Hansard - Thursday, February 20, 2025 Morning, Issue No. 4

Scott McInnis: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I promise to be on my best behaviour in the House today, not only because of my utmost respect for you, my fellow members and this beautiful chamber, but my wife is here today. So if I’m not, she’ll definitely let me know about it.

All the way from Kimberley this morning, Members, would you welcome my wife, Diana, to the chamber.

[10:05 a.m.]

Hon. Ravi Parmar: We have the Value Added Wood Coalition in the House today. I had dinner with them last night. Always a great opportunity to be able to connect with them. I know my colleagues are looking forward to connecting with them at lunch today.

We have Brian Menzies, who is the executive director of the Independent Wood Processors Association of British Columbia and Ted Dergousoff, who is the president of the Interior Lumber Manufacturers Association.

I think everyone knows Ken Kalesnikoff, president of Kalesnikoff forest products.

Good to see you, Ken.

And we have Jake Power, partner and president of PowerWood Corp. But he’s not the only Power in the House. We’ve got a few family members joining: Christie, Owen, Desmond and Ellen Power. As well, they’re hosting an international student, Ida Marie Moog, from Frankfurt.

Welcome to the House. We very much appreciate the partnership we have with our governments on the good work that we’re doing.

Would the House join me in making them feel very welcome.

I have one more. In the spirit of the pride that we have in our country, as many members of the House will know, the Rugby Sevens are happening in Vancouver, starting Friday. I know the Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport is going to be heading over to be able to check out some games.

It’s a sense of pride for me as the MLA for Langford, home of rugby and, I’d like to say, the sports capital of the world. I just want to send a message on behalf of all of us to the incredible men and women that make up Team Rugby Canada. I wish them the best of luck, particularly the men who are, I think, playing on Friday and Saturday.

Will the House join me in cheering on Team Canada as they fight for our country on a good game of rugby.

Susie Chant: Some are in the House today, some are not, but I would just like to introduce the heroes of the east annex. We have Chloe Maher, who’s in the House; Helena Keenliside; Havana Gibson; HK Norman; Brian Lee; and Kelly Favro.

All of these folks are our legislative assistants and work around us to keep us organized and keep us moving and taken care of. I appreciate them very much.

I’d like to just say thank you and welcome.

Á’a:líya Warbus: Éy swayel. I’d like to offer a big welcome to our 2025 Conservative caucus interns, who are with us today in the chamber. They are Marina Haden, Deborah Berman, Priscilla Ng, Alexandra Bailey and Tony Miyoshi.

If you could, please make them feel very welcomed.

We are thrilled to have this group of young and energetic individuals sharing in our passion for change in politics in British Columbia. I have a soft spot for the interns, because 20 years ago I was an intern with the B.C. government as a part of the very first year of the Aboriginal youth internship program, and it absolutely inspired me and changed my life.

Please give a warm welcome to our Conservative caucus interns.

Hon. Randene Neill: It is my pleasure to introduce the mayor of the town of Gibsons, Silas White, who is joining us today. I think many of us know him and are so happy that he is here.

He was first elected to Gibsons council in 2014, and he and his family have been strong supporters of Gibsons Elementary School, the Sunshine Coast Museum, the Gibsons and District Public Library, Gibsons Public Market and local arts organizations. That’s just a little bit of what he and his family are involved in.

I would like to ask the House to join me in making him feel very welcome today.

Jeremy Valeriote: I’d like to introduce Jude Kornelsen. Jude is an associate professor and co-director at the Centre for Rural Health Research in the department of family practice at UBC. Her work has focused on developing a rigorous evidence base to inform rural health planning in a sustainable way that meets community needs.

Thank you to the Minister of Forests.

I would like to emphasize a welcome for my constituents and neighbours, the Power family — Jake, Kristi, Owen, Ellen, Desmond; and their international student, Ida Marie Moog.

[10:10 a.m.]

I would also like to introduce our Green caucus interns, Connor and Kayla, who are in the gallery.

I’d ask you all to give all of these folks a nice welcome.

Peter Milobar: Yesterday we rightfully and fittingly acknowledged Team B.C. for the men’s curling taking place at the Brier, starting next week in Kelowna.

I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that right now the Scotties is happening out in Thunder Bay. Team B.C. is represented by Corryn Brown’s rink out of beautiful Kamloops, B.C., and the Kamloops Curling Club. This is Corryn’s fourth trip with her team to the Scotties, representing B.C., and this is the first year she has officially made it into the playdowns, which happen this weekend.

Of course, we won’t be sitting as that takes place, so I do hope the House will join me in giving a good round of applause and good luck to Team Brown as they look to bring the Scotties back to its rightful place in British Columbia.

Hon. Diana Gibson: I rise in the House to welcome the students today from my riding of Oak Bay–Gordon Head.

Would the House please make the students from Gordon Head Middle School and their teacher Kelli Meredith feel welcome today.

Hon. Sheila Malcolmson: Also joining us in the precinct from Nanaimo are students from Vancouver Island University.

Will the House please welcome them and their teacher Lauren Touchant.

Hon. Spencer Chandra Herbert: It gives me great pleasure, last but not least, to welcome the government caucus interns: Anabella McElroy, Henry Waatainen, Myriam Devlin, Ewa Bozerocka and Chris Camaso.

Would our team please make everyone welcome, but especially the government interns.

Mable Elmore: I’m really pleased to welcome two constituents from Vancouver-Kensington. We’ve got Mike and Stacey Klassen here.

Now, you may know Mike Klassen. He was elected in 2022, serves as a city of Vancouver councillor for ABC Vancouver.

You may not know the little-known fact that Mike comes out of the film industry, also, as a digital producer. He also has served as the previous provincial director for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and vice-president for public affairs at the Care Providers Association.

But I think what he’s best known as and regarded as, certainly down in Vancouver-Kensington, is a community leader and advocate coming from the South Vancouver ’hood.

Stacey, his spouse for 27 years, is a longtime corporate paralegal who co-authored the industry standard Company Law Deskbook, published by Continuing Legal Education. She’s a cycling enthusiast, and she’s looking forward to riding again after her hip replacement surgery.

I ask everybody to please give them a very warm welcome.

Members’ Statements

Reid Ambrosio and Cancer Treatment

Scott McInnis: Reid Ambrosio is a 19-year-old young man born and raised in Kimberley. Reid was also a student of mine at Selkirk Secondary School. He’s an avid sports fan, and he’s become quite the golfer over these past years.

While in grade 11, Reid and his family learned that he was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma. This devastating news hit our community very hard. Reid’s father, Joe, was a teaching colleague at Selkirk Secondary School, so the impacts were felt deep in the staff and student bodies.

Reid spent the next year going through extensive chemotherapy and radiation, as well as receiving a bone marrow transplant from his brother Eli. Reid is a tough kid, and he battled hard through his illness and recovery.

Reid was given a good bill of health and worked extremely hard through difficult academic courses in order to fulfil his ultimate goal, graduating with his friends and peers. It was heartwarming and an honour for me to announce Reid’s name during Kimberley’s annual graduation parade, to huge applause.

[10:15 a.m.]

Since then, Reid has enrolled in a human exercise science program at UBC Okanagan, studying to become a medical professional himself. In November, the Ambrosio family was hit with the news that Reid’s cancer had relapsed and that he would require extensive treatment, which he is currently undergoing.

Reid is in Vancouver as we speak, which is a 12-hour drive from his home in Kimberley. Treatments include the possibility of a second bone marrow transplant. The financial stress the Ambrosio family has endured pales in comparison to the emotional toll they are facing for a second time.

Fellow members, I know cancer is a topic we hold near and dear to us all at this moment. I would ask that you make room in your hearts, prayers and thoughts for Reid and his family for this journey ahead.

Vernon Winter Carnival

Harwinder Sandhu: Hon. Speaker, congratulations. I’m so proud to see you here.

After having a fun-filled day at Lumby’s annual outhouse races, I had an incredible time celebrating the 65th annual Vernon Winter Carnival. It was heartwarming to see our community come together once again to embrace the magic of winter and the spirit of this cherished tradition.

This year we took a nostalgic journey back to the ’80s, and what a blast it was. From bright neon colours to legendary music, the festival was filled with energy, laughter and unforgettable moments. Whether you were reliving the decade or experiencing it for the first time, there was something for everyone to enjoy. Our community office even won runner-up for the best decorated painted window.

A shout-out to Demi Designs.

My family and I had a great time marching in the beloved winter carnival parade. It was great to see all the businesses and members of the community showing off fantastic floats and beautiful costumes.

We had the honour of bringing our Premier last year, and he had an absolute blast meeting with so many people in community, taking time to join the incredible atmosphere and enjoy some of our most beloved traditions like Balloon Glow and Family Fun Park and the breakfast event. His excitement truly reflected the warmth and joy of our community, and people talked about it this year as well.

Of course, this ten-day festival wouldn’t be possible without the dedication of our incredible volunteers, generous sponsors and hard-working board of directors. Their passion, commitment, made the festival such a success, and I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you.

The Vernon Winter Carnival has always been a reminder that even in the coldest months, our community shines the brightest, and it was a joy to celebrate with all of you, to create new memories and to continue this wonderful tradition that brings us all together.

I can’t wait for what next year brings.

Contributions of Mike Klassen

Gavin Dew: I rise today to outdo the member for Vancouver-Kensington in her praise and recognition of an old friend who is present today and who is known to many on both sides of this House, Vancouver city councillor Mike Klassen.

I have known Mike since 2008, first as a political keener but then as a smart, sensible and constructive voice on urban issues, making an ever-increasing contribution as a commentator, a doer and, after far too long, as an elected official.

Before entering public service, Councillor Klassen played a key role in advancing the needs of seniors at the B.C. Care Providers Association.

This month marks the tenth anniversary of another one of Mike’s noteworthy accomplishments, the establishment of the B.C. Wine Appellation Task Group, which he led as executive director. This was a blue-ribbon industry group that sought to advance the wines of marked quality act to allow for new sub-geographic indications such as Naramata Bench, Okanagan Falls, South Kelowna Slopes, Lake Country and Cowichan Valley. Every MLA who has wine in their riding should be cheering right now.

Mike has also left his mark on B.C.’s tech and digital media landscape as a former game producer on the EA Sports NBA Live computer game franchise. He has also been a steadfast advocate for our world-renowned film and television sector, having once worked on TV series like MacGyver and 21 Jump Street.

[10:20 a.m.]

Now, as a city councillor, he continues this work, championing policies that enhance Vancouver and British Columbia’s business climate, attract investment, support working families and create opportunities for both emerging and established talent in tech and entertainment.

Please join me in thanking Mike Klassen for his contributions to our province’s agrifood, creative and technology ecosystems.

2025 Invictus Games in B.C.

Jeremy Valeriote: The riding I represent, West Vancouver–Sea to Sky, recently hosted events as part of the 2025 Invictus Games. Whistler and Vancouver hosted over 500 competitors from 25 nations around the world to compete in adaptive sports.

The games are a symbol of resilience and courage and celebrate the determination and recovery of servicemen and servicewomen. They are important in recognizing the invisible injuries of PTSD and other mental health challenges.

The games also provide an opportunity to work closely with the four host First Nations: xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh,səlilwətaɬ and Lil̓wat7úl. The Invictus Games flag started in Lil̓wat7úl Nation territory and traveled throughout the Sea to Sky to the opening ceremonies.

I had the honour of attending some of the games, which included, for the first time ever, winter adaptive sports. And for some competitors, it was their first time seeing snow.

I want to note for members the humility of some competitors in declining the designation “athlete” and also recognize that sometimes just getting to the start line required superhuman courage, effort and determination that is far beyond just pure athleticism.

I want to thank the Premier for his opening remarks and for setting an example of genuine Canadian respect and friendship.

And I want to congratulate all the organizers, volunteers and competitors.

Thank you for inspiring us with your strength and success.

The Speaker: Member for Nanaimo-Lantzville. Sorry, Member. I missed your name on the list. You should have been first. Thank you.

Norse Log Homes

George Anderson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise today to recognize an incredible local business in my community, Norse Log Homes in Lantzville.

Recently I had the privilege of visiting Norse Log Homes with president Laura Kandall and seeing firsthand the work that they are doing, not just to build beautiful, high-quality homes across Canada and internationally but to build economic opportunity in our region.

This company is rooted in community, building good local jobs and providing the skilled trades that are essential to our economy. Small businesses like Norse Log Homes are the backbone of British Columbia’s economy. They drive innovation. They create good private sector jobs and employment and ensure that prosperity is shared in every corner of our province.

When we invest in small businesses, we invest in stronger communities, in families being able to put down roots, in young people finding careers that allow them to stay in the communities they love. When we invest in small businesses, we invest in the people of British Columbia’s ability to realize the blueprints of their ultimate achievements.

The owners of Norse Log Homes are like all British Columbians. They want to work hard and provide the best opportunities for their loved ones and neighbours and surrounding communities.

Supporting small businesses isn’t just good economics. It’s about people. It’s about the tradesperson who takes pride in developing their specialized skills that are integral to making our everyday lives possible. It’s about the apprentice who gets their first job with a local company and sees a future for themselves in a career that offers stability, pride and opportunity.

It’s about ensuring that communities like Nanaimo and Lantzville thrive not just today but for generations to come. So let’s stand behind great local businesses like Norse Log Homes, and keep British Columbia as a place where small businesses feel supported, where workers can succeed and where communities prosper.

South Memorial Park

Mable Elmore: In Vancouver-Kensington, Memorial South Park has been a vital hub for the community for almost 100 years. Designed by E. Dundas Todd as a memorial to soldiers who died in the First World War, Memorial South Park opened May 22, 1926, as the playground for the people. This was three years before Vancouver amalgamated as a city in 1929.

[10:25 a.m.]

It’s also home to the first cenotaph, with fundraising by local women to build it. The cenotaph was relocated to the park on November 11, 1939, from the previous municipal hall of South Vancouver.

The park measures 13.5 hectares. It’s home to a variety of sports facilities where people play soccer, baseball, cricket, tennis, lacrosse and much more. They have a running track, and there are picnic sites, playgrounds and a pond. It also has a pollinator garden, where neighbours congregate daily at a bench dedicated to the memory of Dana Olsen, daughter of community advocate and dear friend Sharon Olsen.

I want to recognize the Friends of Memorial South Park as champions in my community — Beth Ringdahl, Cindy Heinrichs, Sherry Loof — and the many neighbours and friends who have contributed to building a strong community and really making it such a dynamic neighbourhood.

I want to recognize, appreciate and thank the city of Vancouver; the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport; and the FIFA World Cup 2026 Committee for moving a planned training site at Memorial South Park to another location at UBC.

We’re celebrating that this year it’s going to be 99 years in the park. You’re invited. We’re going to start the year-long process of planning for the centennial next year. There’s a vision for the next 100 years, including heritage site designation, field house restoration and water access for the pollinator meadow.

Memorial South Park is cherished and loved by the entire community. Really, it’s a great place to come together to meet friends, to make new friends.

Everyone who is here has an open invitation. Please drop by, if you want to visit me, and we’ll go for a walk in the park.

Point of Order
(Speaker’s Ruling)

The Speaker: Before we start question period, I have a statement to make. It’s about the point of order by the member for Surrey-Cloverdale.

Hon. Members, yesterday following oral question period, the member for Surrey-Cloverdale rose on what she called a point of personal privilege to register a complaint about the words spoken by the Premier during oral question period.

As we begin the 43rd parliament, the Chair will make procedural observations for the benefit of all members of the House. A potential breach of privilege is one of the most serious matters that a Chair and, subsequently, the House itself may have to deal with. That’s why, under our standing orders, the consideration of such a matter takes precedence over, essentially, all other business. It is not proper to use a question of privilege to raise disputes, differences of opinion between members or rebuttals on matters that come up in debate.

The matter raised by the member for Surrey-Cloverdale ought to have been raised as a point of order, though regardless, the member’s grievance disputes words spoken by another member, and that is seldom a matter for the Chair to weigh into. It is not the role of the Chair to intervene on matters, raised by members for the Chair’s consideration, that amount to disagreements on the interpretation of information or of words spoken.

In a deliberative chamber, such disagreements will arise from time to time. The Chair will also bring to the House’s attention that a point of personal privilege is not a term that is recognized procedurally by the rules of this House. A member may raise a point of order or a question of privilege, depending on the matter at hand.

The Chair encourages members to seek advice from the Chair or the Clerks-at-the-Table if they require any guidance on the appropriate procedural mechanism or course of action.

The Chair thanks members for their attention and cooperation in this regard.

Oral Questions

Overdose Deaths and
Management of Safe Supply

Á’a:líya Warbus: Last week I attended a memorial for my brother who died one year ago from a lethal dose of drugs. He lost his life because this government has not only failed to stop the flow of fentanyl into our communities; they then inflated the market with so-called safe supply or safer supply. Or is it prescribed alternatives?

[10:30 a.m.]

The fact is, no matter how this government chooses to rebrand today or tomorrow, all drugs are lethal in the hands of vulnerable people who need real solutions now. Empty words by this Premier will not bring back my loved ones.

So instead, my question is: will the Premier take action and call a public inquiry into the failed experiment of safe supply?

Hon. Josie Osborne: First, I want to pass on my sincere condolences to the Opposition House Leader. It’s unbelievable. It’s so difficult to imagine what it must be like to go through losing a family member. I am so sorry to hear about it.

I think this is the kind of impact we are hearing here in this House that we know has touched the lives of so many families and people and communities across British Columbia, which is why we take this issue so seriously and have made it one of our top priorities as a government: to bring down the rate of deaths and to stop the harm of the toxic drug supply and the impact that it has on people.

Prescribed alternatives are one way of helping people get the medicine that they need to stabilize their lives, to get access to more supports that they need, to move into different forms of therapy, and to ultimately get a treatment bed to get the recovery and work on the healing that they need. Evidence supports this approach.

We’ve made changes, as announced yesterday, around how this program will work so that we can continue to work with the best evidence possible, working with clinicians and prescribers, with community service organizations, to make patient-centred, people-centred decisions and to help people get the care and the support that they need.

Á’a:líya Warbus: Respectfully, my family has already paid an insurmountable price during this crisis. Not only did it take two of my brothers but also my niece, who died alone in a tent in one of the tent cities from an overdose by herself.

And just last fall we buried my 13-year-old nephew because he found a wallet with drugs in it, which he did that night in his bed while his mom slept in the next room. He was not an addict.

We are not alone in this. We know that 16,328 people have died. Do not round the numbers down when you’re talking about lives; 16,328 families that will not get their loved ones back, their children, their parents and their spouses. Our children and our youth are our future, and they are dying because of this crisis.

Again to the Premier: will you call a public inquiry to expose who knew what when, be truly transparent and accountable to the family members and the communities that deserve to know, and prevent the massive loss of precious life that we are experiencing as a community and as British Columbians?

The Speaker: All questions through the Chair and answers through the Chair as well. Thank you.

Hon. Josie Osborne: Once again the Opposition House Leader is revealing very personal details around the impact on her family.

I want to acknowledge that this crisis has touched Indigenous peoples in particular in a very disproportionate way and that the trauma that Indigenous people have lived with and the difficulty of accessing health care altogether is all part of this and why we have to stay focused on the work that we are doing with everybody, to support them in substance use disorders, in addiction issues, mental health issues, all together.

Yesterday we made a decision to make changes to the prescribed alternatives program specifically to prevent diversion, to prevent these medicines from getting into the wrong hands and being used in the wrong way. They are intended to be used by the people for whom they are prescribed only. In using this program, we know that people are being better connected to services, being stabilized, finding housing, finding work.

[10:35 a.m.]

This morning, I met with AVI Health and Community Services Society, and I heard directly from them about the 400 people that they have helped here on Vancouver Island through witnessed consumption of prescribed alternatives. They told some very compelling stories and very heartwarming stories around what this has meant for people.

We have to act on evidence. We have to act with compassion. We’re going to continue to do this work to get people the supports they need.

Management of Safe Supply and
Diversion to Illicit Market

John Rustad: You have to act on evidence.

Well, here’s some evidence: the life expectancy of First Nations has dropped by more than six years under this NDP and under their policies. We’ve just heard the very shattering stories from our House Leader. So many First Nation communities around this province have the same stories. And not just First Nations but others, as well, have these same stories.

It’s clear that this government wants to change the page on their safe supply scandal and the diversion and the damage that has been done to people across this province. Well, $117 million has been spent on this program. Imagine how many lives could have been saved if that money had been spent on treatment, in particular abstinence-based treatment. We know how effective that can be. There are many facilities around this province that have zero funding from government for what can be a very effective treatment.

The public wants answers. The public wants to know just how this happened. We need a public inquiry into this so we have the answers, so that we know how this has happened and we make sure that history cannot be repeated. When will this be called?

Hon. Josie Osborne: The Leader of the Opposition speaks quite rightly about the impact on Indigenous peoples. Again, the need for culturally appropriate and safe supports and services for Indigenous peoples is an essential part of this work.

The prescribed alternatives program is working, and it is helping people. It is saving lives. We are making changes to this program to ensure that diversion does not take place, that these medicines don’t get into the wrong hands while we work with people to move them on to therapies and into treatment and recovery.

We have done so much work in building new treatment beds, in building new mental health supports for youth, yet we know there is so much more to do. Because every month, every day that we hear about lives lost, it is a reminder for every single one of us that we have to work together to do this. This is working with communities, with people, with nations, with experts, with physicians, with clinicians to do this work together and to use the evidence that’s out there to design and implement the best programs possible.

Using the evidence to make changes to the program so that they are delivered more effectively is a wise way to move forward, but we’re going to continue this work. We have so much more to do to bring the rate of death down and to ensure that this toxic drug crisis stops impacting so many people.

The Speaker: Leader of the Official Opposition, supplemental.

John Rustad: The reality is that somebody should be held responsible for the damage that has been done over the years with a program that clearly failed.

This is a scandal, a safe supply scandal — the diversion, how it has gone to feed the drug industry in this province, how it has gone into the criminals’ hands, how it has fuelled it right across not even just this province but beyond our borders.

We need to know why, how, who actually was involved in this and, more importantly, why it was not changed. Reframing it, re-changing it doesn’t change the facts.

As a matter of fact, in April of 2022, Health Canada funded an organization that released a document called Reframing Diversion for Health Care Providers. Health Canada knew in 2022 what was going on. The federal government knew. There is no chance that the provincial government did not know about the diversion and the problems that were going on.

Yet we had the Premier say in March 2023…. He insisted that talking about this was, and I quote, “spreading misinformation,” and it was “disappointing” to say that diversion and trafficking of these drugs was even happening. There has been clearly a serious scandal that has gone on. The public needs to know information.

[10:40 a.m.]

When will the Premier take responsibility, call a public inquiry, and make sure the public has the information about what has happened to make sure it should never, ever happen again in this province?

Hon. Josie Osborne: Thank you to the Leader of the Opposition.

Again, I will say, in the changes we announced yesterday to this program, that they are based on the evidence that has come forward with investigations into bad-actor pharmacies, pharmacies that have been abusing the payment system to their benefit, allegations of that, and that these investigations are underway.

Last year, upon hearing anecdotes and stories, these allegations, the special investigations unit inside the Ministry of Health was tasked specifically to look into this.

Interjections.

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

Member, wait for your turn, please.

Minister.

Hon. Josie Osborne: We formed a working group with the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General and with the police to investigate this. Again, as this information came forward — myself, in my new role as the Minister of Health, receiving briefings coming into this role — our ministry was working on options to be developed.

When the report came out, it became clear…

Interjection.

The Speaker: Shhh.

Hon. Josie Osborne: …that we needed to speak to the public about this and to explain…

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members. Members will come to order.

Hon. Josie Osborne: …to ensure that everybody understands the facts that we have and why we are making changes to the program.

Interjection.

The Speaker: Member, please.

Minister will conclude.

Hon. Josie Osborne: The interjection is correct. People are dying.

That is why it is so important that we continue to take action to build a system of treatment and recovery, to work with people in a patient-centred, a people-centred approach, with compassion, listening to the best advice and expertise that is out there, to develop the right protocols, to work with people, and that this is work we must do together.

Government Action
on Poverty Reduction

Rob Botterell: The rising cost of living, coupled with stagnating wages and outdated social assistance rates, have caused people across the province to feel more insecure than ever.

One in ten British Columbians lives below the poverty line, including two out of ten children. Food bank usage has almost doubled in the last five years. The costs of housing, groceries and other essential goods are high and continuing to rise rapidly. The imposition of U.S. tariffs is only amplifying this climate of uncertainty.

Now, more than ever, British Columbians need a guarantee from their government. They need assurance that support will be there during job and housing insecurity. They need to know that their government is there for them, and not just through politically motivated, one-off rebates.

To the Premier: how will you implement permanent economic and social supports that British Columbians can rely on?

Hon. Sheila Malcolmson: To echo the words of our Lieutenant Governor, at a time of particular crisis and pressure that everybody is feeling in Canada, more than ever as a government, no matter what is thrown at us, we are determined to support the most vulnerable people.

Because we’ve been investing in people, because we’ve been strengthening our foundation, this is no time to turn back to a time of service cuts. That is our commitment, as echoed in all of our actions over the last seven years and, again, reinforced in the throne speech.

[10:45 a.m.]

We are certainly already concerned about the impacts of global inflation, all the ways that the cost of living has hit people hard. That’s why it’s been so important for us to have raised income assistance rates five times. They had been frozen for a decade when the opposition was the party in power.

Small things like the disability bus pass having been taken away, something that we returned. Implementing a plan to reduce poverty, which the former government did not have, that has lifted thousands of people out of….

Interjections.

The Speaker: Shhh, Members.

Members. Members.

Hon. Sheila Malcolmson: And that we have lifted thousands of people out of poverty, including 50,000 children, is work that has been accomplished by investing in people and work that we will continue to do as a government. That is our priority.

The Speaker: Supplemental.

Rob Botterell: Thank you to the minister for your response.

I appreciate the efforts that are made by the government, but I also need to re-emphasize the severity of the current situation. Tough economic times will continue to impact the most vulnerable people and put strain on almost every household across the province.

B.C. is one of the wealthiest jurisdictions in the world, yet hundreds of thousands of people live below the poverty line. We must take concrete actions now that deliver the supports people need to survive. People in B.C. need certainty from this government.

What is your plan over the next year to ensure that we no longer have hundreds of thousands of British Columbians living below the poverty line?

Hon. Sheila Malcolmson: We all want people to have the supports that they need at all times, especially at a time like now where there is so much chaos. The threat that families feel about the security of their jobs, forest-dependent communities especially…. This is work that informs for all of us on the government side, representing family members that are already pressured, as the member says, by the cost of living, that there’s so much uncertainty ahead.

That’s why it was so important for our government to legislate poverty reduction. The member has seen our ten-year plan that we have been implementing over the last five years. We renewed the plan based on the input from 10,000 people across the province.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Shhh. Shhh.

Members. Members.

Hon. Sheila Malcolmson: That’s why it’s been so important for us already to implement things like free prescription birth control, like expanding child care and increasing income assistance rates five times already.

This is work that we’ll continue to do, that we’re determined to do. It’s more important now than ever.

Diversion of Safe Supply to Illicit
Market and Role of Pharmacies

Elenore Sturko: In 2024, the Premier’s public health officer stated, quote: “Diversion isn’t a good or bad thing.” Now, thanks to a leaked government presentation, we know that not only was diversion of taxpayer-funded safe supply significant, but it’s also being trafficked provincially, nationally and internationally.

There is no question. This is a bad thing, and the public has a right to know how their tax dollars were allowed to fuel addiction and crime.

Will the Premier implement a public inquiry so we can get to the bottom of this scandal?

Hon. Josie Osborne: Thank you to the member for the question.

Diversion is a bad thing. We want to make sure that any medication, for any use, is used by the person for whom it is intended. That’s why the data that we’ve received from these investigations that began after these allegations surfaced last year have revealed the information that we needed to adjust and change, accordingly, the prescribed alternative program.

These stories helped. They led us to more information. The investigations that are underway right now have been an important part of making these decisions. We are acting on this work. We are going to continue to do that.

[10:50 a.m.]

This is about maintaining community safety. This is about ensuring that people get access to the supports, the services, the medication that they need to separate them from the toxic street drug supply and ensure that the medication they’re getting is helping them move through the system into treatment and recovery.

We’re going to stay focused on this work, and we’re going to use the evidence before us to make the best decisions possible.

The Speaker: Surrey-Cloverdale, supplemental.

Elenore Sturko: The minister had said that when they found out about allegations, they took action. Yet allegations of diversion, people coming forward with stories of diversion — that has gone on for years, yet this government has continued to deny and now is painting it as a problem with bad actors, bad pharmacies.

Only 11 months ago the former Minister of Mental Health and Addictions said that there was, quote: “No evidence to support a widespread diversion of safe supply drugs.” The government repeatedly continues to gaslight the public, even as there is mounting evidence that taxpayer-funded drugs were being used as a currency to purchase deadly fentanyl, enriching gangs and criminals who make and sell fentanyl, trafficked here in our province and outside the borders of our province.

Somebody knew this was happening, and they did nothing. We need a public inquiry.

Will the Premier finally stand up today and say that he will implement one?

Hon. Josie Osborne: We take concerns of diversion very seriously, which is why these investigations have been initiated.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Shhh, Members. The question has been asked already.

Hon. Josie Osborne: The member refers to events of last year, in which information was provided to us by the RCMP. At the time, the B.C. RCMP assistant commissioner put out a statement — it was March 11, 2024 — saying that there was not evidence of widespread diversion.

Interjection.

The Speaker: Member.

Members will come to order now, please. When your turn comes, you can stand up and ask questions. Don’t waste your own time.

Hon. Josie Osborne: That was the information that was provided at that time by the RCMP.

However, the stories, the anecdotes, the allegations led to tasking the Special Investigations Unit inside the Ministry of Health specifically with looking at this. That has led to a series of months of work into this, with information that has come forward that has led to the changes I announced yesterday.

Interjection.

The Speaker: Shhh, member from Kamloops.

Hon. Josie Osborne: We’re going to continue to work with the RCMP, with police, on these investigations. We are going to take action on those bad-actor pharmacies. We are working to change the fee structure that pharmacies use. More widely, we will be working with the colleges and with prescribers on the subject of opioid prescriptions generally.

There’s so much work to do on this file. It’s so important that we come together to do this work. That’s what we’ll keep doing.

Crime in Communities and
Impact on Businesses

Dallas Brodie: I direct my question to the Solicitor General. Street violence and store thefts are completely out of control in the city of Vancouver. Thefts, smashed windows and threats to employees have seen Gastown lose London Drugs, JJ Bean and TD Bank, all under this government’s watch.

Is the Solicitor General waiting for every business in Vancouver to abandon the Downtown Eastside and other parts of Vancouver before he does something? People want action. All we get is talk, talk, talk. They want action, and they want these problems resolved.

Hon. Terry Yung: Thank you to the member for the question. I understand that people don’t feel as safe as they should in their neighbourhoods, and that’s not acceptable.

Gastown is actually within my riding. I understand that London Drugs has not moved out. There have been talks about it.

If you look at recently…. Talking to some head of security for Nesters, which is located in Gastown, violent crime in his area has actually, from what he can attest to, dropped 70 percent in the last two months due to increased patrol and the pending creation of a community policing centre, which is working for Gastown.

[10:55 a.m.]

Now, a lot more work has to be done, absolutely. I’m outraged with any kind of stranger attack, any kind of theft making it more difficult for people to do business in an area that needed them. It’s very concerning for me. But to actually increase public safety in the long term, it needs coordinated effort between government, policing, mental health, addiction and complex care housing to address those issues.

I look forward to continuing to work on that.

The Speaker: The member has a supplemental.

Involuntary Care for
Mental Health and Addiction Issues

Dallas Brodie: Ty William Lauer tried to kill staff with a lead pipe. The repercussions for this? Released from custody, as usual.

We hear story after story about this. Local resident Betania Victoria said: “The region is not safe. When I go to the stores, I feel the employees are very brave.”

When will this government implement involuntary care for people who are both a danger to themselves and to others? The laws are on the books, available for use. My constituents no longer want to face death threats at work. What is this government waiting for? No more talk. We need action now. It has gone on for years. When’s it going to stop?

Hon. Josie Osborne: Thank you so much to the member for the question.

I think, as members are aware, there has been considerable work that has been going on — with the advice of Dr. Daniel Vigo, who is acting as an adviser in this capacity — as we work to understand and bring in secure care treatment for people who are suffering from concurrent disorders, from mental health disorders, from substance use challenges and acquired brain injury.

We will have two facilities that are being stood up this spring to provide the care for these people who are not in a position to be able to make the best decisions. It’s an incredibly serious issue and one that we cannot take lightly, and we will not. We are going to continue forward with this path and expand as we come forward with new facilities and treating people, again, with the best, most compassionate and evidence-based care.

Government Priorities

Gavin Dew: This government has responded to the American tariff threat by wrapping themselves in the flag they once scorned, by implementing a fake hiring freeze after growing the size of government by a third and by rediscovering the economy after driving B.C. to the lowest business confidence and the weakest private sector job growth in Canada.

This Premier seems to be inspired by Marx, Groucho Marx, who said: “Those are my principles, and if you don’t like them, well, I have others.” As they pivot to implementing conservative policies, this NDP government keeps blaming others for their record of failure and broken promises, like their cancelled $1,000 grocery rebate.

The fact is that the Premier promised people and families immediate relief — right now, not in five years — in the first year of this government. He promised it when B.C. was already facing a staggering $9.4 billion deficit of his own making.

We know the member for Vancouver–Point Grey has a membership at Hot Box Yoga, so can the Premier tell the House which is more flexible: his promises or his principles?

Hon. David Eby: First, let me begin by welcoming the member to the House and thanking him for the question.

I was at yoga this morning. I had a good stretch. I encourage all members…. It helps with the heart rate during question period.

The member says that Conservatives have a plan for tariffs, and we have seen it. It’s acquiescence to Donald Trump. We’ve seen tweets from members saying that all the government has to do is agree with the President and do what he says.

Interjections.

Hon. David Eby: False? False?

The Speaker: Shhh. Member.

Members.

Premier.

Member, don’t ever use that word again in the House.

The Premier will continue.

[11:00 a.m.]

Hon. David Eby: The member from Chilliwack, quote, “And there we have it. The Premier needs to comply for the greater good,” February 1, 2025.

Their plan to respond to the tariffs is to cancel the North Coast transmission line, a major project to grow our economy. The member is simply wrong about B.C.’s economy. We were the fastest-growing economy in Canada last year. Foreign direct investment into B.C. is up almost 250 percent…

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members.

Hon. David Eby: …compared to when the old government was in power.

The member says he’s concerned about the deficit, but he wasn’t when his party proposed a deficit of $11 billion last year and during the election campaign.

We have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the entire country. We’re leading the way in the fight against tariffs, with 18 projects worth more than $20 billion for thousands of jobs.

We’re going to fight Donald Trump’s tariffs. We’re going to respond by growing our economy, providing opportunity for all Canadians, leading the way forward.

Interjection.

The Speaker: Shhh.

Hon. David Eby: We look forward to the Conservatives joining us to fight for the true north, strong and free.

[End of question period.]

The Speaker: Please continue, Premier.

Personal Statements

Withdrawal of Comments
Made in the House

Hon. David Eby: Thank you, hon. Speaker.

I thank you for your remarks this morning on the point raised by the member for Surrey-Cloverdale.

I took the opportunity between yesterday and today to review her remarks. While I disagree with her characterization, I was not correct in saying that she conflated the two issues, and I withdraw the remark.

Orders of the Day

Hon. Mike Farnworth: I call continued debate on the throne speech.

Throne Speech Debate
(continued)

The Speaker: The member for Courtenay-Comox had some time left.

Brennan Day: I appreciate the opportunity to continue my remarks today.

Given the importance of the issues at hand, I must highlight critical omissions from the throne speech. Building on the back of that rather fiery question period, I feel these remarks are more poignant now than they were previously.

First, there was no mention of the public sector union’s collective agreements, which are set to be renegotiated this year. For every 1 percent wage increase, we add $500 million to the government bill. How does this government plan to meet it’s…

Interjection.

Brennan Day: …government workers without throwing our public purse into chaos? Will they be honest about what’s possible, or will they continue to deliver on empty promises, with no real plan?

Another glaring omission was LNG 2. It was not included in the throne speech, the largest shovel-ready project in British Columbia, worth at least $5 billion, that will offset coal-fired power around the globe and backstop tax revenue for critical government services. This project means jobs, investment and energy security, yet this government refuses to acknowledge it while British Columbians struggle with skyrocketing costs.

Since this House sat last in May 2024, a full-term pregnancy could have been completed. Nine months, almost 270 days, since we last saw this House open for business. Surely this government can act with a greater sense of urgency, given the threats facing this province.

[Lorne Doerkson in the chair.]

Seniors, in particular, continue to suffer in a system that remains fragmented, uncoordinated and deeply frustrating to navigate. This is not just a crisis; it’s a moral failing of our elders.

I pledge to fight for expanded home care so seniors can stay in their homes longer, increase long-term care capacity and reduce wait times, and hold this government to account for their many unfulfilled promises.

The grey wave is only just beginning. The system is already in crisis, and it is only continuing to get worse. Seniors deserve dignity, not neglect.

Another glaring omission from the throne speech was any meaningful plan to address housing affordability. A promise of 300,000 new homes over the next ten years, a number that has only increased since their last failed election promise, where they failed to meet their own targets.

[11:05 a.m.]

They did not answer a fundamental question. How many homes do we actually need to deliver, and how many more homes could be built in this time if the government simply got out of the way?

Equally concerning is the state of our forestry industry. The U.S., by this own ministry’s projections, is looking at 55 percent tariffs on Canadian lumber, yet this government remains silent. Small operators, many nearing retirement, will be forced out, threatening jobs and tax revenues that keep our small, rural communities running.

After devastating wildfires in California, the United States needs B.C. lumber more than ever. We must stand up for our forestry workers and ensure that this industry remains strong.

During our swearing-in, former Lieutenant Governor Steven Point spoke of the importance of rowing together, and I could not agree more. But British Columbians hear the roar of a coming crisis on affordability, health care and security. Instead of course-correcting, this government is edging us closer to the falls with every permitting delay and failed policy decision.

It should not take a foreign power to force us to act on affordability, the fentanyl epidemic or the decline in essential services. The warning signs have been there for seven long years.

I, along with the people of Courtenay-Comox, will be watching the other side of the House very closely to ensure that empty platitudes of yesterday’s speech translate into real, meaningful action. British Columbians deserve leadership that is bold enough to act, strong enough to stand firm and compassionate enough to listen to British Columbians.

As opposition, we will hold this government accountable every step of the way.

Deputy Speaker: Thank you very much, Members.

Good morning. Just to remind everybody to wait to be addressed by the Chair. We’ll certainly call on you when it’s your turn to speak here this morning.

Thank you very much. Today we’re going to hear from the Minister of Housing.

[Applause.]

Hon. Ravi Kahlon: Thank you to my colleagues.

I paid them to clap for me, so I appreciate that.

First off, Deputy Chair, nice to see you in the chair. I think the chair suits you, and I think it’s a good choice from the opposition to have your voice there. I’ve really appreciated working with you over the years.

I want to welcome the university students from Vancouver Island University that are here. Welcome to the House. We’re having a debate about the throne speech that was delivered a couple of days ago. We welcome you to this House.

Of course, you won’t be surprised that I support the throne speech. I think it was a fantastic throne speech. It reflects the time that we’re in now.

I want to start by thanking Elder Frank George and Elder Mary Ann Thomas for the opening, the prayers and their words of wisdom. I always find so much…. It’s such a positive experience to hear from Elders about their life experiences and their teachings to us. I really appreciate them taking the time to be here.

There’s a lot in the throne speech, but as with most of my colleagues, when they first speak to the throne speech after being elected, it’s an opportunity to thank some important people. I just want to take a moment to do that. I want to start with my family.

For the new MLAs in this building, you’ll know real quick that this job is not an easy gig. You are away from your family a lot. There’s a bit of loneliness that comes with that. Your significant others, if you have children, are carrying all the workload for you back home. You hear about important moments in snapshots. It’s nice to have FaceTime, but it doesn’t capture the missed opportunities.

Starting off with my wife, I want to say thank you, because for the last seven years, she literally has done it all. I wouldn’t be able to do any of the work that I do without her. I think, to my critique, sometimes even when I’m home, I’m not home. Your mind is always on this work and serving constituents and dealing with the challenges that you have.

I want to recognize my amazing son. I can’t believe that seven years ago I was sitting back there. He was a little kid sitting in my lap when we introduced the DRIPA legislation. Now he walks around the house bumping into me, trying to exert dominance over me. Time flies, and I want to thank him for allowing me to be away so much.

My siblings. I want to thank them. It’s not easy to be a sibling of an elected official. It comes with things that they didn’t sign up for.

[11:10 a.m.]

I want to thank, of course, my mom. My dad passed away. I think he would have been really proud to be here, to see what I’m able to do. My mom is not here — she’s watching, I hope — but I want to thank her. She’s a remarkable woman who’s been through a very tough couple years. Anyways, I appreciate her. I love her, and I want to thank her. I want to thank my family, all the extended family. I want to thank my volunteers that worked my campaign. I wouldn’t be here without all of them.

I want to thank my community. I heard from them the things that are reflected in the throne speech today. We have been able to do a lot in my community. I am one of the fortunate few that can say I’m really proud of my MP, although they’re a different party. I’m really proud of my mayor and council, who represent all parties. I’m really proud of my school board trustees, who represent different parties. We have a unique relationship of mutual respect and trust, where we have conversations, we disagree, but we come to solutions for the best interest of our community.

We’ve been able to do a lot. I think, in the last seven years, five brand-new playgrounds that were built in our community reflects what we heard in the throne speech. Some people may say: “Playgrounds? No big deal.” But those that have been around for a while know that local PACs have been trying to raise money for years to try to build these playgrounds. What we learned through the pandemic was that these playgrounds were vitally important infrastructure because our kids couldn’t gather in homes. They had to gather at the playgrounds to be outside, so I see that as life-saving infrastructure.

I just will briefly say that during the pandemic it was a brutal time for my family because we had to follow the rules more than every other parent. So, you know, where do you go? Your kids go to the playground and spend time there. So seeing five playgrounds there.

A brand-new track in North Delta, which has become like a gathering place for our community, not only, I hope, producing the next Olympic athletes. I still remember running on that when it was a clay track. I remember one day rolling my ankle in a pothole and thinking to myself: “How am I going to compete against the best athletes in the world if I can’t even run on a track in my own community without injuring myself?”

Obviously, the new track is not good for me. There’s no future Olympics for me, but it’s going to be the opportunity for the next generation. We already have seen one: a young woman who is a Surrey resident who competes, who trained at North Delta, who just broke her university track record and competed in the Olympics from our track. I’m really proud of that. It’s because of the mayor and council and because school board trustees came together, and the federal government came in with dollars that we’re able to see that happen.

Of course, for our community, we have two brand-new facilities coming. We have a brand-new soccer pitch coming at Sands, which means we double the capacity there, and also a brand-new track that’s coming to Seaquam High School. Not only will we have one track; we’re going to have two tracks.

I know that’ll make some of my colleagues here jealous, but two state-of-the-art tracks means that we’re going to have opportunities for our kids. At the end of the day, that’s what we’re doing here. We’re trying to make sure that our kids have a better opportunity than we did in our lives.

In part of the throne speech is this moment where you get to reflect on people who passed away, and there were a few people in this throne speech that were mentioned that I have to briefly speak of.

First was Dr. Jack Taunton. Many people might not know who Dr. Taunton was, but the people in the sports community know him very well. He’s a resident of south Delta. He was one of the founders of the Vancouver Sun Run. He is well known in the sporting community as the top doctor. He was the main doctor for the Canadian Olympic Association for, I believe, six Olympics.

I have a special connection to Dr. Jack Taunton because he was my doctor. I called him Doc. We never called him Jack Taunton; we called him Doc. His daughter and I played together. She was on the national women’s team, and I was on the national men’s team. His contribution to sport was massive, and the legacy he leaves behind, not only for his community, his family, anyone in the field hockey community, anyone in the sporting community, is just massive.

I want to send my love to his family and thank them for allowing him to help so many other people.

[11:15 a.m.]

Jessie Uppal was mentioned in the throne speech. Folks on this side will know Jessie Uppal. Man, a fighter. If you wanted…. I think a Premier once said that if you wanted to go to somebody that would give you a shoulder to cry on, she wasn’t the one. She was the one to give you tough love, and she was the one to give you the straight goods.

I’ve worked on many campaigns with her. She has been fighting for workers and the Steelworkers for a long time. It’s a shock to hear of her passing, but it’s a reminder that life is short.

And I want to send love to her family and to everybody in the Steelworkers.

Kim Novak, of course, another leader that was mentioned in the throne speech. Kim left us far too young. She leaves behind two young children. It’s absolutely heartbreaking to see these little kids, knowing that they won’t have their mom with them. She was, of course, a champion in the labour movement, the head of UFCW 1518 in New West. She was on the national and international boards and, I think, leaves a big hole in the labour movement with not having her around.

The last two people I want to briefly talk about that were in the throne speech are, of course, Dan Coulter….

Deputy Speaker, you’ll know Dan Coulter. Some of the people here will know Dan Coulter. He sat right there.

Dan was a fighter for people, for workers. He injured himself in a workplace incident. He was in a wheelchair. He committed his life to fight for people who were injured in the workplace. There were some amazing exchanges in this place, iconic exchanges in this place from him.

I reflect on one thing, which is…. Andrew Mercier, one of my colleagues who was here, spoke at his celebration of life. He had a really dark sense of humour. One of the things that really bothered him was that we gave too many standing ovations. Being in a wheelchair, every time there was a standing ovation, he would text us, saying: “I will not stand for this.” It’s one of the weird things that I still remember, and I remember Andrew mentioning at his celebration of life.

Of course, last is John Horgan. I think that for any of us that have served with him — I know the Minister of Energy had served with him for a long, long time — it’s hard to imagine that he’s not here with us right now.

For the new MLAs in this building, on all sides, he was the type of person where, if you had a guest here, you went to his office. You brought the guest to their office. It didn’t matter about what political party you were from. You took them there. He showed them around like they were family.

There are many stories of tourists coming into this building and getting tours from him, not knowing he was the Premier, only finding out later. And then staff freaking out, wondering where the heck the Premier is and finding out that he’s giving tours to people.

The only story I’ll share about him…. I was staff before I got elected, and the Minister of Energy and I and Premier John Horgan went to Williams Lake. We went to visit the site where the Taseko mine was going to be, saw Fish Lake.

We were in two different cars. All the way there I kept telling him I wanted to see bears, because I hadn’t seen a bear before. He kept pumping me up about how bears kill human beings, and: “If you see one, you should run, Rav.” He kept talking about it, and as we were going up this steep hill — it was getting dark — the tire went flat on our car. I was hoping the Minister of Energy would stop, but they kept going.

Premier Horgan said to me: “Why don’t you run up that hill and see if they’re up there, and I’ll fix the tire?” So I, a young guy, started running up the hill, only to realize halfway up that there might be bears in this area. I paused, and I turned around, and I looked back. He was there smiling, going: “You’re worried about the bears, aren’t you? Bear meat.”

It was that moment that sticks with me. There are lots of other memories, but I want to send love to Ellie. Ellie is a special human being. She was really the superpower behind Premier Horgan. You know, I miss him.

Beyond that, we’re in uncertain times, and I think that’s what the throne speech reflects. We are in uncertain times. I have been asked to chair a committee that’s focused on tariff response. My initial thought, when I got the phone call, was a little bit of reoccurring trauma from the pandemic, because I was, at that time, the Minister of Economic Recovery.

[11:20 a.m.]

I know that feeling that you have in the bottom of your gut where you don’t know what the end is going to look like, but you know you’ve got to just keep taking steps to make sure that we’re moving together. And I kind of feel that way right now.

You know, when you hear the comments of the President consistently talking about Canada becoming the 51st state…. I have said many times that that is never going to happen. I’m a proud Canadian. I know sometimes we have debates in this House where people say, “You don’t wear the flag,” and this and that. Listen, we’re all proud Canadians. I’m a proud Canadian.

Yes, we always want to make our country better. Yes, we have debates on how to do that. That’s healthy. That’s actually part of being patriotic, and we should be doing that. But having a threat of becoming the 51st state…. I don’t take that lightly, and no one in our government certainly does.

I think and I worry that our relationship with our friends from the U.S. has fundamentally changed. I worry about that. So what does the future look like? I’ve got a lot of friends in the U.S. I spent a lot of time travelling in the U.S. There’s a lot of worry from there, as well, because of the suggestions being made by the President. It will have impacts here, but it will have impacts down there as well. I know, as I have family members that live there and work there. They’re worried about the impacts that that will have on them.

I’ve said this publicly, but the challenge when you’re dealing with a bully is if the bully comes for your lunch money, and the bully ends up getting the lunch money, he’s coming for your lunch next. So we need to — as a society, as a country — be prepared, not only for what happens in this administration but what will happen beyond that. It’s something I think that…. We certainly are taking things very seriously.

We are hearing from people of B.C. Just visiting the grocery store here on the first day of session, coming back — I was sharing with the Minister of Agriculture — and they’ve got the products labelled with what’s in British Columbia. All of it is empty.

I said to the cashier: “Where’s all the B.C. stuff?” They said: “We can’t stock it fast enough.” People are responding. They’re buying local. They’re using their dollars to support our country, to support our province, and that gives me hope.

That gives me hope that people understand that yes, decisions are being made in this House, and yes, decisions are being made in Ottawa, but everybody wants a little bit of agency to be able to be part of that. They’re doing that with their dollars. That does make a difference. It won’t solve the crisis, but it does make a significant difference.

I think that some of the pieces that were discussed in the throne speech were really: well, how do we respond? And we’ve said clearly, and it lays it out in the throne speech, that it’s three-pronged.

First, of course, is the response piece. We must respond. I think most people would agree that simply accepting unfair tariffs, especially when trade agreements were signed with the President…. I understand if a different political party comes in, and they say: “Oh, well, we don’t like the trade agreement. We want to discuss it.”

The trade agreement that we have existing right now was actually agreed upon with President Trump and his administration when they were in power. For them to come in and say that it’s no longer a good deal and do it in this way actually undermines the law across the world — in my opinion, it undermines the agreements that we have for a lot of sectors.

I know it’s now having that impact in Europe as well, so we have to respond. We did take some steps to respond initially, and then we paused that response to see what will happen in the coming weeks.

I’m not hopeful the Trump administration will back down on the tariffs. Maybe slightly, but I’m not hopeful that this will be gone. I’m not hopeful that this will just be the end. The reason why I really worry about this is that…. I come from a family that worked in forestry. My dad worked in the mills. I’ve talked about this in the House. When my dad got laid off from the mill, I was sent off to live in India for four years because my parents couldn’t afford to keep me here.

The impacts of a loss of a job are profound on a family and a community. I worry what these impacts will have on so many of our sectors in our community. And they will have impacts, no doubt about it.

We’ve been meeting with industry leaders. We have a table where industry leaders have been gathering. It’s unanimous amongst industry leaders that this is a threat that we must respond to.

[11:25 a.m.]

There’s not anybody saying that we shouldn’t respond. Everyone is saying we have to respond. Everyone is saying that we have to come together to find solutions. That gives me hope.

Part of our initial announcement was for 18 projects to be expediated. Getting these projects going is a significant starting point. I can tell you that a lot of the provinces don’t have those types of options. We are in a pretty good place when it comes to that.

One of the key things…. Part of the work we’re going to do has to be, of course, to diversify our products. One of the roles that I had early on was the Minister of Jobs and Economic Recovery, and part of that was the trade file.

I had the opportunity to travel to Europe for a trade mission. A naive young man who decided to go for five countries in eight days, I lost baggage along the way. It was a bit messy but a phenomenal trip. The reason why was that we were able to make some real progress.

We went to the U.K. with Teck Mining, where they had just opened up their new office, because they’d realized early on that they’d have to diversify. They’d have to find more partners in Europe, especially in the U.K. They’d need to get more access to capital to be able to support mining operations here in British Columbia and around the world.

They opened up their office, and I was able to be there when that office opened up. I met with leaders, talked about how we are producing some of the cleanest products in the world because of our companies here. That was well received.

We moved from there to the Netherlands, where we met with agriculture leaders to talk about agritechnology. We signed an agreement with some of the universities there so that we could share knowledge and experience about how to bring innovation into our agriculture sector — learn, quite frankly, from the Netherlands but also share knowledge with them, because we have some amazing things happening here.

We then went to Germany to meet with Germany about our critical minerals, to talk about how we can share when it comes to life sciences, in particular, because some of the big companies are there — how we can create partnerships.

Then Ireland, of course, for life sciences as well. We’ve actually signed an agreement now. The Minister of Finance will know, because she was able to carry that thing across the finish line.

We’ve been able to expand life sciences to record numbers here in British Columbia. We have one of the strongest, fastest-growing life science sectors in the entire country. It’s happening here in Vancouver — AbCellera and so many companies doing amazing things. We were actually able, from that trip, to land an opportunity for partnership and training that has now helped expediate learning from our young people. That’s going to create huge opportunities.

Lastly, we went to Finland. Finland was important because they’re leaders in forestry, around technology and innovation. Not only that; but we also got to talk to their shipbuilding industry about what the future was. That was a time when Russia had just invaded. It was probably a scary time to go. They saw, instantly, 30 percent of the shipbuilding on their books cancelled — not because of Russia, but because their own government said: “We are not going to accept that kind of aggression from Russia on our Ukrainian partners.”

We were talking about partnership. In fact, some of their companies have now opened up offices here and are looking to bring their innovation to partner with Seaspan and other companies. We have to continue that; in fact, we have to expand it.

Part of the work that I was doing at that time was to make sure that our Team Canada approach was happening at our trade offices. Now, we often hear in this debate: “Well, the offices were closed.” I mean, that didn’t happen. The offices were moved into the offices where the Canadian offices were, because we realized we could leverage more with our partners, in knowledge-sharing opportunities, and save costs at the same time.

We’ve seen huge success in Asia, and now it’s going to be more important — Korea, Japan. We’ve opened up our first office in Vietnam. We see opportunities for our products to go to Vietnam — huge opportunities there. We have to lean in more on that on the European side, as well as our Asian partners and, of course, Mexico, which is part of our trade diversification strategy.

Also, we have to do work here, and I worry…. I wish I had an hour or two hours, because I’ve only got seven minutes left.

We have to expand, of course, transportation. We have to find more ways to get goods moving across our communities. We have to strengthen our supply chains. We have to focus on industrial land. All of this was mentioned in the throne speech.

[11:30 a.m.]

Industrial land is going to be vitally important. I live in Delta. We’ve got a lot of industrial land projects that are going through the process. How do we expediate those projects so that we can get more economic opportunities? It’s something that I’ve been working on with many of the proponents and my mayor and council. We’ve made some progress, which is good, but we have some more pieces to do.

How do we ensure that this pressure that we’re facing when it comes from housing…? We need to house our people. How do we ensure that we protect our agricultural land, and then how do we ensure that we protect our industrial land at the same time? Both feel pressure from housing. If we don’t have industrial land, we’re not going to be able to expand our ports, we’re not going to be able to expand our trade opportunities, and it’s vitally important that we do that.

Of course, interprovincial trade is going to be vitally important. I was in the seat at the time when we were having those conversations and, quite frankly, they weren’t moving well. It’s partly because Ontario and Quebec at that time perhaps didn’t feel the pressure to do so. We did have good alignment with Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Now I think there is hope that we are going to be able to remove a lot of barriers for trade across the country, which will have significant impact.

I have to talk about housing before my time runs out. If we want a strong economic recovery, you need to focus on housing. Housing is health care. Housing is part of the economy. Housing is interlinked to everything.

We’ve made significant progress in British Columbia. I mean, when I was coming into the file, I remember looking at the challenge and going: “How are we going to address this?” We have done some amazing things.

I think it’s important to say that part of our response was a four-pronged response. First was to address speculation in the marketplace. That meant taking tough action on short-term rentals, and we’re starting to see the benefits of that. We have a report now that shows that Victoria is on track to have a 3 percent vacancy rate.

That’s pretty significant compared to where we were before. Similar in Kelowna, similar in other communities. We have, in fact, communities coming to us, saying: “We weren’t included in the legislation originally, but we want to be part of it now.” When you prioritize housing for people in your community, it has an impact, and it’s showing that it has an impact.

The second is cutting red tape. I heard my friend from Comox across the way talking about getting government out of the way. I welcome an opportunity to meet with him, to share with him about how we’re doing that.

What we are saying, fundamentally, is that if a person has a parcel of land, they should be allowed to build four units. They should be allowed to build four units. They shouldn’t have to go through an extensive process to be able to do that. Right now…. Well, prior to our changes, it was actually easier to build a single-family home than it was to build a threeplex or a fourplex, so we are cutting red tape.

Transit-oriented development is saying that when we invest in transit, it should come with an expectation that there’s going to be housing built around it, cutting-edge work that’s happening across the country. Now, I appreciate some people might not like it, but if you say you want government out of the way, this is part of that important work.

Third is investing in affordable housing. We have increased the amount of investment in affordable housing like at no time in the history of British Columbia. Just to put it in context, prior to us coming into government, there were about 2,000 units of affordable housing being built. We have over 30,000 underway right now. That is significant. Our not-for-profit partners are stepping up in a big way. We’re investing in them, and we’re seeing a lot of that housing opening up. We’re seeing people move in, and that’s huge.

Then lastly, I think part of that housing strategy, a key part, is protecting the existing housing that you have. We have been doing that with the Rental Protection Fund. Fifty-four percent, as of six months ago, of all purchases of private, purpose-built rental buildings that were put on sale were purchased by not-for-profits. That is significant. Homes that perhaps were in good enough condition to continue to be housing for people, that maybe were going to be torn down, were protected in not-for-profit hands. Most important, the people living in them are protected.

I’ve been fortunate enough to go to many communities — to Campbell River, to New West, to the Fraser Valley, to Langley, you name it — where communities are seeing these buildings being protected. You see people come out of those buildings, who used to see a for-sale sign on their lawn, who now know that it’s being bought by a not-for-profit, that their rent will stay the same, that they can live, many of them seniors, with dignity and age in that building that they spent 20 years in. That is the type of work that we all, I think, should aspire to do, and the Rental Protection Fund is doing that.

[11:35 a.m.]

If members in this House have a building that’s going on sale and seniors or people there are worried that it might be sold, that they might be evicted, please do go to the rental protection fund. They are independent. It is a partnership between the Non-Profit Housing Association, Aboriginal Housing Management Association and the B.C. co-op association, and they are looking for opportunities.

If you can help the residents of your community, I urge you to do that.

There are so many things to talk about on the throne speech, and I worry that I’m not going to get through all of that. I’ll just talk about a couple of things.

I want to touch on health care just to say that there are, no doubt, challenges, but we are seeing significant progress. When I see the work that the previous Minister of Health has done around a brand-new hospital at St. Paul’s; a new tower at New West; new projects coming in Burnaby, in Richmond; in Surrey, a brand-new hospital that’s under construction; in Cowichan….

The infrastructure is being expanded in a big way, but if we don’t, as a society, address the housing question, we’re not going to be able to attract the workforce. It’s not the building alone that’s going to make sure that our people have good health care. It’s the people, the skilled people, who do that.

When I hear in this House that “you are only hiring people in the public sector; you’re not hiring the….” What actually is being said is: “Stop hiring people in health care. Stop hiring teachers. Stop hiring all the people that provide social services.” It should be both. The answer should be: let’s hire people in those critical pieces because those are public sector jobs, but let’s also grow the economy. I agree with that. I think everybody would agree with that.

I will just end with saying that I love this country. I’ve said it a couple of times now. I think it’s a mistake for President Trump to see Canadian kindness as a weakness. We are kind people. We are good people. We are kind to our neighbours. That is not a weakness. We are a strong people. We are a proud people.

Yes, we have disputes. Yes, we disagree on items. But if our country is under threat, we will come together. I certainly hope we see that in the coming months and years ahead in this building, when it comes to that important issue.

I appreciate you giving me the time to speak to this.

Heather Maahs: It is an honour to speak today in response to the throne speech in this first session of the 43rd parliament.

As the elected representative for Chilliwack North, I would like to thank my community, the constituents of Chilliwack who have put their trust and confidence in me and elected me to represent them, to serve them, in this House.

I’d like to thank my family for their unwavering support over the years. I have been an elected school trustee for the past 15 years, and as everyone in politics understands, the pressures and challenges for families of those who stand in elected positions can be intense at times.

So to Gord and Tanya; Lincoln; Blaine; Georgia and Charlotte; Steve and Brittany; my brilliant financial agent, Paxton; Landry and Hudson; Laura and Kyle; Oliver; Sam; Violet; and Marigold, who broke her arm yesterday — poor sweetie little girl; and last but not least, to my mother: thank you all for your love and support. It means the world to me.

There have been key people who have helped me along the way and during this past election campaign, for whom I am so very grateful, those who have encouraged and supported me, coming alongside and stepping up, especially when I broke my arm in the middle of the campaign. For all the things they did to support and help me, thank you.

To Tabbitha, my supportive prayer warrior friend, who never missed a beat with enthusiastic door-knocking, along with her amazing children, Zeke and Adaya. They raced to the doors and took turns handing the cards. They were just wonderful.

To Marian and Jerry, Tara, Susan, Tracy, Dylan, Wendy, Joel, Marcus, Denena, Doertha, Susan and Cindy, just to name a few: you were an incredible team for whom I am so incredibly blessed. As you supported and worked tirelessly for me on my behalf, I thank you.

In my constituency office today, my team, Wendy and Cindy, are answering calls and hearing from residents of Chilliwack North on a daily basis.

[11:40 a.m.]

As a team, we are doing our best to help constituents find solutions and resolve their issues. As we in this House know, when people call their MLA, it’s as a last resort. Many have extinguished all other avenues and are at the end of themselves. It is a privilege to come alongside these people, hear their often sad stories and try to help and problem-solve for them.

As an elected representative and a member of the official opposition, it is incumbent upon me, upon us, to bring forward issues that we see need improvement, shall we say. Complaints often contain improvement information that can be used for the betterment of us all.

What I didn’t hear about in the throne speech this week was the very thing that I heard about in every neighbourhood I visited, knocking on doors. The number one issue in my constituency was, and is, the growing homelessness, addictions and increasing crime. The number of people living on the streets is heartbreaking. Families and neighbourhoods being overrun with vandalism. Parents worried for the safety of their children. How did we get here?

The so-called safe supply of drugs has been an abject failure, addicts using life-altering, mind-bending drugs that have destroyed far too many lives and devastated entire families. We heard about that this morning.

This government must stop enabling. We need to give those fighting addictions hope of becoming clean and sober, not a one-way ticket to destruction. Let’s get the conversation focused on help and recovery centres, prevention, education — the constructive use of taxpayers’ money.

Chilliwack North has been carrying the lion’s share of looking after these needy and vulnerable people. Organizations such as the Salvation Army, Cyrus Centre, Ruth and Naomi’s Mission shelter, TYDEL Foods, just to name a few, work tirelessly and without complaint to care for the most vulnerable in our community. Growing homelessness is beyond the breaking point in my community. There are never enough shelter beds. People are still sleeping on the streets — some, sadly, dying there.

Crime is rising. Chilliwack now ranks third highest in Canada for number of murders and is the most dangerous city when it comes to serious crime. Yet instead of providing real solutions and support, the government is literally shipping homeless people to Chilliwack, leaving my city to take care of them without a plan for housing and resources.

There are consequences to this out-of-control homeless crisis, and Chilliwack is faced with it every single day. With a population of 93,203, there are 206 beds for the homeless, not including extreme weather response shelters. Some communities, however, have zero beds for the homeless. This is neither equitable nor sustainable.

Chilliwack is being pushed to the breaking point. Our community and the supportive care providers are paying a high, unsustainable price. The provincial government needs to get serious about solving homelessness. This crisis cannot continue to be offloaded on small, rural communities, allowing other jurisdictions to wash their hands of the issue.

We need to address the causes of homelessness and acknowledge that as a provincewide issue, it needs appropriate and urgent resources, financial support to meet this growing crisis in our province. These people need help now.

[11:45 a.m.]

Countless people are affected by the detrimental promotion of drug supply and use by this government — nurses in hospitals told to wear gas masks, or mothers in hospital being told not to nurse their babies because of the toxic smoke in the air that might harm them, the compromised safety of medical staff.

How is this a good idea? If this was an experiment, it is an experiment gone wrong. This government needs and should have the courage to walk it back.

Safe supply, as we know, is not safe and is not helping those struggling with addiction. Where is the will to crack down on the suppliers and manufacturers and smugglers who are bringing raw materials into this province? We need some serious willpower and determination to stop this scourge in our province, in our country.

There was no good news regarding our economy in the throne speech, which continues to grow more dim daily because of unaffordable taxes imposed on the residents of this province. Young families can’t afford what they scrape and save for: the dream of owning a home. For the decreasing number of qualified families who do, many are now struggling to pay their mortgages. With the escalating costs of living, from gas to groceries, what are people to do?

Many are leaving this province. How do I know? My own son left this province last year because of the increased costs of everything. They were ruining their quality of life. So he had to move away from British Columbia, where he, his wife and three children were all born, taking with him his skills and experience in construction — much-needed in this province.

This is but one story that I know of firsthand, but it is a story that we are hearing every day. Where did the throne speech address the 18- to 34-year-olds who have given up hope of ever owning a home or having children because it’s simply out of reach? Many of these young people are also leaving this province. According to Angus Reid, 8,000 left British Columbia in 2023.

The outrageously high taxes and costs here at the pumps and everywhere else you turn have made life impossible for young people and for young families to stay, to the detriment of our society, businesses, our economy and the province as a whole.

Where in the throne speech were the seniors and the exorbitant costs of everything for them? None the least of which are food, housing and medical expenses. These are our mothers and fathers, our elders, our aunties and uncles who are not being treated with the reverence and respect they so deserve.

TYDEL Foods is a tiny, little shop in Chilliwack started by a woman named Brigida, who simply has a heart for seniors. She looks after them by selling them produce at discounts and, in many cases, gives them food at no cost if they can’t afford to pay for it. Brigida has boxes of binders that contain names of seniors who have reached out for help. Again, how did we get here?

I recently heard from a senior couple, Roy and Charlotte, who work as patient ambassadors in the emergency room at the Chilliwack General Hospital. I heard from Charlotte during the campaign because she was concerned about their positions being cut by government. Then I broke my arm and met Charlotte in person on one of my hospital visits, and I witnessed firsthand how necessary that position was.

She and her husband really and truly serve such an important role in emergency rooms, where people are waiting for hours and hours, most often in pain, irate and feeling helpless. She was exceedingly kind, brought me an ice pack and kept checking in on me. TLC is what so many people in emergency rooms need, especially when so many are waiting for extended periods of time to receive help. I was fortunate because I only waited five hours.

[11:50 a.m.]

I simply don’t understand the logic of cutting these positions in hospitals. These ambassadors serve such an important role. When we’re stretched so thin in health care, shouldn’t putting people first be a priority? These people will leave a hole in our emergency rooms if the cuts are made by April 30. They may be the only thing standing between the tipping point of chaos and total chaos in our waiting rooms.

[The Speaker in the chair.]

During the campaign, the Premier made a promise to give every person a break from the heavy burden of high costs and give them back $1,000, of their tax dollars. How many people voted in favour of this government at that prospect? Did it influence their decision of who they were going to vote for?

Then right after the narrow, one-seat majority win, a historic first, every single MLA was gifted a pay increase with an historic new position. New positions abound to the tune of $1.9 million. Government staff increased by 40 percent. Now the $1,000 rebate promise has been broken, yet there have been no clawbacks on the wage increase gifted to new NDP MLAs. This appears to be a blatant disregard of the struggling taxpayers who work so hard and yet are ignored when it comes to expecting government to keep their word.

I didn’t hear about education accountability in the throne speech, where the increases in spending have not translated to improved results for students. While we apparently have historic graduation rates, it must be noted that we also have historically low levels of academic achievement, especially in foundational skills: reading and math.

First you learn to read, and then you read to learn. Every other subject and advancement cannot be achieved without at least adequate reading skills. Math skills are also historically low. Students cannot survive in the world without math skills. Try doing a job in trades without the mastery of basic math skills.

Could it be that this government’s elimination of letter grades and provincial exams has something to do with the seemingly inflated graduation rates? We are doing a great disservice to students who leave school with a diploma in hand but without the necessary basic academic skills to succeed in the workforce or the preparatory skills to move on to higher education. We owe it to our children to do better and give them a solid academic foundation. It would seem that the entire education system has lost the plot.

I wanted to hear about accountability to taxpayers in the throne speech. Government is responsible for administering the services for hard-working British Columbians. And lest we forget, governments are elected to put the people’s taxes — the people’s money, not the government’s money — to the best use to serve the people. Fiscal management and accountability, with a good dose of responsibility, is not a luxury. It is essential.

I see I am way ahead. I didn’t take enough pauses. I will close my comments today by saying there was very little in this throne speech to give hope to British Columbians. The lack of understanding for the everyday needs and struggles of the average person in British Columbia is distressing.

The question is: what will this government do to stop the rhetoric and take action regarding the glaring problems and the real needs of everyday British Columbians?

The Speaker: Noting the hour, Member, would you move the motion to adjourn the debate?

Heather Maahs: Yes, I move to adjourn.

The Speaker: The debate. Adjourn the debate.

Heather Maahs: The debate. What you said.

The Speaker: The motion is to adjourn the debate.

Heather Maahs moved adjournment of the debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. Adrian Dix moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

The Speaker: This House stands adjourned until 1 p.m. today.

The House adjourned at 11:55 a.m.

Contents