of remembrance and reflection. As Eddy’s efforts indicate…. He asked his co-partner in this effort to remove from her lapel the badge that she was wearing and give it to me. The badge says — some of the members in this House, I’m sure, might have some of these badges — “Listen to the survivors.”

Well, one of those survivors who went to residential school with Eddy is Jon Coleman’s mom. She went to residential school on Kuper Island as well. Jon, who was in the gallery today to witness our exchange in question period, was here last Wednesday as well. He’s been here in the gallery in this House fighting for the cause, fighting for the rights of his workers, for the ability to work on his lands.

He speaks about his mother’s silence around residential schools. He told me and the member for Skeena and the member for Shuswap and the Leader of the Official Opposition and others that his mother’s silence is a source of his strength. After all these years as a survivor of residential schools, he’s only actually been able to get her to talk to her grandchildren, his children, for about 45 seconds about what she experienced.

I certainly recognize the trauma that we speak about when we ask Indigenous peoples to share their experience and how hard it is. Jon sees the damage of that intergenerational trauma because his sister is living on the streets in Duncan with addiction challenges. Jon has taken on the responsibility for the care of her six children. This is just an unfortunate example of the generational impact that residential schools have had.

I would like to just say that in the second reading speech from the Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, partly in response to the member for Shuswap, and again referred to today as we heard from the Minister of Health….We hear the words that the members of the KDC workforce are eligible to work on the site of the Cowichan Hospital.

But what the minister didn’t refer to — both ministers, including the Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation — in his second reading speech on Bill 2 is that under this government’s discriminatory CBA regime, one of the 19 unions favoured by the government has been given full authority to determine who does the work on this site.

When this was confirmed by BCIB, this effectively shut out Jon Coleman and others from working on this site. That authorization from BCIB is still in place. That’s the reason Jon Coleman was sitting in the gallery, not working on his lands.

The reason why I raise that is that when we look at the situation around reconciliation, we talk about a day that’s dedicated to recognize truth and reconciliation. We have to be truthful with ourselves in this chamber. We have to speak the truth. We have to be honest about the situation.

[3:00 p.m.]

I see a statement by Chief Lydia Hwitsum which came out on Friday, February 10, three days ago, subsequent to the points made today in this chamber. Chief Hwitsum says: “We have not yet received formal notification from any parties involved of any changes.”

Those discussions that have been referred to in this House about a proposal have been going on for months. This is a situation that dates back to 2021, 18 months ago, in discussions between Island Health and the Cowichan Tribes. This is not something new. This is not something that parties have come to an understanding of. There’s no agreement. There is no work that has been provided to those contractors and workers for the Cowichan Tribes.

Why is that important? Because this is a nation-to-nation relationship. Reconciliation is not just about Indigenous peoples. It’s certainly about the mothers, the daughters, the grandparents, the sons and the fathers who have lost so many through residential schools. It is also about repairing the relationship, and that can only be done based on truth. Yet we see time and time again in this House…. Again, I will take us back to the comments made by the Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation in his second reading speech on this bill.

He reminded us, sharing his optimism…. I share optimism too. We should be optimistic over the future we have in this province. The minister said: “I never give a speech anywhere where I don’t point out that the Declaration Act passed in this place was the product of a unanimous vote in this place.” Yes, we understand that. We refer to that.

I dare say that to this government…. The member for Abbotsford West and myself spent five days with the former Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation talking about UNDRIP, going through each article attached to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. It was based on that understanding of those five days of very rigorous discussion and confirmations by this government as to what UNDRIP meant in the context of this province that members of this House supported the passage of that act.

It’s important to remember that because as I pose the question today and as the Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation continues to talk about the unanimous support of UNDRIP in this House, we have to recognize that article 17 says in sub 3: “Indigenous individuals have the right not to be subjected to any discriminatory conditions of labour and, inter alia, employment or salary.” We had the opportunity.

The member for Abbotsford West questioned, at least four different rounds of questions to the former Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, as to the exact same scenario that Jon Coleman and the Cowichan Tribes find themselves in today, for the last 18 months: the inability to work on their lands because of the discriminatory effect of CBAs. The former Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation was not able, not prepared to respond to that question.

It demonstrates, first and foremost, that back in October and November of 2019, when we were all in another ceremony celebrating and commemorating the passage of UNDRIP unanimously in this House, it was done on a basis of understanding that Indigenous peoples themselves would not be subjected to discriminatory conditions of labour.

[3:05 p.m.]

Sorry, Mr. Speaker. I’m just…. I’m sorry. I’ll put the paper down. Yes.

Deputy Speaker: I was just asking you to come back to the bill so I could understand the connection to the bill.

M. Lee: Okay. Well, I’ll pick up my paper and just say this. The bill speaks about reconciliation. This government talks about reconciliation. We all do. But it has to mean something, and it has to mean more than just commemorating it on one day, on September 30, in each calendar year. It’s got to mean more than that. Because if it doesn’t, we’re fooling ourselves and wasting the time of Indigenous peoples and First Nation leaders across this province, including Chief Lydia Hwitsum of the Cowichan Tribes.

Why do you think Jon Coleman is here, day after day, advocating for his workers, the next generation, the people who depended on him? He had over 30 workers working on-site until they were booted off because under the CBA, it was determined by the BCIB that only the Teamsters could dictate to anyone who could work on that site. Teamsters are one of the 19 unions favoured by this NDP government.

We spent a lot of time with Jon. We spent a lot of time talking about the harms of residential schools, as I talked about earlier. We need to listen to the survivors. We need to listen to Jon Coleman, as I asked the House to do when I introduced him last Wednesday. We need to listen, and we need to be truthful. So I hope that as we look at honouring the survivors and recognizing what we’re doing on reconciliation in this province, we don’t disrespect First Nations, as this government has done.

It’s done that over the Cowichan regional hospital, with no consultation about the CBA, the terms and the restrictions for their peoples — still no work. We’ve seen this disrespect when this Premier rejected the First Nations–led bid from the Líl̓wat, Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations. They did that with no further discussion after their feasibility study was provided. We see that, as the member for Skeena has spoken to in this House, in the continued delays on the decision around Cedar LNG, a First Nations–led LNG project in this province.

We continue to see signs that this government is failing on economic reconciliation. I see this disconnect. It’s one thing to talk about a day; it’s another thing to actually get that important partnership with First Nations done in our province. There’s too much that depends on this. The future of our province depends on that right level of partnership. I know the Leader of the Official Opposition continues to advocate for that.

I join him and other members of this House to continue to call on this government to make meaningful reconciliation and hope that as members of this House continue to review this bill in committee stage, we’ll take the opportunity to reflect on what that means and how this government continues to fail on that front.

J. Sims: It’s my pleasure today to rise and speak on this very, I would say, historic and important piece of legislation.

Many of you know, in this House, that I am a teacher. I arrived in B.C. in 1977. It seems like a long time ago. For many of my colleagues, they were not born at that time, so they, of course, throw their arms up like that. Coming from England and having had the kind of history background that I had, moving to Canada was very, very enlightening.

[3:10 p.m.]

My images and what we had been taught in the public school system back in England about our Aboriginal communities were never very complimentary or very thorough or very understanding. To say the least, the history I was taught was through the colonial lens, because back in the ’70s when I went to university and in the ’60s when I was at school, that’s the way it was.

When I arrived in Nanaimo, my first teaching job was at Woodlands Secondary School, and at Woodlands Secondary School, we had a few Aboriginal students but not too many. My second assignment was to Ladysmith Secondary, and Ladysmith Secondary had a significant First Nations population. I can tell you that I learned a lot during that time about First Nations, their history, but also about the challenges being faced by youth, at that time, who were from Aboriginal communities.

Before I knew it, I was their informal counsellor at the school, and what really struck me at that time was that we had a very, very difficult time keeping the students at school, especially as they hit grades 9 and 10. It’s only when you went into the community and started to talk to the parents and actually listen and hear that you could begin to understand why that was, why there was a disconnect with our school system.

I tell that story because that seems like a lifetime ago, yet not so. The work done by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was truly historical, and it engaged the communities right across Canada in having a very difficult and tough conversation. Out of that came a series of recommendations. All of you, I know, will have heard of the calls to action, recommendations which we all supported at the time, and in this House, we supported as well.

Number 80 of the calls to action specifically referred to having a day to commemorate truth and reconciliation but also a day for people to have a statutory holiday, when people would have time to reflect and think. Some people will say: “A holiday?” Well, we have holidays in the calendar, and they all mark, commemorate significant — I’m talking about statutory holidays — days in our lives.

A statutory holiday is Remembrance Day. We have statutory holidays — others as well. But I’m going to say, for me, that when we have Remembrance Day, it is not to…. What we do in the school system is — leading up to Remembrance Day, amazing learning happens. Seniors come into the schools, and they talk, and young people learn about what it was like for our veterans to be at war and what their experiences were. All of that is really critical.

As a history teacher, I often brought in veterans, sometimes for the full week leading up to it — talking about different aspects, and different veterans coming in to tell their story. What that did — for students who had not experienced war firsthand, they heard the stories firsthand from these veterans.

[3:15 p.m.]

Getting back to call to action No. 80, to honour survivors, their families and communities and to commemorate the history of residential schools and also in recognition of the ongoing trauma, it sort of makes me feel very, very proud to be part of a government that passed, I would say, very critical legislation already on truth and reconciliation, and has done significant work.

I think credit needs to go to all sides of the House, because when we accepted the recommendations from Truth and Reconciliation, those were supported unanimously by everyone in this House. It always is magical when we can get folks sitting on both sides of the House to agree on something. To me, that shows the importance of this for British Columbians.

September 30, after this bill is declared, will become a statutory holiday in British Columbia. It’s for two things, as I said: the commemoration of the history of residential schools, but also to commemorate Orange Shirt Day, which, as we know, in B.C. and especially in this Legislature, we have been marking since 2018. Orange Shirt Day is also significant because it also talks about the fact that every child matters.

Being a mom, a grandma, a great-grandmother and a teacher, I know how important our children are. Every one of us can remember the memorial on our doorstep at the Legislature, when the little shoes were left, and they covered the steps. I can remember my great-granddaughter, four at the time, coming and standing out there. I have this beautiful photograph of her. She didn’t pose for it. She didn’t even know I was taking it. It’s taken from the back. It’s her back, looking up at the shoes.

The question she asked…. It still makes me emotional. She calls me Mama because I’m her great-grandma. She goes: “Mama, where are all the children?” I want us to think about that for a moment — for a four-year-old to see all those pairs of shoes and then to say: “Mama, where are all the children?”

When I think about September 30, I’m thinking about the time — I’m hoping families, friends, workplaces — and of all the conversations people will have to talk about the impact of the residential schools, the impact of the inherent racism that has been there and has not gone. Also to think about the collective agony, I would say, of our First Nation communities right across Canada.

I don’t think any of us will forget those pairs of shoes. I don’t think any of us are ever going to forget the images of those unidentified graves. I’m proud of the fact that we have a day. It’s not a holiday. It’s a day for us to commemorate and to remember.

I’m certainly hoping that people who are listening to the debate…. I know there are at least five people outside of the Legislature, of course. I’m certainly hoping that people will take this time.

I can remember when, on Orange Shirt Day, an orange shirt was just worn by a few people. I noticed that this last Orange Shirt Day…. I went to an event in Surrey at Holland Park. Holland Park was packed as far as you could see with orange shirts. That tells you that education is working, but we have a lot more to do.

[3:20 p.m.]

I’m certainly going to appeal to the teachers around the province, whether they work in public schools or private schools, whether they work in universities or whether they work in K-to-12, and all of child care providers, that they find age-appropriate ways to have these very difficult conversations.

I really must stress age appropriate. Kids are smart. They understand things. When we explain to them, they can feel the pain and the joy. In this case, it’s very, very important that they remember and that they get to know the history that is Canada. It is very, very important that the colonial lens, as much as it’s there in each and every one of us…. We also have that lens of the history from the eyes of our First Nations communities.

That’s a day for us to invite — maybe the day before — First Nations Elders, representatives into our class­rooms, into our workplaces to come and talk to us about the trauma and the history from their perspective. This has to have that active engagement. It can’t be just something…. You have a little lesson plan, and you just go in. I’ve done my ten minutes on Truth and Reconciliation Day.

I’m telling you. The stories you’re going to hear from some of the Elders will be life-changing. I can remember going to a longhouse in Nanaimo on a professional development day. I’ve always enjoyed my professional development days because I learn so much. In this particular case, we got on a bus, and we went to the longhouse. It was an amazing ceremony. We ate together, and then the Elders stood up and told us stories of the residential schools.

The one that has always haunted me was from a gentleman who was probably about 82 at the time, quite a few years ago. He started to speak, and all he could do was cry. The words just wouldn’t come out because he’d been hearing the stories of the others. Everybody gave him the time. Everybody sat and waited.

What he said was: “As a result of me and my experiences in the residential schools, I never knew what it was to be a son. I never knew what it was to be a brother. I didn’t even know, when I got married, what it was like to have a relationship or what a family looked like. So when my children were born, I did not know how to be a family.”

He said: “I carry this huge guilt inside me that I failed my children. But where was I supposed to learn what it was supposed to be to be a family when I never had one?” His experiences were those of the residential school, which, he told us, were not pleasant at all.

The impact of the residential schools was intergenerational, and the pain and the agony carry on today. When­ever I hear, whether it’s the young people or the elderly talking about the impact of the residential schools — I’m talking about the Aboriginal community, our First Nations communities — you can actually feel the pain right down to their core. It is palpable in the room. Sharing those stories is very, very important.

[3:25 p.m.]

To me, history is not made up of dates. I know I was taught that at one time. You learned all the battles. You learned where the armies were positioned. Very soon I realized, that kind of history I could memorize. But I was really interested in the social history, the history of how people lived, what made them who they were, what they ate, how they played.

We know that as a result of the residential schools, the agony of the day for the parents who had their children taken away, for the children themselves, for their siblings, is unimaginable — to me, anyway, and to many of us. Yet this went on not for one year, not for two years; this went on for decades. The pain and the agony that is there in the emotional history of the First Nations people is there, but what happened at the residential schools, and the impact of those, is felt by communities right across British Columbia.

Some people will say: “Yeah, just another holiday.” No, I’m hoping that this National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which is now being enshrined in B.C. law, will give people an opportunity to reflect on and think about the pain and the suffering and that it will allow them to get actively involved in the process of reconciliation.

[J. Tegart in the chair.]

Reconciliation can be facilitated by the Legislature, working with First Nations communities, but it cannot happen just in here. Reconciliation is out in our communities. It’s in Smithers; it’s in Kitimat; it’s in Prince George; it’s in Nanaimo; it’s in Surrey; it’s in Richmond. It is in all the cities right across British Columbia that we have to have this.

Some of you might be wondering: are there other prov­inces that have recognized September 30 as Truth and Reconciliation Day? Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon and now B.C. I’m sure there are going to be more to come as other provinces engage in a very tough and a very necessary dialogue on the importance of moving forward.

It’s not just enough…. As I was saying, it’s not just about sharing stories. The sharing of those stories is healing, but it’s also a way of capturing that history. But also, when you honour your history, you develop resilience. That resilience is so needed for generations to come.

I don’t think I am naive enough to think that on the day of the statutory holiday — under law, that’s what it is called — people are going to say: “No, I’m going to go to work.” I think I’m going to encourage people to gather, if not at their workplace, somewhere else — with friends, with family, with colleagues. I’m hoping some of the leadership in the communities will put on special workshops that could be community-wide and go across sectors, so that people can learn from each other and hear each other’s stories.

That, I think, will be really very special because the more we talk about this, the more we make it not just something our First Nations people have to do. I think we, as a collective province and as a nation, have to be active participants in passing on our history. History is amazing, but history has its ugly side too. I think that this particular day, we have an opportunity to take an ugly side of history and engage in these dialogues.

That will then allow us to move into the future, to build a Canada where all our people — First Nations, Indigenous, the rest of Canada, no matter where they have come from — can feel part of and included in the history that we have and where we share those stories with each other.

[3:30 p.m.]

It’s also a very important day for us to have serious discussions and chats about the inherent racism that has existed in our institutions for well over a century and then begin to dismantle some of that and say: “How are we going to move forward so that those systemic barriers and challenges that exist can be removed and we can move forward in a healing way?” That is what is really, really necessary right now.

Going back to some of the students I taught over the years, it’s been amazing for me to watch a few of them come here as part of the delegation, especially on the day that the truth and reconciliation legislation passed, and to be surprised by a young man who said to me: “Do you remember me?” You know what? It was amazing. As soon as he said that, I knew his name. I knew exactly what kind of a student he was, and I told him.

He said: “Yeah, you failed me in English.” I said: “No, I passed English; you failed. So you failed yourself, right?” He gave me a big hug. An amazing thing now is that he is working with the First Nations in Nanaimo in a senior management role. All that has come through with developing some pride in who he is and recognizing that he also has a responsibility to serve his community. I’m always, always in awe of that.

Going back to my little great-granddaughter, Alliya, standing on the doorstep…. I’m going to take just a few more minutes to say that the pain is unbearable, but the pain will be even more unbearable if we don’t talk about residential schools and the impact and have those conversations in a cross-cultural, across nations, across partnerships way so that we can heal.

We may not have all the answers. We don’t. This is a jour­ney of truth and reconciliation we have started together in partnership, and yes, there are going to be little missteps along the way. But you don’t stop the journey because of that. You learn from all of those experiences, and you keep moving forward towards building a truly inclusive and equal partnership with our First Nations communities.

Part of that has to be economic justice as well. I’m so proud of the work that our government has done in the area of connectivity, because I know what it was like in 2017 when I travelled around the province. It’s not perfect, and we still have a long way to go, but we’ve made lots of progress. That connectivity actually opens doors for economic engagements for people in the North, not only to grow their economy there, but to participate in the global economy and, therefore, really live up to our commitment to the reconciliation part and make sure that those resources are there.

In a similar way, we have to get beyond this idea that in order to have truth and reconciliation, we’re going to agree on everything. There are going to be things we’re going to disagree on with First Nations, but then we have to have a process to find our way through and have those difficult conversations.

I am very, very proud of the work that this government has done. I want to thank every member in this House for the support they have shown for the legislation, previously, in which we passed legislation on truth and reconciliation.

[3:35 p.m.]

I’m just as convinced that this legislation is also going to get unanimous consent, because we realize the importance of having these special days where we can focus and refocus on our history, build relationships together and move forward in a true partnership way with our First Nations communities.

K. Greene: I am speaking today in favour of Bill 2, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Act. I believe that this is an incredibly important and powerful tool that we can use to build dialogue in our communities and increase knowledge of our shared history that has, to now, really been erased and rewritten in a very colonial way.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission called for the creation of a statutory holiday to commemorate the history and legacy of the residential school system. Today we are already recognizing September 30 as Orange Shirt Day. I think it’s really important to recognize the work of Phyllis Webstad and other survivors of the residential school system in the grassroots campaign that built the momentum that has really swept across B.C. and across Canada.

My colleague noted how many orange shirts that we see now when we go out in public on September 30, and I know for a fact that every school in Richmond is very dedicated to sharing information about the history of colonial British Columbia and encouraging students to wear orange.

Every child matters. That is the message that Phyllis Webstad wants us to know. Every child matters. It’s really important to say that, because in the history of this province and this country, not every child mattered. There are unmarked graves in the thousands in this country and hundreds more being discovered regularly. It is work that is ongoing, and it is heartbreaking for communities and for everyone who is involved.

As a mom of young children, it is very difficult for me to comprehend the atrocity that was done upon children in this country. Schools for white children don’t have graves in them. There is a senior member in my family who went to boarding school as a young person. He’s white, and his boarding school did not have a grave in it. Residential schools inflicted incredible trauma upon young people, not just the ones who didn’t make it home, but the ones who did. It was not just once. It wasn’t a period of time. It was generation after generation after generation of kids not coming home or coming home broken.

I think it’s really important we educate ourselves on the realities that Indigenous people in this country have faced. There is a real lack of awareness, but it is being rectified. It’s the work of Phyllis Webstad and other Indigenous survivors that have never given up. Their courage inspires us all. But it’s not just education, although that is the gateway to doing better. We need to take action.

I hear this through so many communities — that knowledge without action is almost worse than ignorance. How can you know and not do better?

[3:40 p.m.]

I think that passing this bill to have a day of commemoration, a day specifically put aside for learning and coming together, for knowing more about our shared history in British Columbia and Canada and for really honouring the strength and resilience of Indigenous communities…. Despite the trauma that they have had inflicted upon them, despite everything that has happened, the thing that I hear very frequently — and it is so powerful — is the words: “We’re still here despite everything.”

I would just like to, here, honour those words, because that is unimaginable strength — to be able to come forward and say this is the time for reconciliation. This is what we’re going to do. We’re going to have Orange Shirt Day. We’re not going to stop until we take action on all of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action. This particular bill addresses call to action No. 80.

The more that we do this work here in the Legislature, and the more that this work is done with the federal government, the more that I have hope for the future. Hope is really important. It keeps us going. It inspires us. It is a future we can see that is better than the one we have today. That is why we do this work — to lift us all up, to make sure that we are looking after each other as we would look after our own.

Building on UNDRIP is so important and taking action…. TRC action No. 80 is incredibly important. I very much hope that, like UNDRIP, we can have the unanimous support of the House so that we can move forward with a statutory holiday where we can engage with the public, where we’re encouraged to have these conversations. It’s not a holiday, just to be clear. It is a day that we can reflect and learn and connect and build those communities and build those connections.

I’d also like to offer some words that I have learned from a strong Indigenous woman. If you’re asking for some of this emotional labour, if you’re asking for this education…. If you’re a settler or an immigrant and now a settler…. If you are asking for that work, compensate them. If you are asking for a special speaker to come to your work to take action on reconciliation, which is very important…. I really do encourage people. You need to compensate them. It is not their free time. Part of reconciliation is compensating people appropriately for the work they do.

Reconciliation is going to be a long road. I see that work happening here every day. Every day that I am in the Legislature, every day that I’m doing my job, I’m seeing the question being asked. How does this fit in with reconciliation? It’s not going to be an easy road, but we are all here in it for the long haul. This bill, Bill 2, is one more important step along the way of that journey.

I think it’s also really important that we learn about the places that we are specifically from. While we are all in British Columbia, we all have places that we call home. I come from the territory of the Musqueam First Nation. I am in Steveston.

[3:45 p.m.]

You may have heard of Garry Point Park. You may also know that the Point family is quite prominent in the Musqueam community. I have so much respect for the Point family. I’ve known them for a number of years, coming to welcome us to their territory at numerous functions and events.

Now, Garry Point was actually named after Nicholas Garry, who was the deputy governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company back in the 1800s. This spit of land, which had a name, was renamed Garry Point. At the same time, settlers were coming in from all over to Steveston, and the Musqueam were pushed further and further into the corner until all they had left was seven or eight homes on Garry Point.

You may have thought that maybe Garry Point was named after the Point family. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The Point family was actually named after the deputy governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company, because the Point family was required to take an Anglican last name in order to have ID cards.

That is a piece of history from my corner of the world. I would really encourage everybody here to think about the histories of your corners of the world and to take the time, not just on September 30 — any time of the year is a good day to learn — to learn about the history of where you are.

Now, the conversations that we’re having are incredibly difficult. The trauma is still very real. This isn’t something that happened a long time ago. It did happen a long time ago, but it also happened recently. The person in my family that went to boarding school is in his 70s, and he’s younger than survivors.

For anybody who is needing support services, who is facing a crisis because of the conversations that are being had, I would really recommend that they reach out for help. The Indian residential school crisis line is available. It’s a national service for anybody finding distress because of the residential school experience. It’s a 1-866 number: 1-866-925-4419.

The KUU-US Crisis Line Society is a crisis service for Indigenous people in B.C. Adults and Elders can call 250-​723-4050, and they have a children and youth line: 250-723-2040.

There are so many impacts to our communities, and they are intergenerational. When you compound them through the generations, it’s incredibly traumatic. So I encourage everyone to not try to do it alone. This is a time to come together. It’s a time to heal.

In conclusion, I am in support of Bill 2 and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. I think this is a very important step to take to address reconciliation in the province of British Columbia and a very good way to open dialogue — opportunities to learn and connect and do better.

H. Yao: It is a pleasure of mine to stand up and support Bill 2.

Before I start, I want to echo many of my colleagues’ land acknowledgments. We are on the Lək̓ʷəŋin̓əŋ-speaking territories, specifically the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations. I thank them for allowing us to live, work and play on their ancestral land.

Of course, as the Richmond South Centre MLA, I also want to acknowledge that I’m representing a riding that sits on the Musqueam, Kwantlen and Coast Salish peoples as well as thank them for allowing us to live, work and play on ancestral lands.

[3:50 p.m.]

It’s interesting how we’re talking about Bill 2. One reason why I’m very passionate, as we’re standing up to talk about Bill 2, is because I’m speaking from an outsider’s perspective.

As a person of colour…. Of course, we’ve experienced different forms of racism and different forms of discrimination, and of course, as we grow, work and learn in this unceded territory, we also experience a certain amount of colonial bias as we start developing our knowledge and awareness.

One thing I do want to emphasize is that there are times that there will be discriminatory action against me that I’m not even fully aware of. Why am I bringing this topic up? Because the reality is that racism and discrimination are complex. When we’re talking about Indigenous history with Canadian history, its depth, its complexity, its bloody history are far more intense than a lot of other racism we address. That is the reason why it is extremely important for us to mark a day to truly, concretely and comprehensively work with British Columbians to acknowledge the importance of truth and reconciliation.

I will take a quick step back. From December 28 last year until now, I personally attended about 49 events, and about 32 of them were about the lunar new year. At all of those events, one thing I try to make sure I do is to do my land acknowledgment. I’m not saying anything special about what I did, but I want to say that the way the community echoed and responded was very reassuring.

When I first started, some of the event attendees would walk up to me: “What do you mean unceded? What do you mean traditional? We own Canada.” Some of them would even question why I would waste 15 seconds of my speech, which I usually make only within a minute, to talk about a land acknowledgment. Then they’d see me doing it over and over again.

I want to also take a moment to express my gratitude to colleagues from all sides of this aisle, thanking you…. Whenever you attend an event and you do provide a land acknowledgment, thank you for promoting awareness.

One of the things we often talk about in Richmond, unfortunately, especially in the Chinese-Canadian community, is that due to the language barrier and due to the limited exposure, there are a lot of understanding barriers being created. We are trying to work, as MLAs, in community engagement, to ensure we foster bridges, understanding and mutual appreciation of the challenges we face in the community.

This has been exhibited…. The symptoms can be seen through the voting rate, through the democratic engagement and sometimes even to have a public debate and feel like they’re expressing different, wrong messaging because they were receiving wrong information. That is why it’s so important for our public institutions to continue to stand up.

Now when we take a look back at our Indigenous history in Canada, we realize the challenges that the Indigenous community have experienced. I dare not assume that I can even come close to comprehending the pain, the suffering and the family brokenness of what residential school has done to many of them. The fact that when you wear an orange shirt to go to school, and somebody has a right to take it off you….

Why it is so important to have truth and reconciliation is because it’s a complex situation that takes gradual steps as we move forward. We must be moving forward as we continue finding ways to truly find the truth and reconcile the challenges we’re experiencing.

One reason I’m so excited by Bill 2 is that I have seen, simply by doing the land acknowledgment, that I now have community group leaders, especially emcees or community co-ops, say: “Hey, Henry, I don’t really know this, but can you help me do quick research? What kind of territory am I on? Should I do my land acknowledgment? How do I do my land acknowledgment?”

This brings up conversations. Absolutely no one should hold the expectation that we should be able to resolve truth and reconciliation within a day or two or within a year or even within our lifetime. But we must make gradual steps to continue to educate our community and our constituents. I think having Bill 2, setting a date, a marker on our calendar and saying that this is how we will not forget….

I think I’m going to echo my previous colleague from Richmond-Steveston. She made it very clear: every child matters. And when we choose to let things slip past history, we will forget about the impact it has in our community.

It is easy to look at 250 and say that’s the number of people who passed away. But in reality, that’s every child passing away who is lost and will never be able to return home. That’s one life and one complex story missing. That’s one family that’s broken. That’s one challenge that we will never be able to reconcile, and that’s one evil that happened in our Canadian history that, if we do not acknowledge it, will end up repeating itself again.

[3:55 p.m.]

I do want to emphasize why it is so important for us that September 30 is our truth and reconciliation date, where we should wear our orange shirt. It is not just a public exhibit of where we stand or some kind of moralism. It is not being forced or driven to an act of sensationalism. It is our deep desire as a society, as a community, to tell one another, and tell ourselves as well, that we must do whatever it takes to prevent that evil from repeating itself. We must acknowledge the pain and suffering it has cost, not because there’s a number of people who have suffered, but every life matters.

We’re talking about: “Every child counts.” We want them to come home. I want to echo every member within the chamber who are parents or are grandparents, who have kids. None of us ever want to see our kids not coming back home. This is just not a thought that I dare entertain in my head. It is something I dare not break my heart over, because I don’t think any one of us can recover from that.

That is why…. I don’t want say I’m glad, but I am reassured that our government stepped up, and that with the support of every member across the aisle, we are placing truth and reconciliation as a priority as we move forward. Again, I will continue on to express my gratitude to every member, to every elected official, to share your land acknowledgment, to remind our community this is something we should never forget.

As MLA in the community, I often walk around the community, attending events where we talk about the Holocaust, where we talk about the head tax, and, of course, now we’re talking about residential school. All of those are historical wrongs, evils. But if we let it slip past, our future generations will be the ones who are carrying a different form of suffering and pain and impact from it. That’s the reason why I’m standing here today, joined by my colleagues, and supporting Bill 2.

I also want to emphasize the fact that it creates bridges to have healthier dialogue. I actually had a really interesting conversation with one of our group, talking about anti-racism at an event I was hosting, and people were talking about the importance of anti-Asian racism. “We must stop that.” I asked a quick question. “How come your group didn’t do a land acknowledgment at the beginning?” That didn’t happen, not because they chose not to but because they were not aware of it. Now we’re: “Oh, can I?”

One of the biggest and most daunting historical wrongs is the relationship Canadians have with the Indigenous community. That’s why we have truth and reconciliation. It’s hard work to have to say we’re talking about supporting one form of anti-hate, yet we fail to acknowledge another form of anti-hate, and especially our relationship with Indigenous communities. The historical bloody history far exceeds every other form of racism we experience as community members.

When our organizers actually approached me and asked me: “Okay, what do I do…?” How should I acknowledge? What kind of education can we provide? How can we allow truth and reconciliation to become a front line of our anti-racism fight in our community, so we can promote inclusivity, engagement, dialogue and mutual respect?

If there’s an argument about whether it should be a holiday, I think we’re going in the wrong direction. If we’re talking about whether or not it’s a day off, we’re going in the wrong direction. I think what it reminds me of is when we attended Remembrance Day, when we stood there for two minutes while different organizations were in uniform, marching, and reflected on the sorrow and memories of lives lost to defend our democracy. We must also utilize Truth and Reconciliation Day to remind us of the pain and suffering that we are now benefiting from. Therefore, we must get history correct so that we can bring back a lot of justice that was lost because it was allowed to be lost.

Bill 2, the fact that we’re having a holiday, is saying that we will no longer let this kind of memory be lost and be forgotten. It is actually something you’d read in a history book. It is something to be alive. It is something that we need to really listen to and really hear the stories of residential school survivors and to understand the simple fact that the children, and not just the children, went through…. It’s about the devastating breakage of the spirit, the devastation of the family, how families sometimes were not expecting their loved one to come back.

When we have a ceremony in Richmond’s Brighouse Park, we will place 250 shoes on the floor. It’s giving us a context. It is giving us a depth. It is giving us an opportunity to experience a glimpse, a simple glimpse of the pain some of our family has gone through.

[4:00 p.m.]

Our government, working with all sides of the aisle, is really putting this together. I’m really hopeful that we’ll all come together and show support. To show support to this is unfortunately a minor step of many thousands of steps that we need to take as a community to continue to say that we cannot let this memory to pass by. We must understand the pain that everybody went through, and we must prevent this kind of inappropriate evil reoccurring itself in our society. If we’re truly believing that we are against hate, we must be against all forms of hate.

It has been a fascinating journey, including for myself, to go from becoming simply a community member to an MLA and then witnessing everybody do land acknowledgments. We talk about unceded and traditional territory, where we can talk about the ancestral land. Around the world, there’s still a lot of geographical conflict — fighting over identity, jurisdiction and land entitlement.

I think that for us Canadians and for us British Columbians to truly be able to say that we must walk forward with a more civilized, modernized view of how to create a stronger dialogue for community, we have to show our support for this opportunity for Bill 2, so we can come together and say yes, despite how painful, how bloody, how unfortunate and how evil. The historical residential schools have caused pain in the community. We can continue to face the challenges directly on so that we can say that we will acknowledge the truth objectively, before we can muster the strength to truly walk through reconciliation.

I think it speaks to question period. I hear both sides of the argument, talking about the important truths around reconciliation. It is all built upon UNDRIP. I’m so glad that we’re continuously putting it together, having arguments and having debate in this chamber, talking about how we can better the truth and reconciliation. Yet I do also want to emphasize — and I’m not here pointing fingers at anybody — that I have heard all kinds of conversation that makes me wonder: is more education needed?

I remember we had, here, a topic talking about the Indigenous relationship — of a bill. People talked about safety for children — that before we can actually pass on any kind of act, we must worry about safety. Yet as a youth worker, I knew from my experience that the term safety was often how colonial-based organizations go in and remove children from Indigenous families. Based on our colonial view, we must believe that’s not safe. Instead of saying, “What can we do to support the family?” we remove a family.

Why is it so important to have this conversation? It’s because we’re still learning. I don’t believe the member who made that comment did so out of disrespect. But I also know I will probably be sure to say a lot of things that I will regret later on, due to my lack of understanding. That is why it is so important for us to continue to look forward, looking at this historically and learning from this.

Again, why are we talking about Bill 2? Bill 2 fundamentally marks a point, reminding us that this is another step towards the right direction — towards the direction of truth, towards the direction of reconciliation and towards an opportunity that we can actually stop in our busy lives and say that we need to reflect and think.

I think it’s easy for us MLAs. It is easy for British Columbians to live a life — work, family, child care. We’re talking about health care. We’re running after paying for the mortgage. We have a lot of really important and really necessary factors in the community that require our attention. That’s also a reason why we need to put it on pause from time to time — similar to Remembrance Day — to really ask ourselves: what is truth and reconciliation, in our opinion?

Again, I think I want to just go back to have a conversation around some of my colleague’s earlier comments talking about the pain a family has to go through. I sincerely hope that every member across the aisle and every member who is in this chamber and, hopefully, out of province too will come together and will say: “Never again.”

Hon. J. Whiteside: I am just going to take the opportunity just to say a couple of words on this bill before we close off debate.

[4:05 p.m.]

It’s an honour to rise in the House and speak in favour of Bill 2. We’ve been talking about all of the support across our House for the important work of reconciliation. I wanted just to speak for a moment about what I think this day will mean as an answer to one of the calls to action in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, just to speak to the work our government has done in collaboration and consultation with First Nations and Indigenous communities.

In education, for example, in our K-to-12 system, what we’ve done is that we’ve actually changed the graduation requirements so that every student who graduates from grade 12 in our province, as of the next school year, will graduate with a requirement for Indigenous-focused course work. Really, this came as a response to what youth were asking for, what students were asking for, because they are way ahead on many of these issues than adults are in their world.

Every time I would talk with students, with youth, they would identify kind of a shock that they didn’t know about the residential school system, that they didn’t know about the full impact of colonialism on First Nations and Indigenous people. They often would express to me a real feeling, sort of heartsick at not understanding and knowing and really put forward a plea to further understand.

When I think about the conversations that we’ve had across our education system and the work that we’ve done in making this change — a change that was called for by superintendents, by educators, by school trustees, by communities across our province….

The profound need for British Columbians to understand the impact of colonialism, the impact of systemic racism, all of the harms that have flowed to Indigenous and First Nations communities from colonialism and the devastating impact of the residential school system…. That is an understanding that younger generations really want. I think that we all want and understand the need to understand that shared history and all of the difficult elements of that shared history, because it’s only in reconciling that history that we will be able to move on to a brighter shared future.

I think September 30…. I think many of us across our communities have experienced, over the last couple of years and, in particular, since the uncovering of mass graves at Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc and then, subsequently, across our province and across the country…. I think we saw in our communities a real outpouring of this need to have this conversation in a public way, in a community-based way on September 30.

I know that in my community, in New Westminster…. New Westminster is built on the traditional territory of the Qayqayt First Nation. It’s Musqueam territory. It’s Coast Salish territory. I just want to take a moment to give a shout-out and to express gratitude to Chief Rhonda Larrabee, who is very much a strong presence in our community and very much part of a community conversation that we’re having about reconciliation.

I mean, really, reconciliation certainly is a community process. It’s also very much an individual journey as well. What we’ve seen over the last couple of years through the amazing efforts of folks like Ernie Cardinal and the Spirit of the Children Society is a call to our whole community to come together, to share that day, to be together in that day, to learn, to reflect, to listen.

Over the last couple of years, we’ve just seen the numbers grow. We have thousands of people come together on the banks of the Fraser River, led by local Indigenous and First Nations organizations who take us through a day. It was a real honour for me to serve as a witness to the pipe ceremony last September 30.

I think this day will become not a holiday. This day will be a day for reconciliation in our province, in our communities, where we come together. I’m very grateful for the leadership of First Nations and Indigenous people who have brought us to this point, whose courage and resiliency is something that we can all learn from.

Deputy Speaker: Seeing no further speakers, does the minister wish to close debate?

[4:10 p.m.]

Hon. M. Rankin: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Indeed, I would.

I would commend this important bill, Bill 2, a day to establish the national truth and reconciliation, to this House for passage.

I would hope, after so many eloquent speeches made on all sides of this chamber…. We represent, as you know, Madam Speaker, all parts of our province, all communities within our province. I think it’s incumbent on us to represent our communities and speak, as the minister said just before me, for the need to understand our shared history, as she put it, the need to put truth first before reconciliation can occur. I think September 30 will be a day that we can achieve that.

Deputy Speaker: Excuse me, Minister. It’s a procedural error, on my shoulders. Apparently, you have spoken to the motion, and you are not the minister who moved the motion, so you cannot close the debate. I would just ask you, respectfully, to take your seat. Thank you.

We need the minister who moved the motion to see if he would like to close debate.

I don’t see him in the room, so we’ll put the question.

Members, the question is second reading of Bill 2.

Division has been called.

[4:15 p.m. - 4:20 p.m.]

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Mr. Speaker: Members, the question is the second reading of Bill 2.

Second reading of Bill 2 approved unanimously on a division. [See Votes and Proceedings.]

[4:25 p.m.]

Hon. R. Kahlon: I move that the bill be committed to a Committee of the Whole House to be considered at the next sitting of the House after today.

Bill 2, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Act, read a second time and referred to a Committee of the Whole House for consideration at the next sitting of the House after today.

Hon. R. Kahlon: I call Bill 4, Finance Statutes Amendment Act, for second reading.

[J. Tegart in the chair.]

BILL 4 — FINANCE STATUTES
AMENDMENT ACT, 2023

Hon. K. Conroy: I move that Bill 4 be read a second time now.

The bill proposes to amend the Securities Act to address two main goals. First, the bill improves the B.C. Securities Commission’s ability to enforce securities laws and collect fines. Second, the bill helps harmonize B.C.’s securities laws with the other jurisdictions and makes some technical improvements.

When it comes to enforcement, the BCSC relies on its ability to call a witness to provide information or records while investigating a potential violation of securities laws. With the changes in the bill, the BCSC will be able to take action if a witness ignores these summons or demands.

The BCSC will be able to issue a fine of up to $1 million, order a person to stop trading or suspend the registration under the Securities Act. The BCSC will have a better ability to make witnesses provide important information to investigate violations of securities laws and collect money from wrongdoers. This bill will also give the BCSC the ability to seek stronger consequences, through the B.C. Supreme Court, for people convicted of securities- or derivatives-related offences under the Criminal Code. This will help improve outcomes for the victims of these offences.

In addition to these stronger enforcement measures, the bill addresses a gap in the intended outcome of the 2019 amendments that allowed the BCSC to collect fines from registered accounts. A recent Court of Appeal decision imposed restrictions on which funds the BCSC can collect from registered accounts of people who violated security laws. These amendments address that decision and ensure that these people are unable to benefit from protection offered to funds withdrawn from accounts like a locked-in pension.

Next I will turn to the portion of the bill that addresses harmonization with other jurisdictions. Currently prospectuses, which are documents that provide information to investors, must be delivered to them. After consultation with the securities industry, the BCSC and other regulators understand how much of a burden this delivery requirement can be for the industry. The process will be simplified by allowing for electronic access instead of delivery, and the BCSC is working with other Canadian regulators to develop a new rule for this process. This bill amends the act to allow the BCSC to participate in this future harmonized national rule.

Other bill amendments that align the BCSC with other securities regulators include the ability for the BCSC to designate credit ratings, allowing the BCSC to make rules to develop standards for auditors of registrants under the act and additional rule-making authority to impose continuous disclosure obligations on issuers that are not reporting issuers.

These are all measures that securities regulators in other jurisdictions have in place. They will help ensure that B.C.’s act keeps pace with this rapidly evolving sector and allow the BCSC to better work alongside other jurisdictions to make B.C. a safe place to invest.

In addition to what I’ve already spoken to, there are some housekeeping and technical amendments included. We have been attentive to our commitments, under the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, to consult and cooperate with Indigenous peoples as we have developed this legislation.

We have done an assessment of this legislation as it relates to aligning with the UN declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples. Improving securities enforcement and collections, and harmonizing with other jurisdictions, as Bill 4 proposes, does not uniquely affect the Indigenous rights described in the UN declaration.

[4:30 p.m.]

P. Milobar: Thank you to the minister for those comments on Bill 4. I’ll just add a few things and likely won’t have a lengthy debate from our side on this bill. As the minister pointed out, it’s somewhat housekeeping but important housekeeping in terms of cleaning up loopholes that were missed the first time there was a bit of an update to the legislation around the Securities Commission. I recognize that it wasn’t this minister that brought that legislation forward, but she’s in the cleanup spot to correct the previous minister’s errors in terms of those loopholes that were there.

As we’ve heard, the first clause will allow the seizing of those pension funds, which was missed with one particular case that was going through the courts in terms of highlighting just how that error actually starts to impact people, as trying to recapture some of the fraudulent funds starts to get underway. Again, we’re glad to see that that is being amended, being corrected, making sure that there is that tool available for people in the regulation side of that world to make sure that there is proper enforcement of orders as fraud cases move forward.

It is important, as the minister said, that we have a securities environment where investors feel safe and that their investments are secured and that things are on the up and up, because you don’t want any types of questionable activity happening to scare away potential investment and securities issues.

We also do look forward to committee stage of this bill to dig into a little further detail with the question-and-answer back and forth between myself and the minister, just to provide that clarity to the public. Again, we view this very much as not so much of a politicized back-and-forth type of bill but just really want to make sure the broader public understands just exactly what’s being undertaken with this.

[S. Chandra Herbert in the chair.]

Some of the clauses in here, like clause 5, which will allow some of the more online and electronic handling of documents, make sense in a more modernized world. It will provide that ease for people to be able to access the information they need to make the decisions that they need around their investments and the securities that they are looking to purchase themselves.

We are happy that a lot of this will be trying to be more in sync and more in line with what is happening nationally in terms of the harmonization of regulations. It was a little disappointing, however, through the briefing, when we heard that B.C. used to be the leader, actually, spearheading and championing that national push to try to have the one set of rules that were adopted across the country. We’re disappointed to hear that that overall structure seems to have disappeared, with B.C. no longer at the helm of that, on top of it.

That’s a bit of a concern, but certainly making sure that steps are taken so that there is that consistency across the country, regardless of that working group or not, is an important piece, as well, to make sure that there’s an understanding and a clarity across the country. Then there are not different jurisdictions striking out on their own, because the more consistency we can have on a national basis, from province to province, the tighter the rules become, the more secure the securities issues are and the harder it is for fraudsters and other criminal elements to try to find loopholes in one area or another within the country and play one province off of the other.

All in all, we’re, at this point, supportive of the concepts in this bill. As I say, we’ll reserve our final vote for committee stage, but nothing to this point seems to be a showstopper or anything that would create problems for the opposition at this point.

Deputy Speaker: Seeing no other speakers, does the minister wish to close debate?

Hon. K. Conroy: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the member’s comments and look forward to getting a bit more into the committee stage and into this riveting bill, which is much needed.

I thank the member, and with that, I move second reading.

Motion approved.

Hon. K. Conroy: I move that the bill be referred to a Committee of the Whole House to be considered at the next sitting of the House after today.

Bill 4, Finance Statutes Amendment Act, 2023, read a second time and referred to a Committee of the Whole House for consideration at the next sitting of the House after today.

Deputy Speaker: Acting Government House Leader.

Oh, maybe we will take a short recess. The House is in recess.

The House recessed from 4:35 p.m. to 4:40 p.m.

[S. Chandra Herbert in the chair.]

Deputy Speaker: All right, Members. Let’s call this House back into session.

Hon. M. Rankin: I’d like to call resumption of the Speech from the Throne debate.

Throne Speech Debate

(continued)

Hon. P. Alexis: Today I want to acknowledge that I’m speaking to you from the traditional territories of the Lək̓ʷəŋin̓əŋ people, the Songhees and the Esquimalt First Nations.

It’s my honour and privilege to rise and respond to the throne speech, which opened the fourth session of the 42nd parliament of the province of British Columbia. A session that began with the emotional words and blessings from Elder Florence Dick of the Songhees Nation.

I’m delighted to have this opportunity to rise and confirm my support for this throne speech, which thoughtfully outlines our government’s priorities for the year ahead and our plans to continue building a stronger and more secure future for all British Columbians.

Here in British Columbia, our people are our strength, and this speech highlights the choice our government makes every day to focus on putting people first. Our job is to listen to what British Columbians are telling us and to make sure that government is working for them and delivering for them.

I’m passionate about helping people and supporting my community. These are two of the main reasons I entered politics, and it fills me with excitement and hope that I’m part of a government that understands the important role we play in shaping our communities and society.

British Columbians in all walks of life are feeling the impacts of global inflation every day. They’re seeing the serious and often devastating impacts of climate change, and many are still recovering from challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. This government is working hard to make sure that British Columbians understand that they’re not facing these challenges alone. As we move forward, we will continue to put people first and make investments in a stronger future for all British Columbians.

I’m particularly excited in my new role as Minister of Agriculture and Food to help create opportunities for the hard-working people in our agriculture and food sectors, who in turn provide healthy, delicious and affordable local food that feeds our families and our communities. It’s no secret that food security is on everyone’s mind. Whether it be access to the food people need, how much it costs or where we’re getting our food from, our government is actively looking at ways to support farmers, ranchers and seafood producers so we can ensure food security for all British Columbians.

Agriculture, the seafood sector and food and beverage processing are foundational economic drivers in British Columbia. Total sales in 2021 were over $18 billion with growth in all areas and over 79,000 people employed. Yet there is significant potential for us to expand production and processing even further so we can create more job opportunities, grow our economy and improve food security by lowering the cost of food and groceries for British Columbians.

[4:45 p.m.]

As minister, I’m committed to supporting and growing the sector in every way possible. Innovation and collaboration will be our key to success. By supporting the growth of traditional agriculture, food processing and agritech, we’ll be making sure B.C.’s food system is more sustainable and resilient. This goes hand in hand with a stronger B.C. economy that allows our farming communities to prosper.

We will continue to make investments like we have with the B.C. Centre for Agritech Innovation, which enables strong partnerships between academics, tech creators and farmers. We will look at new options to produce more food and value-added food products on the agricultural land reserve. For example, the possibility of adding more vertical farms to our agricultural landscape presents an opportunity to grow more food locally year-round in a controlled and highly productive environment.

We will keep working closely with Indigenous people on agricultural initiatives identified by them, to support their interests in economic development, food sovereignty and community building.

We will continue to invest in our B.C. Food Hub Network, adding more commercial food processing infrastructure and services in communities throughout the province. Through the food hubs, we’re adding value to locally sourced primary products and taking advantage of the different resources each of our communities has to offer. Food hubs also play an important part in ensuring we have resilient, local food systems and increasing local jobs and economic opportunities.

When we work together, whether it be with other levels of government, our Indigenous communities, the tech sector, post-secondary institutions or with our farmers, producers and processors, it just goes to show you that there is much potential for British Columbia to increase efficiency, have more sustainable production and strengthen food security.

Another of my main priorities is ensuring our farmers and producers are prepared for the future challenges that climate-related weather events will bring. My family has lived in the Fraser Valley for over 25 years, and the devastation I witnessed firsthand during the atmospheric river is something I will never forget. I was heartbroken for our agricultural community and for everyone impacted.

But even in the darkest hours of the flooding, I still saw so many in the community coming together to support one another. The resilience shown by our farmers and producers to get back on their feet and put food on the tables of their fellow British Columbians was truly inspiring. It just goes to show that our strength really is in the people who live, work and play in this great province that we’re so lucky to call home.

Going forward, we must remain vigilant and prepare for more climate-related weather events in the future and find ways to adapt to and mitigate the impacts to the agricultural sector. Flooding, wildfires, drought, extreme heat or even extreme cold can disrupt or devastate food production and delivery. Being a more resilient food system is a priority for this government.

While agritech and innovation certainly will play an important role, it’s also imperative we continue to support primary production on the ALR and regenerative agricultural practices. In fact, it’s the intersection of the two that the provincial government is focusing on. A regenerative agriculture and agritech strategic framework has been developed that lays out the vision, mission, goals and values of where we want to go in the future.

By promoting and encouraging farmers to adopt agri­tech and sustainable farming practices, we can increase environmental sustainability, mitigate the effects of climate change and increase productivity and profitability for our farmers. Sustainable practices will be further supported through the growth of food processing and agritech to ensure we have a resilient and competitive agriculture and food sector in our province that feeds both B.C. and the world.

[4:50 p.m.]

We’ll be backing all of this up with continued investment in our Grow B.C., Feed B.C. and Buy B.C. programs, which encourage greater food security, regional economic growth and access to local food. Above all, we will remain steadfast in supporting all growers, farmers and farm businesses to do what they do best, which is produce safe, high-quality B.C. food for everyone to enjoy.

While I’m keenly focused on my role as minister, I’m also continuing to fight every day for the people of Abbotsford-Mission and to make sure the provincial government is working for them. As we enter uncertain economic times, it’s important that the B.C. government continues to make commonsense investments that improve the lives of British Columbians, especially in Abbotsford-Mission, and that’s exactly what this government has been doing.

Here are just a few of the things that the government of British Columbia has delivered recently for folks in Abbotsford and Mission. Thanks to the hard work of the Minister of Transportation, our government was able to announce last November that construction has begun on the four-laning of Highway 7 between 266 and 287 Streets. This will reduce traffic for people in Abbotsford-Mission and improve road safety.

The B.C. government has also worked hard to build the infrastructure and services that make life affordable for working families in Abbotsford and Mission. Since 2017, the provincial government has added 312 new child care spaces, many of which are $10 a day.

In addition, this past September a brand-new elementary school in Eagle Mountain, built and delivered by this government, welcomed its first students. This elementary school has capacity for up to 460 students, allowing for more folks in the Fraser Valley to start a family and know that high-quality, brand-new local schools are now open.

Supporting families in the Fraser Valley into the future will require resilient and future-oriented economic opportunities for parents. This B.C. government is making critical investments to ensure parents and working people in the Fraser Valley have access to economic opportunity and that local businesses are able to hire skilled workers from right here in the Fraser Valley.

Access to opportunities for skills training and post-secondary education will be critical to addressing emerging labour shortages and important for ensuring B.C. workers are able to earn higher wages. That’s why our provincial government announced a historic investment of more than $70 million to triple the student housing capacity at the University of the Fraser Valley. This government is delivering skills-training opportunities for the communities and businesses of the Fraser Valley to be future-ready.

The government of British Columbia is also stepping up with even more investment in people going forward, ensuring that opportunities for skills training are available to folks in Abbotsford-Mission and the entire Fraser Valley. As mentioned in the throne speech, this spring your government will introduce Future Ready, a skills-training action plan to make education and training more accessible, affordable and relevant and to help prepare British Columbians for the jobs of today and tomorrow. It’s a plan that will give more opportunity to every British Columbian, one that will help people expand the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in high-demand, good-paying jobs.

While we invest in the future of the Fraser Valley, the government of British Columbia is also making sure that supports are being rolled out today for folks who are struggling with addiction and hoping to recover. Last April this government invested $16.6 million and began the construction of 60 new supportive homes to help support men recovering from addiction in the Fraser Valley. Supportive housing for addiction recovery is a critical part of our government’s response to those struggling with addiction in the Fraser Valley.

This government believes that B.C. should be a place where everyone has the opportunity to build a good life.

[4:55 p.m.]

This government is committed to making sure B.C. is the best place to live, work, play and start a family; a place where quality health care and public services are there for you when you need them; a place where opportunity abounds and training opportunities are accessible for young people to pursue their dreams; a place where our beautiful, natural heritage is protected for future generations to behold and enjoy; a place with a fair economy that rewards hard-working British Columbians who play by the rules.

This government has worked to try and make sure that B.C. and the Fraser Valley are that place today. Our Premier is committed to making the bold investments necessary to make B.C. and the Fraser Valley that place tomorrow and into the future.

I support the vision that the Premier has laid out for British Columbia, and I look forward to working with the Premier and my colleagues in cabinet and caucus to deliver on that vision for all British Columbians.

R. Merrifield: “Come with me. Come with me, Renee,” Mary cried. What Mary couldn’t see was me on the other side of that phone, tears filling my eyes, desperate to find answers for this mother who was frantic to find her child. “Come with me. Come with me.”

Being a member of this assembly is such an honour, not because of these walls or this building or even these speeches but because of constituents like Mary. It gives me an opportunity to serve, to try and fix the issues that they are grappling with.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I recognize I’m in opposition, but our role in opposition is incredibly important. It’s important to draw attention to how government could do things better and how their policy is failing. It’s also important to bring forward great ideas on how we could do things differently.

It is always an honour to rise on behalf of the residents of my riding of Kelowna-Mission and to represent the voices of Mary, Jeremy, Leo, Carol, Richard, Nancy, Brent, Amy, Tia, Gurjeevan and thousands more. Today, in my response, it’s their voices that I raise to make sure that this government hears how they are doing and what issues are front and centre for them. Today I invite you to come with me on this journey of their voices.

People aren’t making it. I’ve heard lip service paid by the other side of the House to these desperate cries of people not making ends meet. Costs have skyrocketed. Homelessness is through the roof. Health care is in shambles. Housing is out of reach. Our mental health, all the while, is suffering. While the throne speech could describe these issues, it didn’t do anything to solve them. It was mere lip service.

First and foremost, I’d like to address the critical issues of homelessness, crime, health care, mental health and the skyrocketing cost of living, which were mentioned in the throne speech. These are not just problems facing Kelowna. They are also major concerns for all British Columbians.

In Kelowna, we have seen a significant increase in the number of individuals experiencing homelessness in recent years. To address this issue, this NDP government’s big plan is to decriminalize drugs and to increase the amount of publicly supplied addictive drugs, which we’re going to give out. That’s it. Just the drugs. Oh, wait. I almost forgot. They pay lip service to adding additional treatment beds. Well, good on Kelowna. We’ve got, that’s right, six of them, six complex care beds for a CMA that serves over 350,000 people.

You heard that correctly, Mr. Speaker. Six beds. This is their big plan. When the six complex care beds opened in Kelowna, my constituency assistant reached out immediately to find a bed for this mom’s son, but sadly, they were filled before they were even opened.

My journey of trying to help the homeless crisis began 15 years ago as a builder working with the city of Kelowna on its four pillars plan. The strategy was to create more affordable housing throughout the city, along with subsidized housing for those with greater need.

[5:00 p.m.]

My work continued on the Interior Health Authority board, where I chaired the special priorities committee that oversaw mental health and substance use issues. During that time, I worked with Kelowna’s current mayor, Tom Dyas, on a downtown initiative to try and help with the overdose crisis.

It was then that I began to investigate the Portugal model of care known as psycad and read about Dr. Goulão’s work as the architect of that system of treatment. I’ve travelled, on my own dollar, to Portugal twice, in 2018 and again last fall, to continue that investigation and to try to understand more fully how its success in treatment, rehabilitation and care for the mentally ill was achieved.

The very first time I went to Portugal, in 2018, I actually hired a driver to take me to where their homeless, or street-entrenched, population lived. I asked the driver three different times. I then tried to translate into Portuguese, asking: “Where do those that live in tents or homeless people sleep at night?” He was so flummoxed. He simply could not understand my question. When I asked him, “Why are we having such a difficult time?” he looked at me, and he said: “We don’t have homeless people.”

Unbelieving, I absolutely had him drive me, for the next three hours, around the streets of Lisbon to try to find where the homeless population lived. They don’t have homeless people. A city of five million people, Lisbon, the same population as all of B.C., does not have a homeless population.

Now, in fairness, Portugal’s psycad model includes decriminalization and safe supply, but it is not the focus.

In 2018, psycad’s Goulão spoke with the Vancouver Sun about the importance of treating drug use as a public health issue. He noted that decriminalization is not enough. Comprehensive care and support must be in place to help individuals overcome their challenges and live healthy, productive lives.

In 2022, nearly 2,300 people in B.C. lost their lives to addictions — 87 people in Kelowna alone. I was tweeting out when we would have bad drugs on our streets. I’ve seen a dramatic increase in our homeless population and those that are addicted in Kelowna but also across British Columbia.

Clearly, what the provincial government is doing is not working. The recent decriminalization of drugs without treatment is going to be disastrous.

Look no further than to Oregon to see how this has played out. After decriminalization, its number of overdose deaths rose. Two years after Oregon residents voted to decriminalize hard drugs, here are what the results have been. Oregon still has among the highest addiction rates in the country. Fatal overdoses have increased almost 20 percent over the previous year, with over 1,000 dead.

Over half of addiction treatment programs in the state lack the capacity to meet demand because they don’t have enough staffing or funding. Of 16,000 people who accessed services in the first year of decriminalization, 0.85 percent entered treatment. A total of 60 percent received harm reduction, like syringe exchanges and overdose medications. An additional 15 percent got help with housing needs, and 12 percent obtained peer support.

According to one of their lawmakers, Betsy Johnson, a former veteran and lawmaker…. She called decriminalization a “failed experiment.”

That is why I am so excited about the announcement last week about how a Kevin Falcon–led B.C. Liberal government would resource mental health care and supports.

Deputy Speaker: Names, Member. We don’t use peo­ples’ names in the House. Thank you.

R. Merrifield: Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker.

More residential care, more treatment beds, more complex care and more wraparound services. This month is a change in direction for our party. A plan to overhaul the delivery of mental health services and to build a recovery-oriented system of care for those suffering from addiction, from homelessness to wholeness.

[5:05 p.m.]

The B.C. Liberal leader’s plan would include more innovative models like the Red Fish Healing Centre, located on the former Riverview lands, in regions across the province, so people with severe and complex needs can get compassionate, 24-7 psychosocial support.

The elimination of user fees at publicly funded addiction treatment beds. Provide direct government funding for private beds because money shouldn’t determine whether or not you get well.

The status quo is not working, and doing more of the same is not going to drive better results. More of the same will get us more of the same. Over the last six years, in the streets of Kelowna, we have more of the same.

Instead of perpetuating an endless debate of harm reduction versus recovery, we need to provide all supports possible to people trying to overcome addiction and give them every opportunity to get better. We don’t want to just keep people alive. We want to give them their life back.

As someone who has long advocated for wraparound supports, I know that this system of care is long overdue. Wraparound supports are crucial for individuals with mental health challenges as they provide comprehensive care and services that address their unique needs. That includes access to health care, psychiatry, counselling, occupational and physical therapy, rehabilitation, housing, employment and education, among other things.

It’s not enough to decriminalize drug use, set up safe injection sites and wet housing and hope for the best. We need to make sure individuals have access to these additional supports that they need to succeed and live fulfilling lives. We need a program that takes those experiencing homelessness to wholeness and gives them community.

But mental health supports need to start so much more before someone is street entrenched or addicted. Mental health supports need to be offered throughout our school system, in our communities and as part of our health care system. In Kelowna, Dr. Lesley Lutes has been showing how instrumental supports are for communities and even providing the business case for how we could lessen the costs of health care through offering better psychological supports. She’s been doing this for years.

In fact, when the pandemic response was wreaking havoc with our mental health, it was Dr. Lutes and her team that worked to open a crisis hotline. First, this was offered to students, but then to health care workers and later to the public. This was funded by volunteer psychology students and professors without any financial assistance from the government. Now, while this NDP government would love to take credit for that initiative, and I’ve heard it spoken in this House, it was only accomplished by the generosity of many, many psychologists to have this accomplished.

Yet despite all of those efforts, we still don’t have a funding model for mental health supports across the board. Thus it’s no wonder that our mental health suffers, our self-medicating persists, and our homeless population grows without hope.

People are done with how this government is treating crime. Crime and disorder in Kelowna has been getting worse and worse under the Premier’s catch-and-release justice system. Violent crimes increased 30 percent under the former Attorney General, now Premier. According to new information released by Statistics Canada, from 2020 to 2021, the violent crime severity index is up almost 5 percent in B.C. But in my city of Kelowna, that number is up 14 percent.

British Columbia saw 10,860 major assaults last year. Victoria alone, our capital city, saw a 49 percent increase in sexual assaults. While this Premier might be new to the job, he certainly is not new to government. Violence and random attacks keep getting worse. Four people a day are facing random attacks and assaults in cities like Vancouver.

Under this NDP government and this Premier, B.C. has seen a 75 percent increase in the rate of no-charge assessments and a 26 percent decrease in the number of accused being approved to go to court. People in Kelowna don’t feel comfortable walking the streets anymore. Businesses have Facebook groups dedicated to alerting one another when prolific criminals are in their area.

[5:10 p.m.]

Storefronts in our downtown have bars across the windows that never used to be there. They lock their doors at all times, with a buzzer system. Our downtown has been completely overrun by the direct results of the NDP’s soft-on-crime ideology.

I remember talking about how great the downtown of Kelowna had become. After a decade of dedicated work, our council had made significant investments in Prospera Place, the ArtWalk, the Cultural District, Stuart Park, upgrades to City Park, a new yacht club and the Rotary Centre for the Arts. Restaurants had moved into the downtown. Businesses were opening, and a vibrancy was taking place. I actually did an interview about how safe downtown had become and spoke of how my young teens loved to go downtown.

Over this last six years, I won’t even walk if it’s dark. Many businesses now have buddy programs to walk their employees to their cars regardless of the time of day. This last six years of the NDP’s ideology have erased the euphoria of our previous cultural sustainability. Sirens — 84 percent more police force. Tent cities. And criminals. They walk our streets now, and Kelowna has had enough.

It’s time to scrap the Premier’s catch-and-release policy and keep prolific offenders off our streets while investing in much-needed mental health and addiction supports. This throne speech bragged about investments in health care, but it had no plan to address our crises. Putting more money into a system that is completely imploding — how is that going to work out for us? More of the same is just more of the same. Where’s the planning? Where are the outcomes?

The Minister of Health was doing a victory lap about how many GPs had signed on to the long-overdue — three years in the making — contract, not about adding capacity and not about adding a single attached patient, but about how many signed on. Spoiler alert. Those are not net new doctors, which means that Kelowna still struggles with primary care with over 20 percent of our residents without a doctor. But that would just be if we were statistically average. See, worse than that, we’ve had 16 doctors, GPs, retire last year. One of our doctors retired with 4,000 attached patients. That means that our number in Kelowna of unattached patients is really more like 30 to 40 percent rather than 20.

We’re so fortunate to have the B.C. cancer centre, the cardiac centre and the surgical capacity that we do. But without planning into the future, people are dying on wait-lists. Where is that ten-year cancer plan? The NDP MLAs actually think that there is one. But the minister confirmed to our shadow minister last year in estimates that there isn’t one yet. He’s promised one every single year, but nothing.

I have so many constituents coming in begging for cancer care, begging to have faster biopsies and begging to get the critical help that they so desperately need early so that they have a chance of beating cancer. Instead, we see sporadic spending, chaotic results and tired and exhausted nurses and doctors. Meanwhile, people are dying while waiting to get care.

Let’s just look at the outcomes of this NDP government’s cancer treatment. If I compare period 1, 2021-22, to period 11 for ’22-23, well, there’s been a significant worsening in many measures. As if it weren’t bad enough, the numbers I’m about to quote don’t speak to how long the patients have to wait to see an oncologist and even in the longer wait to get radiation treatment.

The overall waiting just to see an oncologist was 23 to 25 days for period 1 in ’21-22. Now it’s 46 days. That’s almost double. Only 20 percent of patients are seen within the recommended average of time. In fact, that number has plummeted. If someone needs radiation, they’re going to wait 50 percent longer now than in 2021 for their referral.

[5:15 p.m.]

Ultimately, we are the worst in Canada, and we used to be the best. Time is critical, and time is on the side of cancer. And that’s just cancer.

A new report from Medimap shows that the wait times for medical clinics in B.C. have doubled since 2019, and that’s if you can get your name on the list. Many of the UPCCs have signs up within the first hour of opening that they’re full for the day.

British Columbians had to wait more than triple the amount of time, 79 minutes, to see a physician at a walk-in clinic, compared to Ontarians, who waited an average of 25 minutes. My constituency office is right around the corner from our local UPCC, and I can’t count how many times I’ve had a patient coming into our office, tears streaming down their face, desperate for care and simply can’t wait any longer.

But this throne speech was strangely silent on the miracle cure of UPCCs. Perhaps that’s because the NDP are embarrassed about how much of a failure they are and how much they cost taxpayers and how much waste is inside of them. Truly, the UPCCs are nothing more than big oopsies.

I don’t know. The throne speech didn’t talk about the one million British Columbians without primary health care or the one million residents on specialist wait-lists or the hospitals and ERs that are closed or the lack of staff and the bloated bureaucracy. The health care system in B.C. is failing, and Kelowna’s residents feel that.

The skyrocketing cost of living is also a major concern for those living in Kelowna. We must take action to address this issue by supporting the growth of local businesses, creating jobs and reducing the costs of living for all British Columbians — the price of bread, the cost of gas, the cost of travel. All of it is hitting those in my community really hard — seniors on fixed incomes, parents trying to make ends meet and youth just trying to get their start in life. No one is making it anymore.

Top economists are projecting that B.C. will face a recession in 2023 under the NDP government. A new study from Deloitte says that a recession is coming and that B.C. could be the hardest-hit province. According to the article, the B.C. economy “is expected to enter a recession due partly to its extraordinarily high debt levels.”

Under the NDP, taxpayer-supported debt has grown by $20 billion and will have grown by almost $50 billion in 2024. The NDP will have doubled the provincial debt by the next election.

On the consumer side, individual household debt is at an all-time high — over $500 billion as of Q2, 2022. What does that mean? People can’t afford to live, and they’re going into debt to try and make ends meet.

This government hasn’t done enough to protect families and small businesses, and 44 percent of British Columbians report that they are $200 away, or less, from being unable to pay their bills. But that’s not as bad as the 22 percent of British Columbians that are out of money. The hardest hit of those are women — reporting that 28 percent of females are out of money. Instead of helping, this NDP has introduced 29 new or increased taxes.

The industries that drive this province and pay down our debt, like our LNG sector…. Well, they were absent from the throne speech. The throne speech didn’t even really mention our exports. No mention of a softwood lumber agreement, no vision for forestry and nothing about a long-term fibre supply solution. Not a single word about supporting B.C.’s tourism industry after the decimation of the pandemic restrictions, and that is vitally important to my community.

If we want great jobs for our future and jobs that are not just in a bloated government system costing tens of billions of dollars a year of taxpayer money, we need to focus on the economy. But this throne speech was silent.

[5:20 p.m.]

On the environment, I seriously question the current government’s approach to our environment and environmental issues. The throne speech mentioned the importance of protecting our environment, but the actions of this government have fallen so far short of what is needed to address the pressing environmental challenges we face.

With the pandemic restrictions, the whole country took this breath. It was a big pause. Everything was closed. We all stayed home. I had a herd of deer that took up residence in my cul-de-sac, and I didn’t have to fill my car up more than once in eight weeks.

The whole earth paused, but despite our entire economy screeching to a halt, B.C.’s emissions did not go down as expected. Sure, they went down for the first time since the NDP took office. Despite having CleanBC and Roadmap to 2030, it was the very first time that our emissions went down. They went down by 4 percent, but the rest of Canada went down by 9 percent. B.C.’s emissions went down by less than half of the rest of the country.

Climate change is a defining issue of our time, and it demands immediate action, yet the current NDP government has failed to take the bold steps needed to reduce emissions and transition to a low-carbon economy. We don’t even have the billions of dollars, which we are spending through the Ministry of Environment, tied to any specific outcomes.

Further to that point, the NDP has diluted their environmental policy and responsibility to over 15 different ministries. The consequences of this inaction are being felt by British Columbia with more frequent and severe natural disasters, declining biodiversity and the deaths that have occurred. We cannot afford to wait any longer. We need a government that is committed to the urgent and necessary actions required to combat climate change and protect our environment.

Then there’s housing. Housing, under this NDP, has never been less affordable. The Minister of Housing has already admitted defeat, saying: “In two years, we are not going to solve the housing crisis.” The CMHC annual Rental Market Report shows that British Columbia is the most expensive place in the country to rent. B.C. renters are worse off under the NDP. They pay $4,332 more a year under this government. As well, the rental fund that the Premier announced just a month ago is very interesting.

I quote from the NDP government’s press release: “The strategy is to keep buildings away from speculators, developers and large corporations. Their business model often includes redeveloping properties so they can evict tenants, allowing the trusts to make large profits by either hiking rents or selling the units and taking much-needed rental housing off the market.”

You see, that’s really interesting, because the CMHC report showed the difference between privately rented condos and those that are purpose-built rentals by these same “speculators, developers and large corporations.” The purpose-built rentals charged 43 percent less for rent in B.C. than the privately owned units. And that’s who the government is spending $500 million dollars to prevent from buying more buildings? How is that possible?

Then we could talk about the rental rebate, but I won’t. Outcomes matter, and after six years in government, the NDP only has 10 percent of the 114,000 homes, promised in the 2017 election, open.

Now, I didn’t even get to talk about the child care crisis, the poverty crisis or the seniors crisis, or the fact that there were no supports for small businesses.

Throne speeches should offer hope and say what the government is going to do and how they’re going to do it. This throne speech showed that this government doesn’t understand what’s happening on the ground. The throne speech gave lip service to the problems but was empty on solutions. This is not a new government. This is a two-term government.

[5:25 p.m.]

We know how this story ends. We know what the conclusion is to the plot that the NDP has created. We’ve heard the NDP government talking about the same priorities for six years in a row, but the problem is that the results are worse now, by every single measure.

While Mary’s voice still echoes inside my heart with her desperate plea of “Come with me,” I can’t offer her any hope that things will be different, not with this government, because this throne speech just spoke of more of the same — more of the same platitudes, more of the same rhetoric. If what we get is more of the same, it means that taxpayers are going to be spent into oblivion while not getting what they really need. This government is unwilling, and all British Columbians really want is someone to “come with me.”

In conclusion, I’m honoured to have the opportunity to represent Kelowna-Mission in this assembly, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to address the important issues facing our province, because I’m confident that, by working together, we can make British Columbia a better place for all.

Deputy Speaker: Minister of State for Child Care.

Hon. G. Lore: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That’s the first time I’ve heard that directed at me. It’s great to stand in this House. I’m really thrilled to stand this afternoon and speak in support of the throne speech.

I’m incredibly grateful to be the MLA for Victoria–​Beacon Hill, a community that is full of people who are engaged and connected, who are, perhaps, among a very small portion of people in this province who will talk to their MLA about mandate letters, folks who know how government works, who know how to reach their MLA and who care deeply about what we do in this place.

I also represent the 900 block of Pandora, and a number of folks in my community are among those most in need of us getting it right in this House. I just wanted to start by recognizing — I’m sure all my colleagues feel the same way — the uniqueness of my community, the extent of dedication, of passion, of interest in what we do here.

I wanted to speak about a number of things that were in this throne speech as they relate to my community of Victoria–Beacon Hill.

One of the key themes in this Speech from the Throne is housing. This is a real challenge across the province. We know folks are struggling to find housing that is affordable, that is appropriate and that meets the needs of their family in a way that is sustainable and affordable for them.

I know that’s a challenge across the province, but indeed, it’s particularly acute here in Victoria, an incredibly beautiful place to live where I’ve started thinking about cherry blossoms before the middle of February. I know that many folks move here, and that pull to this place increases the challenge of housing.

As I said, we also have many people in my community who are in need of the most affordable housing and the most supportive housing. As the MLA for Victoria–​Beacon Hill, to see housing have a particular emphasis in this throne speech is incredibly important.

There is so much happening already in my community of Victoria–Beacon Hill. In the coming months, the 150 units of supportive housing opening in my small constituency, including supportive housing run by the Aboriginal Coalition to End Homelessness…. That will be opening in the coming months. They were the not-for-profit housing provider of the year.

[J. Tegart in the chair.]

They have an incredibly unique model of decolonized harm reduction, of land-based recovery and of ensuring that the services and the wraparound supports that are offered to folks meet the needs of folks living in our communities who are experiencing homelessness because of colonization, who are separated from their communities due to colonization, due to intergenerational trauma, due to the residential school system, the Sixties Scoop, the millennial scoop. The Aboriginal Coalition to End Homelessness will be running one of these buildings of supportive housing opening in the coming months.

[5:30 p.m.]

In addition, there are another 100 units of supportive housing on the edge of opening in the coming months, including 50 dedicated to youth. There has been so much progress made. At this time of transition to this new supportive housing, a recommitment to housing as an essential piece of the work that we are doing, will do and have committed to doing is so important for Victoria–Beacon Hill.

In addition to supportive housing, the Speech from the Throne identified the need for building middle-income housing, making sure that all British Columbians are able to access a house, a home that is appropriate for them and their families and that they can afford. There are a number of buildings in my community that are at various stages of development. On Johnson Street, there are more than 150 rentals that are soon to open. On Michigan Street, just down the way, 97 low- to moderate-income, including shelter rate. These are really important. That construction is underway.

Right near my house, in very early stages, we’re looking at, again, more than 150 of mixed affordable housing. This is really important because folks, from those needing shelter rate all the way to teachers, for example, do struggle to find housing, so by building these purpose-built rentals to ensure that folks can live in the communities that they are working in, that they’re raising their families in….

You know, 61 percent of my constituents are renters. It’s perhaps not the highest — the Speaker just in the chair probably has even more renters than I have — but that’s a huge number of renters, folks who need to have some security in their housing situation.

The changes to the strata rules…. One of the very first emails I got once I was elected was from a young woman in my constituency who was looking to have a family and was living in a building that did not allow kids. As she was considering the next steps in her life, there was this question of housing security and affordability or being able to have a family, and not being able to do the two of them in Victoria. I was able to call her after those changes were made. That’s life changing. That’s an ability to stay in community to have a family. Again, one of the earliest emails I received.

We have a lot of work to do on housing, and these steps that I’ve outlined, from buildings near open to those early in construction to changes to strata rules….

Also as part of those changes, I had a student call me who was looking to do grad school in Ontario. She had, with the help of family, purchased a condo, and she couldn’t afford to go do grad school in Ontario without being able to rent her apartment. That change opened up opportunities for her, and you know what? It also opened up a home for someone else in the community while she was at grad school. It wasn’t going to sit there empty. It wasn’t going to sit there unused.

In addition, this focus on housing, particularly for rent­ers in my community — investments in the RTB. We know that both landlords and tenants need to be able to have their disputes resolved. Folks need to know that the support for navigating these systems and these laws is available for them when they need it — $15.6 million to increase staff and supports, 50 new employees at the RTB. I know this will make a difference for my constituents.

Last week I held an information session supported by TRAC, the Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre. They were talking about rights and responsibilities. Fundamentally, it’s RTB that backs those up. This is really important.

[5:35 p.m.]

It was mentioned in the throne speech, but $500 million for rental protection funds…. It’s absolutely happening in my community that older apartment buildings are being bought by REITs. To be able to have a fund for not-for-profit housing providers to purchase and maintain rental buildings safeguards renters from evictions, from big rent hikes.

Fundamentally, we know that not-for-profit housing providers play such an essential role in protecting rental stock, in supporting renters, in maintaining what are our affordable rentals. Although I mentioned Michigan Street and the Caledonia project and Meares and Yates and all these places where housing is being built in our community across the housing spectrum, we won’t just build our way out of this challenge, so this mix of protecting existing rentals as we’re building additional appropriate, supported mixed housing is absolutely essential.

One of the other things I was really excited to see in the Speech from the Throne was steps and pending legislation addressing gender equity. Serving as Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity was just an absolute honour for me, touching on many of the things that got me into politics, many of the things I was advocating existing members in this House, who predate me here, when I was on the outside.

The incoming legislation on the non-consensual disclosure of intimate images is absolutely essential. NCDII, non-consensual disclosure of intimate images, is a form of violence, and federal criminal laws, frankly, are not sufficient. It’s not that they’re not important, but they are not sufficient.

For example, they don’t cover the threat to share intimate images without someone’s consent, and that itself is a form of violence. Also, the Internet moves very quickly, and the justice system doesn’t move at the same speed as social media, so folks are very much in need of quick action when it comes to the non-consensual disclosure of intimate images. This has impact on people’s economic opportunities, job opportunities, their relationship with their families, their ability to operate in community, to say nothing of the trauma and impact.

We have seen the impacts on youth in our province — Amanda Todd, for example. I think of her often when I think of the pending need for this. So thinking of her and the many others who have been impacted, I was really thrilled to see this in the Speech from the Throne.

This is something that disproportionately affects young women, but that’s changing. It’s changing. Young boys are being targeted with this for extortion. I’m really looking forward to that legislation being introduced.

On December 6, the national day for mourning marking the massacre at Polytechnique, I was visiting transition houses for the day and connecting with those who are providing on-the-ground support — telling me what they had seen, what they are seeing in community over the pandemic, how they saw the increase in gender-based violence, what they’re seeing in terms of housing and access to justice and supports. The one thing they really wanted to talk to me about was how their child care centre at the Cridge — I’m at transition houses, and they have a child care centre connected just down the way — had just six days earlier become a $10-a-day child care site.

They were telling me what that was going to mean, was meaning — what they had already seen in six days in tears and emotion and relief from the women and the families who are living at that transition House — to have their kids safe, accessing quality learning opportunities, well cared for at $10 a day. They became $10 a day on December 1. So while we were talking about housing, access to justice, they drove home to me what that access to child care meant in terms of their ability to seek independence, autonomy, safety.

[5:40 p.m.]

All my gratitude to my predecessor in this role for the work she did to make sure that families have access to affordable child care, the steps she took, the work that is ongoing, the work that I am so honoured to pick up. We know it’s good for local economies and we know it’s good for communities. These front-line service providers were telling me that it was absolutely essential to women’s safety.

I’d like to say a few more things on child care. Another major theme in the throne speech was supporting folks with costs. As I said, my first time rising in this House with this portfolio, with so much done over the last five years of building, working towards a core service for British Columbian families, with full awareness of the work to continue…. These first steps, these huge steps, for building the first social service in a generation….

The work undertaken so far means that there are 71,000 kids out there whose parents…. While the kiddos are accessing quality education opportunities — care, safety, connection, and community — their parents are saving up to $900 every single month. There were a number of other really important cost supports for community in the throne speech, but it’s really hard to overstate the magnitude of that $900 every single month. Again, with all my gratitude and appreciation for the leadership of my predecessor on this….

I’ve talked to families who have one parent returning to school. When we think of the labour shortage, when we think of what it means to families to have an education in terms of what they can earn, how they can contribute to the local economy, a parent being able to return to school because of an increase in affordability of their child care is huge.

I talk to families who are paying off student loans. I’ve talked to somebody in my community who literally…. The access to a $10-a-day spot kept her family together. There was interaction with the ministry, a risk of having to give up her son, and it kept her family together. It kept her with her son.

So 63,000 jobs added to the economy in 2022. And three-quarters of those were women, 47,000 more women in the workforce. Let’s be clear: all kinds of caregivers — moms, dads, parents, grandparents — benefit from quality, inclusive, affordable child care, to say nothing of all the kiddos. But we know that it disproportionately impacts moms and women. As I said, what it means for economic independence, for autonomy, for a stable future….

When we talk about spaces and savings, really, we’re always talking about ECEs. There are no spaces without ECEs. The steps forward we’ve taken in support of ECEs…. Not only to train more, to pull more into the sector, but to lift up those who are doing this work. These are skilled professionals and deserve to be recognized and compensated as such. A $4-an-hour wage enhancement is huge, life-changing, for ECEs.

I was in Cranbrook talking to providers, educators, ECEs, owners, and one of the ECES was saying to me that she had started looking for other work. Times are very challenging, and she was looking for other work to be able to continue to support her family. The wage enhancement at $4 an hour meant she could keep her job. It wasn’t just that then she didn’t have to look for another job. This was somebody dedicated to child care, dedicated to providing love and connection and early childhood education. She wanted to stay, and she said: “Now I can continue to go to work happy and leave work happy.”

We need that wage enhancement, because we need to continue to pull people into the sector and have them stay there. But also because we want those folks who are committed to it to be able to stay.

[5:45 p.m.]

I’m so looking forward to more on Future Ready. We talk lots about the labour shortage, needing more focus on the economy, the jobs we’re going to need over the decades to come. Well, ECEs are the workforce behind that workforce, and I can’t wait to see more on what was mentioned in the throne speech for Future Ready.

We’ve already increased spaces at post-secondary institutions, with enrolment up 40 percent in ECE programming since 2017-2018, as well as supported additional forms of professional development for ECEs, including work-integrated learning.

I talked to another ECEA, early childhood educator assistant, who has four kids. She can’t exactly sit down and pick up a book for any length of time. She needs to be able to continue to provide for her family. The work-integrated learning means she can do that, become an ECE, see that wage enhancement benefit her family while she continues to work.

While housing is probably the number one thing I hear about from constituents, a very close second is health care. I know I’ve heard from…. Colleagues on all sides raised this as part of their response to the Speech from the Throne. It has been an incredibly difficult few years, and that’s why we need to continue to invest in our public system and to protect our public system. This is not a time to risk a public system or to merely change the shape and the order of the line by pursuing private options. To do that, we need to invest in people.

This is actually my first throne speech. I missed the first two because I was with my kiddo, accessing that health care. So I cannot say enough about the people in the system and the steps we need to continue to take to invest in those people.

I watched a Speech from the Throne snuggled up on the couch, and while part of me was missing out on what was here at the time, to know that we were accessing the care that we needed and I could take that space and time and have him looked after and then return to what should have been my third but was my first Speech from the Throne…. I can’t speak enough to the folks that made that possible. To continue to invest in people to make sure that all folks are able to access the quick care that we did…. Even in a pandemic, things kept going.

Recognizing foreign credentials, and 2,000 internationally educated nurses being fast-tracked. A new medical school at SFU. A new deal with doctors. That change, that increase, those doctors coming out of medical school…. I think it’s up to three or four times as many signing on to be family physicians as in a normal year. That’s not the panacea, but that is 80-plus more doctors that we will have in an ongoing way, and I think that’s a really, really important step.

While that work is being done on healthcare — steps being taken, the system carrying on despite the very, very difficult few years we’ve had…. I know that the conversations we’re having with the federal government, with our counterparts there, is a really important component of this and a step forward.

I thank the member for Langford–Juan de Fuca for leading that and really being a force behind it when he was leading the Premiers. We need the federal government at the table for this. We need to work together on it.

I might just wrap up my comments here by talking about one other way, mentioned in the throne speech, that I know we need to continue to take forward, and that is additional support for families. I’m going to round out my comments, bringing it back to my community and, in fact, to my kids’ school.

[5:50 p.m.]

Funding schools to support families, that school community who knows which families need support, can identify ways that would be useful — which may differ in my very urban Victoria school that my kids go to, which is full of newcomers and refugees and is disproportionally renters, as I have said. Our school community knows that that community’s need is so important — so funding schools to offer that support.

I want to share a few things about what that has meant. I know this because I receive the notes, like any other parent at the school, letting families know what is there, how to connect, how to access that support. That is money out the door to schools to support families, but what does that actually mean? What does that actually look like? At my kids’ school, that has meant family breakfasts every Friday, family breakfast that is connection and nutrition. This isn’t just for some kids. The way the school has organized it is that all kids are welcome. It’s not a question of shame or stigma.

I had a chance to connect with the vice-principal and my kid’s teacher over pancakes. It creates this opportunity for that nutrition that many, many kids need and also that connection and relationship-building that all of us need in community. For families that need that extra support, expanded lunch programs — this is huge. We know grocery prices are rising. We know the pressure that puts on families, on parents — that stress, that weight of making sure that your kids have the healthy food they need.

It’s also been a fruit and veggie program and a Cobs Bread program. No kid is learning hungry. I mean, we probably all experienced a little bit of being hangry here in the House from time to time. That’s why the Speaker’s office has snacks for us. Kids need that more.

Funding for field trips. There is now a box on my kids’ permission slips for field trips that parents can just tick if they need that covered by that funding. We can talk about the numbers. We can talk about the sending that out into community. What it means is support and care, food and nutrition and connection for families, and that’s just one example of what that looks like, what that’s meant, for my community in Victoria–Beacon Hill.

It is such a pleasure to represent the community of Victoria–Beacon Hill, as I said, those folks who are connected, who are watching what we’re doing, who are advocating, who are speaking on housing, on health care, on our forests and much, much more and, also, my constituents who need us to get it right. They need that supportive housing opening in the coming months. They need us to continue our work for housing security, for mental health recovery and much, much more.

Grateful to be able to stand and speak to the Speech from the Throne and represent my community. With that, I’m done.

L. Doerkson: I think I speak for all of us to say that we’re glad that you could be here to say your speech this year.

I want to pick up, just briefly, for a moment, because I have concerns too. I mean in our community with respect to food programs that are filling a gap that is clearly part of affordability in our community.

I can say without question that the Rotary Club of Williams Lake does an amazing job to provide 50 or 60 backpacks weekly. That void, by the way, is growing. It’s going to be a few of the comments that I make a little bit later on with respect to affordability, because it is a significant challenge for our residents, as you so rightly pointed out.

It’s great to be back here at the Legislature, of course, and I think most of us are excited. I am happy to bring you greetings from Cariboo-Chilcotin, certainly the most beautiful riding in the province. I don’t think that’s a point that could be debated or argued, and I see some head nods here as well.

It’s probably not surprising that I have a bit of a different outlook on this year’s throne speech. Frankly, I’m quite concerned about a number of things or perhaps omissions. I just see a complete disconnect to rural B.C. I see it often in this place, and it worries me a great deal.

[5:55 p.m.]

I don’t think that I’m the only one that had questions or, certainly, made comments or will make comments about it. I heard quotes that the speech was “long on promises and short on details.” Other quotes suggested that it was “one thing to stage announcement after announcement,” but “much tougher to…deliver on results.” That was, of course, Vaughn Palmer.

Madam Speaker, as you know and I think most in this chamber would understand, our forest sector is in peril right now. I’ve tried to paint a picture of what my community looks like and what the Cariboo-Chilcotin looks like on a number of occasions.

In 100 Mile House, we have the large West Fraser Mills; in the West Chilcotin we have, of course, West Chilcotin Forest Products; and in the city of Williams Lake, we have six milling operations within the district boundaries. That’s a combination of mills and pellet plants. There is no question in my mind, when you talk to the people of Williams Lake or Cariboo-Chilcotin, that there is much fear about what is happening in this space.

To point out the disconnect, recently we saw the release of the labour market outlook. I’ve got to say that it pointed to a number of businesses, but certainly in the first sentence in that outlook for the Cariboo, the hopes are being placed on the publishing industry, of all things. Now, I know something about the publishing industry. I spent 20 years in it working for Black Press and others. I can assure you that if we are basing our future on the publishing industry, we’re in very deep water, I think, in Cariboo-Chilcotin.

There was no mention in that outlook of the forestry industry. There was no mention of the mining industry. I wanted to speak about that for a minute, because we have two very large mines, just outside our community, which provide hundreds of jobs. I was shocked that that wasn’t part of the outlook. We have the Gibraltar and Polley mines, which employ hundreds of people, as they say.

We have a new mine in the West Chilcotin — it’s actually just north of the Ulkatcho band, which is extremely in favour: Artemis Gold, which is in the permitting stage now. I understand that they hope to actually move product in the last quarter of this year. They’ll do that with the help and with the efforts put forth on behalf of the Ulkatcho First Nation — and others, of course.

The fact that we are not talking as much as I would have hoped with respect to forestry and rural matters in this throne speech is extremely concerning, and it really does show a disconnect in both the job outlook and, certainly, the throne speech itself. Frankly, the dollars that have been thrown around in the last little while are confusing at best, and they don’t make a lot of sense. I agree with some of the comments that have been made around these announcements.

We’ve had $90 million announced at the Prince George Resources Forum, but it was actually $90 million over three years, meaning $30 million per year. I can tell you that in that program, it’s my understanding that one person or one company can apply for up to as much as $10 million dollars of that funding. If this funding is going to help companies and employees of the forest industry to transition, I would suggest it’s a drop in the bucket, frankly. We have lost hundreds of jobs in the past months in rural B.C.

I don’t want to downplay the importance of losing any jobs, but it is one thing to lose 300 jobs in a place like Vancouver, and a completely other thing to lose 300 jobs in a community like Prince George — or worse, in a community like Chetwynd.

[6:00 p.m.]

It’s not just the direct jobs; it’s not the impact of just those jobs. The impact is so far-reaching through the entire community that it’s just astounding. That’s why there is so much fear in rural B.C., in these small communities like mine.

So $50 million designated for value-added in this prov­ince. Again, I’m sure that Cariboo-Chilcotin will be happy to take any money that is offered. But in the scheme of things, it’s a drop in the bucket. The $50 million, with respect to value-added….

For months, I have attempted to get meetings with the Minister of Forests and other ministers for log home builders in my riding. In case you don’t know, we have become world renowned for log homes being built in our community. In fact, it’s the home of the Timber Kings.

Because of bills and strategies that have been introduced around old growth…. That has really made it very difficult for log home builders and others — timber frame builders — to get access to the wood that they need to build these homes. I can’t imagine something more value-added than the log home industry, not just in my riding but, honestly, throughout the entire province.

The other thing that’s been a challenge is getting a meeting for woodlot owners. I’ve had many meetings with the woodlot federation, and they, too, are extremely worried about the economic outlook. They’re extremely worried about forest initiatives in this province, and they are feeling as though they are not being heard. I hope that they will be in the future. These are longtime generational operations that affect our communities in a big way. Those communities might be 1,500 or 2,000 people.

Again, the money is welcome, but it’s unclear as to how it’s going to be spent and how it will be accessed. Those things need to be cleared up. We need results, period. The communities…. The people that I talk to in my riding are extremely frustrated. The fact is they are all looking for results from this place.

We’re living in a time when so many individuals are still waiting to receive funding after very serious wildfires have changed their lives forever. I want to speak a little bit about this. The community of Lytton, for instance, has gone on for, really, months, years now, and it doesn’t seem to me that we’re moving any further ahead there. It’s not the first time I’ve spoken about the community of Lytton. It is heartbreaking to drive by this community and still see fences around it and little or no progress.

I’ve spoken of the Cunninghams several times in this chamber and, in fact, have reached out repeatedly. While we argue about semantics on the landscape as to where the fire was lit — for instance, by B.C. Wildfire…. We argue that it was lit on Crown land or that it was lit on private land.

The fact is that it remains unbelievably nerve-racking for residents, during a wildfire situation, in any one of our communities. They are so exposed. They’re exposed to damages done by fire crews. They’re exposed to someone throwing a cigarette from their car. They’re exposed to someone who leaves their campfire burning. Their exposure is unbelievable.

Frankly, I think that we need to better understand what is happening on our landscape with respect not just to the damage of wildfire and flooding and other things. We have to listen to the local residents. They’ve lived these horrendous events, and they know things that simply cannot be known without living in it.

[6:05 p.m.]

The years of time that it takes to recover from some of these events…. Again, it’s heartbreaking.

When a rancher’s range burns in a fire…. It’s not as though you can expect the Cunninghams to be able to access that range in the following year. The fact is that they might not be able to access that range for a few years. These small businesses — small, family-run ranchers like the Cunninghams — have had to go as far away, for Crown range, as Dawson Creek — hours away. Can you imagine the complexities of moving a herd 300, 400 or 500 large to a place like that?

Now, I know we’ve had generous offers from people locally that have helped that family out. But we still are debating certain things when it comes to B.C. Wildfire. That is frustrating, and that frustration is not going away. I know that we have a new ministry that will be dedicated to this, but it has been talked about repeatedly. Lytton and the Cunninghams are just two. I hoped, certainly, for a lot more in the throne speech with respect to disaster, to the funding for all kinds of disaster.

Rural B.C. is struggling in so many other ways, and the picture must be made clear. It must be understood that health care, crime, transportation, connectivity, addiction, mental illness and homelessness are all very real challenges in our communities. The other challenge is that we don’t have resources. In a place like 100 Mile House, it’s difficult to fill a calendar with RCMP alone. The ambulances are struggling.

I can appreciate what’s happening in the cities, and I can appreciate the challenge that is happening there. But it is really important to understand that it’s not just a matter of numbers that are needing these services. It’s a matter of numbers to actually staff all of our first responders. And I’ll tell you what. They’re doing an amazing job.

Recently I’ve had an opportunity to have a meeting with the business owners of the South Cariboo and to hear their complaints and their fears. It’s unbelievable to hear the challenges that they are dealing with on a day-to-day basis. In some cases, these are repeat offenders literally offending one day and being released the same, after being incarcerated briefly.

Recently, in Williams Lake, just over the last couple of weeks — about two or three weeks ago — we had a very public warning by the RCMP. That warning was not to be placed anywhere near a specific individual in our community.

Now, can you imagine the RCMP going to that length to try and defend the public, to warn them not to be near this individual? It might surprise you to know that this is the same individual that was shot in broad daylight at the Williams Lake Stampede a year ago. Same individual. Same individuals involved in this. They wreak havoc on our community. I can tell you that people in communities like ours are incredibly frustrated by the catch-and-release system that this province is delivering.

I want to say, with respect to the event that happened at the Williams Lake Stampede…. First off, I don’t want to draw a whole bunch of attention to that. I do want to say that the stampede board, under its direction from the president, Court Smith, did an amazing job of evacuating that facility.

Now, we had planned, for years, for an evacuation. We were ready for an evacuation in the event of a fire, for instance. But we had no idea that we would have to evacuate the grandstands because of a shooting on the last day. Again, these are repeat offenders.

I also want to thank Tyson Pietsch, who was our rodeo announcer. He managed to keep a crowd of thousands calm as they exited the stampede grandstand through the front.

Honestly, it’s almost as though these types of events are being accepted as the norm. I can tell you that it is absolutely clear from the residents of my riding that they will not accept these kinds of actions anymore.

[6:10 p.m.]

We’ve had some very serious health care situations in our riding. Our hospitals and the staff that are in them are amazing, but again, they are pressured in ways that are hard to describe. I know that we’ve talked about the idea of perhaps running shuttles from rural hospitals to other locations. I can tell you also that that brings an unbelievable amount of fear to people in rural British Columbia, particularly when you are three hours away, in my case, from a major centre. And that’s on a dry, sunny afternoon, not one where it’s snowing, there’s wildlife on the roads and you’re under slippery circumstances.

I want to talk a little bit about events that have been very profound to me, and that was the loss of a good friend of mine, his child, a 14-year-old. I’ve talked about it before in this House. The loss of a 14-year-old child in cardiac arrest. Ervin Charleyboy — it was his son and a good friend of mine.

We had an ambulance, and the ambulance was a half-hour or 40 minutes away, but it wasn’t staffed. So the ambulance that did attend this scene attended from Williams Lake all the way to Redstone. The sad reality is that had that ambulance had been there ten or 15 minutes earlier, there could have been a different outcome.

A 90-year-old is left on a gurney in the Williams Lake hospital, in the children’s playroom, covered with his own jacket for warmth with blankets duct-taped to a window behind him for privacy. I can assure you…. I have talked about this gentleman, and I will continue to talk about this gentleman until Joanna Krynen gets the answers that she is demanding about the situation around her father’s care.

Again, I want to point out and be very clear: it has nothing to do with the quality of staff. We have an unbelievable quality of staff in our hospitals. There’s just not enough of them.

Last week, maybe two weeks ago, another 90-year-old sent to the Kamloops hospital was actually misplaced for a few hours. She was returned after she received her treatment and was located in the hospital. She was returned in sock feet, a gown and a shawl wrapped around her shoulders. It was very cold. You can imagine the daughter that was involved in this situation and how angry she was at a system that is failing the people of British Columbia.

I expected more from the throne speech, particularly when it comes to these serious items but certainly with respect to rural British Columbia, because we do face challenges. In the case of Ervin’s son, it’s even worse as far as distance is concerned because that’s two hours west of Williams Lake, so it’s five hours to the closest centre. I know that at that point you could start talking about helicopters and other things, but the fact is that none of that seemed available that day.

I don’t know if the government is hamstrung on these items — it’s not something that hasn’t been brought up before; it’s been brought up in question period and multiple speeches — or if it’s just unwilling. I honestly don’t know anymore. I would be the first person to reach across party lines to help with something like this. But I haven’t been reached out to, myself. I know that it’s in mandate letters, many mandate letters — in fact, maybe all of them. I’ve never been reached out to on topics of this.

[6:15 p.m.]

I want to speak for a minute about the little fire department that could. This is another issue in rural British Columbia. Again, it’s not necessarily unique to Cariboo-Chilcotin, but I want to talk about Kathy at the Greeny Lake Fire Department. In the case of Kathy, they are currently trying to raise funds for a fire truck, and they’re trying to do it, literally, one apple pie at a time. The problem is that that fire truck is $500,000. And the reason that they need a new fire truck is because the old one has timed out.

Now, I’ll give credit where credit’s due. I’ve had help from the Minister of Public Safety with respect to an extension for this particular vehicle. But time is running out, and I can assure you that the very first people that will be called in the case of a lightning strike up on Mount Timothy…. Heaven forbid. We have a beautiful ski hill there that you should all attend. Heaven forbid, if there was a lightning strike up there, it would be the Greeny Lake Fire Department that would, obviously, attend.

And frankly, not only would they be the first people likely on the scene, but they would likely be the last people. Once B.C. Wildfire has been there, once B.C. Wildfire has done their part of the duties, then the Greeny Lake Fire Department would, obviously, have an opportunity to mop that up and make sure that it was safe.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

The fact is that so many things are being asked of these small rural fire departments that they can no longer keep up, and the funding is not available, apparently, because I’ve asked repeatedly. The fact is that they need help, and the people that will, ultimately, pay the price will be people that are local to that fire department. They’ll pay because their insurance will go through the roof if they don’t have these little, small fire departments in their rural communities.

I do mean through the roof. I mean, we’re hearing reports…. In fact, we’ve advocated on behalf of some people that have seen their insurance rates double and triple because of wildfire in our area, because they’ve lost a fire department or something. This is a real area of concern.

I can assure you it’s an area of concern for the entire province, because these fire departments…. In the case of Lone Butte, Deka Lake, Greeny Lake, all of these fire departments have saved communities because they have been the first on the scene. This is an unbelievably large topic, and I’m sure if you look into this in your own neighborhoods, you will note that it affects a lot of people throughout this province.

I want to make a couple of last comments. I want to make a plea for the businesses of rural B.C. and certainly for the rest of British Columbia. The reason this comes to me is it’s actually a letter from someone that was very passionate about sick pay and medical tax and all those different things they have had to struggle through. I just want to read two paragraphs. I certainly don’t want to discount what happened earlier in this chamber today with respect to September 30. We are all in favour of that, of course. But I want to note some of the challenges that these businesses are facing.

“The addition in 2022 of five sick days available for employees was a difficult setback for the small business community and potentially challenging in the face of trying to recover from COVID, rising prices on all business costs and the reduced sales due to the hardships of all Canadians. I have six full-time employees and already significant cost. Statutory holidays add up to ten days per year at a cost of $7,560, plus employer costs. And the addition of five sick days per year added $3,780, plus employer costs and the hourly wage paid.

“We talk about helping businesses in forestry. We talk about transitioning people. These small businesses number in the thousands throughout our province, and we continue to put pressure on them.”

This is from Diane in 100 Mile. She employs, as the letter noted, six other people and herself.

I would encourage the government to consider that when we do bring policy and different legislation forth that can have a very serious impact on not only rural B.C. but all small businesses.

As always, it’s an incredible pleasure to be here and an incredible pleasure to speak to everyone here.

L. Doerkson moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. R. Kahlon moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

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

The House adjourned at 6:20 p.m.