Orders of the Day

Private Members’ Statements

INVESTING IN RICHMOND

K. Greene: I’m pleased today to be speaking from the traditional territory of the lək̓ʷəŋən-speaking people, the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations.

[J. Tegart in the chair.]

I’d also like to preface my remarks by saying I couldn’t possibly touch on everything that has been happening in Richmond in the last seven years. There has been so much investment. It’s truly quite remarkable.

Our provincial government is investing in Richmond and delivering the investments in infrastructure that our residents need to access quality services and build a community that works for everyone. These investments will benefit the residents of Richmond in many ways, like improving community infrastructure, creating jobs, enhancing public services and supporting local businesses.

Our growing city is incredibly diverse. It’s a great place to live, work, study and play. We know how important it is people are well supported in their community, so we’re investing in Richmond in ways that matter.

Let’s talk a little bit about investments in schools. Actually, let’s talk a lot, because we have covered a lot of ground in seven years. We’ve done 11 seismic projects and two upcoming school additions. For comparison, the previous government did three school projects in 16 years and had the audacity to count a bulldozed school as seismically remediated.

Deputy Speaker: Excuse me, Member. I would just remind you that this time is non-partisan.

K. Greene: Certainly. Thank you.

Schools are vital investments in the next generation of British Columbians, and we’re delivering results. James Whiteside Elementary and William Bridge Elementary, which are both popular for their French immersion programs, are seismically upgraded now. They’re safer environments for students and staff. The province provided $31.2 million towards those two projects. Upgrades at these schools were completed in 2023.

Mitchell Elementary and Manoah Steves Elementary were reopened in 2021 after their seismic upgrades. The province invested more than $24 million in both projects. These students and staff, hundreds of them, have safer learning and working environments because of these investments.

James McKinney Elementary. About 400 students are enrolled there, plus the staff and teachers. They are now safer at school. This upgrade was completed in 2022, and the province invested $12.6 million in the project.

At Thompson Elementary and Maple Lane Elementary, seismic upgrades were completed in 2022. Thompson was expanded at the same time to make room for an additional 95 students. The total provincial investment for both was $14.4 million.

It goes on. We’ve got Tait Elementary and Ferris Elementary completed in 2020, for a total of $15 million.

Hugh Boyd Secondary — completed in 2020, so 700 students, staff and teachers are safer at school, for an investment of $10.7 million. A fun fact. I attended Hugh Boyd back in the day. And no, I’m not going to put my grad year on the record.

We’ve got more,.new education investments in Budget 2024.

Howard DeBeck Elementary — 350 students and staff are going to have a safer place to learn and work, at an investment of $20.7 million.

Alfred B. Dixon elementary was originally slated for closure about ten years ago, but the seismic upgrades are underway. There’s $31 million in provincial funding, and it’s going to be completed in 2026.

William Cook Elementary is going to have an addition for another 125 new students. It will be completed in 2024.

Brighouse — again, 150 more students will be accom­modated, with an investment of $9 million.

For all these projects, we centre the well-being of fam­ilies and students. We’ll do a phased approach. So staff and students are remaining on site during construction. This continuity is so important for neighbourhoods, because schools are an important centre of vibrant communities.

We’ve also got relief for parents and caregivers. There’s less fundraising for essential equipment like playgrounds, which are vital for children’s development. We’ve invested over $350,000 for playgrounds at four schools, including two accessible playgrounds.

Our health care investments. Again, we’ve made a lot of investments. I’m really proud. We can’t touch on them all, but I’d just like to give some highlights.

The Lions Manor–Fentiman place long-term-care facility is going to improve life for people who are in the Richmond area, with 144 long-term-care and 14 hospice beds. This eight-storey campus of care is going to include an adult day program and child care.

[10:10 a.m.]

Over its span, it’s going to have over 1,200 direct and 600 indirect jobs. This is for an investment of $177 million.

The Richmond Hospital redevelopment is very exciting for people in Richmond. It’s a long time coming. I have knocked on doors and talked to nurses that said that this was promised to them but never really thought it was coming to fruition. They’re very excited.

This project is earthquake-safe, and it’s going to be constructed over the floodplain. It’s going to double the amount of floor space that currently exists in the hospital and include a new emergency department with 86 spaces, up from 62.

It’s going to be a 100 percent carbon-neutral, nine-storey tower with a new, fully equipped medical imaging department, intensive care unit and pharmacy with 11 operating rooms, up from eight, day procedure rooms increased from three to eight, and more than 2.5 times as much pre- and post-surgical care, going from 26 to 68. We’ve got 113 new beds to the hospital, with a total of 353 now.

The south tower renovations required for this project are going to create a new inpatient psychiatry and psychiatric emergency unit area. The cancer care clinic relocation and renovation is already complete, with comfortable and private facilities for patients receiving care. The province is investing $790.8 million towards the $861 million project, which started in the fall of 2021 and is fully completed in 2031.

We’ve also gotten an urgent and primary care centre in Richmond for people with non-life-threatening conditions, and I’m very excited to say that’s been going well.

I notice I’m almost out of time, but I did want to mention Foundry, which is so important for youth aged 12 to 24 to receive all kinds of health care services.

T. Wat: Thank you to the member opposite for bringing this crucial topic to the forefront. I agree investing in our community of Richmond deserves attention and should be a priority for our government.

Like British Colombians across the province, Richmond residents are also facing challenges from the rising cost of living, health care crisis and erosion of public safety. It is important that we work collectively to ensure the well-being of our constituents by providing support and fostering a sense of security.

One of the more pressing concerns is the state of health care in Richmond. Alarming statistics reveal that one in five British Columbians lack a family doctor, and our prov­ince has the longest walk-in clinic wait times in the country. Provincewide emergency rooms are closing, and ambulance delays persist within our health care system.

In my community, Richmond Hospital frequently operates near full capacity, with the ICU often reaching a concerning 95 percent occupancy. The expansion of Richmond Hospital, initially proposed to be completed by 2024 but now expected to complete by 2031, must be prioritized as an investment to meet the surging health care needs of our community.

Furthermore, the escalating challenges of crime and substance use in Richmond demand our immediate attention. The drug crisis has devastated our province. In Richmond alone, 26 residents died from suspected drug-related overdoses in 2023.

Simultaneously, the crime severity index in Richmond has more than doubled in the last six years, rising by 135 percent. Last year Richmond saw an alarming 35 percent spike in overall crime severity. Richmond property crime counts also spiked more than double, to 2,405 in 2023 from 1,145 the previous year.

To combat these issues, it is vital that we invest in measures to combat crime, as well as in treatment and recovery. This approach is essential for tackling the root causes of substance use and mental health challenges in Richmond, while recognizing the nuanced nature of crime and drug-related concerns in our community.

The issue of drug-related problems in Richmond has been a significant concern for my constituents, who worry about the effectiveness of safe consumption sites. And 22,000 people in Richmond signed a petition expressing their concerns.

[10:15 a.m.]

As the MLA for Richmond North Centre, I hear the concerns of my constituents and want to ensure we are investing in a treatment and recovery centre approach. Those struggling with mental health and addiction challenges deserve safe and secure treatment options in Richmond.

Affordable housing remains another urgent issue in Richmond that demands immediate investment. Shockingly, since 2020 homelessness has increased by a shocking 91 percent. Affordable housing plays an important role in fostering a thriving community while alleviating the escalating cost of living in our province. We must invest in affordable housing to provide a safe and economical living space for those grappling with affordability in our province.

Investing in Richmond is not merely a financial commitment but an investment in the prosperity and well-being of our community. Supporting small businesses, especially those owned by marginalized people, is vital. When we invest in Richmond, we invest in the commun­ity’s future. Building a resilient and united community is our shared responsibility. Let’s work together to create a city where everyone feels secure and cared for. We need to foster a sense of unity and strength amongst us all. Richmond deserves access to quality health care, mental health services and drug treatment centres.

As the elected representatives, our responsibility is to ensure that our investment contributes to the success of our community. We must prioritize the needs of our constituents and ensure that we are working to build a thriving and secure future for all.

K. Greene: I didn’t quite get through the list of epic investments that we’ve been making in Richmond and Rich­mond-Steveston, but I will attempt a second time to get them all in.

In Richmond-Steveston, in my riding, south of Blundell and west of No. 3 Road, we’re a very diverse and vibrant community. We have a lot of folks in our area that would like to stay in our area.

One of the ways that we can support people is through the provision of long-term care. On Fentiman Place, the former site of Lions Manor, we will be building a new long-term-care facility with 144 long-term-care beds and 14 hospice beds so that people in long-term care can stay connected to their loved ones and to their community. The old Lions Manor did this.

So folks are aware, the depth of the meaning of this is my grandma used to be at the old Lions Manor. Because she was in the neighbourhood, my mom, when she took the bus home, could then walk to go see my grandma after work almost every single day. That continuity of family and loved ones is so incredibly important.

It is important to note that the old Lions Manor that’s been relocated is going to continue to stay open. We’re going to be building a lot for the city of Richmond. This eight-storey campus of care is going to be built on the old site and is expected to be completed in 2027. It really eases the burden on families in a difficult life stage.

Housing is, of course, a top concern for residents. We live in a very expensive area in Richmond. I’m pleased to be able to say that we’ve got a redevelopment of the nine-acre B.C. Housing site at Rosewood Village upcoming. It’s going to, at completion, have over 850 units with a mix of rent-to-income, below-market and market rentals.

It’s adjacent to a shopping plaza with grocery, shops, services, everything a person could need, and I think it really is going to exemplify the idea of a 15-minute community. The tallest towers are going to be adjacent to the shopping plaza, and it’s going to step down to the neighbourhood level to make sure that we are being respectful and integrating well into the community.

We’ve also got a 25-unit rental building coming up on Railway Avenue for women and women with children. I’m looking forward to working with non-profits in the city to develop more housing with this historic investment in BC Builds.

I’d just like to list all of the elementary schools in my riding that have been, or are going to be, seismically remediated: Dixon Elementary, McKinney Elementary, Steves Elementary, Hugh Boyd Secondary.

[10:20 a.m.]

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention dredging. My community is at the mouth of the Fraser River. We depend on fishing and fishing industries, and we will be getting dredging done.

BRITISH COLUMBIANS LEAVING
THE PROVINCE

D. Davies: British Columbia used to be the envy of this country — our picturesque landscape, strong economy and prosperous communities. People from all over Canada and the world were drawn to our province. Now the conversation has shifted, and instead of others dreaming of moving here, I increasingly hear, and sadly hear, from British Columbians who no longer see a future for themselves in this province that they call home.

The promise of working hard and being able to buy a home, to raise a family and to live a good quality of life no longer feels true here in British Columbia. Budget 2024 highlights this issue. For the fifth quarter in a row, more people have left British Columbia than any other province, notably Alberta.

Never in my life did I think people would be fleeing from British Columbia at an alarming rate, yet everywhere you look, from affordability to health care to the toxic drug crisis to public safety, things have gotten worse.

Our health care system is collapsing. One in five British Columbians do not have a family doctor, and those without a family doctor face the longest clinic wait times in the country. One million British Columbians are wait-listed to see specialists, and hundreds of thousands of people are unable to get timely medical imaging. Emergency rooms are chronically understaffed and repeatedly closed throughout British Columbia, including in the Peace country.

The concerns around emergency rooms are especially pronounced in rural areas, as residents can be forced to travel up to five hours to receive emergency care. In fact, this week, there’s a scheduled closure in Fort Nelson. It is so common, sadly, that people feel they need to drive to Grande Prairie, Alberta, because, even with the two-hour drive from Fort St. John, the emergency wait care is shorter than our understaffed ERs here in B.C. This is a stark reflection of the state of our health care system.

British Columbians are feeling the economic concerns of our province. Major projects like LNG Canada, the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and Site C are all wrapping up with no new major investments on the horizon.

Investment in British Columbia is disappearing, and this is due to higher taxes, increased red tape, expanding government bureaucracy…. We’ve seen 140-some-odd-thousand new public sector people hired. This has stifled the private sector job growth, which has actually been stagnant since 2019, a trend that is right in the budget that shows that it is expected to continue.

People in the Peace have certainly noticed the investment, industry and jobs are moving to neighbouring jurisdictions. Even British Columbians with well-paying jobs are finding it no longer enough to keep up with the sky­rocketing cost of living here. Essential costs, such as gas, groceries and housing, continue to climb, while real incomes for British Columbians shrink.

It has become impossible to talk to family and friends in any corner of this province without the conversation shifting to just how unaffordable it has become. I consistently hear from people in my community as well as around the province working two or three jobs who feel no matter how hard they try, they just can’t get ahead. This is because B.C. is the most expensive province to live in, in the entire country.

What British Columbians can’t accept are the many, many unnecessary costs the government is choosing to put on people in an affordability crisis. People are feeling the pain at the pumps, as we have the highest gas prices in North America. The reality is that many British Columbians need to drive to work, to school, to medical appointments. They need to take their kids to sporting events and practices, check in on their grandparents, drive them to the store to get groceries.

[10:25 a.m.]

In my riding, as well as for many others across the North and the Interior, people drive for hours to work. It is a necessity. Many people require a reliable mode of transportation for their jobs, as drastic weather changes occur with little notice, and a personal vehicle is the only reliable and safe way to get around.

The same goes for home heating costs. Canada is a cold country. Winters get cold in British Columbia, with temperatures in my riding going as cold as minus 50 in the winter. British Columbians have no choice but to heat their homes with natural gas or propane. Yet the carbon tax on home heating is driving the costs through the roof. This unnecessary tax punishes families, punishes small businesses and punishes all British Columbians. Why are British Columbians continually being punished for unnecessary costs?

The pain is only scheduled to get worse. As an April Fool’s joke — well, it’s not a joke — the carbon tax will be increasing 14 cents a litre, a 164 percent increase since 2017, and it will more than double again over the next few years. Last fall the federal government unfairly gave a tax break on home heating to Atlantic Canada. When Premiers of all political stripes across the country fought back to demand equality on heating costs, B.C. stayed silent. While many British Columbians had to choose between heating their home or buying groceries, British Columbians have noticed the disparities.

When people have the option to move to places like Alberta or Saskatchewan, where they can find good-paying jobs, where they can find affordable homes and lower costs of living, it is no wonder that many are considering this as an option, especially in this day and age where it’s so easy to work from home. People are considering leaving this beautiful province. Why would they stay in a province that is choosing to punish them, choosing to make life unaffordable when neighbouring provinces are fighting for their citizens?

M. Dykeman: I’m absolutely thrilled to be able to rise in the House today to talk about one of my most favourite subjects, our beautiful province of British Columbia. We are so fortunate to live here.

I remember when my family moved from the east coast to B.C. I remember the very first time I saw the mountains. It’s the most breathtaking place. There really is no other province in Canada like it, with the beautiful ocean. I remember coming out here, and one of the people that I talked to before I left had said to me: “Oh, you know, B.C. is the neatest place in the world. You can ski and swim on the same day.” I had never seen anything like Whistler. That’s why people want to move here. I mean, we truly live in the most beautiful place on earth.

It really shows with the last Statistics Canada third-quarter migration release, where it showed us that peo­ple from around the world are continuing to see British Columbia as a very attractive place to live and work, and interprovincial migration is remaining steady. In 2023, we saw 151,437 people move to British Columbia, including 61,556 in the last quarter, as we’re continuing to break records.

In addition to being such a beautiful place, British Columbia is so attractive to so many people because, although people are facing challenges with high interest rates and global inflation and a slower global economy, we’re supporting people. We’re building a stronger economy.

B.C. really is an economic leader. Our debt-to-GDP is one of the lowest in the country, our unemployment rate is among the lowest in Canada, and B.C. has gained tens of thousands of jobs over the past 12 months, including some of the strongest private sector job growth in this country. B.C.’s GDP growth since 2017 is the highest in Canada among large provinces. Last year B.C. gained 74,000 new jobs year to year, including 40,000 private sector jobs.

Since 2017, 120,000-plus women have joined the workforce, which really is a demonstration of the importance of our actions that we’re taking on child care. People’s wages in B.C. are now the highest in Canada. The last time B.C. was number one in wages was 19 years ago.

By investing in helping people and families with rising costs, it’s helping address the challenges that we’re seeing with global inflation squeezing household budgets. We’re putting more money back into people’s pockets through new and expanded programs.

[10:30 a.m.]

An example of this would be the B.C. electricity affordability credits, which are starting in April, and expanding the B.C. family benefit by adding a one-year bonus that will support 70 percent of families in British Columbia. So 340,000 families will receive the benefit, which is 66,000 more than last year.

Raising both income thresholds by 25 percent and in­creasing payment amounts by 25 percent per child. If a family of four received $1,597 last year. they’ll be receiving $2,045 this year starting in July.

The new renters tax credit will reach 76 percent of renting households, putting an average of $374 back in the pockets of renters from July this year. By expanding safe and affordable $10-a-day child care, with over 33,000 new spaces funded since 2008, when 63,000 families are saving nearly 900 per month per child. We’re doubling the em­ployer health tax credit exemption from $500,000 to $1 million effective immediately, which will support small businesses.

Everyday families in B.C. are also paying lower provincial taxes today. A family of two kids earning $100,000 pays 38 percent less provincial taxes today than in 2016. A family earning $30,000 used to pay taxes. Now they’re getting $2,420 back in their pocket.

Our taxes are competitive with other provinces. People earning up to $150,000 pay the lowest personal income tax in Canada. Corporations and high-income earners pay more, and we put that money to work for people, lowering costs and strengthening the services people rely on to build a good life.

There are those who say that we should make different choices, but by supporting and making the choices we are, we’re making lives better for people who live in British Columbia, which is why this province is so attractive to so many people around the world. In addition to a beautiful place to live with an amazing climate and wonderful, world-class events, you’re also coming to a place with a government that recognizes supporting people grows a stronger economy.

D. Davies: I absolutely agree with the member on this part: our province is beautiful. It is breathtaking. But the reality is people cannot afford to live here. They can’t afford to do those fun things in British Columbia. It’s heartbreaking to hear from the people from all ages, in every corner of this province, that don’t feel they have a future in this place that they’ve called home.

Deteriorating health care, increasing crime rates, a severe affordability crisis that has eroded people’s confidence in this province. Investment in our province is disappearing and, along with it, the availability of good-paying jobs. This shift is driving citizens of this province to seek life in neighbouring regions like Alberta or Saskatchewan or other jurisdictions beyond, where they see opportunities that were once abundant in British Columbia.

Owning a home has become a distant dream of many in British Columbia. We’re faced with the highest housing costs in North America. This, combined with escalating grocery prices and the highest gas prices on the continent, are pushing families to their financial limit.

It’s a stark reality that more than half of our residents are unable to pay their monthly bills and that food bank usage has soared by nearly 60 percent. There are over 62,000 children that depend on assistance every month. When people find themselves travelling to Alberta for essentials like gas or health care, it is a clear sign of the challenges that we are facing right here in B.C.

People are looking across the border and seeing family members and friends, even old neighbours that are starting their life Saskatchewan or Alberta and other provinces. These provinces are asking what many in British Columbia are seeking: that’s affordable homes, lower costs of living and better job opportunities, things that we used to have here in British Columbia.

This is the dream that used to belong to all British Columbians, a dream that we need to be reviving. It’s time that we start welcoming all of these British Columbians that have left our province and welcome them back home and provide that future for them.

[10:35 a.m.]

YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH

K. Paddon: Approximately 75 percent of serious mental health issues emerge before the age of 25, and it can be difficult to know where to turn for help. Making sure young people have the supports they need to succeed in life is a top priority. Wellness promotion, prevention of mental health problems and early intervention can prevent small problems from becoming bigger ones down the road, and the earlier we provide the support, the better the outcome.

Young people are facing more stress and anxiety than ever given the pandemic, the toxic drug crisis, climate emergencies and so much global uncertainty. Data from the McCreary Centre’s 2023 B.C. adolescent survey shows the mental health of youth has been declining overall, with increased rates of self-harm and an increase in drug use.

We have seen an increase in mental health challenges since 2018: 60 percent of youth said they had good or ex­cellent mental health, which means 40 percent did not, compared to 73 percent who reported positive mental health in 2018. Self-harm has risen, as 24 percent self-harmed compared to 17 percent in 2018. One in five students missed school because of mental health challenges. Overall quality of life has decreased since the last report and stress was higher in higher grades.

The need for supports for our youth is something I see and hear regularly in my community, which is why I was thrilled to see the advocacy of my community succeed recently when ten new Foundry centres were announced earlier this month and Chilliwack was selected as one of the locations. I wasn’t alone in celebrating this win for the youth of our community.

Chief Derek Epp from Ch’íyáqtel First Nation said: “Accessing care can be overwhelming, especially if you’re young, and this centre means that youth in Chilliwack can have a one-stop shop to getting on track with the care they need.”

Jason Lum, chair of the Fraser Valley regional district, said: “This is great news for Chilliwack and the region. I know how hard local advocates worked to make the case for a Foundry. This provincial investment will be welcome, and go a long way to ensure young people who need support aren’t being left behind.”

And Teri Westerby, school trustee for school district 33, said: “Stronger services for youth is indeed something to be celebrated. There are young people in our community who really struggle with mental health and addictions issues, and these additional supports will help expand the scope of care and help youth in Chilliwack with a hopeful and happy future.”

Foundry centres offer a free, inviting and non-judgmen­tal safe place for young people, ages 12 to 24 of all backgrounds, to connect to the care they need. Our government has been focused on delivering increased access and availability of mental health and addictions supports to youth across the province, providing more opportunities for families and communities across B.C. to connect with wellness services — including free mental health and addictions support, drop-in counselling, physical and sexual health care, youth and family peer support and social services — because the well-being of young people in British Columbia is a top priority.

I’ve discussed the Foundry centres, but that is only one piece of this critical work for youth. The province has in­vested significantly in improving mental health and addiction services for young people throughout our province, with a focus on early intervention and prevention services, crisis support, and treatment and recovery.

Integrated child and youth teams, ICY teams, help to fill gaps in mental health and substance use care, bringing together multidisciplinary teams and removing road­blocks to deliver better care on the ground.

These teams help families navigate services and provide mental health and substance use supports for children and youth. The province committed $55 million to implement these teams, in 20 school districts by 2024, to be fully operational by 2025, including one team currently in development to support students I serve in Agassiz-Harrison and neighbouring Hope.

We know how important treatment and recovery services and supports are to the well-being of our youth. One piece of these supports are bed-based care. The province has committed to doubling the number of youth treatment and recovery beds to increase their availability in all parts of British Columbia. As of March 2024, 72 new publicly funded youth treatment beds have opened, and it’s anticipated that the additional new 28-bed sanctuary program at Covenant House will be open in June of 2024. There are 170 publicly funded youth substance use beds throughout our province.

Bed-based treatment represents only one of a much broader spectrum of treatment options for people living with addictions. Beds are typically most appropriate for people who require a higher intensity of services and supports to address complex or acute mental health or substance use needs. Children and youth can also benefit from accessing a range of important outpatient treatments.

Mental health and addiction supports for young peo­ple can be found at urgent and primary care centres in 32 locations in B.C., where clinicians are available 365 days a year for same-day access. Support for youth is also available through community-based primary care networks, which build a team of professionals around a patient and their needs.

[10:40 a.m.]

The networks also improve access to early intervention for people experiencing mild to moderate mental health and addiction challenges, and to more specialized supports where needed.

In 2021, the province invested $75 million over three years for early psychosis intervention, which expands existing specialized programs, increases access to treatment and helps young people and their families thrive.

Child and youth mental health intake clinics, CYMH — there are 93 of these CYMH intake clinics across the province. Clinicians provide initial assessments and en­sure children and youth are connected to the right supports. CYMH teams can provide support through individual or group, family therapy, interventions and in-home support.

Y Mind is a free, seven-week, early intervention program for young people, 13 to 30, experiencing mild to moderate anxiety. Programs are offered in person and virtually and are grounded in mindfulness and acceptance and commitment to therapy to teach participants skills to effectively cope with their anxiety. The program also has been adapted for Indigenous communities as the Mind Medicine program.

There are crisis supports. Here2Talk is a 24-7 counsel­ling and referral line connecting post-secondary students to services where they need it. And the Kids Help Phone is 24-7 immediate counselling and support, offering information and referrals.

It has been a hard few years, and youth have been asked to be resilient, flexible, adaptive, all while transitioning into adulthood in an ever-changing, sometimes threatening reality. There is not one size fits all, which is why the supports I have described are so important.

My message is that there is hope, and there is help. Please reach out for support if you or someone you love needs it.

Thank you. I look forward to continuing after hearing from the member opposite.

E. Sturko: I appreciate this opportunity, and I want to thank the member opposite for raising this vital issue.

As a parent myself of three young children, the recent findings of a B.C. adolescent health survey on youth mental health deeply troubles me. The survey’s findings are not just statistics. They’re a clear signal that our children are navigating a world that’s far different and, arguably, more challenging than the one that we grew up in.

The data paints a concerning picture across every school district in our province. Students are feeling increasingly alienated from their schools and communities. This alienation is profound, with 41 percent of respondents describing their mental health as fair or poor. This figure isn’t just a number; it represents nearly half of all students who participated.

Reflecting on our childhoods, the challenges that today’s youth are facing are unparalleled. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted two critical years for them, years that should have been filled with learning, personal growth and the simple joys of childhood. Instead, these years were marked by isolation, with social media serving often as their only link to the outside world.

Every single one of us in the chamber knows how misleading and harmful social media can be. We understand that our children, without the years of experience, are also less prepared to tackle the hurdles of social media. The mental toll of navigating social media can be overwhelming for us, so I’m sure it is far more impactful for them.

The transition back to school after long periods of isolation also introduced them to an education system that was struggling under the pressure of overcrowding. In my constituency, we’ve seen the direct impact of this overcrowding, as the Surrey school district, the largest in B.C., now has to manage these challenges by staggering the school day to handle the influx of students. The staggered approach disrupts family life and limits students’ participation in after-school activities, leaving them isolated and unsupported during the pandemic.

One of the reasons I wanted to bring this up is not only will this have an impact on their well-being, but it will also have an impact on their risk of joining a gang. I’m going to quote from Public Safety Canada, from a section entitled “Why Do Youth Become Involved in Gangs?”

This is a quote: “A gang can be a source of empathy and emotional support to its members and provide individuals with a sense of belonging. Membership can offer a source of self-esteem and identity, as well as companionship and support. In this way, a gang can become a substitute family for its members, through which they can fulfill personal needs.”

[10:45 a.m.]

The mental health impacts are alarming. The survey finds that one in four youths frequently feel alone, and this underscores the magnitude of the crisis that we are facing.

If we have a problem with youth involvement in gangs now, the fact is that this isolation, unchecked over the last, I guess, seven years of the direction that we’re taking in this province, certainly speaks to the fact that this problem will likely only become worse.

The mental health impacts are alarming, and the widespread sense of isolation is clear. It’s a clear call for action to us, demanding that we create more inclusive, supportive environments in our schools and communities.

However, the challenges don’t end with the education system. Our children are constantly being confronted with grim narratives about life’s unaffordability here in B.C., B.C.’s crumbling health care system and rising crime in communities. For the past seven years, the situation has deteriorated, making it evident to both sides of the House that we must not only advocate for the expansion of youth services like Foundry but also address wider social issues that exacerbate youth’s mental health.

Again, I’m going to quote from Public Safety Canada. A gang is “attractive to those facing difficult social and economic conditions, including poverty, low education…lack of job-related skills and social disorganization. If young people perceive that a future of helplessness and hopelessness awaits them, the gang lifestyle may appear to offer them a better alternative.”

I urge all members of this chamber to consider the role we play in shaping the future of British Columbians, especially our youth. Through targeted action to improve school engagement, address mental health and alleviate socioeconomic pressures, we can begin to turn the tide.

Let’s approach this issue with urgency, care and dedication, which it deserves. By investing in our children’s well-being, we’re not only just resolving the current issues; we’re laying the groundwork for a healthier, happier and safer future generation. It’s time to act.

Deputy Speaker: Could I ask the members in the chamber for the side conversations to be taken out in the hall, please.

K. Paddon: I’ve described that young people are facing more stress and anxiety than ever, and I want to turn back to the McCreary Centre’s 2023 B.C. adolescent survey and, more specifically, an article that was published just a couple of days ago, written by Lori Culbert, titled “Stark Reality for Non-Binary Youth,” discussing youth mental health.

Gender-diverse teens make up just 5 percent of the 38,000 respondents, but as Nik De Leon, a University of the Fraser Valley student who identifies as non-binary and gender-queer, shared in the article, that 5 percent is made up of youth and youth who are struggling.

The article goes on to describe the impacts when home doesn’t feel safe, the effects of a polarizing social and political landscape and how that contributes to poor mental health outcomes.

Culbert also highlights Dr. Elizabeth Saewyc, director of UBC’s School of Nursing, who shared: “It is really hard to be in the world and hearing people say you don’t exist or you don’t deserve to exist or you shouldn’t be supported and respected. That can be really demoralizing for people, and that has consequences.”

But Dr. Saewyc also highlights that “contrary to the stereotypes out there, being trans or non-binary is not automatically: ‘everyone is going to be struggling.’ The majority of gender-diverse young people who are supported by family and school are healthy and doing well.”

The article goes on to share that although non-binary youth had higher levels of stress and were more likely to self-harm, these risks can be mitigated by the presence of loving adults in their lives, “be it parents, teachers, coaches or neighbours.”

The piece also includes solutions in schools and communities and describes actions that can contribute to im­proved mental health and well-being for non-binary students, like gay-straight alliance clubs, LGBTQ+ inclusion policies, gender diversity curriculum in schools and more gender-diverse washrooms in public buildings to boost inclusivity, just to name a few.

Several people sent me this article on the weekend. I asked one person who did, a non-binary youth, what they thought of it. They said to me: “I guess I’m glad we have the data to show the impact on the mental health of youth, but it’s also scary because it shows the hate and talking like we aren’t human and wishing we didn’t exist…. Well, sometimes it makes us not exist. I don’t want them to feel like this is proof that hate is working. It’s scary because this makes them maybe think they just need to hate harder or scare more people, as if being me is contagious.”

As the MLA for thousands of youth in Chilliwack-Kent, as the parliamentary secretary for hundreds of thousands of youth in B.C., as the mother and example for two young adults, I’ll take a moment to say this to our youth: you matter. This province and this world is better with you in it.

[10:50 a.m.]

To the rest of us, youth mental health is a life-or-death issue. That includes two-spirit, non-binary, trans and gender-diverse youth. It includes all our youth with all of their beautiful intersecting pieces of identity.

What we say in our homes matters. What we include in our schools matters. What policies we make, what rhetoric we accept and what we say in this chamber — it matters.

TRANSPARENCY

R. Merrifield: Today I rise to speak on a matter that strikes at the core of British Columbia’s democratic values, the principle of transparency, and to shed light on the trend of diminishing transparency under the current government. This issue erodes the foundational trust between British Columbians and those elected to serve and has tangible, negative impacts on the fabric of our society, including in my community of Kelowna-Mission.

First, as legislators, we must agree that transparency ensures accountability, fosters public trust and enhances the effectiveness of government operations. In recent years, under the leadership of the current NDP government, British Columbia has seen an erosion of transparency that is both alarming and deeply troubling — not only, as many of us hear, on the ground, from folks feeling the decreased transparency but also backed by reports and investigations that paint a bleak picture. It’s no surprise that the Canadian Association of Journalists has recognized this NDP government caucus as Canada’s most secretive government.

A recent report from the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner has laid bare the deliberate delays and barriers to information access, which have surged to record levels. The average response time for freedom-of-information, or FOI, requests has ballooned to an astonishing 85 business days, a staggering 118 percent increase over just five years. Such delays are not just administrative failures; they represent a systemic attempt to hide crucial information from the public. Let’s not forget the glaringly obvious addition of a $10 fee for FOI requests, under the misleading guise of improving the process.

Even more concerning is the situation within specific ministries. The Office of the Premier, once a beacon of leadership and accountability, now holds an unprecedented record for delayed FOI response times, averaging 269 business days. Is this the change the Premier referred to that the people will feel and see? The level of delay is not only unacceptable but also an affront to the principles of transparency and accountability that our democracy relies upon.

The issue of transparency extends beyond the confines of information access. It permeates the very sectors that touch the lives of every British Columbian. They hinder timely public scrutiny and debate on vital policies and decisions that affect our communities. The recent public accounts for the 2022-23 fiscal year further illustrate the opacity under which this government operates. Despite boasting of revenue increases, the reality is that these are largely inflation-driven, with the cost being borne by B.C. families.

Meanwhile, lavish spending continues unabated, with secret raises for political staff and a projected $4.2 billion deficit for 2023. The size of the public sector in B.C. has swelled by 36 percent under the NDP, adding a financial burden without corresponding improvements in public service. Meanwhile, the government’s handling of the transition from RCMP to municipal policing in Surrey has been mired in opacity, leaving citizens and stakeholders without crucial information to assess the impact on community safety and financial implications — this while crime, public safety and the toxic drugs crisis escalate on our streets.

The NDP government caucus retracted its secretive, silent and ill-informed amendments to the Land Act, which involved a rushed consultation….

Deputy Speaker: Member, I will just remind you that this is the non-partisan part of the morning, if you could keep that in mind as you make your remarks.

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

It involved a rushed consultation process that clearly attempted to circumvent comprehensive public engagement. We are pleased that that has now paused and is in­volving more public engagement.

[10:55 a.m.]

In health care, our province faces a crisis of transparency. We hear reports of physicians, health care workers and public servants being silenced from speaking up about the realities that they see, feel, hear and work with daily. The failure to provide clear and accessible information has put people in dangerous and sometimes deadly positions. Lives are at stake.

The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Children and Family Development have recorded the highest wait times for FOI requests. The situation within the MCFD deserves special attention. Reports indicate a systemic failure to meet the needs of children and families, compounded by a lack of transparency. Families navigating the foster care system, children awaiting adoption and youth requiring mental health services are all adversely affected. The legal breaches in FOI response times hinder advocacy and reform and obscure the scale of challenges facing these services.

Will this government finally take responsibility for the erosion of transparency under their watch and implement necessary changes in the way they govern?

R. Parmar: Good morning. It’s always a pleasure to be able to rise Monday mornings to talk about really impor­tant initiatives in our respective communities all across the province, and it’s always a pleasure to be able to rise in this House and talk about transparency and the impor­tant work that our government has been doing to build, as the member opposite says, foundational trust — foundational trust that was broken over a number of years and that our government has been hard at work at building.

Open governance and fair access to information was a big priority for this side of the House when we formed government in 2017 and continues to be, in the important work that all of our ministries take on, including the work that our new Minister of Citizens’ Services is taking on as he gets to know his file. I think it takes a really different approach than the approach of previous governments, where there really was a record of inaccountability in access to information that I certainly was privy to, sitting outside of this House and watching the actions of previous governments.

I’ll just give you a couple of examples, Madam Speaker, of that. B.C. Rail was one of those instances where we had a government that sat on this side of the House, respectfully, that signed off on a $6 million buyout to secure guilty pleas from former political aides Dave Basi and Bob Virk in the B.C. Rail corruption trial. That doesn’t sound like transparency to me.

We also had a period of time, on the same topic, where British Columbians were stonewalled when the opposition at the time, the B.C. NDP, asked questions about B.C. Rail, trying to get answers, important answers on the issues that matter to British Columbians, and also, at the same time, when the opposition, when they sat on this side of the House, refused to call an independent public inquiry.

I think another one that’s important to talk about is these sittings, the ability for us to be able to be in these seats, to be able to be in this House debating and passing legislation. It’s important stuff, and we’ve taken a different approach. We have not cancelled a single fall session in our time in government, unlike the previous government, which used to do that on a regular and recurring basis.

Interjection.

R. Parmar: Thanks very much, Member. You should remind the member across the way of that, and you should look in the mirror as well.

Interjection.

R. Parmar: I will gladly continue talking about the im­portant work of transparency that we’re doing, and I’m so sorry that it hurts to hear these things, for the members on the other side of the House.

Our government is committed to openness and transparency and to improving access to information. I want to spend a bit of time talking about freedom of information.

Interjection.

R. Parmar: I hope the member for Peace River South will get an opportunity to stand up and talk about this as well. Dirty tricks, politicization of the public service — there are a number of things that were on the side of them when they sat on this side of the House.

In 2022-2023, this government published the highest number of….

Interjections.

Deputy Speaker: Members, please come to order.

R. Parmar: Thanks very much, Madam Speaker. Happy Monday morning.

In 2022-2023, this government published the highest….

Deputy Speaker: I would just remind the speaker that we are non-partisan in this section. Thank you.

R. Parmar: We sure are, Madam Speaker.

In 2022-2023, this government published the highest number of proactive disclosures ever, 4,500. These records include summaries of briefing notes, calendars, contracts and many more records of interest to the public. Again, these are 4,500 disclosures of records that no longer need to be requested under FOI.

Recently the new Minister of Citizens’ Services issued two new mandatory proactive disclosure directives for government. That included monthly summaries of briefing notes provided to deputy ministers, as well as monthly summaries of briefing notes provided to ministers of state.

[11:00 a.m.]

In the past five years alone, the total number of mandatory proactive disclosure directives has now climbed to 17. In the past five years, this government has proactively published over 19,000 disclosures under these mandatory directives.

We know that there’s more work to do, and the minister and this government have acknowledged the need to provide more mandatory directives as well.

[S. Chandra Herbert in the chair.]

The government has also committed over $7.7 million to modernize and improve freedom of information services across government. In a new pilot of a new system, ministries provided records seven days faster and achieved on-time response rates of 90 percent. I think, again, that’s something that needs to be acknowledged as well.

With respect to the culture of transparency and accountability, the FOI system that we’ve administered on this side of the House is high performing by a dedicated group of individuals that we’re working with to ensure that there continues to be openness and accountability. I want to acknowledge and thank all of the public servants that do such great work at being able to provide people the information they need and they deserve.

I’ll just conclude with saying I appreciate the member bringing forward the topic and look forward to future conversations with the members on the other side on transparency.

R. Merrifield: The Privacy Commissioner, from the FOI report that was released in January 2024 based on numbers that were produced by the Ministry of Citizens’ Services in October of 2023, recorded the worst record in timeliness in 13 years, and 13 years being the number at which the data has been collected. There were over 5,100 unlawful delays exceeding the law in exceeding time frames. He actually noted that the culture of transparency has been eroded over the last six years.

In 2022, 16 children died while under the care of the government’s Ministry of Children and Family Development. Between January and June of last year, 2023, in just six months, seven more children died while under the same ministry’s watch. Just over a week ago, we heard about the death of Oliver, a six-year-old child also under provincial care. We are yet to learn all the in­formation fully and why ministers are unable to stop this cycle. In fact, the Ministry of Children and Family Development’s wait time on returning FOI requests escalated to 143 business days.

The government has only achieved the 30-day response deadline mandated by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, or FIPPA, in just over half of the cases in the past three years, this despite an additional spend of $1.5 million and 20 new additional staff. This increase to 143 business days also marks a significant decrease in compliance from nearly three-quarters of a decade ago. This lack of transparency has terrible consequences, delaying the implementation of necessary reforms and putting vulnerable populations at risk. It is simply unacceptable.

While failing to follow up on his promises to British Columbians, the Premier has successfully created a culture of secrecy. The record of this NDP government on transparency is more than disappointing. It’s a deliberate pattern of….

Deputy Speaker: Member, this is non-partisan time.

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

From the handling of FOI requests to the management of public finances and the crisis in our health care system, this government has shown a disregard for the principles of openness and accountability.

Transparency should not be discretionary. It is a fundamental right of every citizen and a duty of the government to uphold. Members of this House know better. They must uphold principles to ensure government operations are conducted in the light, not in the shadows.

Hon. J. Whiteside: I ask that the House consider proceeding with Motion 20 standing in the name of the member for North Vancouver–Seymour.

Deputy Speaker: Members, unanimous consent of this House is required to proceed with Motion 20 without disturbing the priorities of the motions preceding it on the order paper.

Leave granted.

[11:05 a.m.]

Private Members’ Motions

MOTION 20 — RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING OF
HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS

S. Chant:  

[Be it resolved that this House supports this Government’s work to train, recruit and retain more health care professionals to relieve the pressures on British Columbia’s health care system and increase access to health care services.]

Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge that I am on the ancestral territory lands of the lək̓ʷəŋən people, the Songhees and the Esquimalt Nations.

When I’m in my riding of North Vancouver–Seymour, I work, live and learn in the territories of the səlilwətaɬ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Nations.

All of the Indigenous nations have been stewards of this land and water for the millennium, and I express my gratitude for the work they have done and continue to do.

As we are aware, the growth in need for health care has been going consistently over the past five years and beyond. We have had immigration into British Columbia of over 100,000 a year on a consistent basis, and this has led to a need for greater amounts of health care on top of the challenges of the cuts that had happened in previous times.

Our government continues to make significant investments in recruiting, retaining and educating physicians and nurses as well as many other allied health care professionals such as radiology technicians, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, respiratory therapists, speech therapists and pharmacists. We also have licensed practical nurses. We have many, many folks that support the health care system. All of those people are vital in the work to take care of the people of our province.

I must not forget to mention the community health workers who go out every day to keep people in their homes and make sure they are fed, and they are clothed, and they get their medications, and they get their hydration and so on. There are so many things that are so im­portant to keep people in their homes safely and with as best quality of life as possible.

We are making progress in recruiting health care professionals. In 2017, we welcomed more than 38,000 providers to the health care system and, in 2023, over 700 more doctors and over 6,000 newly registered nurses.

The health care workers I have been talking about…. These are folks that work in the hospitals to provide care and also out in the communities as well as being involved in many of our other programs that are doing outreach to help people — to meet people where they’re at, to assess and support their health and hopefully help them improve their health in their homes, in their environments wherever they are, which is not always homes, and we know that.

We also looked at the pharmacists, and in 2023, we in­creased the scope of practice of pharmacists, which is huge. What that does for family physicians and for other care providers in the community is that it allows clients, who maybe have used a medication for a long time or maybe have a minor ailment, to go to their pharmacist and say: “Hey, this is what I’ve got.” They discuss it with their pharmacist, who is very knowledgable. That pharmacist then says, “Okay, yup, we can repeat your prescription, or we can look at a minor prescription for you,” which the pharmacist can generate.

That’s huge. That is two to four hours out of somebody’s day. Rather than going to their GP, they can pop into their pharmacist, maybe outside of their regular business hours, and they can get their prescription renewed. This is critical stuff. These changes are making it easier and faster for people throughout the province to access the health care that they need.

It also allows our pharmacists to use their expertise, which is important because all of our health care professionals are taught to quite a broad scope, but sometimes, our regulations narrow that scope down. Now what we’re doing is looking at the scope of all our professionals and saying: “What can we do to work with each other and en­hance our health care teams?”

We want to make sure that our education system is going strong so that we’re not poaching health care professionals from the rest of the world, which is what’s happening around the world. Health care professionals are moving around, but it’s a finite group unless we train effectively.

[11:10 a.m.]

Now we have increased our nursing seats by over 600 in the past couple of years, and we’ve also enhanced our physician positions. We have also doubled our nurse practitioner seats since 2017, which is huge. As I had the opportunity to speak on the other day, our nurse practitioners are meeting a very large gap in our communities.

That’s it for me.

D. Davies: I appreciate the opportunity to speak to this motion. I truly hope that members opposite will actually listen to our comments and understand how their government has created so much chaos in British Columbia.

Our health care system, once the pride of our province, is now in a state of undeniable crisis. This crisis is a daily reality for countless individuals, particularly the one in five British Columbians that do not have a family doctor, facing unprecedented wait times and walk-in times.

In communities across my riding, the impacts of health care are substantial. A critical aspect of the ongoing health care crisis that cannot be overlooked is the government stance on vaccine mandates. Today British Columbia stands alone, not just the last province in Canada but the only jurisdiction in North America to enforce a ban on unvaccinated health care workers.

This policy places us at odds with the rest of the continent, including Nova Scotia, which has just recently aligned with the broader consensus by dropping its mandates. This isolates British Columbia in a position that seems to disregard the evolving scientific understanding and public health strategies that have been adopted elsewhere. It begs the question: does the NDP government believe the science that guides public health policy in British Columbia is somehow unique from what informs the rest of North America?

Let me remind the assembly and people of British Columbia that it was the B.C. United that was the first in calling to lift these mandates, recognizing the critical need for all available health care professionals to support our crumbling and struggling health care system. In fact, that call was made in June of 2022, 21 months ago, yet this NDP government has refused to hire back our health care workers.

During this time, nearly 2,500 health care workers have been sidelined due to vaccine mandates, a mandate that now seems to be more of an artifact of political stubbornness than a measure of actual public health necessity. As our public health care system wavers on the utter brink of collapse, the exclusion of these professionals not only undermines our health care capacity but also erodes public trust in our health care.

The question that looms large over this assembly and the province is whether the NDP will finally take the necessary steps to rehire workers that have been dismissed under this divisive policy. Will the NDP government continue to enforce a mandate that has become an anomaly within both Canada and in North America, sidelining valuable health care professionals at a time when we absolutely need them in our system?

The NDP motion suggests that addressing training, recruitment and retention of health care workers…. It glaringly ignores the immediate opportunity to bolster our health care workforce by reintegrating these professionals that have been sidelined by this government’s mandate.

It is time for the government to reassess its stance, align with scientific consensus that guides the rest of the continent and take decisive action to fortify our health care system by welcoming back these health care workers. The insistence on maintaining this mandate, despite a clear and present need for all available health care talent, is a stark indicator of this government’s misplaced priorities.

As British Columbia becomes an outlier in health care policy, I urge you to ask yourselves: are you serving the best interests of our citizens, or are you adhering to pol­icies that further exacerbate our crisis? The consequences of this NDP government playing these games are ugly, especially in northern British Columbia, where access to health care is severely compromised.

[11:15 a.m.]

For families that are without access to health care, po­tentially because of these mandates, the situation is dire, approaching catastrophic. When the elderly and vulnerable can’t access timely care, the results can be fatal. Is this the vision for British Columbia, a province where political games take priority over the real-world challenges, where stories of neglect and oversight in health care become the norm?

After seven years under NDP leadership, it is time for accountability and decisive action to rectify the failings of our health care system. B.C. United stands firm in its view that it’s time to move beyond these mandates and adopt a pragmatic approach. People desperately need this. The health care and well-being of British Columbians depend on it.

H. Sandhu: I want to speak in favour of the motion presented by the member for North Vancouver–Seymour: “Be it resolved that this House supports this Government’s work to train, recruit and retain more health care professionals to relieve the pressures on British Columbia’s health care system and increase access to health care services.”

I admire the member for her over three decades of service in our health care system and for her continued efforts to support government’s work to strengthen our health care system.

I want to start my remarks by saying that health science is real, and it matters. The health care workers who believe in health science are very important and so are the vulnerable patients.

That’s why our government will continue to do the work that we’re doing. Some of the work that is done by the B.C. NDP government includes creating more seats at post-secondary institutions for various health care professions and the opening of the second medical school at SFU, as well as recruiting more than 39,000 health care workers and more family doctors.

The longitudinal family practice payment model was developed by the Ministry of Health in consultation with B.C. Family Doctors and Doctors of B.C. So 4,000 family physicians have registered, expanding the number of family physicians working in longitudinal primary care. In December 2023, there were approximately 5,000 family physicians working in longitudinal family primary care, which is an increase of 708 from December 2022.

This has recruited more than 230 new family doctors and 230 nurse practitioners, the highest number the prov­ince has ever seen for nurse practitioners as well, who are now working in the long-term primary care model, benefiting more than 243,000 patients.

Last month I was excited to join our Premier and Health Minister in Vernon, where we announced a much-awaited and much-needed expansion of the mental health psychiatric unit at Vernon Jubilee Hospital. It will help us to attract, hire and retain psychiatrists and mental health professionals by providing them the facility where they will help to deliver excellent care for patients.

We also visited 90 newly opened long-term-care beds, which help to attract great staff and which I got to see firsthand during my visit at Creekside Landing, along with our Premier and Health Minister.

Our government also funded the new primary care network in Vernon by supporting Shuswap North Oka­nagan Division of Family Practice to make primary care more accessible. This PCN is already helping many people, like 77-year-old Leila and her friend from Vernon-Monashee.

She sent me a beautiful message. “Thank you. Well done for accurate information. I was put on a wait-list with the primary care clinic, given a name via an IHA social worker and met with the nurse practitioner, who is now my medical person. All this in December. The thrill of a lifetime was giving my friend the same name. She called and got taken in right away. I used walk-ins for several years, brought my records, and my new doc was delighted. I support the NDP with much gratitude.”

When the Leader of the Opposition was Health Minister, he promised 159 primary care networks, and he delivered zero. Many of us from the health care sector have seen his deep cuts, massive layoffs of thousands of health care workers and wage rollbacks of thousands of health care workers. We now see the impacts of a decade and a half of underfunding and mismanagement of the system.

When it comes to supporting people and the services they rely on, our B.C. NDP government does not cut cor­ners. We do not compromise health care or other vital services by unacceptable cost-saving measures which lead to detrimental consequences in the long run.

Now we’re investing in people, and still some members of the opposition call them, criticizing the public sector jobs. Those are the public sector jobs providing the exceptional care and services.

[11:20 a.m.]

Our government invested in a $750 million initiative to support nurses and to establish the nurse support fund and an additional $100 million for career laddering opportunities. We’re the first and only jurisdiction, in B.C., that is doing the nurse-patient ratios, and we have a health human resource strategy which focuses on retention, re­cruitment and training to retain more staff.

I want to share a quote from the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions president Linda Silas: “Now nurse-patient ratios, I’ve waited 20 years to see a government, like the British Columbia government, say, ‘It’s my responsibility, I as government, to ensure patients receive proper care and nurses have a safe workload to do that proper care.’ That is only true when your government is committing over $750 million in a three-year plan, with BCNU at the table. As I have said, I’ve waited more than 20 years to see that.”

L. Doerkson: I do want to just correct one thing right off the top, and that is that we have the absolute utmost respect for our front-line workers, unlike this member just suggested. I can appreciate that we have certainly different understandings of what’s happening in our health care system and certainly different experiences dealing with the current state of health care in this province.

It’s clear training and recruiting and retaining health care professionals should be a top priority for this government, given the health care crisis that is facing B.C. We’ve all heard the alarming stories about the current state of our health care system. One in five British Columbians do not have a family doctor. B.C. walk-in wait times are the worst in the country, and they’re getting worse every year. Chronic understaffing persists, with Interior Health, the health authority that’s in my riding of Cariboo-Chilcotin, reporting an increase in the vacancy rate from 5.1 percent in 2019 to now 13.7 percent in 2023.

Our health care heroes are severely burnt out. Frankly, they are exhausted. They are forced to keep up with a workload that is unacceptable and unsustainable. This NDP government has failed them, and they are begging to receive the support that they require and deserve. But these issues are even more acute in rural communities, where the voices and realities of residents continue to be overlooked by my colleagues across the aisle. As a representative of rural constituents, I understand the harsh realities that are faced, both by patients and health care professionals, in rural B.C.

I stand in this House today to raise some alarming examples of these realities. There is no clearer example of the state of crisis than the situation that unfolded at Cariboo Memorial Hospital last October when a sign was posted that read: “The emergency room is closed unless a patient is imminently dying.”

Staff were so burnt out and overworked that they lacked the capacity to provide the necessary care to those who required emergency medical attention in all but only the most dire situations. Last summer, nurses in the Bulkley Valley District Hospital were instructed to call 911 if their patients were in medical distress because of a lack of doctors and staff in ER.

Only 15 health care facilities in rural B.C. offer maternity services, forcing expectant mothers to temporarily relocate to give birth, paying out of their own pocket, and often without their partners or families there to support them.

Recent years have seen overnight ER closures in rural communities like Clearwater, Port Hardy, Port McNeill, Merritt, Oliver, Mackenzie, 100 Mile House and, for the first time ever, Cariboo Memorial Hospital, due to staffing shortages. Imagine showing up in need of emergency medical attention, only to hear that you will need to travel an hour or more to receive care.

In my area, that might be as many as three hours from 100 Mile or Williams Lake, but if you live in the Chilcotin, that could be as many as six or seven hours away. Not to mention the often-ridiculous wait times after arriving at the ER. Think about that for a second. It could literally be the difference between life and death.

[11:25 a.m.]

Access to timely ambulance services is also a critical issue in rural B.C. In 2022, an infant in Barriere died waiting for an ambulance. In the same year, a man and a woman in Ashcroft also died while waiting. This is a terrifying and devastating reality for rural British Columbians.

Rural health care workers also face unique challenges. Understaffing affects health care facilities across all of the province, but in rural contexts, if even one physician calls in sick, it can result in a closure and the need to divert patients elsewhere. Imagine the immense pressure this puts on our rural health care professionals.

There are also issues of recruitment in rural health care professionals, given the lack of education and training programs within our rural communities. This is an NDP’s new normal for rural British Columbians. It is not working. Anything that has been put forth from this government is adding more pressure and strain to this system.

B. D’Eith: Now, we all know that a strong public health care system is so vital for everyone in British Columbia. We also know that the COVID-19 pandemic and post-COVID stress has put a lot of stress on the health care system. That’s why we are investing a record amount of funding into health care with Budget 2024.

Of course, this wasn’t always the case. In fact, many of the issues we are dealing with right now are due to a chronic underinvestment in health care by the former government, B.C. United, when they were in government. As an example, the Leader of the Opposition, when he was Health Minister, forced health authorities to absorb $360 million in cuts. At the time, the executive director of Coast Mental Health said that these reductions were staggering and incomprehensible.

We believe that now, especially now, is the time to invest in people, not cut services like B.C. United would if they were elected. For example, the Leader of the Opposition is promising to halt work on the new Surrey hospital project. Remember, his government was the government that sold land in Surrey that this hospital could have been on. Well, we are building the new Surrey hospital. As Health Minister, the Leader of the Opposition promised to connect every B.C. resident with a family doctor by 2015. B.C. United abandoned that.

Now, the opposition talks about outcomes. I am going to focus a little bit on family doctors. The Minister of Health has worked incredibly hard with divisions of Family Practice, B.C. Family Doctors and Doctors of B.C. to increase the number of family doctors in B.C. at a time when family doctors are in demand all over the world.

Changing the payment model has made a dramatic impact on recruiting and retaining family doctors. This has led to a net increase in family doctors by 708, significantly increasing the number of people connected to family doctors.

Interjections.

Deputy Speaker: Members. Members. You will get a chance to talk. Let this member have his space.

B. D’Eith: This is a fundamental change in the payment. I talked to my own doctor. They are absolutely overjoyed. The Division of Family Practice in Maple Ridge is absolutely overjoyed by this because we have changed it to a longitudinal family practice payment model. This provides an alternate to the fee-for-service model.

This model is blended to support physicians in family practice who provide longitudinal care. It’s developed to recognize the complexity of longitudinal care. It values the time doctors spend with patients, and very importantly, it resources family medical clinics as critical health care infrastructure. This was so important to doctors and family doctors. It acknowledges the value of indirect care and the clinical administrators’ services and so much more.

In the first year, 4,000 family physicians have registered, expanding the number of family physicians working in longitudinal primary care. Now, in December of 2023, there were approximately 5,000 family physicians working in longitudinal primary care, an increase of 708 doctors or 16½ from December. We’re helping trained doctors to come from outside of British Columbia. We are training more doctors. We’re opening a new medical school.

Our government is committed to providing better health care for people in British Columbia, whether that’s providing free contraception; whether that’s the first round of IVF for people struggling to get pregnant; increasing the number of nurses and making their workplaces safer; increasing the scope of work for pharmacists; building long-term-care beds for hospitals; improving cancer care, as we just heard today, with a very important cancer announcement.

[11:30 a.m.]

Urgent and primary care centres around the province are being built. These take the pressure off emergencies and connect people to medical services that they need through team-based care.

Increasing the number of family doctors is critical to provide the services that people need. The new payment model is great for family doctors. We’re creating an environment to attract and retain these essential health care professionals. That includes doctors that we’re training in schools, who, in the past, may have chosen to go into specialty practices. Now more are being encouraged to go into family practice.

Doctors from other provinces and from around the world are being attracted to British Columbia. In fact, we’re advertising around the world for doctors, and they’re answering the call. We’re making it easier for foreign-trained professionals to work in B.C. We’re doing everything that we can to make life better for the people of this province.

We’re investing in professionals. We’re investing in facilities. We’re investing in equipment like CT scans and MRIs and not cutting services like the opposition would surely do if they got into power.

T. Halford: I don’t know where to start, because that was sad. For the member for Maple Ridge–Mission to get up….

Interjections.

T. Halford: No, I’ve got more. Just sit there and wait.

Interjections.

Deputy Speaker: Members. Members.

Member, if you’ll just take a moment.

Please, let’s listen to what the speaker is saying. You’ll get a chance to speak. I ask both sides to follow that. Thank you.

T. Halford: For anyone in this House, especially a member for Maple Ridge–Mission, who has completely failed his constituents over and over again, whether it’s in education or health care…. For him to get up and talk about family doctors is absolutely embarrassing. Embarrassing. For this member, who completely overpromises and underdelivers for his constituents, to get up and speak on health care….

Can anyone in this House say that health care is operating the way it’s supposed to today? If you’re honest, absolutely not. For this member to get up and pretend…. Maybe he doesn’t even go into his constituency office or return a phone call or return an email. If he is going to get up in this office….

Deputy Speaker: Members, let’s not make this personal.

Question of Privilege
(Reservation of Right)

B. D’Eith: I’d like to make a point of privilege.

Interjections.

Deputy Speaker: The member rises on a point of personal privilege.

Members, let’s not make this personal. Let’s focus on the issues.

Member, continue.

Debate Continued

T. Halford: My intention is not to make it personal. If the member for Maple Ridge–Mission is going to take it that way, then he’s going to have to deal with it.

At the end of the day, we are talking about a health care system that is in absolute crisis. We are talking about people that are getting cancer diagnoses, and it’s too late for them to get treatment. We are talking about people that are crossing the border every day. They’re getting a phone call when they’re diagnosed with cancer, asking if they have a valid passport. That is the state. We are looking at eight-, 12-, 14-hour delays in our emergency room.

We are looking at over a million British Columbians with­out a family doctor. We are looking at areas where, actually, we should be graduating based on promises that this government has made. We should be graduating people right now, doctors. They should be in Peace Arch Hospital, Surrey Memorial Hospital, Richmond, Langley. They should be coming out of that right now, and they’re not. Again, this government does what it always does. It overpromises and it underdelivers.

When I go out and stand in the rain because they’re going to close the maternity ward at Peace Arch Hospital, you have a government that’s not delivering. When I’ve got an ICU at Peace Arch Hospital that’s literally held together with duct tape, and they can’t even maneuver the beds around properly…. When we are hearing from graduates that they don’t want to stay in British Columbia because, at the end of the day, the system is not set up for them to succeed….

[11:35 a.m.]

At what point do government MLAs figure out there is a crisis in health care? At what point do they ask tough questions of their minister and their Premier to say: “This isn’t working”?

We have got major, major…. They’re not cracks. They’re seismic gaps in our system. If they can’t get up and acknowledge that, then what are they doing for their constituents?

I understand if there’s a political element to all of this. I get that. But these are people’s lives, and they’re failing them every single day. Every day.

That’s the reality. We’re all getting the emails, and we’re all getting the phone calls. It’s up to these MLAs if they return them or not. To be honest, we get the phone calls from some of these ridings because you’re not accessible.

I get that you’re given a script or get that these members are given a script to follow….

Deputy Speaker: Through the Chair, Member.

T. Halford: But at the end of the day, they might want to change the script.

R. Russell: One thing that I find in this place remarkably offensive to myself is hypocrisy. I feel like it is a challenge to the trust that our public puts in us.

Having the member opposite stand up and personally denigrate a member and then go on to immediately say he didn’t mean to make it personal, I find offensive and demeaning to the work we do here.

I feel like that is mirrored in that the opposition seems stuck in some oxymoronic loop about saying that we’re investing too much in people. We shouldn’t be investing too much in people. At the same time, they’re saying that they recognize the need for this.

Interjections.

Deputy Speaker: Members, we will get through today by listening to each other, not by disrespecting each other.

Let’s let the member have the floor. He let other members have the floor when they were speaking.

R. Russell: Thank you, hon. Speaker.

I had the chance to live in New York. I saw what the health care system looked like in the United States. I lived there for years. I had a family member who had a stroke. He chose not to call the ambulance because he lived in a system that did not have a health care system that supported people.

I think that all of us in this place would agree that’s what we’re here to do, is to help provide a health care system that works well for people.

I’m rising to stand in support of the motion from the member about training and recruiting and retaining our health care professionals across the various aspects of the work they do. I have a very long list of the things that we have been doing in that space.

A member opposite said anything we are doing is adding pressure in the health care system. I would say look at the postgraduate medical expansion program at UBC. Look at the new medical school for SFU, the first one in decades. Look at the specialty nursing learning pathways, the nurse practitioner program expansion, undergraduate medical expansion at UBC, postgraduate medical expansion, health information training expansion, the masters of nursing in Indigenous health, the rehabilitation assistant program expansion, rural pathways to help education program expansion, health education. There is a very long list of work we are doing to support the health care system and add more into that system.

Look at the member opposite who had mentioned the longitudinal family practice payment model. This is changing how new doctors want to be doctors in our rural communities. This is bringing doctors into communities because they recognize the past model was not what they wanted to do and not the way that they wanted to be service providers in our rural communities. This is changing our recruitment opportunities.

I would love to get into the health human resource strat­egy and talk about some of those 70 actions within that. I do not have time here to be able to do that. Those actions are focused at retaining, redesigning our system, recruiting those folks and training those folks.

We all know there’s plenty more to do. I’m sure some of you are familiar with the analogy that has been shared around the health care system, similar to a nurse walking in to take a patient in the evening and recognizing they don’t know the background there.

In this case, we’re adopting, we’re inheriting, a health care system that has been dramatically underfunded for decades and figuring out how we help get that back on track. There are so many interesting models I would love to be able to dig into.

[11:40 a.m.]

The member for Surrey–White Rock brought up education, for example. Well, how long ago was it that the opposition decided to remove funding from adult basic education?

In a community like mine, that is the path. That action to undo that removal of funding means those members, those people, in my community that want to get back into the education system and want to learn how to become a doctor, access to the Selkirk pre-medicine program, or want to become a health care aide have the avenue to do that, and they do not need deep pockets to do that. That is the difference in terms of investing in people and giving them a path to get the education they want to get to become those health care professionals.

There are innovative models. Look at the Peace River regional district and the collaboration they have with Northern Lights right now. That is an innovative model that they are taking on to be able to help support training in our health care system.

Look at that expanded role of pharmacists. The member opposite spoke to that. What we didn’t speak about is the fact that now those in our rural places, those community pharmacists, will now have additional support in renewing prescriptions, if needed, for people who do not have a family doctor or a consistent health care provider.

These are the kinds of actions that we are taking to help make the system more enticing for people to get into it and help provide the services that people in our communities need and want.

M. Bernier: It’s an honour to speak today on this motion.

I will tell you, it’s a very weird place we’re in right now when we’re looking at this motion. Because if you ever want to use the analogy of putting your head in the sand and not realizing what’s really going on, I think what we’re hearing from the NDP members today is exactly that. When you look at health care in the province of British Columbia, it has never been worse. Crisis is used over and over again.

The only thing that I want to really point out when I look at this motion…. First of all, finally…. Maybe because it’s an election year, maybe it’s because of all the pressure, but to have a motion that is, basically, put in front of us saying that the government recognizes they need to relieve the pressures in British Columbia’s health care system and increase access to health care services. Well, no kidding. No kidding we have to do that.

Why did it take to seven years, right before an election, that the government is acknowledging that there’s a crisis in British Columbia when, in fact, we have one million people…?

Interjection.

M. Bernier: The member can keep listening to me, from Vernon-Monashee. I have got some good facts here she might want to listen to.

Deputy Speaker: Members, one member has the floor. Again.

M. Bernier: One million people in the province of British Columbia don’t have a family doctor. People in rural British Columbia, like the member for Vernon-Monashee, who actually recognized the fact that their people are struggling with the longest wait times in North America in order to see medical services…. It’s unfortunate they didn’t want to use their time, when they were up, to actually talk about the facts of what people are faced with right now in the province of British Columbia.

I want to bring it closer to home, to put it in reality and actually put some personal stories to this that people need to be aware of, because these stories are in every corner of the province.

Interjection.

M. Bernier: Well, I guess not in Maple Ridge–Mission. Supposedly unicorns and rainbows. Everything is perfect in the medical system there.

But almost every single week I’m being notified that the hospital in Chetwynd is having to be shut down because of diversion, because of a lack of staff. Almost every single week I’m being told that the ER in Dawson Creek again is…. Reading a record…. It’s a record, but those are the longest wait times in order to see somebody in the ER because of the struggles they’re faced with there.

Last week I heard from a person in Tumbler Ridge who is trying to do, I would think, a very simplistic ask. He needs his heart medication renewed, heart medication that he’s been on now for ten years, and he gets a three-month prescription. His prescription ran out, and he was told he has to wait six weeks before he can get that prescription renewed for his heart medication.

How is this the British Columbia that we should be proud of for our medical system when it’s utterly failing people from corner to corner? I’ll tell you an easy thing we could do, and we started calling for this over two years ago. Let’s get all the unvaccinated health care workers that were let go by this province and get them back to work. There’s a quick and easy way that we can actually fill some of those gaps.

[11:45 a.m.]

We have pressures all over, and there’s one thing that we can do. Now I don’t know if it’s this government’s stubbornness or their lack of understanding, or if the science is different for this Health Minister and this government than everywhere else in North America. But everywhere else they’ve said: “Okay, we need to let these people back.” These COVID restrictions and mandates are no longer needed, except here in British Columbia. Why is that?

Interjection.

M. Bernier: Well, yeah, we keep hearing…. They want to say science. Somehow it’s different here.

I will tell you right now, in places like rural British Columbia, in places like Chetwynd, Dawson Creek, Tumbler Ridge and everywhere else in rural B.C. that are struggling to find nurses, there’s a quick way they could do it rather than government being stubborn on this specific topic.

With that, I want to use my last 30 seconds to really highlight…. When I met last week with B.C. Nurses Union, they reminded me, and I think we should all be talking about this…. We should be reversing the order. It’s retention and recruitment, not the other way around, because we should be thankful for the nurses and the front-line workers and the doctors that we have right now working in the province of British Columbia, and we should be doing everything we can to thank them, to make their lives as easy as possible in a stressful situation.

One of the things we can do is make sure that we’re stepping up to the plate, recruiting more people and helping our people in the province of British Columbia in the biggest crisis in health care we’ve ever seen.

H. Yao: I do want to be able to have this opportunity to stand up and talk about the motion brought forward by the member for North Vancouver–Seymour.

Before I start, I heard quite a few members talking about facts. I’ll read a quote from an article if that’s okay with the Speaker. In a 2024 CityNews article, Doctors of B.C. said that “the number we have heard for so long, that one million British Columbians don’t have access to a family doctor, is no longer accurate.” The quote is from Doctors of B.C., not me or the government.

Interjections.

Deputy Speaker: Member.

H. Yao: Let me finish.

Deputy Speaker: If the member wants members to listen to her speech, she’ll listen to this speech.

H. Yao: I will encourage the member that you keep on interrupting others, and we have not been interrupting you.

That number is….

Interjections.

H. Yao: That number is probably now in the mid to high 700,000s.

Interjections.

Deputy Speaker: Members, we’re going to let one member speak, and the others, please keep your peace until you get your chance to speak. It’s called respecting each other in their time of speaking.

Please proceed.

H. Yao: We talk about representing constituents, and I will acknowledge we are still in a challenging time. But I think it’s important for us to really have a respectful and open dialogue instead of criticizing back and forth.

I’ll continue the quote:

“Because we have been able to attract more family physicians to British Columbia…there is an optimism in the system that things are getting better and with the success of longitudinal family practice model, things are getting better.”

My apology. This is a quote from Doctors of B.C., not from government or from anyone else. Doctors of B.C.

“For the first time, there’s optimism among family practice doctors, and we are on the right track. Their mood is brighter, their outlook is more positive, and our practice is more stable. We are not going to get perfection by tomorrow. It is going to be a process. It took decades and years of challenges to the health care system for us to get here, and we’re not going to be able to turn this around overnight. Yet it is through conversations, working together, that we’re going to find a better path.”

I wanted to make sure that I started with this quote. I didn’t want to bring it up, but we’re going to be talking about this anyway.

Are we facing challenges? Of course we’re facing challenges in the health care system. That’s the reason why our Minister of Finance, our Minister of Health are continuing supporting resources to play catch-up to decades of deficit created in the past.

We can simply talk about what the government is trying to move forward with. From Simon Fraser University, we’ll have an entirely new medical school in western Canada in 55 years. This will be…. Of course, the medical school would provide a lot more dividend back to our society and back to filling our health care deficit if it was built decades ago. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. But this will mean more family doctors will graduate from each year after year to help provide care for British Columbians.

[11:50 a.m.]

UBC medical school also has a seat expansion, with 14 new undergrad medical education seats and 88 new resident seats in the Faculty of Medicine. Why am I talking about this? Because doctors, nurses, health care service providers take years to train and invest in. They don’t suddenly come in overnight, just simply when we are investing in it.

Seven years are not enough. A decade is not enough, especially when there were years or decades in the past where there were $360 million in cuts that were forced to be absorbed by health authorities. Instead of investing, in the past, right now we have to invest today. Of course, if it was invested in the past, we’d probably have a better position today as well.

I also want to talk a bit more about Richmond Hospital, at the same time. In Richmond, we’re lucky to have a government who has the vision to say: “You know what? It’s time for us to build a hospital.”

I’m pretty sure members opposite are going to be talking about how it should have been done earlier. I will agree. We would love to have done it earlier. But as of November 2023, Richmond Hospital had already opened its first phase of expansion, which includes an update in the cancer care clinic, new expansion rooms and a care bay and teaching room. Phase 2 will begin in 2024.

Oh my gosh. There are only 20 seconds left. My apologies.

All I can say is that it was a huge amount of deficit in the health care system in the past. It has created interest and contributions today. I’m so glad our government is now playing catch-up, trying to make sure we’re fixing a big, giant problem we inherited. Hopefully, we can bring British Columbia out of this health care mess.

S. Bond: The member for Boundary-Similkameen made it clear what offends him in this Legislature. Let me start with what I find offensive.

For the past hour, we have sat here and listened to members on that side of the House laud the accomplish­ments of this government and not the voices of one single patient that’s on a wait-list, that’s been diagnosed with cancer, a family that has lost a family member, not one single voice of patients in this Legislature — instead, patting themselves on the back for a health care system that is in complete crisis.

The only people that don’t seem to be aware of that are the members that have been standing up and trying to pretend like they don’t hear from constituents every single day in their constituency offices. Shame on them.

We’ve heard tragic stories in this province about young people that have died waiting to get a family physician, and not a word of that from the members that have stood up in this House today. That is absolutely shameful.

Let’s look at what’s happened, in fact, in this province under the NDP government. We didn’t hear them talk about the fact that B.C. has the worst walk-in clinic wait times in the country. Emergency rooms are regularly at capacity or, in fact, forced to close. Why? Due to staffing shortages. Nearly a million people, despite the article that was just read, do not have a family doctor. Wait times for specialists are increasing.

Imagine. Yesterday, just yesterday, we heard the head of pediatrics at B.C. Children’s Hospital on Global Television, and do you know what he was doing? Apologizing to the families of British Columbia for lengthy wait-lists for their children to see a specialist. Why? This, after a young British Columbian had to wait three years to see a gastroenterologist. I didn’t hear one single member stand up and speak on behalf of that young woman and her family. Not one word.

This government throws the soft-ball motion today. Let’s all talk about how we support training. Of course we support training. We’ve been calling on this government for years to do more when it comes to training people in British Columbia. Yes, they have a health human resources strategy. It was delivered more than a year late. It has no timelines and no details, and that was after five years of them sitting in government. That’s the record of the members on the opposite side.

[11:55 a.m.]

Let’s talk about the Surrey medical school. We heard several members mention it today. There were big an­nouncements, more big announcements. In fact, these members said that they’d be graduating students by now.

The Finance Minister can smirk all she wants, but let’s be clear. In her budget, how much money is there for the Surrey medical school? Zero.

Deputy Speaker: Members, let’s not say what each other is or isn’t doing.

Please, let’s have respect for each other.

S. Bond: Nada. Not even a budget line. So when they want to brag about the Surrey medical school, maybe they should try digging a hole in the ground and getting it started. While the entire health care system is in a crisis in British Columbia, zero in the Finance Minister’s budget.

Let’s be clear. No matter where you go in B.C., you hear stories of people who are suffering under this government. We know that health care workers are stretched to the limit, and they can’t take much more in our system. And what have we heard this morning? Not one single word — not one — about the reality of the health care situation in British Columbia.

That simply isn’t good enough. People’s lives are at stake, and what do we hear? We hear about: “Let’s train more people.” Of course, we need to train more people. That should have started the absolute minute this government knew that there was a crisis in the system.

It is going to take a whole lot more than encouraging words said in the House by these members to actually show British Columbians that they understand the magnitude of the mess that they have created in health care. We have people that will die on wait-lists — not my words, the words of professionals across this province.

[The Speaker in the chair.]

It’s time that the members on the government bench had the courage to stand up and speak up for the people who they were sent here to represent.

J. Rice: I appreciate the opportunity to rise on this motion. It’s really important. I appreciate the passion that all speakers have displayed today. I’m also someone who has a lot of passion, particularly for rural health.

It is no secret we are currently facing a health human resources crisis, not just in B.C. but nationally and globally. We face new challenges today. Our communities are growing. Our population is aging. Our doctors and nurses are tired and retiring. I want to acknowledge that. I understand and I fully comprehend what the member before me said around our doctors being so burnt out. I recognize that.

Despite all these challenges, though, we are, as a government, committed to providing accessible and timely health care for people across the province. That includes expanding our health care workforce and ensuring that they have healthy and inspired workplaces. We will continue to invest in rural and remote communities and take innovative actions to ensure that appropriate and timely health care services are provided to patients close to where they live.

Since 2017, since we have formed government, we have committed quite a bit, over $1 billion, to support health care workers and increase access to health services for peo­ple. Last year, or the year before, our government launched B.C.’s health human resources strategy to optimize the health system, to expand training and further improve recruitment and retention, or retention and recruitment, as a previous speaker mentioned.

The strategy is focused on supporting the needs of peo­ple across the province by adding more doctors, more nurses and allied health professionals into our workforce, which will increase access for patients and their communities, which will help those people the member before me mentions in the stories that she’s telling.

Within this strategy, we have identified 70 key actions to retain, recruit and train health care workers, all while redesigning the health care system to foster workplace satisfaction and innovation.

Some of these actions include funding retention incentives for health care workers in rural and remote communities; adding new residency seats to expand postgraduate medical education and more seats to expand undergraduate medical education seats; establishing a second medical school in Surrey, which will help support the training of more doctors; tripling the practice-ready assessment program, which is a pathway for internationally educated family doctors to be licensed to practice in B.C.

[12:00 p.m.]

Not only that, but we are also providing bursaries for existing health care workers and streamlining the process for internationally educated nurses to enter B.C.’s health system.

We have made progress. Is there more to do? Absolutely, but thanks to this strategy, we have had some successes, quite a few. Over 4,000 family physicians are registered for the longitudinal family physician model, last year in 2023. Over 6,000 nurses were newly registered last year. This is including over 600 internationally educated nurses.

Over 7,000 people have been hired into the health career access program, also known as HCAP, which includes almost 200 workers who self-identify as Indigenous. More than 1,000 new, permanent, full-time paramedic and emergency responder positions have been added. B.C. emergency health services has added over 500 new, full-time and part-time, permanent paramedic positions in rural and remote areas.

It’s through these measures that we have welcomed more than 38,000 new workers to the provincial health system during the past five years. We know that meeting the growing need for more health care providers is a priority. That’s why we have enhanced the funding and incentives for physicians living and working in, particularly, rural and remote areas. For example, in partnership with the province, Northern Health recruitment incentives might also include assistance with travel, housing and child care.

Locally here in Prince Rupert, I understand that people are rightfully concerned when they hear their family physician is leaving. However, I also want to note that more doctors are coming.

It is concerning when an ER faces a diversion. We know there’s more work to do. There is no denying that, and we’re committed to keep doing more.

Last week I met with ten local physicians in Prince Rupert just to say: “Thanks for all you do.” I want to just take this opportunity to give a shout-out to our local docs, who have been working extremely hard to maintain a level of service that our community expects.

It’s also through collaborations with community leaders, organizations, First Nations and local governments. We need this collaboration to help create unique, innovative solutions in attracting and retaining the health workforce we need.

Noting the hour, I’ll conclude my remarks.

J. Rice moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. J. Whiteside moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

The Speaker: This House stands adjourned until 1.30 p.m. this afternoon.

The House adjourned at 12:03 p.m.