Fifth Session, 42nd Parliament (2024)
OFFICIAL REPORT
OF DEBATES
(HANSARD)
Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Morning Sitting
Issue No. 390
ISSN 1499-2175
The HTML transcript is provided for informational purposes only.
The PDF transcript remains the official digital version.
CONTENTS
| Routine Business | |
Office of the Ombudsperson, special report, On the Road Again: Fixing a
Longstanding Injustice in Section 42 | |
| Orders of the Day | |
Budget Debate (continued) | |
TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2024
The House met at 10:03 a.m.
[The Speaker in the chair.]
Routine Business
Prayers and reflections: M. Starchuk.
Introductions by Members
The Speaker: Members, before we invite members, because usually we do that…. Today we have many of our wonderful firefighters in the audience, in the gallery.
Rather than doing individual introductions, I, on behalf of all members, would like to say welcome to all firefighters and thank you for the best job, the wonderful job that you do each and every day, putting your lives on the line and protecting our lives.
Thank you very much. Welcome to the Legislative Assembly.
M. Starchuk: Thank you for the opportunity to do what I’m about to do. Today joining us in the gallery is a leadership group of firefighters from the British Columbia Professional Fire Fighters Association. Firefighters from across the province are in Victoria to discuss the important health and safety issues they face on a day-to-day basis. Later today they’ll be meeting with most of us to provide us with greater detail and answer any questions that you may have.
A special shout-out to those from Surrey, and a reminder to those people on the floor today: Should your excitement during QP bring upon mild chest pains, I’m sure there are enough first responders in the House to get you safely home today.
Hon. B. Bailey: I’m so excited this morning to welcome Digital, previously known as the Digital Supercluster, which represents a collaborative effort to drive B.C.’s competitiveness in the digital economy by leveraging B.C.’s strengths in technology and innovation.
Guests this morning are Sue Paish and her team at Digital, as well as member representatives, Firstline, Verge AG and the SFU Beedie School of Business. Thank you for your efforts in seeking to accelerate the commercialization of breakthrough technologies, enhance B.C.’s industrial performance and train the skilled workforce for the future of B.C.
Would the House please join me in making them most welcome.
R. Merrifield: I just have two introductions today.
Joining us today in the gallery is Michelle Hewitt with her service dog, Leo. Michelle has lived in Kelowna for close to 19 years and recently became my constituent. She was a school principal in the Central Okanagan until she became disabled. Since then, she has become a disability advocate. She volunteers on the board of Disability Alliance B.C., on the city of Kelowna’s Accessibility Advisory Committee, and on the national government relations committee of MS Canada, and is the board chair of the national organization, Disability Without Poverty.
Would the House please join me in welcoming Michelle and Leo.
Also joining us in the gallery today is Matthew Wilson. Matthew is the managing director for Desolation Sound Consulting. He is one of the speakers at the B.C. Industry Tourism Conference 2024, taking place in Victoria this week. Matthew and his industry colleague, Desiree Baker, are hosting a skills development workshop at the conference called “Successful Grant Writing Tips, Tricks and Techniques.”
Would the House please join me in welcoming Matthew.
Hon. N. Cullen: It’s, I think, one of the greatest pleasures we have as MLAs when we’re able to welcome students from our constituencies. For me, representing Stikine, that’s not every day, as a member from Prince George would know.
Particularly today we are welcoming six grade 8 to 12 students from Atlin, B.C., which is a little over 2,500 kilometres away from where we are here today. These students fundraised to get down here. Their teacher, Roleine, and others helped make it possible. These are excellent, young, bright minds from the very northwest corner of our beautiful province.
Would the House please join me in making these students from Atlin feel welcome.
B. Stewart: It’s a great honour to stand up here and welcome the firefighters from around British Columbia not only from the official opposition but from the community that I represent, Kelowna West, where, as most people realize, we suffered the most devastating wildfire in Canadian history this past summer. We would not have been able to save as many homes for families there if we had not had the support from the entire firefighting community from around this province.
I wanted just a special shout-out to all of the firefighters that came to West Kelowna during the middle of August this year. They were fearless, they were supportive, and they fought. We appreciate that.
Thank you.
J. Routledge: I have a couple of guests in the gallery today. Kimberly Barwich is director of community programs and Sara Shaw is director of children and family for the Burnaby Neighbourhood House.
It occurs to me that they put out fires of a different nature, and they prevent fires of a different nature. I so appreciate the leadership that they show in creating strong bonds and supports in my community.
Please join me in making them feel welcome in the House today.
D. Routley: It’s been a very big weekend this past weekend for intercollegiate sports in the mid-Island region. I’d like members to help me congratulate the Vancouver Island University Mariners men’s basketball team, which became PACWEST champions, and the women’s team, which won bronze. And for the first time ever, the men’s VIU Mariners hockey team became B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League champions.
Congratulations to all those athletes, coaches and the people who support them.
Hon. N. Cullen: With some apologies, Mr. Speaker, I introduced the good folks from Atlin, the young people that were joining us from farther northwest. I thought they were just hiding behind one of the pillars up in the gallery, but they were making their way through. I see them now, so I’m going to introduce them again — these amazing young students, a 30-hour drive, 2,500 kilometres away from where we are right now.
They flew, right? They flew in. Thanks. Smart move.
Just to welcome them here…. It’s so great that our Legislature can welcome young people, particularly from our smaller, more remote communities. They bring a brilliance and an identity that I think all British Columbians should cherish and welcome.
Could the House please join me in welcoming them once more, now that they’re in the gallery.
D. Davies: I’m delighted here, again, to introduce a couple of warriors, I would call them, incredible advocates for persons with disabilities. Brent Frain and Sonjia Grandahl are certainly no strangers to this place. They’re here almost as much as I am, it seems.
I certainly do appreciate them coming down. I’m looking forward to meeting with them and hopefully moving forward on helping persons with disabilities.
Hon. S. Malcolmson: I want to recognize Disability Alliance B.C. in the House today and also an amazing lineup of organizations and people whose advice and stories inform our government’s work.
Please join me in welcoming to the gallery Michael Pootlass and Shayne Williams with Lookout Housing Society; David Kennedy and Carol Pelletier with Nanaimo Family Life Association; Jason, and Julian Daly with Our Place Society; Kelly Beck and Matthew Kemshaw with Flourish Food Society; Caitlin Wright and Gillian Gaffney with Together Against Poverty Society; and Anita Zacker and Treska Watson with Mustard Seed Food Bank.
H. Yao: I want to take this opportunity to wish Evelin Yim Lin Shum, on her 80th birthday, on June 8, 2024. An 80th birthday is definitely a major milestone.
I’m asking the House to join me in wishing her a happy birthday.
H. Sandhu: I’m going to make a quick introduction for somebody who’s not here but will definitely be watching this video clip. It’s my son Avishaan. It’s his birthday. He turned eight today. I just want to wish him a very happy birthday.
I’m so proud of him. He’s such a caring, thoughtful and very active boy. He’s also my French tutor. He has also filled in for CAs, to go to community events. I don’t know if it’s more like spending time with Mom or if he likes community events. He tells me he likes those community events, and he asks the most brilliant questions after we leave the event.
Would the House please join me to wish Avishaan a very happy birthday.
Happy birthday, Avishaan. I love you.
Introduction and
First Reading of Bills
BILL 7 — SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND
POVERTY REDUCTION
STATUTES
AMENDMENT ACT, 2024
Hon. S. Malcolmson presented a message from Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor: a bill intituled Social Development and Poverty Reduction Statutes Amendment Act, 2024.
Hon. S. Malcolmson: I move that the bill be introduced and read a first time now.
The Speaker: Please proceed.
Hon. S. Malcolmson: I’m pleased to introduce Bill 7, the Social Development and Poverty Reduction Statutes Amendment Act, 2024.
By updating three acts — the Employment and Assistance Act, the Employment and Assistance to Persons with Disabilities Act and the Poverty Reduction Strategy Act — the province is continuing its work toward poverty reduction, reconciliation and inclusive economic recovery.
Since 2017, we’ve helped over a quarter of a million people out of poverty. But global inflation and the terribly increased cost of living have been especially hard on people who are already struggling, so we are setting new, ambitious poverty reduction targets. Today’s legislative change moves B.C. to ten-year targets and deepens them to reduce poverty by 60 percent, child poverty by 75 percent and senior poverty by 50 percent.
Today we’re also updating our foundational income and disability assistance acts to help people improve their lives, not punish them for falling short. We’re getting rid of mean-spirited financial penalties that too often push people deeper into poverty. We’re advancing our DRIPA and reconciliation commitments, and we’re making significant change to the employment requirements for people on income assistance to better support them in finding and keeping a job.
People say they feel better and are better off when they have a job, so we’re reducing barriers for those who can work while continuing our supports for those who can’t.
The Speaker: The question is the first reading of Bill 7 intituled Social Development and Poverty Reduction Statutes Amendment Act, 2024.
Motion approved.
Hon. S. Malcolmson: I move that the bill be placed on the orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.
Bill 7, Social Development and Poverty Reduction Statutes Amendment Act, 2024, introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.
J. Sturdy presented a bill intituled Safe Care Act, 2024.
J. Sturdy: I move that a bill intituled Safe Care Act, 2024, of which notice has been given in my name on the order paper, be introduced and read a first time now.
Parents across the province are crying out, desperately seeking tools that will help their children who are facing significant mental health and addiction challenges, challenges that put them at risk of causing harm to themselves or others.
One of these parents is a constituent of mine, Brenda Doherty, who tragically lost her 15-year-old daughter to a drug overdose. Brenda’s daughter fell victim to an older man who fuelled her opioid addiction, leading to an overdose and subsequent transfer to Lions Gate Hospital. After being released, she returned to that same man’s home and died the following day from an overdose.
Had a bill of this nature existed, Brenda’s daughter could have had the crucial and necessary time for initial treatment that could have seen her alive today. Instead, Brenda and parents just like her across the province are left without tools and resources that would help them keep their kids safe.
I do not take this bill lightly. This is a last-resort tool that can provide options to desperate parents while also respecting the rights and well-being of their children.
We also recognize the overrepresentation of Indigenous youth in the child welfare system and that preserving their cultural identity is essential in determining the child’s best interests.
This bill is in line with our Better Is Possible plan that allows for the limited use of involuntary treatment to keep vulnerable youth and adults at risk of harm to themselves or others at modernized, compassionate facilities with 24-7 psychiatric and medical supports. This treatment under Better Is Possible would include standards of care that create guardrails to ensure culturally appropriate and compassionate care is provided.
It’s time to take action to help ensure that young lives like Brenda’s daughter’s are no longer lost in our province.
The Speaker: The question is first reading of the bill.
Motion approved.
J. Sturdy: I move that the bill be placed on the orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting after today.
Bill M202, Safe Care Act, 2024, introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.
Statements
(Standing Order 25B)
MOUNT BOUCHERIE BEARS
ROBOTICS
TEAM
B. Stewart: Last week I had the privilege of leading the Mount Boucherie Bears robotics team from West Kelowna on a tour of the Legislature. Their enthusiasm was palpable as they delved into the inner workings of our democratic institution, gaining insights into the intricate processes that shape our governance.
Today I rise with immense pride to herald the recent triumph of this exceptional team. This past weekend they didn’t just participate in the Canadian Pacific Regional qualifier in Victoria; they dominated, emerging as resounding victors and securing a coveted spot at the 2024 FIRST championship in Houston, Texas, this April. Their outstanding performance in this competition reflects the accumulation of months of hard work, perseverance and unwavering determination.
I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all of those who have supported the Mount Boucherie Bears robotics team in their journey. Their success is a testament to the collective efforts of the team, administration, local businesses and the broader community.
As they embark on their journey to represent our region on a global stage, let us rally behind them with unwavering support. The team requires funding to cover various expenses, including the registration fee, airfare, accommodation and more for their trip to Houston. I call upon the generosity of our community and urge businesses and individuals alike to contribute to this cause.
Join me in applauding the Mount Boucherie Bears robotics team for their outstanding achievements and commitment to excellence. Their accomplishments serve as an inspiration to us all, reaffirming the limitless potential of our youth in shaping a brighter future for generations to come.
WORLD WILDLIFE DAY
AND BIODIVERSITY IN
B.C.
A. Singh: On December 20, 2013, at the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly, March 3 was declared UN World Wildlife Day. This day holds significance as a day that the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora was signed in 1973.
UN World Wildlife Day has now become a global annual event dedicated to wildlife. It’s a crucial moment to reflect on the importance of preserving our planet’s biodiversity. Our province’s diverse ecosystems are home to a rich variety of species, from grizzly bears to orcas, each playing a vital role in maintaining ecological balance. Through sustainable practices, habitat preservation and stringent regulations against poaching and illegal wildlife trade, we can ensure the survival of these magnificent animals for years to come.
One of the key initiatives is the establishment and management of protected areas. B.C. boasts an extensive network of parks, marine protected areas, ecological reserves and conservancies that provide safe havens for wildlife. These areas not only safeguard critical habitats but also offer opportunities for the public to experience and appreciate our natural heritage.
There are over 1,000 B.C. provincial parks and protected areas in B.C., covering more than 14 million hectares of land. These are managed to conserve biodiversity and provide recreational opportunities while minimizing environmental impacts.
Our Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy also collaborates with Indigenous communities and non-profit organizations to protect at-risk species. This bolsters regulations and guidelines to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts, like regulations around hunting and fishing, to carefully ensure sustainable practices that don’t endanger wildlife populations or that, like the grizzly bear hunt ban, serve to protect and help populations thrive.
Encompassing all of this is CleanBC. We’ve shown leadership that is world-renowned in addressing broader environmental issues that impact wildlife initiatives, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect water quality and promote sustainable land use.
ALL NATIVE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
E. Ross: In 1947, the Prince Rupert All Native Tournament was actually created in Prince Rupert. Four years later the Junior All Native boys and girls basketball tournament took shape, with the top teams from each zone earning the right to go to the Junior All Native provincials.
Over the past few years, the zone competitions were eliminated, and any First Nation could attend the provincials, making it one of the biggest tournaments in B.C. Not many First Nations can host these provincials in their communities anymore, so partnerships with neighbouring towns are imperative.
The Nisg̱a’a Nation is this year’s host in Terrace, B.C. There will be over 1,200 athletes, with 80 teams, coming to Terrace to compete in four divisions from March 18 to 22, joined by their families and fans.
The economic impact of these tournaments is huge, whether it be basketball, hockey or soccer. In 2023, the Laxgalts’ap won the under-17 boys title, Nuxalk won the under-17 girls championship, the Vancouver Island Seawolves won the under-13 boys, and the Cowichan Surge won the under-13 girls.
If it wasn’t for basketball, my life would have taken a drastic direction. I would have been a statistic that we read so much about in terms of First Nations youth and adults. As an adult, I went from playing to coaching, and I tried to give the next generation the same experience I had as a young Indigenous youth growing up on a reserve or an urban setting.
Sports, music and academics are what I encourage youth to get involved in, especially with discipline and in today’s world, where the distractions much more severe than when I was growing up.
As a player, parent and past coach, I wish all the participants and fans the best possible experience. Enjoy your time together, and take your lessons learned in this tournament as important life lessons for your future.
Congratulations to Terrace and Nisg̱a’a Nation.
RURAL HEALTH CARE SERVICE
R. Russell: Yesterday I had the privilege, along with a number of other members of our caucus, to meet with UBC medical students and their political advocacy committee. I thank them for the work they’re doing.
They commended us on the action that our government has taken on many of the pieces that they’re working towards and highlighted some elements that they felt needed more attention, like emergency department safety nets, improvements to hospital systems, as well as, as one of the top five items, prioritizing rural transportation.
Sebastian, in the group, referred in that bit of the conversation around the notion of something that was based on urban normative policy. That term certainly seized me, and he identified how I could read a little more about it. I followed up with the work of Paul Peters and Heidi Hodge and Dean Carson and their communication about how the world is urban-centric and our policies and systems are urban normative.
I bring it up in this House because I think it matters — for example, to the students that are here from Atlin — that the work that we do in this place delivers flexible policy that works well for rural communities and rural people like our guests here today.
They talk in that work around the reframing away from this notion of rural disadvantaged and instead reconceptualizing rural as different and working on that. They talk about the difference between recognizing that rural policy does not equal urban policy and that trying to make rural services like urban services is not the strategy we need. They talk about flexible health systems that need to be small, dispersed and sustained through multiple connections that are distant as well as proximate.
These are the kinds of efforts that I think the work in this place I’m proud to be a part of helps deliver. I’m honoured to be part of a team here in Victoria that is working so hard to support the dynamic and creative work of rural communities across the province.
419 AIR FORCE SQUADRON AND
RELATIONSHIP WITH
KAMLOOPS
P. Milobar: This Friday, March 8, the 419 Squadron will have their colours stood down for another time. People in this place may wonder why a squadron in Cold Lake, Alberta, for the Canadian military, is being referenced in this chamber today.
The 419 Squadron has a very long history and a connection to both Kamloops and, in fact, this chamber. Created in 1941, its first wing commander was John “Moose” Fulton from Kamloops. In fact, his father was an MLA in this chamber for ten years, and before that, his grandfather on his mother’s side was actually our eighth Premier, A.E.B. Davie, who the street in Vancouver is named after.
When the squadron was created, it quickly became our most decorated bomber squadron in World War II. As the years have progressed, it has transitioned into becoming a training squadron, which will now cease until the new planes arrive for Canada.
John Fulton, though…. The “Moose” tagline came from an interview with an RAF officer when he heard that he was from the wilds of western Canada, and he spun a yarn about hunting to try to get the job. Although he had never hunted before, Moose became the story of the day and hence his nickname.
It has a very strong relationship with the city of Kamloops. The city of Kamloops adopted the squadron in 1943 and, in fact, in 1944, purchased the 100th Lancaster bomber produced to send over specifically for the 419 Squadron.
Over the years, the relationship has ebbed and flowed, but it is stronger than ever before. Every commander since has been named the tagline “Moose” as well, and that is why the squadron is named the Moose Squadron in recognition of their first commander, who only had around an eight-month run as commander before he unfortunately was shot down in World War II himself.
I look forward to the standing down of the colours, but I look even more forward to the colours being reinvigorated again as they were in 1954 and 1975 and now, hopefully, in the not too distant future as well.
CANOPY HEALTH CLINIC
S. Chant: As I begin, I would like to acknowledge that I am working and staying on the lands of the lək̓ʷəŋən, specifically the Songhees and Esquimalt people.
North Vancouver–Seymour, my riding where I live and work, is also in the territory of the Coast Salish, specifically the səlilwətaɬ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Nations. I am grateful to have the opportunity to work and learn with these Indigenous communities.
Canopy Health is a community clinic in Lynn Valley, North Van. On the website it says: “Canopy Health was created in response to a growing need for primary care providers combined with support of Allied Health network to create an accessible, inclusive and trauma-informed clinic, using a collaborative team-based model of care to provide a comprehensive approach to whole body and mental health.”
Their primary care provider team consists of nurse practitioners and midwives, fully complemented with other Allied Health professionals, including physiotherapy, acupuncture, chiropractic, massage therapy, occupational therapy, psychological counselling with mental health and somatic trauma therapy.
Imagine all those skills under one roof and working together. This remarkable team of clinicians provides holistic, safe and appropriate cradle-to-grave care to everyone, embracing the care needs of a diverse client population.
This is the only clinic in Canada with primary care fully provided by nurse practitioners and midwives. They hold 1,500 clients at present, looking to double that in the next year. They are onboarding unattached patients referred through the local division of family practice, maternity services in both hospital and community, and self-referrals. They are actively reducing the number of patients who do not have primary care providers.
Canopy Health clinic addresses several of the challenges that our health care system is facing through utilizing a full scope of practice of nurse practitioners, midwives and other Allied Health professionals.
I thank them for their vision, their service and their commitment to community health.
Oral Questions
ELECTRICITY RATES
AND B.C. HYDRO
REBATE
M. de Jong: We all remember last fall’s famous leaked memo disclosing the Premier’s demand for a big and shiny pre-election announcement. Well, the largest inflationary budget deficit in the history of B.C. certainly qualifies as big. But it turns out the shiny bauble is going to be a paltry rebate from B.C. Hydro that works out to about 25 cents per day.
If that isn’t bad enough, we now know that in a classic NDP rebate and switch, three weeks ago, the cabinet signed off on an order changing the definition of inflation in a way that would actually allow for a B.C. Hydro rate increase of up to 16 percent.
My question is this. Why is the Premier publicly telling British Columbians that rate increases will be held to the annual rate of inflation at the same time he and the cabinet are quietly signing orders that would allow for a rate increase of up to five times that amount?
Hon. J. Osborne: I am sorry to hear that the member doesn’t feel that providing a rebate to people at a time when they are facing the cost of inflation and high interest rates, the high cost of housing, the high cost of child care…. All of the things that we are doing to provide money for people, put it back in their pockets…. I am sorry to hear that the member doesn’t think that is a good thing to do.
Interjections.
The Speaker: Members. Members. Let the minister finish her answer, please.
Hon. J. Osborne: We know that people are struggling right now. That’s why the B.C. electricity affordability rebate puts money, through people’s hydro bills, back into their pockets so they can spend it on the things we know they need and want to do that.
That’s not the only action our government is taking to help people with the cost of living. Reducing child care fees, reducing ICBC premiums and eliminating several years ago, one of the biggest tax cuts in history here, MSP premiums.
Interjections.
The Speaker: Shhh.
Hon. J. Osborne: We know that people need help, and that’s why our government is here at people’s backs, and we’re going to continue to support them in every way that we can.
The Speaker: Abbotsford West, supplemental.
M. de Jong: Well, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe there are going to be parades in towns across British Columbia celebrating that 25 cents a day.
It’s possible, but I think what’s more likely is that people are going to see through the manipulation — the manipulation that involves a Premier and now minister touting a bauble that equates to 25 cents a day, pretending to provide assurance that future increases will be at the annual rate of inflation, when in fact they are quietly signing cabinet orders that would allow for a post-election rate increase of five times that amount.
On top of that, clear evidence that the minister, the Premier, the government, won’t take no for an answer. After firing the chair and the CEO of the Utilities Commission, B.C. Hydro has launched an unprecedented four reconsideration requests.
The question again to the Premier: with the possibility of a rate increase of up to 16 percent looming after the next election, why should British Columbians derive any comfort from the Premier’s big and shiny 25-cent pre-election promise?
Hon. J. Osborne: Once again, I find it astonishing that somebody would laugh at a rebate people are getting on their B.C. Hydro bills. The fact that we understand that people are facing challenges right now, and they need every bit of help they can get.
Interjection.
The Speaker: Member.
Hon. J. Osborne: The member is asking questions about B.C. Hydro, and I guess I’m glad he is because I think he doesn’t want to talk about their government’s record on B.C. Hydro when they were on this side of the House. Under their ten-year rate plan, families today would be paying $140 more on their B.C. Hydro bill than they are now. Under their leadership, rates skyrocketed 80 percent. That’s 5 percent a year on average over the 16 years on this side of the House.
We’re not doing that. We understand that people need affordable energy rates. We’re taking action. B.C. Hydro’s last application for rates increase holds at 2.3 percent a year. We’re working hard to make sure people have the energy they need, the efficient appliance they need, the ability to switch to heat pumps, and affordable energy bills.
GOVERNMENT POLICY ON CARBON TAX
AND HOME HEATING
COSTS
P. Milobar: That’ll be literally cold comfort for people when they’re not able to meet the energy demands in the next cold snap when this government cuts access to gas and we don’t have enough electricity.
Let’s be clear. By this government’s own words, in 2017, Site C was on time and on budget. Then they opposed Site C, and it has more than doubled in cost. Then they blocked First Nations clean energy projects, saying that they weren’t good value for people either. Now, they’re trying to re-engage them at a higher cost to ratepayers. They’re playing politics with the finances of B.C. Hydro, plain and simple, with the rebate-and-switch scheme that they’ve got going.
Meanwhile, the Premier is tripling the carbon tax on families forced to choose between heating their homes and putting food on the table. Imagine the frustration of those families, who are reliant on natural gas, when they realize that with the rebate-and-switch program they’re going to get 25 cents a day, for one year only, and then their rates are going to go up by 16 percent next year.
Will the Premier deliver real relief by removing the carbon tax on all home heating today?
Hon. J. Osborne: People’s hydro rates and bills are not going to go up 16 percent next year. That’s just fabulist math on the member’s part. It’s simply not true.
Interjections.
The Speaker: Members.
Hon. J. Osborne: In fact, over the last six years, we have kept B.C. Hydro rate increases below the cumulative cost of inflation.
The member mentions the last cold snap. We were able to supply electricity to our neighbours, Alberta, at a time when they needed it most. That’s because B.C. Hydro is operating a resilient system….
Interjections.
The Speaker: Members. Members.
Hon. J. Osborne: That’s because B.C. Hydro is operating….
Interjections.
The Speaker: Just hold it, Minister.
Members.
Please continue.
Hon. J. Osborne: That’s because B.C. Hydro is operating a resilient system, one that we know needs to adapt and change, given the way that climate is changing.
That’s why we have the spring call for power coming in April to diversify the sources of energy that we use here in British Columbia, to add more electricity to our growing economy and to the people who are moving here to B.C. That’s why B.C. Hydro’s ten-year capital plan is $36 billion. We’re going to deliver clean, safe, reliable, affordable energy to British Columbians for years to come.
The Speaker: Kamloops–North Thompson, supplemental.
P. Milobar: You’d think the Minister of Energy would also want to acknowledge that the reason we got through the cold snap was that two-thirds of the energy consumed in British Columbia then was provided by natural gas, not electricity. News for the minister: it’s their order-in-council that is trying to redefine and recalculate what “inflation” actually means for B.C. Hydro. Imagine how the families feel upon discovering that the NDP’s solution to their inflation struggles was to simply change the definition of inflation.
Removing the carbon tax on home heating would provide a genuine rebate, offering real relief and making life more affordable for people. Tax cuts drove down the inflationary pressures in Alberta and Saskatchewan, which is exactly what B.C. United would do, but the Premier insists on driving up the cost of gas, rent, groceries and home heating every single day, while families continue to suffer.
Why is this Premier living in an alternate reality, refusing to give real relief from inflation, such as cutting the carbon tax on home heating today?
Hon. J. Osborne: Well, one thing we all do know is that the world is changing around us. Climate change is having a real impact. People want to do their part in fighting pollution, and they want to be able to afford their energy bills. That’s why our government continues to take action.
The B.C. electricity affordability credit is nothing to laugh at. Again, I’m so disappointed to hear that somebody would think that this is not a good idea to help people, at a time when they need that help the most. We’re going to continue to do that.
Interjections.
The Speaker: Members.
Hon. J. Osborne: We’re going to continue to help people with costs. We’re going to continue to deliver more housing. We’re going to continue our work on child care spaces, reducing fees for people, reducing ICBC rates and providing free contraception. I could go on and on. This government has people’s backs, and we will not stop.
FUNERAL COSTS AND GRAVE MARKERS
FOR LOW-INCOME
RESIDENTS
A. Olsen: Our former social democratic government here claims to look after the most vulnerable people in British Columbia, but their actions fail to meet their rhetoric. On almost every…. That includes this bill, actually, that we’re just going through, the one that was just tabled today. Clause-by-clause debate on that bill is going to be interesting.
When a person’s estate and their next of kin can’t afford their funeral, the Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction pays for basic funeral services, but they won’t pay for a grave marker. This government is burying people in unmarked graves. The cost, to the minister, is about $850 each, or $3.3 million a year. That’s about 0.004 percent of our $89 billion budget. Why has this minister failed the most vulnerable people in our society so miserably?
To the Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, why did she fail to secure the funds to provide our lowest-income citizens the dignity of a basic grave marker?
Hon. S. Malcolmson: All people deserve dignity in death. In the cases when people cannot afford it, then our ministry does pay for the necessary funeral costs. That includes costs of cremation and burial, the services of a funeral home, maybe a small service for the family to mourn. Families and loved ones can choose the funeral home of their choice.
Funeral homes take great care, with recordkeeping, to treat people’s remains respectfully. Families are able to choose a burial for their loved one, the form of it, and there’s a plot chosen, and families can go to visit their departed family members and to pay their respects.
I have been meeting with the B.C. Funeral Association. I understand their concern about costs, given global inflation. They haven’t raised the grave-markers question, but we’ll continue to meet with the industry and to hear from people across the province around how we can best support low-income families at the most difficult time.
The Speaker: House Leader, Third Party, supplemental.
A. Olsen: This issue was canvassed with the government last year in budget estimates. I believe that there was a story in the Times Colonist about this. The funeral services organization has reached out to our constituency office to raise this issue. We’ve raised this issue with the minister in the weeks leading up to this spring session. We’ve had considerable back-and-forth with the minister’s staff.
It amounts to about a $3.3 million spend in an $89 billion budget, and the response was that the minister wasn’t able to convince the Finance Minister to be able to provide those funds for the most vulnerable, lowest-income residents in our society to have a basic grave marker.
As the minister said, all of the other costs are covered, and they’re outlined in the legislation. A simple change could allow for people to have, in perpetuity, a grave marker, but this government continues to make excuses. They made excuses last spring. They’re making excuses today, pretending like this is a new issue.
To the Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, why has this minister failed to provide the basic dignity of a basic grave marker to the lowest-income citizens in our society?
Hon. S. Malcolmson: All people in British Columbia deserve a dignified burial. That is what our existing budget funds, with the funeral service providers taking great care that families are able to visit the grave of a loved one, the family having chosen the place, the funeral service and the decision about cremation versus burial.
We continue to work with the Funeral Association. We’re very grateful to the funeral service providers across British Columbia that continue to provide services to low-income people at their very most difficult time. We continue to be in active conversation with them about the costs of the existing services, given the terribly increased cost of service provision because of global inflation.
This has not been on their list of wishes. There are other pieces that they have ahead of grave markers, but we continue to hear from people across the province about their priorities and how it is that they want us to invest and care for people at the most difficult time.
SUPPORTIVE HOUSING PROJECT
AND SHELTER MANAGEMENT IN
VICTORIA
B. Banman: In 2021, this government created Tiny Town. They took 30 people from local shelters and dropped them into shipping containers located in the heart of Victoria’s North Park neighbourhood. Residents of North Park described a horror show: piles of garbage, night brawls, defecation, street sex, constant thefts and break-ins.
One resident, Jodi Sigsworth, was awakened in the middle of the night to find a man she did not know standing at the foot of her bed with his flashlight pointed in her face.
Victoria families thought their nightmare had finally ended when the project was terminated, rightfully so, last September, after 2½ years of chaos, but they’ve just been told that the NDP is bringing Tiny Town back.
To the Premier, there aren’t any tiny towns in Vancouver’s Point Grey. Why doesn’t he be the change he wants to see in this world and surround his own family, who live in one of the richest neighbourhoods in North America, with sea cans harbouring criminals?
Interjections.
The Speaker: Shhh, Members.
Hon. R. Kahlon: I cannot believe the member is talking about the most vulnerable people in our communities in that way. Dropping them off, in shipping containers, into communities? I mean, if you want an example of Trump-style politics coming to British Columbia, that question right there is it.
People are struggling in our communities. We have to find ways to ensure that they get access to housing, Then we can provide them the supports that they need so that they can find stability in their lives.
Now, this project the member talks about has been in the community for a few years. It certainly had some challenges early on, but after adjustments were made to the programming and to staffing, we were able to provide a lot of people supports. In fact, a lot of people were able to get the stability in their lives that they needed to be able to get back into community, get back into employment, connect with families again. That’s the type of dignified support that, I think, all people in this House want to see in their communities.
Now, the member talks about the Premier. He knows there are supportive housing sites in the Premier’s riding. There are supportive housing sites in all our communities. We need to find ways to support everyone where they are. We’re proud of that work.
We’re going to work with the community. We’re working with the city of Victoria. We’re working with the Victoria police — who have also shared with us that they believe that that site now, because of the changes that have been made, is actually fairly safe in the community. This is from the Victoria police chief.
We’re going to continue to work with our partners to support the most vulnerable people in our communities.
The Speaker: House Leader of the Fourth Party, supplemental.
B. Banman: I guess that’s why they cancelled that program: it was so safe.
The Minister of Housing has just awarded the contract to run a new Victoria shelter to SOLID Outreach society. This is a tax-funded group that pays employees 30 bucks an hour to hand-deliver crack pipes, munchies and marijuana to addicts tenting in Victoria playgrounds.
My question to the minister: will he at least let taxpayers know what flavour of Doritos our taxes will be paying for, for Victoria’s newest housing project?
Hon. R. Kahlon: Again, we won’t take lectures from a person who, when he was mayor of Abbotsford, dumped manure on homeless encampments. This is a person, who was the mayor of Abbotsford, dumping manure on homeless encampments as his way of addressing challenges for homelessness. We’re not taking any advice from this member.
How to ensure that the most vulnerable people have supports — we’re going to continue to work with communities to find ways to make sure that people are safe and that they have the supports they need.
We are in challenging times, not only in B.C. but across North America. We are committed to continue to support the most vulnerable people in our communities.
INVOLUNTARY CARE FOR
VULNERABLE
YOUTH
E. Sturko: As a society, we have an obligation to provide care for the most vulnerable, including involuntary care when necessary. We failed that duty with Steffanie Lawrence, who died at just 15 from a fentanyl overdose. Brenda Doherty, Steffanie’s mom, joins us today seeking answers and action.
More lip service from the Premier on involuntary care for vulnerable youth is simply not good enough. How many more young lives must be lost before this Premier acts?
Will he please commit today to support involuntary care for our most vulnerable youth, either by calling the opposition’s private member’s bill or by introducing his own?
Hon. J. Whiteside: I thank the member across the way, and everyone in this House who is bringing forward concerns. It’s a concern that we share with regard to how we can best protect youth and provide the services and supports that youth in our communities need.
We have made significant investments, over the last number of years, to build up a system of care and support for children and youth in our health care system and in our mental health care system.
We know, of course, that there is more to do, but just yesterday we announced one of the largest investments in child and youth mental health, to get in and ensure that we can be reaching into the river, upstream, and be providing early intervention and prevention services for youth. Out of our 2022 budget, we invested $75 million in an early psychosis intervention program in our hospitals.
We are engaged in a process that is transforming, inside our health care system, how we are providing care and support for youth who need it, to make sure that we can be there when they are in crisis and as they transition out into community services. We’ll continue to do that work. We’ll continue to work with community partners, our health authorities and all partners, in order to ensure that we can protect youth in our province.
ATTACKS BY REPEAT OFFENDERS AND
ACTION ON JUSTICE
SYSTEM REFORMS
R. Merrifield: The release of convicted repeat sex offender Taylor Dueck into our community, without warning, is a complete violation of trust between this NDP government and those it is supposed to serve. At no point was anyone told about this predator’s criminal record, the condition that he have one-to-one supervision at all times and that he was not to be around children.
While children were arriving for after-school lessons, this convicted child molester’s supervisor sat in the parking lot, in his vehicle, for 2½ hours. The result was an 11-year-old girl being cornered and sexually assaulted in the bathroom by this predator.
How can this NDP government have allowed this total failure to happen, and who is going to take responsibility for this complete and utter failure, so that it never happens again?
Hon. M. Farnworth: I thank the member for the question. As the member will know, when this came to our attention last week, the first thing I did was express our extreme disgust and anger at what has taken place, and immediately ordered a full investigation and accounting of all provincial and federal agencies involved, and officials involved, to get to the bottom and to find out exactly what happened.
Was it a systemic failure, or was it a failure of an individual? That work is underway to ensure that this never happens again. So this government most certainly has taken action.
The Speaker: Member, on a supplemental.
R. Merrifield: No, no. Someone has to be accountable. This 11-year-old girl deserves better. Our community is traumatized. That 11-year-old is traumatized. Our communities are not going to be protected by some investigation and analysis and report.
People are sick and tired of the Premier and this minister’s feigned indignation in the face of horrific failures that leave innocent people victimized, only to see them do absolutely nothing to prevent it from happening again.
Make no mistake. The Premier and this NDP government — they’re the ones. They’re the architects of this system. The Premier was the former Attorney General and is now Premier. It’s under his watch that the system prioritized this sexual predator’s privacy over the safety and well-being of our children, over the safety and well-being of that 11-year-old girl.
With Taylor Dueck’s bail hearing tomorrow, parents and my entire community are traumatized and fearful that he’s going to come back if he’s released. The Premier needs to be held accountable and needs to stop prioritizing the rights of a pedophile over the rights of a community to feel safe.
Who is going to take responsibility for this total failure to protect our children?
Hon. N. Sharma: I hear the passion and anger in the member’s question, and I share that anger. I know that the Solicitor General very quickly ordered an investigation. We need to get to the bottom of this.
An 11-year-old child has been hurt, and we, as a government, take that extremely seriously. We need to get to the bottom of it. We need to find out what happened to make sure this never happens again in this province to another child.
T. Stone: British Columbians are not just outraged by the release of a repeat sex offender in Kelowna. Peter Wehren is a pedophile who has been released in Richmond three times just in the past two weeks, despite using Snapchat to lure underage children.
First he was arrested on February 21 and promptly released on bail. He was then re-arrested on February 23, when he immediately breached his bail condition, which includes not being alone with anyone under the age of 18 and not going to any park, only to then be released on bail a second time. Now this pedophile has been arrested again for going back to the same park. But unbelievably, he has been released a third time on bail. British Columbians are saying enough is enough.
How can this Premier possibly defend this catch-and-release treatment of dangerous pedophiles, resulting in monsters like this individual and the one previously quoted by the member for Kelowna-Mission, resulting in people like these being released back into the community over and over and over again? It’s got to stop.
Hon. N. Sharma: I want to thank the member for the question.
We need to make sure that our communities are safe. We need to make the investments necessary to make sure that our communities are safe.
Our government is working very hard to change federal laws. We led the charge to change the bail, the law of the land in Canada, to make sure that repeat violent offenders were not released into our communities.
We’ve stood up resources directed at repeat offenders that are there to make sure that those offenders are treated in the way that keeps communities safe. When you hear stories like that, I think British Columbians want to make sure that their government is taking action. We are listening, we are learning, and we are taking action.
I will continue to do that in my role as Attorney General, and I know the Solicitor General and the whole of government will do that when it comes to this.
[End of question period.]
Tabling Documents
The Speaker: Members, I have the honour of tabling the Ombudsperson’s report On the Road Again: Fixing a Longstanding Injustice in Section 42 of the Transportation Act.
Orders of the Day
Hon. R. Kahlon: I call continued debate on the budget in the main House.
[S. Chandra Herbert in the chair.]
Budget Debate
(continued)
Deputy Speaker: Thank you, Members. We’re going to resume debate on the budget. We will be starting with the Opposition House Leader.
T. Stone: I appreciate the opportunity to add my thoughts to the 2024 provincial budget. I do so standing here as a very proud British Columbian.
I will say this. I would characterize the 2024 budget of the current Premier as having dropped with a heck of a thud. Instead of providing relief for people struggling, the NDP have full-on reverted to their core tendency, their default, and that is to spend massive amounts of money, all the while delivering less. It’s classic NDP planning and execution where you spend a heck of a lot more for something, but you get a lot less.
This budget is characterized by the largest deficit that we’ve seen in this province’s history at $8 billion per year, $28 billion of deficits cumulatively over the three years of this fiscal plan. It has been characterized as an atmospheric river of red ink.
To talk about this in the context of the debt that has built up in this province, it took 150 years for successive governments of all political stripes in this province’s history — the first 150 years, cumulatively — to build a debt of $50 billion. The NDP have doubled that debt in just seven years.
The debt stands at $103 billion, and they plan to add another $62 billion of debt to that number. This will increase the debt per British Columbian by over 150 percent, from $8,500 per person to $22,000 per person of debt.
Spending is up 75 percent. I certainly don’t think that there’s a single government service anywhere in this province that’s improved by 75 percent. Taxes are up $22 billion per year since this government took office. That’s through 32 new and increased taxes. April 1, the carbon tax will increase to 14 cents per litre. It’s a 164 percent increase in seven years, and this government has plans to double it again over the coming years.
If all of that spending and all of that taxing and all of that debt that’s been layered onto the shoulders of our children and grandchildren isn’t enough, they’re going even further in what is clearly an election budget by removing a number of guardrails that better ensure that the numbers outlined in the budget are actually achieved.
The government has done that by shrinking contingencies and by actually removing the forecast allowances. They’ve also done it by including, as one of the key metrics that drive the numbers in the budget, the projected growth rates in this province. They’ve gone with a number that is actually higher than their own independent Economic Forecast Council.
They have not accounted for higher borrowing costs from the credit downgrades that are surely to come. I remind those listening that when the province’s credit is downgraded, that results in significantly higher interest costs on the debt. That’s made even worse when you’ve amassed so much more debt, and what that ultimately means is more taxes and a reduction in services. It certainly means terrible, terrible results from this government.
When we look at the jobs picture, the NDP have made an art form of prioritizing public sector growth over private sector growth. They’re growing the public sector at four times the rate of the private sector. Without private sector jobs, we’re not going to be able to pay off the provincial credit card that the NDP are maxing out in this budget and the subsequent budgets coming. If we don’t grow the economy, this is going to again mean an increase in taxes. It’s going to mean the NDP digging even deeper into people’s pockets.
I want to put a finer point on this private sector–public sector dynamic that has evolved under this government, a government that has been in power for seven years and has grown the public sector by 133,700 net new positions. I’ll say that again: 133,700. That’s the number of additional people working in the civil service, working across all of government.
At the same time, the private sector has experienced growth at a much smaller level of 34,900 jobs. That’s over the past five years of this government: 133,700 in the public sector, 34,900 in the private sector. That’s not sustainable.
Contrastingly, the last five years of the former government, the B.C. United, B.C. Liberal government…. We grew the public sector by 26,300 positions in that five-year period, while the private sector grew by almost 260,000 positions. That highlights a very, very stark difference in the priorities, the focus, the jobs lens, so to speak, of the two governments, previous and current.
I was very proud to be part of a government that actually required, as a condition of cabinet approval on a whole wide range of items, a requirement to actually explain to one’s colleagues what the potential impacts, positive or negative, are of a decision on jobs, private sector jobs. What is this going to do to actually help flourish or help frustrate the private sector? It was a critical question that the former government applied to everything that it did. This government doesn’t do that, and the result is this incredible disparity.
Now, as I said, $28 billion of additional deficits over the next three years, massive increase in taxes, $22 billion per year of more tax under this government, huge increases in debt, doubling it to this point, in seven years, with more to come. Yet by every single measure, every measure, this government is delivering the worst results you could possibly imagine.
British Columbians have never struggled more from an affordability perspective than they are today. They are struggling with the level of taxes, as I said, the overall cumulative take of this government out of the pockets of British Columbians. Carbon tax is going up again soon. That’ll add another 14 cents a litre to fueling your minivan. Fuel taxes, the price of groceries. On and on it goes.
We’ve offered a number of solutions. We’re heading towards an election this year. This is the last budget before that election. It’s increasingly important for British Columbians to understand what the compare-and-contrast looks like between the different political parties.
I’m really proud of our leader, the leader of the B.C. United, the Leader of the Opposition, and the platform pieces that we are rolling out piece by piece. We have a lot more to come, but when it comes to affordability, we’ve proposed to eliminate the 14-cents-a-litre fuel tax, the up to 14 cents a litre. That would save people every single time they go to fill up their vehicle.
We’ve proposed to freeze the carbon tax. No more increases. We’ve said: “While you’re at it, eliminate the carbon tax from all home heating sources. Eliminate the carbon tax from all on-farm production.” The combination of actually reducing the fuel taxes and making those changes to the carbon tax would actually drive down transportation costs related to moving goods and groceries and so forth around the province and would actually result in lower grocery prices. But this government is not willing to take us up on these ideas that would save people money today.
And we’ve said, with respect to the carbon tax, that because there is a federal mandate in place, if there is a change in policy at the federal level that would come through a federal election that results in the elimination of the carbon tax mandate from a pan-Canadian perspective, then we’ll get rid of the carbon tax here in British Columbia as well, because we’re not going to allow British Columbians to be at a competitive disadvantage with every other province in this country.
Carbon tax is also no longer revenue-neutral, as it was when it was first implemented. And it’s no longer driving reductions in emissions, which is supposed to be the ultimate objective and the goal of that kind of tax or policy measure. It’s not working anymore under this government.
How about housing? Well, again, a lot of money being pushed out the door by this government. Lots and lots of announcements and spending around housing, yet the worst results this province has ever seen. It’s beyond dispute. British Columbia has the highest housing costs anywhere in North America. We have the highest rents in all of Canada. That has happened under this government’s watch for seven years: housing program after housing program which have all missed the mark and are not actually making housing more affordable for British Columbians.
In fact, in this budget, while prices are going up, housing construction is projected to go down. Despite all the NDP’s housing taxes, the budget forecasts the average house price to increase by 2.3 percent. Housing starts are projected to fall 8 percent in 2024. That’s almost 4,400 fewer homes that are anticipated to be built. How the heck does this actually…? When you’re building fewer homes that are costing more, that are selling for a higher price, how is that helping British Columbians struggle through this housing crisis? It’s not.
Again, in the interests of comparing and contrasting, we’re very proud of the first phase of a housing plan which our leader, the B.C. United leader, put out recently, where we said we would eliminate the PST on home construction. That is widely viewed as a measure that would dramatically accelerate construction and volume. It will expedite, in a big way, projects all around the province.
We’ve said that we would save first-time homebuyers $18,000. On a purchase of a home up to $1 million, it would be $18,000 of savings. That’s $10,000 more than recently announced initiatives of this NDP government for first-time homebuyers.
We announced an innovative rent-to-own program which would basically take the current reality for so many young, aspiring British Columbians who want to stay in this province…. They want to put roots down. They want to have a family. They want to live and work and grow a business and be here in British Columbia, but they can’t because of the cost of housing in particular. It would enable that young couple, that young British Columbian, to actually save up for a down payment in three to five years as opposed to 25 to 30 years.
The only reason that most young British Columbians are able to even think that they have a chance at saving up a down payment is if they have parents or loved ones that are able to help them out. Most parents do that.
We’re offering a plan that would actually put home ownership into the sights, the realistic sights, of British Columbians.
We’ve said we would move to a 99-year lease model in terms of building a whole bunch of supportive housing. We would support local governments, in a much bigger way, with local infrastructure. As I said, there’s a lot more coming in the next phase of our housing plan.
I want to talk about child care for a moment, because again, perhaps aside from housing, there’s perhaps no other issue where this government has spent as much time and energy and effort extolling the virtues of the great success that is their child care strategy in this province.
When we actually look at the facts…. This is through the lens of all the parents that come and talk to us, all of the ECEs that come and talk to us, the small business operators, the people who run these child…. They all say the same thing. There are not enough spaces in this province. There are not enough ECEs.
This government has been very deliberative in their attack on small businesses, small business operators of child care. In fact, we profiled in question period, in a recent session, a briefing note for a minister that wasn’t supposed to make its way into our hands, but we obtained it. It very clearly indicated in there that the government’s deliberate policy choices around child care would have a detrimental effect, such that it would actually drive private sector small business operators of child care, which are the majority in the province, out of business. The minister signed off on it.
There’s a massive gap between what the NDP promise and what they deliver on the ground. I would point out that when you’re putting a child care operator out of business, the vast majority of these operators are actually women. So for a government that talks the good talk all the time about equity, it’s sure curious as to why they have very deliberately, through policy choices and their child care policy, taken steps that have had the direct impact of very negatively affecting the ability of a heck of a lot of women to operate child cares around this province.
The number of young children between the ages of zero and five years old in child care has actually decreased by 10,000 since 2019 in British Columbia. That’s a fact.
Worst of all, failing miserably at implementing their $10-a-day child care, for parents who really need it, has become almost farcical. The announcements that come out. The parallel reality that we see. The Premier, the ministers responsible, the government generally…. The parallel universe we see them operating within is quite breathtaking.
The NDP promised universal $10-a-day daycare, not in one election, but in two elections: 2017 and 2020. They didn’t have an asterisk at the bottom of the policy that said: “Well, when we say universal, we actually mean kind of universal, sort of universal, universal over the next 50 years, universal up to a certain income threshold.”
No. It was universal child care for everyone who needs it in this province, at $10 a day. Yet here we are, seven years later, and only 10 percent of child care spaces across this province, 10 percent, are at that $10-a-day rate.
As we’ve said — and my colleagues have spoken on this, as I have, many, many times — if you are lucky enough to have been that person that’s been able to access a $10-a-day space, you’ve literally won the lottery in this province. Chances are your neighbour who lives next door or your neighbour who lives across the street is someone that has not been able to access $10-a-day, because they would be one of the 90 percent of British Columbians that aren’t accessing child care at that promised $10-a-day rate.
This is all amplified even more by the fact that not only are the NDP not investing in child care at the rate that the federal government is investing, but the NDP can’t even seem to get federal child care dollars out the door in a timely fashion. We profiled this the other day. Call it diverse implementation challenges. That’s what the order-in-council actually said which this government signed, that the NDP minister responsible signed.
What was that regulation all about? It was to amend the child care agreement that this province has with the federal government for the third time in a row, in order to roll over unallocated federal child care dollars. Meanwhile, we have parents in that 90 percent all over the province that aren’t able to access the affordable child care that they need.
The latest federal government child care report on progress reveals more than just implementation challenges. It actually highlights that of the $105 million earmarked for $10-a-day child care, three-quarters of that funding, $78 million, was actually unspent in the last fiscal year. As I said, the number of spaces offered by family providers for children five and under has decreased. Those are not my words. Those are the words in the federal government’s progress report on this government’s implementation of child care.
Health care. I mean, one can devote literally an endless speech to what is the crisis in health care. Despite billions and billions of dollars being spent, again, we have amongst the worst results in health care that this province has ever seen. We have one in five without a family doctor. That’s actually dreaming. Why? Because in my community of Kamloops, it’s actually two in five. Fifty-four thousand residents of Kamloops do not have a doctor.
We’ve gone from first to worst in cancer care, so bad that…. It’s not a big, bad former B.C. Liberal, B.C. United or Conservative government that’s shipping cancer patients to the United States to a private health care system to access cancer care because they can’t get it here in British Columbia. It’s actually the NDP that are doing it. There was one other government that did the same thing previously in our province’s history. It was the NDP in the 1990s, also shipping cancer patients out of the country because of the dire state of cancer care access here in the province.
Wait-lists for surgery at record highs. Diagnostic wait times. I mean, you could go on and on. The crisis in health care is something I think British Columbians are talking about every single day of the week, because it’s impacting everyone. We all have loved ones that find out they need a critical diagnostic exam in order to determine what it is they may or may not have, and it might take six to nine months to get that diagnostic piece done just to then have a diagnosis so that an appropriate care plan can actually be developed. The length of time it takes in this province is totally unacceptable.
Public safety. The catch-and-release justice system — we profiled that again today. British Columbians are sick and tired of prolific offenders and their rights seeming to be more important than the rights of people to feel safe in their communities. We profiled two different pedophiles today, both of whom have been repeatedly released on bail, released back into the community, only to reoffend. Children not being safe.
It reflects more than just a system that’s broken. It reflects policy choices of this government and this Premier over the last seven years. Enough is enough. People deserve a right to feel safe in their own community.
The NDP’s reckless decriminalization scheme. The budget actually provides $19 million over three years to implement decriminalization. We’ve said, all along, no to decrim unless there are the guardrails in place. There needs to be adequate access to treatment and recovery programs. There need to be supports provided to law enforcement. There needs to be education. There need to be a whole bunch of guardrails in place, and absent those guardrails, the government should have never pursued this reckless careening down the path of decriminalization.
In fact, you just have to look south of us to Seattle, Portland, other cities along the west coast of the United States. They’re actually pulling back on their decrim policies, recognizing the tremendous failure that it has been in their jurisdictions. Yet we’re careening ahead here in British Columbia.
Small businesses are on the receiving end of the social disorder and chaos in communities all over the province, whether it’s vandalism or thefts or broken glass or their staff and employees feeling intimidated just showing up for work. It’s happening all over the province. Not only is that a result of this Premier, this NDP’s catch-and-release justice system, their lack of getting serious about taking tough action to make sure that these prolific offenders are actually dealt with…. Not only that, they can’t even flow promised supports to small businesses.
They announced a program eight months ago, a small business improvement program. It’s a program that’s intended to flow some financial support to help those small businesses that have been hit with all that vandalism and theft and broken glass and so forth. A $10.5 billion program announced eight months ago. We were provided with information that confirmed that, as of this moment, only $71,000 has been pushed out the door to small businesses impacted. Eight months later.
The minister says: “No, no. We understand there’s a problem. We’re working on it. We’ve got a task force. We’ve got a group that’s doing some stuff, and we’re doing a review of a review of a review.” Meanwhile, you have all these unbelievable small businesses in our communities that are hanging by a thread, that are looking for whatever help they can get to stay in business, to continue to employ people, to continue to provide that local service product. This government can’t even figure out how to get dollars announced in a program eight months ago, how to get that support to small businesses.
Mental Health and Addictions. Seven people a day dying in this province. The flooding of our communities with publicly supplied addictive drugs is a strategy that’s failing. Diversion is a big, big problem that’s getting worse and worse. Even Bonnie Henry acknowledged that diversion is a real thing. It’s happening, even if this government won’t come to terms with it.
The government is not investing what needs to be invested in treatment and recovery. There’s no new funding, no additional new funding in this budget to build out the treatment and recovery infrastructure that we need in this province, which is a significant feature of our Better is Possible platform, which we announced last year. It received rave reviews. It would actually focus on helping people access a path to wellness to help them actually get better, both on the mental health side and the addiction side.
In the limited time I have left, I want to just talk about what the future looks like. The results that I’ve just cited with respect to affordability and health care and public safety and mental health and addiction…. The outcomes are terrible. The results are not good. Yet this government’s default is just to keep spending more and more money. It’s time for results for the money spent.
It’s also time to develop a private sector jobs plan. The piece of the equation that isn’t talked about at all on the NDP side is: what do we need to do to actually grow the economy? How do we grow a thriving, vibrant, diverse, private sector economy? Under the NDP, there has been increasing hostility from this government towards major investments.
I’m fearful, as a lot of British Columbians are, that when the Site C project, LNG Canada, TMX and CGL are finished, when those projects are actually completely done, there is nothing of equal significance coming in the pipeline from a major project perspective. There’s a billion here and a billion there.
I would remind the members that Site C is, like, a $16 billion project and counting. LNG Canada is a $48.3 billion project. TMX is a $30.9 billion project. CGL, $14.5 billion. That’s about $110 billion, employing at peak about 54,000 people. The total value of major natural resource projects in this province is actually being cut in half by this government.
Actions like CleanBC don’t help. That was profiled recently when the Business Council of B.C. and others…. CleanBC initiatives will shrink B.C.’s economy by $28 billion by 2030. It will shed hundreds of thousands of jobs.
It’s generally because the cost of doing business in this province has gotten to a point where it is really easy for investors, for people around the world, for companies to look elsewhere, to make a different choice, a choice that’s not British Columbia.
[The Speaker in the chair.]
Speaking of which, while we’ve had a net inflow of people to British Columbia, largely through immigration, B.C.’s share of the national population is shrinking. That’s going to affect federal transfers. It’s going to mean less dollars. Those transfers are based on per-capita funding formulas.
Even more concerning is the net out-migration of British Columbians that are leaving for other provinces. This has been happening for 15 months now. It’s been happening for a good amount of time.
The most worrying part of this out-migration of British Columbians is that — we all know it; we all see it — we have a heck of a lot of 18- to 35-year-olds who are leaving British Columbia. Why? Because they cannot see themselves putting roots down here in British Columbia. They can’t see themselves ever affording to buy a home, let alone affording rent. They can’t see themselves being able to raise a family here in British Columbia. They’re leaving for Alberta and Ontario and other jurisdictions. That should worry all of us.
Against the backdrop of all of this spending, all of this taxing, all of this debt, an outflow migration of our young people and a dramatically reduced and continued decline of investment into this province, things have got to change. We cannot continue to careen down this path.
I look forward to the upcoming election campaign, where these ideas and the government’s failed results, the terrible outcomes across the board, contrast with a hopeful vision and big, bold ideas that we’ll continue to put out there. I know British Columbians are going to say they’ve had enough of this NDP budget and they’ve had enough of this government.
J. Rustad: I add my comments to the budget debate. I want to start off, of course, recognizing my riding of Nechako Lakes. It’s always an honour to be able to stand and speak on behalf of my riding and behalf of the people in my riding.
I also want to take a moment just to thank my staff, both the staff here in Victoria and also my staff back in my riding. They do great work on behalf of the people of this province and, certainly, on behalf of the people in my riding.
I also want to just mention my wife, Kim. I’m so blessed to have her support in everything that I’m doing, I can tell you. I know that all the members here have their partners behind them and supporting them. It means a world of difference in terms of being able to stand up and do the work.
In the throne speech, there was a recognition of the passing of Patty Sahota. I wanted to have an opportunity to maybe just say a few words about Patty.
I got to know Patty. I didn’t have the honour of serving with her. She was not elected at the same time I was elected. But I got an opportunity to get to know Patty, particularly through forestry and the work by their family company. There were numerous times that we would engage, and we’d talk about policy, and we’d talk about things that were going on for their company and the challenges that they were facing.
I got a chance to get to know her reasonably well. We spent many a conversation talking, of course, about politics. She was very passionate about politics, as she was about the forest sector and many other things.
The one thing I would note about Patty…. I mean, the passing was just shocking. I had just spent a little bit of time with her, travelling. Actually, we were in Calgary together for a bit of time. But the one thing I would note about Patty was she was always trying to do something for other people. She cared very much about family. She cared very much about community. She cared very much about this province. And she was always trying to make things better. Regardless of whatever the situation was around it, that was always her priority, and it came through in everything that she did.
I just wanted to extend my condolences to the family. I know it was a huge shock for the family when it happened, and I know even now, the grieving. But they will remember the tenderness and the care that Patty gave to everyone and especially to families and friends.
The budget started off talking about starting from a place of strength. That was an interesting line, I think, because when you look at, certainly, what’s going on in the province…. We have a crisis in health care. We’ve got a crisis in affordability. We’ve got a crisis in housing. We’ve got a crisis in crime. We’ve got a crisis in addiction.
I’m not sure exactly what this NDP government’s definition of “starting from strength” is, but perhaps just maybe come up and talk to the people in my riding about starting from a position of strength. Fraser Lake losing a sawmill just recently because of horrendous policies that we have in forestry. Vanderhoof — the Nechako Lumber going down to just one shift because it has been between two and three years since permits have been issued through the B.C. Timber Sales.
Right across my riding, in terms of agriculture, there was a promise of assistance and only a very small amount that has come out. We obviously got hit very hard with the drought.
I would have to say that’s not exactly what I would say is a position of strength. The policies and approaches by this government have been very, very challenging for my riding of Nechako Lakes, as well as, I think, for most people around this province.
Some things that they could look at, I think, in terms of changes…. And these are things that I was hoping to hear about in the budget. There are four natural gas pipelines permitted to the coast. One has been built. LNG Canada, with Coastal GasLink, has been built.
There are three others that are still permitted to go. Those permits expire. They will be coming up for expiration starting this fall and going into next year. They do not have the opportunity to ask for another extension. They have already had a five-year extension. There is no reason why these permits should not be extended for another decade. There is no reason they need to go back and do another environmental assessment. Give the people hope. Give the sector hope so that we can actually see more opportunities with LNG. Extend those permits.
Mining. The government talked about another plan. They are going to do more studying about mining. There are currently 14 mines in this province that are either permitted or about to be permitted. Those are 14 mines that could go ahead, which would represent a $38 billion investment, represent between 20,000 and 30,000 jobs and generate $800 billion in GDP.
For the people in my riding, mining is the second or third most important sector for people in my riding. Mining is critical. Why are we not looking at, as a strategy from this budget, how we can accelerate those projects and get them in the ground, get them working, get them supporting people and revenue in this province?
Forestry I just touched on. Forest policy needs a complete reversal of where this government is going. The costs…. We’re the highest-cost producers in North America. The industry is struggling. It is on its knees. It needs some recognition and some support. It, most of all, needs a champion to be able to stand up and actually say that forestry is a backbone of this province, and it’s needed. Let’s talk about the values of those products and what needs to be produced.
As I mentioned, agriculture, of course, needs some support throughout my riding. More importantly, we only procure 34 percent of the food that we consume in British Columbia from British Columbia. That means that two-thirds of the food that we need comes from outside of our jurisdiction. We need to be looking at doubling our food production in this province. We need to be figuring out how we drive down those costs. We’re the highest-cost producer, once again, of agricultural products. That, to me, should be a critical focus of a government and certainly of a budget.
When I look at all the challenges, particularly when I think about health care…. And I talked about the crisis we have in the health care. I want to relay a story from a nurse from my riding. She goes out, and she’s in charge of looking after home care for seniors, in particular, that are in desperate need of support. She’s in tears almost every day because she has to tell families, has to tell seniors that we don’t have any support for them. We don’t have the people. We can’t help them.
This is not a compassionate form of health care. This is not what we need as a health care system in this province. There are so many more things I could go on with, with regard to that, but one of the first things that, quite frankly, we need to do in health care is hire back our health care workers.
Drop these ridiculous mandates. We’re the only jurisdiction in North America, if not in the world, that hasn’t dropped them and hired back our workers. There is absolutely no reason to be able to do that. It’s one of the most important things for delivering the services that are needed in my riding.
Let me wrap up and say this about the budget. I look at this budget, quite frankly, as a lost opportunity. It is shovelling money out of the back of the truck. It is shoveling money out to try to buy votes. It has not created a foundation for a solid future in this province.
It is fiscally irresponsible, and quite frankly, after seven years of NDP budgets and NDP process, I find it shocking that they have not put forward the pieces that are needed to truly care for the people of the province of British Columbia. People cannot afford this government. People cannot afford what is going forward. They need an option, and I very much look forward to the election in 2024.
The Speaker: Members, noting the hour, the House has reached the maximum time allocated for budget debate under Schedule 2 of Standing Order 45A. As such, I will put the question on the motion before the House, which is that the Speaker do now leave the Chair for the House to go into Committee of Supply.
Division has been called.
Hon. Members, you heard the question before, and I’ll it repeat again. The Chair is going to put the question on the motion before the House, which is that the Speaker do now leave the chair for the House to go into Committee of Supply.
Motion approved on the following division:
YEAS — 53 | ||
Chandra Herbert | Parmar | Sims |
Coulter | Lore | Chow |
Beare | Kang | Ma |
Heyman | Osborne | Cullen |
Bains | Malcolmson | Bailey |
Mercier | Brar | Russell |
Routledge | Starchuk | Rice |
Phillip | Yao | Whiteside |
Farnworth | Kahlon | Sharma |
Dix | Popham | Fleming |
Dean | Rankin | Ralston |
Alexis | Robinson | Simons |
Elmore | Glumac | Routley |
Leonard | Furstenau | Olsen |
D’Eith | Donnelly | Greene |
Anderson | Chant | Sandhu |
Dykeman | Paddon | Begg |
Walker |
| A. Singh |
NAYS — 24 | ||
Doerkson | Milobar | Stone |
Bond | Halford | Ross |
Oakes | Davies | Rustad |
Banman | Morris | Kyllo |
Shypitka | Sturko | Merrifield |
Wat | Lee | Kirkpatrick |
Stewart | Clovechok | Ashton |
Sturdy | Letnick | Tegart |
Hon. R. Kahlon moved adjournment of the House.
Motion approved.
The Speaker: The House will stand adjourned until 1:30 p.m. this afternoon.
The House adjourned at 11:59 a.m.