The House met at 1:33 p.m.

[The Speaker in the chair.]

Routine Business

Prayers and reflections: Rosalyn Bird.

[1:35 p.m.]

Introductions by Members

The Speaker: Members, before I invite the members to introduce their guests, I would like to introduce one very special guest today in the gallery.

Joining us in the members’ gallery this afternoon is Her Excellency, Dr. Artemis Malo, Ambassador of the Republic of Albania to Canada. This is Ambassador Malo’s first official visit to Victoria. I had the pleasure of having a courtesy call with her earlier today.

Again, let’s welcome the ambassador.

Hon. David Eby: I looked up in the gallery, and I saw my old friend Sue Hammell, who represented Surrey–Green Timbers for many years in this place. She was Minister for Women’s Equality, and I think that it is safe to give her, and obviously a number of other people, significant credit for the number of women sitting in the Legislative Assembly. Her work, particularly on the equity mandate for the NDP, to ensure that we better reflected the makeup of the province — I wanted to make sure that was on the record.

Would the House please join me in making Sue feel very welcome to come back.

Á’a:líya Warbus: It is my pleasure today to welcome into the House the Indigenous youth internship program, which has been running for a number of years.

To Sabrina, Amanda, Cecilia, Molly, Tasha, Sydney and Riley, I’d like the House to make them very welcome and welcome the future of British Columbia.

Hon. Ravi Parmar: It’s a pleasure to be able to welcome to the House today a good friend of mine, someone I’ve gotten the chance to get to know these last couple of months, the mayor of Vanderhoof, Kevin Moutray.

Kevin, it’s good to see you. I’m looking forward to meeting with you later today with some of my colleagues.

Would the House please join me in making him feel very welcome.

John Rustad: Today we welcome another special guest who is a former member of the Legislature, Gwen O’Mahony, who is here. She served as one of the MLAs from Chilliwack in her time and is somebody who, of course, ran for us in the in the last election. I know she’s doing great work, in terms of this, between this last election and now, and she continues to advocate for the things that are right in this province.

With her is also Frenchie Viau.

Would the House please make them both very welcome.

Hon. Diana Gibson: It’s my pleasure today to introduce my constituent and her guest, Patricia Lane and Siobhán O’Donoghue.

Patricia is a community activist and lawyer and, through her work and her engagement in the community, has done so much. It’s beyond possible to list her contributions — things from the boards of Sierra Club and Clean Energy Canada to one of our largest credit unions.

Siobhán is visiting from Ireland, where she has worked with community organizations doing things like working with migrant workers, and is here to meet with the University of Victoria and community partners.

Would the House welcome my guests today.

Gavin Dew: Our Conservative caucus was very pleased today to welcome Sam Howard, Ryan Mitton and Emily Boston from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business to speak with us about the importance of addressing red tape, taxes and trade barriers.

Would the House please join me in a very raucous round of applause in support of their efforts to champion Canadian businesses and shopping local.

Susie Chant: I have two introductions today.

The first was…. We had breakfast this morning with the Resident Doctors of B.C., and it’s my pleasure to introduce the many representatives from the Resident Doctors of B.C. who are joining us in the gallery today. The president, Adeeb Malas; the past president, Dr. Harrison Anzinger; and the executive director, and my colleague, Lona Cunningham, came with other members from the board to meet with the MLAs and share their experiences.

[1:40 p.m.]

Resident Doctors of B.C. supports residents in fulfilling their education to become well-informed, prepared and professional physicians, enhancing patient care. We are so grateful for all the advocacy and work that they do for our resident doctors, who are an essential part of our health care system. Would the House please join me in making them feel very welcome.

My second introduction: we had lunch today hosted by the Alzheimer Society. There were a great number of members from the Alzheimer Society and a great many people from this House. We all know that the Alzheimer Society contributes a lot to the support of a whole group of people in our province, a group of people that is growing, both the clients themselves who have Alzheimer’s and those that provide the care and support. I would ask the House to make a warm welcome for the folks from the Alzheimer Society.

Brennan Day: Leading off with your lovely introduction, I’d also like to reach out to the Alzheimer Society. I don’t think there’s anybody in this House who doesn’t know somebody that’s been affected or is affected. I’d like to introduce Jennifer Lyle, Paula Brill, Rebecca Frederick and Jim Mann, who are doing some amazing work advancing that cause across our province. Please make them feel welcome.

Janet Routledge: I have two introductions to make today. Firstly, I’d like to introduce Michele Cook, the CEO of Seton Villa, which is located in Burnaby North, and her partner, Frank Duong. Please join me in welcoming them.

My second introduction: I’d also like to welcome these incredible young women in the gallery who are part of the Indigenous youth internship program within the government of British Columbia. They are Sabrina Moshenko, Cecilia Raweater, Molly Taylor, Tasha Griffiths-LeClair, Sydney Harakal and Riley Swan. They are accompanied by the program lead, Amanda Sylvester.

These incredible young women are hosted at the Legislative Assembly on a one-day twinning program by our British Columbia branch of Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians. While they’re here, they have an opportunity to spend time with women MLAs to learn about our role and life as women parliamentarians.

Please join me in giving them a very warm welcome.

Scott McInnis: It’s been a tremendous honour this week to have lots of family in attendance from the East Kootenays. Just a couple more quick introductions. Aunt Marian Pastore is here today. Unfortunately she couldn’t be in the building, but Ellie Neuman, another family member I know, is watching at home. Would the House please make them feel welcome today.

Stephanie Higginson: I want to start by thanking the Minister of Forests for allowing me to do this introduction today. In the House, we have a very special guest, Dr. Colin Mahony, who is a registered professional forester. Colin is an important person in my life because he introduced me to my husband. Do you remember that? That is worth applause in itself.

Our friendship spans over 20 years. It includes owning property together. It includes raising our babies together, who are not babies anymore, building off-grid cabins together. And when Colin was in his 20s, he circumnavigated Vancouver Island in a kayak solo. He’s a pretty awesome person.

But that’s not why we’re going to give him applause today. We are going to give Colin applause because it is with great pride that I introduce Dr. Colin Mahony as the 2024 Forest Professional of the Year.

Look at us. We’re all grown up, Colin.

He was awarded by Forest Professionals B.C. for outstanding service to the profession of forestry and the principles of Forest Professionals British Columbia.

[1:45 p.m.]

Dr. Mahony, or C-Dog or C-Money, as he is known in our circles, is currently a research climatologist and team lead with the Future Forest Ecosystems Centre in the office of British Columbia’s chief forester. His team is working to properly integrate climate change data as decision tools in ecosystem management, putting usable climate data in the hands of practitioners, allowing them to make immediate difference on the ground within B.C.’s forests. Dr. Mahony is a provincewide leader in climate science with over 25 years of forestry experience.

Colin, I am so proud to stand here today and acknowledge your tremendous accomplishments. Would the House please join me in congratulating Dr. Mahony for his incredible contributions to B.C.’s forests.

Amshen / Joan Phillip: I just wanted to specifically have you welcome Cecilia Raweater. She has her bachelor of arts in First Nations and Indigenous studies and will be going to UBC, taking her master’s there. Please join me in welcoming Cecilia.

Pete Davis: I think that all of us would agree that we wouldn’t be here or wouldn’t be able to do our jobs without our amazing legislative assistants that work behind the scenes for us. Today I’m honoured to have my legislative assistant here, Pegah. I just wanted to say thank you very much for everything you do.

I think that we should give all of our legislative assistants a big hand for the work that they do to support us.

Hon. Sheila Malcolmson: This is not a controversial introduction at all. The Health Minister has asked me to invite the House to warmly welcome the Denman Island seniors pickleball group. These are committed community volunteers. Sue Hammell — who the Premier has already introduced — Vicki Ryle, Marina Reed, Paul and Suzanne Boushima, Seyray and Steve Eberle. Will the House please welcome the Denman Island seniors pickleball association.

Hon. Brenda Bailey: I would like to speak to someone who is watching our proceedings from an unusually elegant office in Vancouver today. This well-known and successful businessman yesterday met with another large investor and challenged him. He said: “This week, I’ve invested in three B.C. companies: one in cybersecurity, one in medical devices, and one in traditional industry. All B.C.” He said: “Now is the time for people who’ve been successful in this bountiful province to give back.”

This action is Buy B.C. It’s patriotism, and it’s leadership. This gentleman doesn’t want recognition, but on behalf of British Columbia, I want to thank him and encourage all others in his position to do the same and accept the Invest B.C. challenge.

The Speaker: Now, Burnaby East.

Rohini Arora: Burnaby East for real.

I want to take a second to also shout out Sabrina Moshenko, who is from Burnaby and is the first person in her family to graduate with a degree in sociology. Let’s please give her a super-warm welcome.

My colleague back here, of course, talked about the B.C. resident doctors. I just wanted to give a shout out to my cousin, Shika Walia, who is a resident doctor in psychiatry. Please help me to make her feel really welcome.

Introduction and
First Reading of Bills

Bill M205 — Mental Health
Amendment Act, 2025

Elenore Sturko presented a bill intituled Mental Health Amendment Act, 2025.

Elenore Sturko: I move that a Bill in intituled the Mental Health Amendment Act, 2025, of which notice has been given in my name on the order paper be introduced and read a first time now.

The Mental Health Amendment Act, 2025, aims to improve communication between close relatives and health care providers when a person is brought to the hospital in a mental health crisis and upon their release if they have been certified under the Mental Health Act.

The amendments proposed in this bill will reduce the risk of suicide and self-harm. These amendments are also an important addition to public safety measures, as they assist with mental health assessments for people who pose a risk to harming others.

[1:50 p.m.]

On February 26, a man allegedly in drug psychosis was apprehended following two home invasions, where he brutally assaulted a senior and terrorized an entire neighbourhood. The man was taken to the hospital to be assessed, and while in hospital, that man assaulted a police officer by choking and attempting to disarm them of their gun. He was subsequently charged with multiple violent offences.

Days after the initial incident, my office was contacted by a close relative of this very troubled individual. The family member had important information that they wanted to share regarding what they felt was an escalating risk to public safety, and they had not been contacted by the hospital or police.

The Mental Health Amendment Act, 2025, would have necessitated this valuable information-sharing. As this government moves forward with involuntary care, the Mental Health Amendment Act, 2025, can assure that doctors and nurse practitioners have more information to help them in their assessments, keeping people with mental illness and the public safe.

I hope members from both sides of this chamber will support this important bill.

The Speaker: Members, the question is the first reading of the bill.

Motion approved.

Elenore Sturko: I move that the bill be placed on the orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

Motion approved.

Members’ Statements

International Day
for the Elimination of
Racial Discrimination

Jessie Sunner: I rise today to recognize the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which is taking place on March 21. This is a day to reflect on the deep injustices that persist in our society, and it is a call to action to urgently confront racism in all its forms.

As a human rights lawyer in my former life, and now as the Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives, I know that discrimination is not a thing of the past. It is woven into the systems and structures that continue to create barriers for Indigenous, Black and racialized people. It appears in hate-motivated violence, inequities in education, employment and health care, and in everyday experiences of people who are made to feel like they don’t belong.

Racism does not persist by accident. It continues when we fail to confront it directly, when injustice is met with silence and when the voices of those who are most affected are ignored. Our government is taking action on this. Through the Anti-Racism Act, we are developing stronger protections against hate and ensuring racialized communities are collaboratively involved in leading this process.

But let’s be clear. There is no room for racism in our society. We cannot look away when people spread hate, and we cannot be bystanders when discrimination happens in our communities, in our workplaces or even in this very Legislature. The fight against racism requires all of us to speak up and take action, not just when it is easy but, more importantly, when it is hard.

Eliminating racial discrimination is not going to happen overnight. It is the work of our lifetime. But if we are truly committed to justice, we must be relentless. The future of the province will not be written by fear or division. It will be defined by the courage of those who refuse to accept anything less than equity, dignity and justice for all people.

Sports Teams in Langley

Misty Van Popta: I stand here today to highlight some inaccuracies spoken in this chamber. I believe it is our duty to speak the truth while also highlighting our communities.

You see, Mr. Speaker, twice in as many weeks I have heard the Minister of Forests infer that his community is the place to be for sports in this province. But that is just factually incorrect. Now I will spend the next minute and a half and show you that, indeed, Langley is the best place for sports.

[1:55 p.m.]

For a community of 155,000 people, Langley has six semi-professional or professional sports teams. That’s right, folks. We have the Vancouver Giants from the WHL, the Langley Rivermen from the BCHL, a PJHL team, with the Langley Trappers, the newest CPL team, Vancouver FC, the Vancouver Bandits, which is a CEBL team, and the Langley Thunder, a WLA team. That’s three hockey teams, a basketball team, a soccer team and a lacrosse team. Langley is the place to be on the weekend.

These teams have notable alumni like Athan Iannucci, Evander Kane, DJ Steward, Gael Sandoval, Dante Fabbro and many, many others throughout the sports world. All six of these teams can be seen throughout the community in their off time, volunteering or backing local charitable organizations.

Many team owners are local or regional members, rooted in both business and philanthropic works in our community. The Be a Giant Foundation, the Bandits Community Foundation, the Take Flight ticket donation initiative, the Coats for Kids program, food bank drives and unhoused resource supports are just a few ways that these teams give back to the Langley community.

So why is it that teams and organizations are flocking to Langley? Well, it is arguably the most awesome place to live. But besides that, it is also its grade A facilities, like the Langley Events Centre, with its courts, ice sheets, stadium and new progressing five dry ice sheets and arena. But most of all, it’s a very enthusiastic community that is so supportive of the local sports scene.

In closing, although I’ve not had a chance to research the teams that Minister Parmar’s community has, let it be known here in this chamber that I would love a friendly jersey exchange in the event of a win if two of our teams shall ever meet. And perhaps, just perhaps, he too can catch a glimpse of the great Canadian Michael Bublé, co-owner of the Vancouver Giants, in the event he wants to see some top-notch hockey in my hometown of Langley.

Bring it on.

Support for Health Care Workers

George Anderson: Our journey through life begins and ends in the care of our health care workers. They are there from our first breath to our final moments and every stage in between. They are the steady hands that heal, the voices that comfort and the advocates who fight for our well-being. And nearly five years ago this March, they carried us through one of the most uncertain times in modern history.

I know firsthand the impact of their care. A couple of years ago, I had emergency surgery at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, and it was the skill, compassion and dedication of the nurses, doctors and front-line health care workers that ensured that I and so many others got the care that we needed. For that, I will always be grateful.

There are times when the demands on them are greater than ever, when hospital hallways are crowded, when exhaustion is heavy and when uncertainty fills the air. But our health care workers do not walk away. They stay, and they step up, because even when the world feels uncertain, they remain the certainty we rely on. To those who say our health care system is broken, I say to them that it is strong because of the people who dedicate their lives to it.

Whether it’s the nurse in the emergency room, a pharmacist ensuring the right medication, an oncologist delivering life-saving care or a medical stenographer keeping accurate records, they are the foundation of our system. We must never take them for granted. We must never forget their sacrifices.

We must never allow supporting them to become a partisan issue. Because no matter who we are or where we come from, when we or our loved ones need care, our health care workers show up for us. As British Columbians once did collectively every evening at 7 p.m., I ask all members of this House to show their appreciation today and every day.

To all of our front-line health care workers: we see you, we thank you, and we stand with you.

Coronation Medal Recipient
Colin Metcalfe

Lynne Block: I rise today to recognize an outstanding constituent in my riding of West Vancouver–Capilano, Colin Metcalfe, who has been awarded the King Charles Coronation Medal, a well-deserved honour.

Colin is a highly respected corporate affairs specialist with an impressive career spanning both the public and private sectors. His expertise in speech writing, politics, policy analysis and crisis communications has made him a trusted voice in business and government relations.

[2:00 p.m.]

A seasoned political veteran and a past member of Vancouver’s Power 50, as recognized by B.C. Business Magazine, Colin has consistently demonstrated leadership not only in his professional life but also in his community.

Colin has held positions such as special assistant to the ministry of Fisheries and Oceans, Hon. John Crosbie. He’s been the director of communications with the B.C. Lions Football Club, director of communications for the Vancouver Whitecaps and was vice-president of corporate affairs for Ridley Terminal, to name just a few of the roles he’s held that have showcased his talent.

Currently, he serves on the board of directors of the Vancouver Club, chairing its governance committee, and leads his local community association as president — always finding ways to give back and strengthen the place we call home.

Today I celebrate Colin Metcalfe’s remarkable contributions to both his community and our province.

Congratulations, Colin. This honour is a reflection of your dedication and service.

Would the members please join me in congratulating Colin on this prestigious award.

Seton Villa Retirement Centre

Janet Routledge: Let me introduce you to one of my favourite neighbours. Seton Villa is a unique non-profit retirement centre that provides affordable housing for 225 seniors. On three floors are 28 assisted-living units. Residents live independently on the remaining 18 floors. The Seton Villa bus takes residents shopping and to events. The dining room offers three meals a day, and almost everything is made from scratch.

The 19th-floor penthouse is a huge meeting area with panoramic views. It’s equipped with a pool table and exercise equipment. Residents meet there for coffee, chair yoga, active games and happy hour. They celebrate special events like Remembrance Day, Pride Day and International Women’s Day. The residents have their own organization called the villagers. They personally greet and integrate new members to make them feel at home.

Many languages are spoken by the staff. Some staff members have worked there for 30 or 40 years. Many young people in the neighbourhood get their first job at Seton Villa. Some of my other neighbours serve on their board and/or have dreams of moving there someday.

Seton Villa is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Many of them are lifelong Burnaby residents, like Joanne, who remembers when this third-largest city in the province was a wilderness. Another resident still remembers the trauma of searching for bodies when the Second Narrows Bridge collapsed. He was only 15 at the time.

The average age of Seton Villa residents is now 87. The eldest will be 107 next month. People are living longer today, and most residents use a walker. The tiny elevators can’t accommodate wheelchairs. Luckily, a four-storey expansion that’s under construction will be wheelchair-accessible.

When my helijet from Victoria turns into the harbour tomorrow morning and I see Seton Villa on the hill in the distance, I’ll know I’m home.

Economic Reconciliation and
Support for Residential
School Survivors

Amelia Boultbee: I rise today to speak from the heart on a very important, specific element of the reconciliation process: economic reconciliation. Reconciliation isn’t a token phrase to use when we seek to connect meaning to the actions of government with the First Peoples of our province and Canada. Reconciliation is the act of acknowledging and recognizing the past harms inflicted, in particular by the residential school system. Trauma from the residential school system is intergenerational and exists today. It persists in the hearts and minds of Indigenous people in every corner of this province.

Sadly, many Indigenous people still feel disconnected, invisible and ignored. Land is identity. Land is community. Land is past, present and future, and self-determination.

Economic reconciliation is about fostering relationships, about having difficult conversations to find solutions together. As the former Lieutenant Governor Steven Point said, we cannot turn back the clock 100 years, but we can envision a plan for the next 100 years.

[2:05 p.m.]

Economic reconciliation will enhance the lives of all British Columbians by working hand in hand with the First Peoples of B.C. and enriching all of our lives socially, culturally and economically.

But for economic reconciliation to work, we must listen first. We were given two ears and one mouth, and that means listening more than we speak. And that means listening to survivors.

May we all do a lot more listening in the months and years ahead.

Oral Questions

Age-Appropriate Content in Schools

John Rustad: More than a year ago when I asked the Premier about SOGI and the sexualization of children in our schools, the Premier said raising this issue was, and I quote: “Cultural war and feeds the fires of division.” Yesterday we learned from the Minister of Education that this government is reviewing SOGI to make it more age-appropriate.

Will the Premier now admit that he was wrong to characterize concerned parents as being hateful?

Hon. David Eby: We have a huge interest in making sure that all kids feel safe at school, regardless of who they are, where their origin is. I regret very much that the member of the opposition, members of his caucus, have repeatedly distorted a program that, by the way, the Leader of the Opposition stood behind, endorsed, supported as a member of the cabinet for many years.

It caused fear among parents, particularly among parents from new-arrival communities just arriving in B.C., trying to figure out the school system, and then they hear about this horrific program. It’s actually an anti-bullying program to protect kids.

He and his colleagues promoted that hate and fear in our communities, and now, unsurprisingly, we have to go through and do some work with communities to make sure that they understand that we’re out there to protect kids and look after them. It didn’t stop during the election campaign.

Just last night the opposition health critic was at a far-right event called We Unify. She was on a three-person panel, one of whom was discredited Alberta doctor Dr. William Makis. She’s the health critic.

He said COVID-19 vaccines are neither safe nor effective. On Monday, he posted an article claiming the vaccine causes AIDS. That was Monday. And related to SOGI….

Interjection.

The Speaker: Member. Member.

Hon. David Eby: Well, what did you say on the panel, Member?

Interjections.

The Speaker: Member. Members.

Premier.

Hon. David Eby: After his medical licence was cancelled, he said the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta should be renamed, quote: “The college of pedophiles and child sex abusers.”

This is who the health critic for the opposition sat beside at a panel yesterday. That’s the kind of hate they promote.

The Speaker: Leader of the Official Opposition, supplemental.

John Rustad: Well, it’s pretty clear the Premier will not apologize to parents that he called hateful. But regardless of that, I do have, perhaps, a different angle to take on this.

So yesterday the Minister of Education said, and I quote, “The minister is working towards a provincial framework that includes specific criteria ensuring age-appropriate materials are in school,” end quote.

Will the minister commit today to having parents decide what is age-appropriate material in our schools?

Hon. David Eby: The Leader of the Opposition and his colleagues are repeatedly promoting disinformation, misleading parents, misleading British Columbians about everything from SOGI to what’s happening in our schools.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members, come to order.

Hon. David Eby: I encourage any parent, if you have concerns about what’s happening in a school, talk to your teacher. Talk to your kid’s teacher. Don’t listen to the Leader of the Opposition or his health critic about what’s happening in the province.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members. Members.

Hon. David Eby: She sits beside a doctor who lied and said that 80 young doctors died from the COVID-19 vaccine. She sat beside a doctor that said COVID-19 vaccines are neither safe nor effective.

Interjection.

The Speaker: Member. Member, wait for your turn.

[2:10 p.m.]

Hon. David Eby: She sat beside a doctor who said that COVID-19 vaccines cause AIDS. These are the people the opposition endorses, sits beside, gives legitimacy to. What an embarrassment.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members. Members.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members.

Interjection.

The Speaker: Member, come to order.

The Premier has the floor.

Please.

Hon. David Eby: I’m sure the member will stand up and clarify that she disagreed vehemently with his tweets, with his misrepresentation of vaccines.

But will the Leader of the Opposition stand up and denounce her attendance at this conference?

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members. Members. Shhh.

Members, calm down. Members. Do you want to ask a question? Or anybody else? If not, wait for your turn. We’ll take care of it.

Please conclude.

Hon. David Eby: Now, the member for Kamloops denounced the conference that the Health critic was at, calling it, quote: “a far-right conference.” He said, quote: “The Leader of the Opposition must clearly denounce this conference once and for all and explain to British Columbians why he and his candidates endorsed it in the first place.”

I wonder whether the Leader of the Opposition will denounce this conference and everything that happened at it last night.

The Speaker: Thank you.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Thank you.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members. Members.

Please conclude.

Hon. David Eby: Thank you.

I hope the Leader of the Opposition denounces the conference and his member’s attendance at it.

Supportive Housing and Access to
Addiction Treatment Services

Heather Maahs: A B.C. housing project planned for Trethewey and Rowat Avenue is four years behind schedule. These 49 units for supportive and complex care are desperately needed for my constituents both in and around Chilliwack. The closest recovery beds are in Surrey, a two-hour round trip, if one is lucky enough to access one of the only 16 beds.

With zero new recovery beds in B.C. in the NDP budget, when will this government commit to delivering additional treatment beds?

Hon. Ravi Kahlon: It’s refreshing to hear somebody in this place on the opposite side talking about supportive housing and wanting it in their community. You can call this a heritage moment.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Shhh.

Hon. Ravi Kahlon: We have been working closely with many community organizations on the ground to support people in Chilliwack in particular. We have a project that’s in front of council right now that will help get a lot of people off the streets, and I certainly hope that mayor and council approve it. I believe it’s coming to council tonight.

I know we’ve heard from the mayor there, who says they don’t want any supportive housing anymore, but there are people in the community that are struggling that need to get supports to get indoors.

We offered the city additional supports this year in January, but they declined those supports. But we’re going to continue to reach out because, at the end of the day, it’s the people in the communities that need the service who we are focused on.

The Speaker: Member for Chilliwack North, supplemental.

Heather Maahs: Thank you for the comments from the minister. I’m sure that the mayor, whom I spoke with yesterday, is not in agreement with the statement.

The overdose crisis in B.C. continues to take lives every day. Residents in Hope have no local access to treatment unless they drive two hours in a four-hour round trip in the most trying times of their lives. The window for opportunity is vanishing for vulnerable people.

Again, when will this government get serious about funding abstinence-based treatment?

Hon. Ravi Kahlon: Again, I think if the member wants to see more supportive housing for vulnerable people in our community, I would recommend a letter.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Shhh. Members, let the minister answer, please.

Hon. Ravi Kahlon: The Leader of the Opposition says: “Oh, we don’t want supportive housing in the community.”

Interjections.

[2:15 p.m.]

The Speaker: Members, Members.

Member, nobody has to clarify anything. I think the minister has heard the question; let him answer it.

Hon. Ravi Kahlon: I heard the question. I understand the question.

If the member wants to find ways to support vulnerable…. I heard the member say: “We have to support vulnerable people in the community.” When you have people that are sleeping in encampments, sleeping in parks, you need them to get into housing. Yes, you need them to get access to treatment; you need to get access to supports. That’s what we do with supportive housing. I think the members across the way surely understand that’s what supportive housing does.

Interjection.

The Speaker: Shhh. Shhh.

Hon. Ravi Kahlon: If the member wants to advocate for more support for vulnerable people in Hope, in particular, I look forward to talking to the member, because we want to help those people as well.

Wind Power Projects and Costs

Rob Botterell: As we face down a trade war with the United States, energy security has never been more important. We cannot, and must not, continue relying on American energy sources. We cannot, and must not, continue relying on the expansion of climate-killing LNG projects built by foreign companies and subsidized by B.C. taxpayers. Renewable wind, solar and geothermal projects are the solution.

Recently, B.C. Hydro, of Site C dam financial-mismanagement infamy, announced with great fanfare that it had secured nine new wind projects, at a cost of $5 billion to $6 billion.

“Oh my god, this is great.” That was the Green caucus response.

There’s just one hitch. These projects are 47 percent to 79 percent more costly than other comparable wind projects in North America. My question to the Premier: what will your government do to rein in B.C. Hydro and stop overpaying for the clean power we need for B.C.’s energy security?

Hon. Adrian Dix: I’m surprised at the question from the hon. member, because I would have thought, and do think, that it’s extraordinary that we approved projects of the size and terms of energy of Site C at 45 percent less than the last call for power in 2009 — these are 51 percent, on average, owned by First Nations and have an average levelized cost of $74 per megawatt hour, $6 less than an equivalent call for power in Quebec recently — and that this wouldn’t be anything else than a success.

We need more energy in B.C., we need more renewable energy, and we are just getting started.

The Speaker: The member has a supplemental.

Oil and Gas Industry
Emissions Reduction Requirements

Rob Botterell: B.C. has legislated targets to reduce emissions by 40 percent by 2030. About 10 percent of the planned emissions reduction was to be from increasing the price on carbon pollution, yet this week the Premier announced he would scrap the consumer carbon tax.

The industrial carbon tax remains, but two-thirds of company emissions are exempted from the tax. There’s no way that B.C. is going to meet the 2030 target. The province’s most recent climate accountability report says only very minor progress has been made, and that’s before LNG Canada comes online.

My question is to the Minister of Energy. Will the minister introduce a regulatory emissions cap for the oil and gas industry this year, as previously promised?

Hon. Adrian Dix: As the member will know, the most recent change to the regulations, with respect to methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, came in January 1. We have reduced methane emissions, for example, by 43 percent from 2015 levels — which is a significant achievement, not just by the people of B.C., by the CleanBC plan, but by the industry itself.

Again and again, in a province where we’ve seen an increase in population, in my time on the government side, of close to a million people, we’ve got to continue to take action. It’s why reducing our per-capita emissions, as we have done, significantly; reducing our emissions against GDP, as we have done, significantly; and continuing to pursue climate programs that are good for the economy, good for the people of the province and good for their health, is our goal.

[2:20 p.m.]

It’s why we’re going to work with all members of the Legislature — in particular, members of the Green Party — on a joint review of the CleanBC program, which was scheduled for next year and is going to happen this year.

Conduct of Conservation Officers

Lorne Doerkson: Imagine 23 vehicles showing up in your yard, filled with B.C. conservation officers wearing tactical equipment, some armed with assault rifles.

That is exactly what happened to a constituent in the Cariboo last week. He had his windows smashed, doors kicked open, a total of $100,000 of damage done to his home and his property. They seized a cell phone and some paperwork. They embarrassed him and his family.

The cause? Incorrectly filled out paperwork. What possible justification does the Minister of Environment have for using paramilitary-style force on any citizen who didn’t dot an “i” on their paperwork? Did this minister order this raid?

Hon. Garry Begg: Thank you to the member opposite for the question.

I don’t have knowledge of the incident of which you speak…

Interjection.

The Speaker: Shhh.

Hon. Garry Begg: …but I will take it under advisement and get back to you.

The Speaker: Member, supplemental.

Lorne Doerkson: It’s not surprising that the Public Safety Minister doesn’t know, because this doesn’t fall to his ministry.

The reality is this gets so much worse. During this raid, conservation officers forced a woman who required a lavatory to urinate under surveillance of an officer and then denied her the privacy to shower so that she could clean up and head off to work. They detained people without cause. They destroyed property and embarrassed my constituent and his family in a community where they are very well known.

This isn’t law enforcement. It is harassment and intimidation.

Does this minister support the flagrant abuse of power? And is this what ranchers, guide-outfitters and residents should expect from this new government?

Hon. Garry Begg: Thank you again to the member for the question.

I’ll take your question under advisement and get back to you.

Wind-Generated Electricity
Environmental Assessments and
Consultation on Wind Power Projects

Ian Paton: On December 9, 2024, without consulting residents and tenure holders, this government announced nine wind power projects.

The B.C. Cattlemen’s Association has raised serious concerns about the lack of transparency and the removal of environmental assessments. These projects are being developed on Crown land that supports B.C.’s ranching industry, grazing tenures and critical wildlife habitats.

To the Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions, why is this government ramming through industrial-scale wind projects without consulting the communities that shoulder the consequences?

Hon. Adrian Dix: As I think everyone knows in B.C. — and particularly at this moment, when our province and our country are under attack by the U.S. administration — we need more energy in B.C. And they’ll know that we need…. Apparently, the opposition agrees with this on some days of the week. We need more projects to go ahead, more efficiently and more quickly.

In the case of these wind projects — which are dramatically less expensive than they were in 2009, create jobs all over British Columbia, will deliver low-cost wind power — we are moving ahead with these projects.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members, if you already know the answer, what’s the point of asking questions?

Interjections.

The Speaker: Let him answer then. Please.

Hon. Adrian Dix: In this case, all of these projects will go through a significant review around permitting that will address the issues that are appropriate to these projects.

[2:25 p.m.]

Wind power projects have gone under environmental assessment in the past. We know what those issues are, but we also need to proceed. We also need the energy. We also need to advance clean energy at a time when other parts of the world are advancing other agendas.

We’re going to continue to do it. This is about developing B.C. This is about a sustainable economy. This is about jobs all over the province. I’m surprised that the opposition has become, on these questions, the party of no.

The Speaker: Delta South, supplemental.

Ian Paton: Well, this government talks about listening to British Columbians, but they are bulldozing ahead with industrial wind farms on Crown land. They’ve done this without consulting the ranchers and the communities who rely on this land. Worse, they’ve eliminated environmental assessments altogether.

Here is NDP environmental hypocrisy at its best: no reviews, no accountability, just a blank cheque for projects that could devastate B.C.’s watersheds, B.C.’s wildlife and species at risk.

Cattle will not stand underneath windmills. What do cows know that this Premier doesn’t?

Hon. Adrian Dix: In my time in this House since the election, I’ve listened again and again to members of the opposition side talk about delays, talk about permitting, talk about red tape. Talk about hypocrisy.

We are proceeding with clean energy projects that help build B.C.’s economy, and they’re against it. This is a time when we need to fight for energy independence and energy sovereignty, and they are against it.

We have significant….

Interjections.

The Speaker: Shhh, Members.

Hon. Adrian Dix: The member for Kelowna. One of the projects is near his community. I’d be interested to know where he stands, not on the theory of going ahead with projects but on the fact of it. Will he stand up in the House and support economic development in Kelowna, economic development for First Nations, or is he against it?

This is a paper opposition.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Shhh.

Hon. Adrian Dix: We are fighting for the future of B.C.’s economy, and they are against it.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members.

Government Transparency and
Role of Select Standing Committees

Korky Neufeld: Well, let’s change the channel.

Select standing committees play a crucial role in ensuring transparency and accountability by engaging the public, yet this government refuses to recall them.

Interjection.

The Speaker: Members.

Korky Neufeld: Why does this government operate in secret and continue to make decisions for the public without their input?

This government won’t even hold a meeting without forcing people to sign an NDA, a non-disclosure agreement. In fact, this government has signed more NDAs than all the governments in B.C.’s history.

Why is the NDP so intent on shutting out the public and hiding in secrecy?

Hon. David Eby: The members opposite may recall, I’m not sure, that I worked at the B.C. Civil Liberties Association for a period of time. During that time…

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members.

Hon. David Eby: …I published a great handbook educating British Columbians about their rights. I’m glad to talk to the member about it.

During that time, there was the Dziekanski inquiry. There was a man who was involved in an altercation with police at YVR. He died, and coming out of that, the then B.C. Liberal government decided to reform police laws.

So they invited the Civil Liberties Association to come in and consult on the legislation that they were preparing. And guess what. Just guess. You’ll never guess what they asked me to sign.

Interjection.

The Speaker: Member for North Island, please.

Hon. David Eby: You’ll never guess what they asked me to sign. They asked me to sign….

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members, are you really interested in listening to some answers or not?

We can shut it down right now if you like. Otherwise, stay quiet. Wasting your own time.

[2:30 p.m.]

Premier.

Hon. David Eby: You’ll never guess what they asked me to sign. They asked me to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

The Speaker: Member, supplemental.

Korky Neufeld: Well, the Aboriginal Affairs Committee hasn’t met since 2003. Oh, and the Committee on Legislative Initiatives hasn’t met since 2010. This government refuses to let the public in on their plans for our province. No wonder they’re known as the most secretive government, according to the Canadian Association of Journalists.

When will this government recall committees and stop operating behind closed doors?

Hon. David Eby: Well, I know the public is glad for the member’s transparency about his second salary, but he’s not earning his pay today.

From 2003 to 2017 and 2010 to 2017, the Leader of the Opposition was on this side of the House. In fact, he was the Minister of Indigenous Relations. If the member wants to strike these committees, I encourage him to talk to the House Leader about getting these committees going.

I think committees provide a great opportunity for British Columbians to hear about the issues. That’s why we’re engaged in so many committees with the members of the opposition.

Funding for Métis Nation
K-to-12 Education

Scott McInnis: This government likes to champion themselves as leaders with reconciliation with Indigenous peoples in B.C. Recently the Métis Nation of B.C. was told that core funding for K-to-12 education programs would be slashed by two-thirds.

My question to any minister in government is a simple one: on what planet would this be considered fair and just reconciliation with Indigenous people?

Hon. Lisa Beare: I want to thank the member for the question, which is just simply not accurate.

We are continuing to work with Indigenous communities all across the province to ensure that funding is directly targeted to support culture, to support language, to support the support needs that their members have.

We are firmly committed to reconciliation, which is why we’ve created the Indigenous education councils alongside school boards, so that we can directly connect and work with local nations, with Indigenous partners to ensure that we are providing those supports that they need.

The Speaker: Member, supplemental.

Scott McInnis: I do have the letter from the Métis Nation of B.C. which shows they’re getting a 66 percent cut in their funding. This government is willing to spend $118,000 celebrating bureaucrats but is unwilling to properly fund Métis education. The remaining funding is $2 per child.

Will this government reverse this heartless cut to Métis people and their families and fully fund Métis education?

Hon. Lisa Beare: Again, the member is just simply not correct. We are continuing to support Indigenous education in targeted ways. We have created the Indigenous education councils alongside First Nations, alongside Indigenous partners to ensure that we are directly targeting funding for culture, for language and for supports, and we are going to continue to do that.

Kootenay Lake Ferry Labour Dispute

Harman Bhangu: The Kootenay ferry strike is approaching its fifth month without a resolution. We learned the other day that negotiation talks have broken down. There are only three sailings for these communities that depend on this ferry for their livelihood and well-being.

Will this government, at the very least, commit to pushing this route up to five sailings a day while the negotiations continue?

Hon. Jennifer Whiteside: Thank you to the member for the question.

Look, I understand that people in the Kootenays rely on the ferry service, and I understand they are very frustrated with the ongoing dispute.

[2:35 p.m.]

I have been very clear in this House and outside of this House that it is my expectation that both parties will work diligently and with urgency to resolve their collective bargaining dispute. That, frankly, is what I expect to be happening.

I understand that people in the Kootenays need that ferry, and we need those parties to be at the table to get a deal and get things back to normal.

The Speaker: Member, supplemental.

Harman Bhangu: This chaos in the Kootenays must end. There’s a 23 percent increase over three years. Well, British Columbians don’t have that same offer to them. The operator has offered 8 percent the first year, 2 percent the second, 13 the third. BCGEU wants 13 percent, 8 percent, then 2 percent. People’s lives are in chaos, and this minister, this government and this local MLA are doing nothing.

To the Minister of Labour, will she do the right thing and appoint a mediator and end this strike?

Hon. David Eby: The people of the Kootenays deserve accessible, affordable, readily available transportation. The minister and her team are working to ensure that both sides reach a deal at the table and get things moving again.

Now, the member’s got great passion…

Interjections.

The Speaker: Shhh. Shhh.

Hon. David Eby: …and rightly so, about economic challenges in the Kootenays. Our whole province, in fact our whole country, is facing a major economic challenge right now coming from the President of the United States, which is why…

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members.

Hon. David Eby: …I would love to see….

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members.

[The Speaker rose.]

The Speaker: Calm down.

Interjection.

The Speaker: You should stop talking.

Premier, conclude please.

[The Speaker resumed their seat.]

Hon. David Eby: I’d love to see the same passion from the opposition fighting the tariffs, fighting Donald Trump, but instead we saw the Health critic for the opposition party….

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members. Members.

Hon. David Eby: Bring that passion to all British Columbians. Don’t sit beside…

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members.

Hon. David Eby: …a YouTuber who says, quote….

Interjections.

The Speaker: Shhh.

Hon. David Eby: They know who she sat beside. That’s why they’re….

Interjections.

The Speaker: Opposition House Leader, could you please ask your members to be in order?

Calm down. Order in the House.

Hon. David Eby: Anna Lith, a YouTuber that said, quote: “I’m going to do my best to buy American products so the idiots who are buying into Trudeau’s Team Canada b.s. have less impact.” Quote: “I don’t want Trump to hold back. Any suffering will be because of Trudeau, not Trump.” And called the Prime Minister, quote “The Governor of Canada.”

Interjections.

The Speaker: Shh.

Please conclude.

Hon. David Eby: I can’t wait for the opposition to have the same passion for defending all British Columbians as they rightly do for defending the people of the Kootenays.

[End of question period.]

Point of Order

Korky Neufeld: I would like the Premier to make an apology. He made a false statement. I am not taking a second salary, and I would like his apology, please, made public.

Hon. David Eby: It’s easy to get confused. I apologize to the member if he is, in fact, not taking a second salary. If he’s not, I was incorrect.

Orders of the Day

Government Motions on Notice

Motion 9 — Committee of Supply
and Committee of the Whole
to Sit in Two Sections

Hon. Mike Farnworth: I call Motion 9 sitting on the order paper in my name that will split the House into two sections, Section A, the little House, and section B, the Chamber.

[That, for the remainder of the current Session:

GENERAL

1. Certain proceedings of the House may be undertaken in two sections, designated Section A and Section B, to be subject to the rules that follow.

2. Section A sit in such committee room as may be designated from time to time, and Section B sit in the Legislative Chamber.

3. Section A and Section B be authorized to examine all Estimates, and for all purposes be deemed to be the Committee of Supply, and that the Standing Orders relating to the consideration of Estimates in the Committee of Supply and to Committees of the Whole House be applicable to such proceedings, save and except that, during proceedings in Committee of Supply, a Minister may defer to a Deputy Minister to permit such Deputy to reply to a question put to the Minister.

4. Section A and Section B be authorized to consider bills at committee stage after second reading thereof, and for all purposes be deemed to be a Committee of the Whole House, and that the Standing Orders relating to the consideration of bills in a Committee of the Whole House be applicable to such proceedings.

5. Estimates or bills may be considered in the order determined by the Government House Leader and may at any time be subsequently referred to another designated Section, as determined by the Government House Leader in accordance with Standing Order 27 (2).

COMPOSITION

6. The Deputy Chair, Committee of the Whole or their designate preside in Section A.

7. Section A consist of 12 Members, not including the Chair, being six Members of the B.C. NDP Caucus, five Members of the Conservative Party of British Columbia Caucus, and one Member of the B.C. Green Party Caucus.

8. The Members of Section A be: the Minister whose Estimates are under examination or who is in charge of the bill under consideration and Rohini Arora, Hon. Ravi  Parmar, Janet Routledge, Harwinder Sandhu, Amna Shah, Amelia Boultbee, Gavin Dew, Steve Kooner, Lawrence Mok, David L. Williams and Rob Botterell.

9. Substitutions for Members of Section A be permitted with the consent of the Member’s Caucus Whip.

10. Section B be composed of all Members of the House.

DIVISIONS

11. When a division is requested in Section A, the division bells shall be rung four times and the division shall proceed in accordance with Standing Order 16.

12. When a division is requested in Section B, the division bells shall be rung three times, at which time proceedings in Section A shall be suspended, and the division shall proceed in accordance with Standing Order 16.

13. If a division is underway in Section A at the time that a division is requested in Section B, the division in Section B be suspended until the completion of the division in Section A.

REPORTING AND COMPLETION

14. At 15 minutes prior to the ordinary time fixed for adjournment of the House, the Chair of Section A shall report to the House.]

Motion approved.

[2:40 p.m.]

Motion 10 — Extension of Sitting Hours

Hon. Mike Farnworth: I call Motion 10 on the order paper sitting in my name that will establish late night sittings effective March 31, which means that we will sit until nine o’clock on Mondays and Wednesdays.

I have talked with the opposition House Leader, understanding concerns about sitting on Tuesdays until nine o’clock, and I have committed that we will adjourn at 6.30 on Tuesdays for the rest of the session.

[That, effective March 31, 2025,

1. Standing Order 2 (1) be amended to provide for the Monday afternoon sitting, Tuesday afternoon sitting, and Wednesday afternoon sitting to be from 1.30 p.m. to 9.00 p.m.; and,

2. Standing Order 3 be amended by striking the words “6:30 p.m. on any Monday and Tuesday, 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday” and replacing them with “9:00 p.m. on any Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday”.

And that this order expire on May 30, 2025.]

The Speaker: Hon. Members, the Government House Leader has moved Motion 10.

Motion approved on division.

Hon. Mike Farnworth: I call third reading, Bill 3, Protected Areas of British Columbia Amendment Act.

Third Reading of Bills

Bill 3 — Protected Areas of
British Columbia Amendment Act, 2025

Hon. Laanas / Tamara Davidson: I move third reading, Hon. Speaker.

The Speaker: Members, the question is third reading of Bill 3, Protected Areas of British Columbia Amendment Act, 2025.

Motion approved.

The Speaker: Bill 3, Protected Areas of British Columbia Amendment Act, 2025, has been read a third time and has passed.

Hon. Mike Farnworth: I call second reading Bill 6, Supply Act (No. 1), 2025.

[Lorne Doerkson in the chair.]

Second Reading of Bills

Bill 6 — Supply Act (No. 1), 2025

Deputy Speaker: We’ll call the House back to order now, where we will call on the minister for the second reading of Bill 6 today, the Supply Act, 2025.

Hon. Brenda Bailey: I move that Bill 6, the Supply Act (No. 1), 2025, be read a second time now.

Existing voted appropriations will expire on March 31, 2025. Bill 6 provides interim supply for ministry operations and other appropriations for approximately the first three months of 2025-2026, while the House completes the debates of the appropriations presented in the ‘25-26 estimates.

Interim supply for ministry operations and other appropriations is required to ensure continuation of government services until the final supply bill comes into force.

Bill 6 also provides one-third of the combined voted amounts in schedules C and D-11 of the 2025-2026 estimates for disbursements related to capital expenditures, loans, investments and other financing requirements.

The one-third authorization provided for in relation to these disbursements is higher than proportion authorized in relation to the ministry operations, as the disbursements described in schedule C and schedule D-11 are not evenly distributed throughout the year. Therefore, the higher level of interim supply is required to accommodate the payments that will be made under these schedules.

Bill 6 also authorizes the full amounts of the disbursements referred to in schedule E of the 2025-2026 estimates. Schedule E of the estimates outlines the revenue collected on behalf of and transferred to specific programs or entities. There is no impact on the operating results, borrowing or debt resulting from the collection and transfer of this revenue.

[2:45 p.m.]

These interim supply appropriations are based on the accountabilities and allocations outlined in the 2025-2026 estimates. The final supply bill for the 2025-2026 fiscal year will incorporate these amounts to ensure it reflects the sum of all voted appropriations to be given to government in that fiscal year.

Deputy Speaker: Thank you very much to the Minister of Finance. Now for some debate on Bill 6, we will turn to the member for Kamloops Centre.

Peter Milobar: I won’t have a whole lot of comments on the Supply Act (No. 1), Bill 6, at this time. Certainly this is a pretty standard process that we move through in the Legislature every year when the budget comes out. As the minister laid out, it’s really as it seems, an interim supply bill. It keeps the doors of government open as we come back to this place after the two weeks away in our constituencies to start on budget estimates and enables the time frame for that full scrutiny of the whole budget to take place.

I want to make it very clear. Although we in the B.C. Conservative opposition support the Supply Act to keep the doors of government open, it should not be interpreted in any way, shape or form that we support or endorse this government’s overall budget, let alone running with an $11 billion deficit. Who knows how high it will be if this government actually follows through on cutting carbon tax as they’ve said they would, although they haven’t shown it in the budget. Mind you, they said in the election that we’d have a $1,000 grocery rebate in this budget, and it’s not there either, so I guess time will tell on that.

That’s really the point. Those broader budget estimates will be a time to fully canvass that. Those budget votes around the bigger, fuller budget will be when we fully question and fully make clear our opposition to the overall budget.

But certainly, the interim bill…. We want to see hospitals open. We want to see schools still operate. We want to see those things continue on in everyone’s everyday lives as we move forward through the regular budget process.

So, absolutely, we will be supporting Bill 6. We will absolutely not be supporting the budget though.

Deputy Speaker: Thank you, Member. Seeing no further speakers, I will call on the Minister of Finance to close debate.

Hon. Brenda Bailey: I just want to take a moment to acknowledge the profound and tumultuous moment that many British Columbians find themselves in. We are living in incredibly tumultuous times. Every person in this House and across the province is feeling the looming impacts of President Trump’s unjustified tariffs on their lives.

We are in an economic trade war, the likes of which our province has never seen. We did not ask for this trade war. We did not want this trade war. But here in B.C., we stand ready for whatever comes next. We are the true north, strong and free, and we will always be there for British Columbians when they need us.

Right now, British Columbians are looking to us to ensure that government functions and provides the essential services that they rely on. Bill 6 ensures that these key services continue to run smoothly, without disruption. Without this bill, we risk halting critical government operations, which would impact the delivery of health care, education and social services.

This bill will secure funding for social programs that will help British Columbians assess the support that they need, its financial aid, housing, addiction recovery services, supporting educators from kindergarten to post-secondary, keeping doctors, nurses and health care workers working and construction on major infrastructure projects moving ahead.

In these uncertain times, we must act decisively to protect the economic security of our province. This bill ensures that British Columbians have the tools and the resources needed to weather this economic time, keeping public sector jobs stable, protecting essential services and ensuring that investments in infrastructure continue to move forward.

The passage of this bill is more than just a financial necessity. It’s a commitment to British Columbians and their future. We must continue investing in health care, education, social services, and to protect the well-being of our communities. By passing this bill, we secure the stability of our province and build a stronger, more resilient British Columbia for everyone.

[2:50 p.m.]

Deputy Speaker: Members, the question is second reading of Bill 6, the Supply Act 2025.

Motion approved.

Hon. Brenda Bailey: I move that Bill 6 be committed to Committee of the Whole House for consideration at the next sitting after today.

Motion approved.

Hon. Brenda Bailey: I call continued budget debate.

Budget Debate
(continued)

Deputy Speaker: We will call on our first speaker to continue our budget debate, the member for North Vancouver–Seymour.

Susie Chant: Thank you, hon. Speaker, and a pleasure to see you again today.

I’d like to acknowledge the following interns that are working with us, because they have helped put together my budget speech. And we have worked together. They did not do the work for me. Myriam Devlin, Anabella McElroy, Chris Camasco, Ewa Bozerocka and Henry Waatainen are all to be commended for the work that they do and for the learnings that they are getting as interns with the parliamentary intern program. They are really great to work with.

I also would like to recognize that we are on the lands of the lək̓ʷəŋən people, now known as the SXIMEȽEȽ and Songhees Nations. We do our work on their traditional territory, and we are grateful for all the things that we learn from them.

I also want to make sure that I acknowledge my riding of North Vancouver–Seymour, which is located on the unceded ancestral lands of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, səlilwətaɬ and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm Nations.

I respect the ongoing stewardship of this land since time immemorial, and I appreciate the opportunities we have had to advance lasting reconciliation between our governments. As a provincial institution, we must acknowledge our historic role in the systemic oppression and discrimination of Indigenous peoples so that we may advance respectful reconciliation and work together meaningfully to address the issues facing British Columbians today.

This budget is being delivered in a time of uncertainty. Tariffs appear one day, gone the next. Our government is focused on investing in B.C.’s resilience, everything from good-paying jobs for people to protecting our breathtaking environment. We will never be the 51st state. I’ve seen more Canadian flags flying around our communities than I’ve ever seen before, and our government is supporting the Team Canada approach. I think we said: “Elbows up.”

The great example of the Team Canada approach was seen during the Invictus Games. Teams of service people and veterans came from all over the world to compete against each other in sporting events. However, the social interaction, inclusive of everybody, was exceptional. Everyone was welcome, everyone had folks cheering for them as they competed, and there was always somebody there to lift you up as needed.

The Indigenous underpinnings were very evident in a variety of ways, from the opening events, through the athletes, families and friends meeting place, a blanketing ceremony for all 550 competitors, and into the closing ceremonies. This is a lesson that all of our communities, provinces and countries can benefit from learning. We are stronger, better and nicer when we work and play together.

As the provincial liaison with the Consular Corps, I have been struck by the positive support voiced by the many representatives from other countries who are posted in Vancouver. They are enthusiastic in their willingness to discuss trade strategies and strong in their recognition of B.C. as a good partner and Canada as a sovereign nation. We are grateful for this support.

Yes, we are facing economic challenges today, but supporting our economy does not need to come at the expense of our climate goals. My constituents in North Vancouver understand how important it is to protect our beautiful environment: Mount Seymour Provincial Park; the shared Tsleil-Waututh provincial park of Say Nuth Khaw Yum; Whey-ah-Wichen Park, which is also known as Cates Park; through Lynn Canyon; the headwaters; and Seymour Demonstration Forest, to name just a few of the wonderful parks and green spaces that we have in North Vancouver–Seymour.

[2:55 p.m.]

Maplewood Flats is open and home to a myriad of bird species, and we’re learning their Indigenous names from the səlilwətaɬ Nation knowledge-keepers and those who are now guiding the work of the B.C. bird association.

We have bears, deer, raccoons, skunks and cougars in our backyards, and we’re continually improving safety on the interface, for the flora and fauna as well as for the people.

I am happy to see that this budget continues to spend on CleanBC programs, helping to build a sustainable economy that is good for everyone and protects the natural world around us.

I’ve been a long supporter of the Hydrogen Technologies and Energy Corps and their investments in North Vancouver and across the province. Just last year I was happy to see that our government invested $133 million in hydrogen power, and I’m excited for the clean liquid hydrogen facility which will soon be coming to North Vancouver. The federal government has also offered a loan of over $330 million for this project, known as the H2 gateway project, which will speed up and expand hydrogen development and infrastructure in North Vancouver.

We know that hydrogen is an important zero-emission fuel. These funds create more certainty in the sustainable fuel sector and make sure that B.C. is economically competitive in a decarbonizing world. This project will not only position our community at the forefront of clean energy innovation and help fight the climate crisis, but it will also create hundreds of new, good-paying jobs for the North Shore and for British Columbia.

As you can see, Mr. Speaker, North Vancouver–Seymour is an essential part of the Port of Vancouver. We are also home to several other important industries.

Chemtrade runs a facility in North Vancouver which plays a critical role in providing access to liquid chlorine for safe drinking water right across through Saskatchewan and down the western seaboard. This facility is the only chlorine-producing plant in B.C. and produces 40 percent of the chlorine in Canada. Chemtrade operates in partnership with the North Vancouver community and is committed to providing local and meaningful jobs which are environmentally aware, ethically responsible and safety-focused.

Allied Shipbuilders Ltd. is yet another great example of North Vancouver’s strong local business community. Founded in 1948, they’ve built hundreds of vessels and provide essential ship repair and engineering services to the commercial marine industry on the Pacific west coast.

The Port of Vancouver is thriving, and North Vancouver–Seymour is playing a vital role.

In the face of tariffs and economic warfare, B.C. needs reliable and sustainable industries. As a government, we’re looking forward to developing industry in the clean power sector in North Vancouver and ensuring that families and individuals across the province continue to have access to good, stable jobs.

Buying B.C. is another important thing to focus on as we stand together as Team Canada. In 2024, B.C. imported $25.2 billion of goods, or 34 percent of B.C.’s total imports, from the U.S., including food products. Food security is an especially pressing topic, and as we tackle the consequences of tariffs, we need to focus on local goods and services.

In North Vancouver–Seymour, the səlilwətaɬ Nation has created a community garden to support food security, health and nutritional education. This is one strategy that embodies their long-term goal of becoming completely self-sufficient in food production and harvesting.

Also in North Vancouver, we currently have nine beautiful community gardens where folks are growing lovely flowers and shrubs, as well as vegetables and fruits that they share with families, neighbours and local food providers. More local food production helps our communities become less vulnerable to supply chain issues and the rising cost of living.

Hydroponics, vertical gardening and green rooftops are examples of the innovative urban gardening techniques currently taking root in North Vancouver. Finding new ways to grow food all over B.C. is a crucial part of addressing food insecurity, and creating food infrastructure is crucial to keeping our province resilient. I know that our communities will continue to take the time and effort to work together, get the gardening gloves on and continue these incredible initiatives.

As a government, we also need to continue to advance reconciliation with Indigenous people. This is an ongoing process that requires enduring relationships, collaboration and dedication.

Our government has announced the opening of six more Indigenous justice centres across the province, in partnership with the B.C. First Nations Justice Council.

[3:00 p.m.]

In doing so, we have reached our goal of establishing 15 centres throughout B.C., showing our commitment to addressing the barriers Indigenous peoples face in the justice system. These centres are crucial for offering culturally appropriate legal services and improving access to justice for Indigenous peoples in B.C.

There is also important work being done at the local level. I think of the opportunities I have had to work alongside the səlilwətaɬ Nation as they move forward on their project to build a longhouse in Say Nuth Khaw Yum Park. This longhouse will offer a culturally appropriate environment for all generations of the nation to gather on these shores as a community and pass along traditional knowledge.

I’ve had the opportunity to discuss plans for the longhouse, which include an outdoor school option for the səlilwətaɬ school and perhaps others from North Van school district, a gathering place for ceremony and possibly a cultural tourist destination that allows visitors to learn about the many First Nation groups in B.C. Possible sites are being assessed for accessibility and whether they are appropriate for the intended use.

The səlilwətaɬ Nation has made exceptional progress in restoring the waters, shoreline and coastal habitat along the Burrard Inlet and Indian River. Urban and industrial development has damaged streams, intertidal habitats and altered one-third of the shoreline. We know this is not good. I’ve grown up along the side of this shoreline, and I’ve seen the difference in the last 20 years. We don’t have the oil and sludge that we used to have. This has resulted in serious water pollution, ecological damage, and it has hurt many native species of flora.

However, in recent years, they’ve seen the return of herring, salmon, dolphins and orcas as well as eelgrass to the inlet, which shows us the hard work is producing results. And while on a tour up the inlet with the members of səlilwətaɬ Nation, they also indicated they’re beginning to harvest clams again, something which has not been possible since the 1970s due to the levels of water pollution.

I’m inspired by the səlilwətaɬ Nation’s hard work to restore their natural habitat, raise awareness about pollution in the inlet and build a future abundant enough for their children’s children to thrive.

I’m also very happy in this budget to see a continued commitment in the budget for health care services. Our government is putting forward more than $4 billion to address the need for responsive health care for all British Columbians. We are committed to our public health care system and know that a lack of funds shouldn’t be a barrier to accessing these services.

As was mentioned by one of our members earlier, thank you to the health care workers in this province for the work that you put in every day for our constituents.

We have nurses, nurse practitioners, LPNs and care workers supporting patients in the community, in the acute care settings, in clinics, in long-term care and assisted living and in other settings as well. And that’s just the start.

Many other professionals and clinicians, doctors, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dieticians and more and the support staff…. Never forget the support staff, who keep places clean and safe and keep the patients eating nutritious and healthy food. All these people and more make up the care teams, and our government supports them in that work.

Additionally, we also need to recognize the work of families, friends and others who provide care, acknowledging the work that they do is critical, and they too need support through a variety of ways.

Something we know people are struggling with is getting good health care close to home. Patients and their families are going through what is often the most difficult time of their lives. We want to make sure they have the best facilities to help them through it all, somewhere that’s accessible to them. To address this issue, our government opened a new acute care tower two weekends ago at Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver.

I was able to visit this space last month: 108 surgical beds, eight large universal surgical suites, including one that is available at all times for emergency surgeries, pre- and post-anaesthetic units all on the same floor as the operating rooms so that the patient’s journey is smooth and so that staff can work readily in all areas as needed. It’s a bright space with big windows, designed to be calming, not what you might first imagine a sterile hospital space to look like. Rooms all have pullout couches so that family members can stay comfortably.

[3:05 p.m.]

There’s also a growing rooftop garden at the top of the tower. It is planted with 12 varieties of native plants and has an area for smudging and ceremony. It’s accessible to everyone in Lions Gate Hospital, not just those in the new tower. We know access to green space is beneficial to everyone’s mental and physical health, so this is a great addition.

Inside the new tower, doctors and clinical staff are benefiting from major facility and equipment upgrades. Working in a seismically upgraded facility means doctors don’t have to worry about what they’re going to do to take care of their patients in the event of an earthquake.

Our local First Nations were a big part of the new facility through the stages of conception, design and build. The Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and səlilwətaɬ Nations, with local First Nations artists, created spaces reflective of cultural practices and incorporated Indigenous art into all of the decor. The three large cedar trees that were taken down to allow the tower to be built are repurposed into two welcome poles and also have become the milled-wood panelling in the elevator foyer. It even smells like cedar.

It’s so important to create safer, welcoming and culturally appropriate spaces for Indigenous patients and their families. I’m happy to see this progress being made in the health care system, and this is great news for the North Shore area. This project takes us another step forward in achieving the goals outlined in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan. Our government is putting $15 billion towards health care capital over the next three years, and I’m looking forward to seeing more spaces like this one open.

I also want to say a quick thank-you to Mr. Paul Myers, who contributed $25 million to the build of the new tower, and so that allowed it to get started, and then the province was able to kick in, and the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation also raised — what was it, almost $10 million? — a lot, and I will have to correct that for the record. A lot of work was done in the community to get the money put together for that tower.

Another important addition to Lions Gate Hospital is a forensic nursing unit, which opened in July. Its purpose is to support sexual assault, domestic violence and human trafficking survivors. Before this unit opened, survivors would have to go to Vancouver General for specialized treatment. Now they can walk into the emergency room on the North Shore to get that care.

There are 12 nurses on call on the North Shore to document survivors’ accounts and help them with any blood work or DNA testing. It’s so important that survivors have the option to collect this evidence as quickly as possible without needing a referral or a police report before they’ve had time to process what has happened.

The coordinator of the unit told North Shore News last year that everyone should know that their care is self-directed. They are taking control of their own bodies and health during a hospital experience. For those who want to go to the police immediately, the nurses are able to help. For those who want to go through that process later, they’ll have what was collected to support them.

All the nurses in the forensic unit have specialized medical training from BCIT, as well as cultural sensitivity training. They work to ensure all patients have a safe experience in what is a very traumatic time.

In another important part of the health care sector, this budget shows our government’s commitment to funding mental health and addiction recovery services. I want to highlight an organization our government supports, which is doing fantastic work in my community, the Lookout Housing and Health Society. This organization runs a new substance use recovery community centre that opened this summer, the North Shore Junction.

Recovery community centres are a type of care that doesn’t require a doctor’s referral. The centre supports people starting their substance use recovery journey alongside people that are far down that path, as well as their families and friends.

The Junction has programming through the week to help those in recovery build support systems. The programs might be a trail walk, arts and crafts events or group therapy sessions. The Junction also hosts drop-in building-back hours five days a week for anyone curious about joining the community.

Community centres like these are an essential piece of addiction health care, and we know that B.C., like many other provinces and countries, is facing a shortage of health care workers. The first step in addressing this is making sure more doctors can train in B.C. We’re putting $34 million towards the initial Simon Fraser University Surrey campus, ensuring future doctors can start medical school there in 2026.

[3:10 p.m.]

Alongside doctors and nurses, our government is working to build up B.C.’s trade workers, teachers and engineers. We’re also making it easier to translate international credentials for all these essential fields into good-paying jobs in British Columbia.

Budget 2025 reflects our continued commitment to building B.C. The money we’re setting aside for housing will support teachers, nurses, construction workers and other working professionals that communities like North Vancouver depend on. It will allow us to continue working with other levels of government and community partners to create housing that is high quality, secure and affordable.

As outlined in Budget 2025, making sure individuals and families can find good-quality homes at a price point they can afford remains one of the top priorities. This investment into housing has and will continue to improve the lives of the people of B.C.

An example of our government’s commitment to building homes for people in my own constituency of North Vancouver–Seymour is the $9.5 million that was invested in the Salal Apartments development through B.C. Housing’s Community Housing Fund. Since the building opened last June, Salal Apartments has given 90 North Vancouver households access to high-quality, affordable homes.

Developments like Salal Apartments support young families in particular by outfitting our growing community with dozens of new multi-bedroom units that they can afford.

However, these homes are more than just affordable. Families living in Salal’s modern units also enjoy immediate access to parks, schools and other amenities in the walkable Lynn Creek neighbourhood. This includes a newly upgraded Phibbs bus exchange, just steps from the building, and a brand-new recreation centre on Hunter Street, only a ten-minute walk away.

Also close by is access to parks and trails, which will take you away from the hustle and bustle of commerce to the relative calm of Inter River Park, leading up into Lynn Canyon and to the demonstration forest or to headwaters park. Suspension bridges, waterfalls, big trees and seasonal berries are all within hiking distance.

In partnership with the district of North Vancouver, B.C. Housing is also helping build a new 188-home complex just off Lillooet Road. Once completed, this development will provide housing options for people of various incomes, independent seniors and families.

Budget 2025 will help us to continue the work of building homes for people, ensuring that middle-income British Columbians, including families and working professionals, can afford to live in their own communities. And $318 million is being earmarked to support our BC Builds program over the next three years to help us deliver thousands of homes for middle-income folks on the north shore and across the province.

In addition to this, we are also making changes to ensure that affordable housing benefits people and not speculators, raising our speculation and vacancy tax from 0.5 percent to 1 percent for citizens and permanent residents and 2 to 3 percent for foreign and worldwide owners. This tax works. Even though it applies to less than 1 percent of B.C. households, the speculation and vacancy tax added over 20,000 condo units to Metro Vancouver’s long-term rental market between 2018 and 2020 alone.

Further taxing speculators will unlock more homes for people in communities across the province and provide additional revenues that will be reinvested into housing.

In Budget 2025, more funding is also coming to support low-income families and seniors. Working families receiving rent supports will see their monthly payments nearly double as we further invest in rental assistance programs.

In North Vancouver, we’re working with local partners to give people who are at risk of or currently experiencing homelessness the care and support they need. The East Keith Road supportive housing site, for example, is a collaborative effort between B.C. Housing, Vancouver Coastal Health, the district of North Vancouver and Lu’ma Native Housing. Once completed, this project will provide 60 supportive studio apartments and five complex care units for vulnerable members of our community.

Moreover, with the support of the Lu’ma Native Housing Society, the services delivered at the East Keith Road development will be safe and culturally appropriate for Indigenous residents.

Likewise, we are very proud to be partnering with the səlilwətaɬ First Nation through B.C. Housing to build 50 homes on the reserve land along Spa-Ath Road. With construction now underway, members of the səlilwətaɬ community will soon have greater access to a wide variety of affordable housing options, including units catering to families, seniors and multi-generational households.

[3:15 p.m.]

The Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Nation has also been doing hard work to shape the future of affordable housing for its community. As the cost of living rises in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh territory, members deserve access to a range of affordable housing options that serve their needs.

The Hiy̓ám̓ ta Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Housing Society is a not-for-profit organization creating much-needed affordable homes. Working with several partners, including B.C. Housing and the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Nation, Hiy̓ám̓ Housing Society has developed numerous housing projects with the goal of housing every Sḵwx̱wú7mesh person within 25 years — for example, the 95 rental units completed last year on the Capilano Reserve and in the most recent 55-unit development on Capilano Road that provides supportive housing for vulnerable members experiencing homelessness or at the risk of homelessness.

These are significant projects being realized. I commend the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Nation as they work tirelessly to bring community members and families home.

Under Budget 2025, our government is also continuing its work to make sure seniors in communities across B.C. have access to stable and affordable housing. Rent supplements provided through our Shelter Aid For Elderly Renters program, for instance, will grow by 30 percent on average. This is the second time in the last year that we have increased funding for seniors under this program. In addition to this per-person increase, Budget 2025 provides an additional 1,600 total seniors with access to these rental supports.

Housing is not the only support available to seniors under this budget. As of 2024, British Columbia is home to approximately 1.5 million people over the age of 60. We have a responsibility to them to make sure that they can lead healthy and self-sufficient lives. I know how important it is for our government to invest in independent living, as well as long-term care, and ensure that all seniors have access to the services that they need.

Promoting and advocating for seniors services and long-term care is obviously very meaningful to me, not only because of my role as a parliamentary secretary but also because, as a registered nurse working in community for over 20 years, I have seen the importance of ensuring that as people age, there are choices available — choices to remain at home for as long as possible or to die at home with effective and compassionate palliative care, to die in a palliative care centre, to be in a long-term-care home that can meet more complex needs or to be in assisted living where independence is supported with some help.

All of these options and more are important, and our government continues to do the work of making sure everyone can access those choices.

We remain committed to supporting and caring for seniors, which is why I’m happy to hear that in addition to rent supplements, we will continue to improve home and community care, with an increase of more than $100 million in the budget for 2025. This funding will support home health services to help seniors manage their health care needs and remain living at home.

One of these programs to highlight is the Better at Home program, a service which helps with day-to-day tasks such as grocery shopping, light housekeeping and transportation to and from medical appointments for those who need it. They can also help with snow removal and yardwork in some areas. That is managed by the United Way.

We are also continuing the age tax credit introduced in 2000, which provides income-tested tax credits to seniors.

Our seniors are an integral part of our province. We will continue to ensure that they can access the services they need, participate in their communities and live the lives they choose. We will always recognize that these are the people who have paved the way for the rest of us and ensure that respect and compassion are integral to all services for seniors.

I had the opportunity just last week to attend the seniors care conference of the federal, provincial and territorial ministers for seniors. I was delighted to learn that B.C. is setting the standard in some areas of seniors care, particularly in the area of non-profit societies that offer a broad range of services, from meal programs through socialization through IT fluency, language training and more.

During times like this, when uncertainty is all around us, it’s important that we keep focused on the things that really matter. While the government down south chooses chaos, our government is choosing to stand strong for B.C. families and children. I’m proud of the work that our government is doing in investing in British Columbia, investing in people, investing in programs, investing in business.

I thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity to speak and support this budget.

[3:20 p.m.]

Deputy Speaker: Thank you very much, Member.

For continued budget debate, we’ll call on and recognize the member for West Vancouver–Capilano.

Lynne Block: I rise today to speak to the 2025 budget.

First and foremost, I want to thank the many people who supported me in my campaign: my children and their families, friends, volunteers, community members, experts in their fields. You believed in me and my commitment to our riding and its people. I stand here today with a deep sense of responsibility, honoured to represent my riding of West Vancouver–Capilano and every single constituent in it. It is a privilege to serve this community, and I will work tirelessly to meet the needs and expectations of every individual and family in this riding.

Specifically, I want to thank Ashton Young, Colin Metcalf, Sharon Thompson, Caroline Elliott, Eva Jarvis, Robert Jarvis, Aidan McKay, Shannon Cooley, David Jones, Tyler Elkington, Rob McKay, Dan Brock Stevenson, Richard Trix, Helene Childs, Neil Carroll, Shireen Salie, Will Portman, Neil Jensen, Elizabeth John-Stewart, Samin Sobhi, Atifay Abispo, Peter Thaniss, Craig Farlinger, Shaye Sinigal, Nathan Weber, Lisa Pietro, Lucas Sichich, John McCarter, Conrad Kobulowski, Lawrence Wong, Carlo Rahal, Sheila Donahue and Nicole Brown — just to name a few.

I want to thank the Conservative Party for supporting me and providing concrete plans and frameworks that would revitalize a moribund economy. So many British Columbians wanted a real change in government to ensure that B.C. would be prepared to face all of our current and future challenges, and I would like to thank all of those people who got out to vote for that change.

West Vancouver–Capilano is a beautiful riding, home to eight creeks, Capilano Lake and River and multiple regional parks. There is no shortage of hiking trails or grass fields perfect for picnics or an afternoon stroll. We are also surrounded by a view of Lions Gate Bridge and the downtown skyline, which never gets old.

I can’t speak about my riding without mentioning the vibrant and luscious Capilano River Regional Park, known to many for its suspension bridge and Treetops Adventure, providing visitors with a squirrel’s-eye view of the thriving coastal rainforest right smack in the heart of my riding. There’s no shortage of wildlife here either, with chum, coho and chinook salmon spotted on the banks of Capilano River, and even dolphins spotted near Ambleside Beach just over a week ago.

On top of a beautiful environment, my community of West Vancouver–Capilano is home to a vibrant and thriving network of small businesses that are the backbone of our local economy. These businesses are not only places of commerce but also vital spaces that bring people together and foster a genuine sense of community.

Beyond the entrepreneurs and business owners, what truly makes my community special are the residents who live here. Not only are residents deeply connected to one another, but there is a spirit of collaboration and solidarity that extends to the way our community advocates for important issues that impact us all.

Whether it is ensuring that our children have access to high quality education, advocating for better child care options or addressing any other crucial needs, the people in my riding are not afraid to work together to make change happen. It is this strong sense of community and shared responsibility that makes this place so unique and truly a wonderful place to represent.

I want to talk a little bit about my own personal story outside of politics and how it brought me to be sitting here now in the B.C. Legislature. I am a proud immigrant who moved from a small town in England to the vastness of Canada, and I’ve never looked back. It was quite an adjustment, but I am incredibly proud to be standing here, a Canadian citizen and an elected representative in my chosen home, British Columbia.

I come from a long line of strong-willed patriots who risked their lives to fight for our freedoms and to secure our democracy. My grandfather and three great uncles served in World War I, and my father served in World War II. I would like to take a moment to remember them and to thank them for their service.

However, and I never thought I’d say this, I am so glad that none of them are here today, because they would be disgusted at what has been happening in the world, including here in B.C., where they chose to settle and bring up my sister and I.

My parents believed in education and emphasized lifelong learning. They taught us to listen to others, to try our best to truly understand the words others speak and then to incorporate these lessons into our own thoughts and words. They also reflected the commitment to democracy and freedoms, while expecting people to act responsibly and take accountability.

[3:25 p.m.]

It is these lessons that I strive to bring with me into this House. I have listened attentively to the answers members opposite me have provided in response to some of our questions. Often, the answers have not been actual facts but the dredging up of past comments of some of my fellow MLAs to obfuscate or to provide a negative soundbite. Disappointingly, often the responses have not provided real answers, and sometimes there have been answers that bore no relation to the original question.

Sometimes I’ve wondered if there’s a plexiglass that divides this chamber in half and that the answers provided by my opposite members are being lost in translation, because they bear no relation to the actual reality that our B.C. residents are experiencing and that my colleagues relate every single day in this chamber.

But I have faith that there are some members of the NDP party who are secretly empathetic and even upset at hearing all the brutal stories our party members are sharing. And perhaps they agree with some of our policies and perhaps are a wee bit ashamed with all the NDP broken promises that were made in order to get them elected.

Day after day, my colleagues and I provide factual data of the horrors of what is happening in various parts of our province.

One member opposite lauded our health care system as the best in the world. I was gobsmacked with that statement. Hasn’t the hon. member opposite heard all the heartrending stories about the failures in our health care system?

What about the colleagues? The huge failures in our housing policies, failures in our opioid crisis, failures in honouring our seniors, failures in our education system, crushing taxes, failures in providing critical infrastructure, and so on….

A member opposite stated that this budget will provide, quote, “services where they need them and when they need them,” end quote. And: “Our budget is focused on providing critical highlights,” end quote. Really? On the contrary, this budget does nothing to build up our economy so that we don’t go deeper and deeper into debt, a debt our children and grandchildren will have to shoulder. Why?

I have a question for any member across the aisle. Did any of you think to refuse the increase in your salary, knowing that it came as a result of taking money from your constituents and those who needed it most?

And now the NDP are wrapping themselves in the Canadian flag and gleefully pointing at the U.S. and the impending tariffs as the reason we are in deep trouble financially. I find this offensive. It’s not because of the U.S. and their tariffs. It’s because of the ineptitude and fiscal mismanagement of the NDP that has left us vulnerable.

Our Conservative Party knows exactly how to recharge the economy. And we’re here to hold this government to account until they realize that and start working with us. There’s no sense in constantly saying “elbows up” if you won’t stand up in this House and stand up for the people of British Columbia.

Unlike some of the members opposite, every single one of my colleagues has the expertise or the lived experiences or the working experiences of their specific critic roles. So they know exactly how to turn this province around. They know how to work together to build a robust economy that can pay for all that we need to put B.C. back on track.

I used to be a teacher, so I was very excited when my fellow MLA and I were notified that we were on an education committee, where we could work with the members across the aisle to build new ideas that would provide the much-needed programs, frameworks and best practices to not only meet the needs of today’s students but of those in the future.

And then we found out that this committee, like many others in this government, never meets, and it hasn’t met since 2006 — that is 19 years ago. Who has been shaping the policies that make up our education system since then? It genuinely concerns me. There are thousands of young adults in B.C. who were born and have since completed their entire primary and secondary education since this committee last met.

This is not a democratic process. People deserve to have their voices heard through those committees. It is time that this government reconvene these committees so that we can sit down with them and truly collaborate and listen to one another.

As the critic for Education, it is my duty on behalf of His Majesty’s Loyal B.C. Opposition — my party, the Conservative Party of B.C. — to shine a light on these broken promises and to demand better for British Columbians.

[3:30 p.m.]

After eight years of the New Democratic Party promising better schools and child care, our classrooms remain overcrowded, our children are stuck in portables, and much-needed support staff are nowhere to be found.

My grandma Loveday — you’ll be hearing more about her later — a suffragist, always told me: “Lynne, never make a promise if you can’t fulfill it. Otherwise, it reflects poorly on your integrity.”

But time and again Premier David Eby and his NDP colleagues have made grand commitments on education only to….

Deputy Speaker: Member, I ask you to refrain from names, please, of any of the members of this House.

Lynne Block: Sorry. Beg your pardon. I take that back.

Premier and his NDP colleagues have made grand commitments on education only to break those promises. Budget 2025 was an opportunity to deliver for students, parents and education in B.C. Yet it has once again fallen short.

Those across the aisle would like to broadcast that Budget 2025 spends more money than last time on education. But what they fail to mention is that this minimal funding increase does not actually represent more money per student. No, it’s because B.C. just has more students.

The biggest issue with education in B.C. is that we are using the same old education model, and it’s not effective in this modern day. We need to be looking at best practices around the world, not only for education, but for housing and several other issues. I would imagine that reconvening the prior-mentioned committee that hasn’t met for 19 years might be a good start in hearing new ideas on this.

But for now, I want to focus on the commitments that the NDP made that raised hopes for parents and teachers alike, but brought practically nothing new in this budget. First, let me bring attention to the Premier’s pledge of having, quote, “an educational assistant in every kindergarten to grade 3 classroom,” unquote, along with a mental health counsellor in every school.

I am disappointed but not surprised to say that this promise is not fulfilled in this budget, and our youngest learners will continue on in class without the dedicated support that their Premier guaranteed. The much-touted child care spaces have yet to materialize at the scale promised. Even the new Maple Ridge school that was announced remains just talk, much like the new Pitt Meadows Secondary that NDP promised in the last campaign, where construction has not yet started.

The NDP’s pattern is clear: campaign-trail promises followed by delays, inaction and disappointment. This pattern is not new. We’ve seen this with them before. Nowhere are these broken promises more visible than in the overcrowding of our schools and the proliferation of portables.

Let’s talk about portables. These trailer-like structures out back of schools, originally meant as temporary overflow space, are now a permanent fixture in too many communities. All the way back in 2017, the NDP vowed to eliminate portables in Surrey schools by 2020, a commitment that raised expectations for families in B.C.’s fastest growing cities. At that time, Surrey had about 250 portables in use.

Not only did the NDP fail to eliminate those portables, but the number of portables has actually grown to over 360 with 400 projected in this next year. Our promise to eliminate portables became an explosion of portables. There are stories of schools looking at double-decker stackable portables just to fit everybody in. This is not an indicator of success by any government. It is a glaring symbol of failure to invest in our future, our children.

The situation in Surrey is a crisis. Over 80 percent of Surrey’s schools are over capacity, with some operating at up to 158 percent of their intended capacity. In plain terms, that means children packed into hallways, gyms converted to classrooms and classes held in any available nook and cranny.

To cope, the district has resorted to so-called band-aid solutions: extended secondary school schedules and all of these portables, measures which drain existing funds and take away play and recreation space from students. Each one of these portables represents a classroom that should have been built as part of a proper school. Each one represents children who don’t have access to proper facilities, libraries, labs, gyms and who often must trek through rain and snow just to use a washroom in the main building.

This opposition would do away with cold, ugly portables and invest in modular classrooms in buildings that are properly insulated, wired and integrated into school campuses, and we would build new schools with the urgency the situation demands. We recognize that the government alone can’t meet every need fast enough. That’s why we should be working with local partners to expand school capacity in all ways possible.

[3:35 p.m.]

If an independent school or community school can help take pressure off the public system, we should expedite approvals and support them. Every seat we create for a student is a win, whether it’s in a public or independent setting. The focus must be on our children, not ideology or politics. Our school system should be one that sets every child up for success — well-built schools, well-supported staff and a well-rounded curriculum that prepares students for our future.

This is something the current government has lost sight of. People are frustrated, and who can blame them? The present government hasn’t done anywhere near enough in the past seven years to address this crisis facing our children and teachers. When asked about this, the Minister of Education says that eliminating portables is still, quote-unquote, “where we want to go” and then points fingers at previous governments. It’s simply not good enough. Blaming past officials doesn’t build a single classroom today.

Sadly, the budget offers little more than the status quo and stall tactics. Even the Minister of Finance characterized the new budget as just, quote-unquote, “holding steady.” What a weak and uncreative approach to take, especially when we look at the crisis of our education system. Of course, maintaining core services is essential, but where is the growth and vision needed to fix the education crunch?

Budget 2025 claims to add $370 million, over three years, for K-to-12 education. This $370 million might sound like a lot, until you realize that it barely keeps up with growing enrolment and inflation. The B.C. Teachers Federation noted that the modest increases will meet basic contractual obligations and, quote, “hopefully prevent cuts,” unquote, but it’s far from the bold improvement needed. The truth is that many of the headline items in the education budget were old news, repackaged after already being on the books for several years.

This NDP government is patting itself on the back for investments that were already underway, while this critical growth was left unfunded. Many districts have long been awaiting school capital projects, and while the budget does allocate some capital funds for education, they’re largely tied up in previously announced projects or stopgap measures.

Let’s break down the part of the budget set towards building and upgrading schools: the $392 million for prefabricated, modular school projects, creating 6,485 new student seats by 2026. Surrey alone needs 10,000 new seats, 400 portables’ worth of students, but the NDP, the party, has promised only these 6,485 new seats, across 16 districts. Surrey gets 1,000 new students a year. The scale is off. It’s nonsense.

This is essentially a tacit admission that traditional school construction has lagged so badly that we need emergency measures. The government boasts about the six new schools they have built in Surrey since 2017, but the district grows by 1,000 students every year. It’s not enough, and they know it, but still they ignore the community’s pleas.

The wait time from when a new school is needed to when it finally opens can be up to 15 years — longer than a child’s entire K-to-12 education — during a time when an entire generation of students remained stuck in overcrowded schools, waiting and hoping for relief to arrive from the government.

Budget 2025 certainly does not bring this necessary relief. The Conservative Party of B.C. has vowed to cut through the red tape that delays school construction. That means working closely with municipalities on fast-tracking permits and ensuring that land is acquired in advance in growing areas. It also means embracing innovative solutions like modular construction, as I already mentioned.

We would revamp the capital planning and budgeting process in the Ministry of Education so that new schools open when families need them, not 15 years later. In fact, eight years ago even the NDP itself admitted the capital funding model was broken, yet in government they did nothing to fix it. We will fix it.

Perhaps the NDP don’t want to listen to me or to the facts that I present. So I thought that maybe they would listen to those on the front lines — the teachers in classrooms, the parents of school kids and the local school boards trying to balance their budgets. Their verdict on the NDP’s education record is clear: not good enough.

The B.C. Teachers Federation has been vocal that much more is needed. They have urged the government to, quote, “deliver on their promises and commitments to B.C.’s teachers and their students,” unquote, and to bring forward a bold vision to improve learning conditions. In polite terms, the teachers’ message is that this government is treading water — and our kids deserve a government that swims forward.

[3:40 p.m.]

Parents are speaking out as well. The Surrey District Parents Advisory Council teamed up with teachers and support staff to write a joint letter to send to the Premier. Think about how extraordinarily upsetting that is — parents and educators, united across Surrey in desperation, writing to the Premier to beg for help. In that letter, they didn’t mince words. They highlighted how portables are draining funds and robbing kids of play space, how the wait for new schools is unbearably long.

School trustees and boards are also ringing alarm bells. The B.C. School Trustees Association warned that boards will, quote, “struggle to manage with the status quo,” unquote, funding levels. For years, they’ve asked this government for increased capital funding to build schools and deal with aging facilities, as well as resources to recruit much-needed staff. Those pleas have largely gone unanswered.

You may have noticed, Mr. Speaker, that I have repeatedly used the word “crisis” to refer to the current state of B.C.’s education system. I’m not alone in thinking that way. In fact, just this week the Surrey board of education declared the shortage of schools in their city as just that: a crisis. The board said that they have done everything they can, but now they desperately need urgent action from this province.

From the teachers union to parents’ groups to trustees across B.C., the message is unanimous: the NDP government’s handling of education and child care is failing our children. The people who experience the consequences every day are asking, begging, for better, and this B.C. Conservative opposition is here to amplify their voices.

Parents teach their children to never break a promise, but there have been too many broken promises from this NDP government. But oh, if only we could monetize the mountain of NDP excuses and broken promises. I’m sure we’d have enough to face the U.S. tariff threats and properly fund public services like education and child care. We’d probably even have money left over to pay off the debt.

The results of these broken promises affected all British Columbians, but this deficit will be left to our children, a debt that has mortgaged our children’s education and future success in life. Shame on the NDP. Shame on them for their broken promises and endless excuses. Shame on the NDP for devoting time and resources for pet projects and political optics, things like renaming ministries and rolling out ill-considered curriculum changes, such as dropping letter grades without proper consultation.

We watch as this NDP government trumpets historic investments in child care or housing in one press release, and then, in the next, they find excuses for not building urgently needed schools.

But it seems they have found a new and shiny excuse — the U.S. tariffs. Yes, economic uncertainty is real, but it’s during tough times that a government’s real values, integrity and character are revealed. What we see is this government does not prioritize our children’s learning as highly as they should. Our schools are in crisis. Where is the urgency?

We in the opposition, and specifically the Conservative Party of British Columbia, refuse to stand by while students are shortchanged. We do have a plan to address the overcrowding and staffing shortages and to restore quality in our schools. We will keep pressing this government to implement these commonsense solutions now. Or if not, they need to make way for us, a government that will.

To the parents and teachers listening, we hear you, and we are here for you. To the students facing overcrowded schools and cut programs, we have not forgotten you. We are here for you. And to the Premier and his NDP ministers, it’s time to stop breaking promises and start fixing the problems.

The Conservative Party of British Columbia official opposition will not rest until we see the level of improvement that is needed and deserved. We owe it to our children, who are the future of this province, to do no less.

Hon. Sheila Malcolmson: I’m very grateful and heartened to be speaking today on the territory of the lək̓ʷəŋən-speaking people, the SXIMEȽEȽ and Songhees First Nations, and hail to Snuneymuxw First Nation, the home territory where I represent, and grateful always for the leadership and the friendship of Chief Mike Wyse and the Snuneymuxw people.

[3:45 p.m.]

Every time that I’m home, I’m reminded of the strength and the ways that people are engaging in local economy and community, especially at this time of really very intense pressure — seeing people waving B.C. and Canada flags, seeing people walking around the grocery store looking for made-in-B.C. or made-in-Canada labels.

At the meeting that I had just on Friday with the Gabriola Island Chamber of Commerce, hearing about the concerns that they have about tariffs and the ways that they — the chambers of commerce across the province — are giving advice to this government on how we can support them, get British Columbia as ready as we can be for the impact of tariffs which President Donald Trump says will come for sure.

This budget is built in that context and very much responding to what we’re hearing from community. We’re going to continue to invest in services. We’re going to continue to invest in the kind of supports that people need. But we are also keeping as ready as we can for impacts that we cannot yet anticipate. We are together standing strong for British Columbia against Donald Trump’s unfair tariffs.

Today I’m going to bring to this chamber some of those stories that I’ve heard from home, stories from community groups and leaders who are pulling together in really difficult times.

We’ll relay how this budget reflects the priorities that we’ve heard from people in British Columbia.

This is very much about investing in critical services, public supports for the areas of growing demand.

Health care, for example.

Putting people first.

Supporting businesses as we build that stronger future.

Growing the economy by helping people train up for better jobs.

Getting major projects built; diversifying where we sell our goods.

Managing our finances carefully to safeguard front-line services that people count on without hiking costs for them.

Improving health care and education by connecting more people to family doctors and building good neighbourhood schools for our kids.

Delivering homes that people can afford while keeping everyday costs low, from child care fees to car insurance bills.

Improving public safety with new community safety initiatives and by training up more police.

Building up B.C.’s critical infrastructure with investments in roads, bridges and transit that keep people and goods moving.

All of this in the context of global inflation that had made life more expensive and things more unaffordable already. This had already hit people hard. In the ministry that I’m assigned to, Social Development and Poverty Reduction, I hear particularly from people that are having a hard time making ends meet. Then layer onto that the deep uncertainty that we’re all feeling as B.C. and all of Canada face tariffs from the United States.

In this budget, we are defending B.C. against the impact of those tariffs; we’re strengthening health care and the services people rely on; we’re helping people with costs, providing affordable homes; we’re working for a strong diversified economy for British Columbia; and we are making communities safer and stronger.

This is very much the time to focus on what really matters to our communities and the people of the province, and it is a time to protect the essentials and prepare for what comes next.

I want to talk first of all about health care. This budget invests $15.5 billion in health care capital over the next three years to continue to help build and upgrade hospitals, long-term care facilities and cancer centres.

One includes the cancer care facility in Nanaimo that is under construction. I know how long our community has advocated for this. I know the really heartbreaking stories of people in my community who had to travel to Victoria or Vancouver for treatment, just at the time that you want to have your loved ones close and to have as much support as close to home as you can.

That ground has been broken, and the cancer care centre is being built in partnership with the amazing funders in our community. I raise my hands to the Nanaimo Hospital Foundation and to the Regional District of Nanaimo Hospital board. We are very grateful for all the ways that all three of our funds come together to make these projects happen.

[3:50 p.m.]

Already, in Nanaimo, since 2018 — I was first elected in January 2019 — $700 million has been invested into Nanaimo Regional Hospital and then the long-term care centre which is going to be built in my friend the member for Nanaimo-Lantzville’s riding.

The reason I add long-term care in there is that when we build more long-term-care beds, it takes pressure off the hospital. That’s one of the quick things that we can do to make space for more people in the existing always-over-census hospital.

I have absolutely heard from folks at home that they really wanted to see the new Nanaimo hospital tower in this budget, and for anybody listening from home, we are going to build it. It’s a promise we are going to keep. The fact that it is not a new project that was in this year’s budget is simply because right now, we are already building so much.

There has never been more of a capital investment between schools, hospitals, university residences, as are being built up at Vancouver Island University. The business case is being worked on for the hospital tower, and I will continue to be advocating very hard for it to be in next year’s budget. But it is not a sign of the government’s lack of commitment to the Nanaimo hospital tower that it wasn’t in this year’s budget. It’s simply a timing piece.

Just while I’m at it, because I’ve also heard some people in the community — well, haven’t asked me directly, but I’ve heard this secondhand — that I am not committed to the hospital tower or to a cardiac lab for Nanaimo. Not true. I’ve been working the whole time that I’ve been here to bring us to those investments.

The fact that I’ve also said to some community members that we don’t yet have a commitment on rebuilding Nanaimo District Secondary School, which very much is something that I’m pushing and that I really want to deliver on…. I can push for both projects simultaneously. They honestly do not need to compete against each other.

I want to echo the words of my friend the member of the Legislature for Nanaimo-Lantzville in his member’s statement this afternoon: the deep bows of thanks to those who are working in the health care system at this time.

We are continuing to fund expanding services. You know, it’s really quite a lift in demand — $4 billion extra in this year’s budget — for the three-year fiscal plan that’s represented in the budget that we’re debating today. There’s so much more pressure. The caseload growth for health has been phenomenal. Again, I’m just so glad that we’re a government that is continuing to invest and to expand health care supports, not to cut them back.

We have also got a budget lift in this budget for Community Living B.C. CLBC was intended, was built, for and by people living with developmental disabilities so that we can break down barriers and ensure that everybody has the chance to fully participate in community life.

We know that community inclusion enriches communities. It makes them strong when everybody participates fully to their full wish and to their full capability. Everybody benefits. That’s why Community Living B.C. was created, by self-advocates, at a time that the province was deinstitutionalizing. It was really meant to ensure that people with disabilities were being cared for by and in community and to give people with lived experience a voice in how they wanted to be supported.

Community Living B.C., our Crown agency that does this work, supports more than 29,000 adults with developmental disabilities, autism spectrum disorder or fetal alcohol spectrum disorder every year. The number of people that are seeking service is growing.

Many people are living in home shares. I’m really grateful for the 4,000 people throughout British Columbia who act as home-share providers and care for people with developmental disabilities. I’m really grateful for the home shares that I’ve been able to visit.

We have increased rates twice already in past budgets. I hear loud and clear from those who are providing home share that they continue to need more support. That’s work that is my responsibility to deliver.

Well, maybe I’ll just go to a memory of a visit that I had in Sechelt last year. I met Amanda, who was working with the Sunshine Coast Association for Community Living.

[3:55 p.m.]

Amanda works at her community grocery store. She has two more jobs in her community. She was just kind of the epitome of someone who works really hard, has a big impact on her community. Because she’s supported in her employment, she’s been able to fill, really, several in-demand jobs. She’s very proud of the work that she does. I have learned a lot from her.

I also learned, visiting a home share along with my friend the former member for Surrey-Cloverdale, Mike Starchuk…. We got to visit with a fellow named Grant Taylor, who is in a home share in Surrey, and were able to see the way that Grant could live independently in his own space, his own agency and very lovingly cared for by his home-share providers. That’s the way we want it to be for everybody, and that is the work that we are committed to doing.

In this year’s budget is an additional $380 million over three years to CLBC to help meet growing demands. We’re going to continue to work with families, with CLBC and with home-share providers to make sure people are getting the supports that they need in their communities. You know, social services are under pressure in every part of the continent, and CLBC is no exception to that.

We have been helping people with costs and making life more affordable, and this budget extends that work. We’ve lifted, since 2017, 163,000 people out of poverty, including 50,000 children. That’s been through a combination of measures.

Child care. In my own riding that I’ve represented since 2018, over $42 million has gone back to families in my riding by virtue of lowered child care fees. All combined together, $76 million has gone back to parents in Nanaimo and the surrounding area more broadly.

We’ve also been able to lift people out of poverty by increasing the minimum wage eight times. We’ve increased income assistance rates five times. We’ve doubled the seniors supplement.

When we first did this, it was the first increase since the seniors supplement was introduced in 1987. We also expanded the criteria so that more people qualify. Eighty-five thousand seniors receive that senior supplement. Remember: mostly, income assistance for seniors is delivered by the federal government. But this is a way that we can top up.

Despite all of these lifts, things have been difficult because the cost of living has continued to go up. So we are taking more action in this year’s budget. Budget 2025 invests $1.6 billion over three years to support the increased need for income assistance, disability assistance and supplementary assistance. This will help more than 250,000 people.

We are also helping to make rent more affordable for seniors with lower incomes by enhancing the Shelter Aid For Elderly Renters program. I just got out of a meeting with Dan Levitt, the B.C. seniors advocate. Very grateful that he’s carrying on the work of Isobel Mackenzie, our previous seniors advocate.

These are recommendations from the seniors advocate’s office to expand the SAFER program. We expect that these changes in this year’s budget will help a total of 25,000 seniors pay their rent. On average, the monthly supplement for seniors will increase by 30 percent, and this will build on the ongoing supports, like the seniors supplement, for seniors with low incomes, with an additional $239 million in Budget 2025 for continued delivery.

We are working also on…. We’re very grateful for the investments that we were able to make over the past couple of years in food security, another way that we can help people with costs. In some cases, it’s been direct funding to food-security-serving organizations like CityReach Care Society, like the Gold River Food Network, like Surrey Food Bank.

[4:00 p.m.]

In other cases, we have been able to fund food security infrastructure, as we are with Loaves and Fishes in Nanaimo, as we have, in partnership with the New Relationship Trust, been able to push out, I think, $15 million over the last two years to Indigenous organizations, who have been really innovating. Whether they’re building greenhouses, whether they are paying honoraria to Elders to have them teach young ones in community about hunting and gathering, whether it’s building smokehouses for elk, ways of preserving food….

These are investments that continue to help people live and farm and grow closer to home and have that ongoing food-security infrastructure that allows them to eat, whether it’s repurposing food, rescuing food that is in excess in some parts of the province or whether it is living more off the land.

I was very moved by the way that Sharon Dong, who’s the director with CityReach Care Society, their Food for Families program…. We funded them to install food-security infrastructure. It was United Way B.C. that did the selection of projects and implemented the funding. We’re really grateful for that partnership.

Sharon said, quote: “With additional infrastructure, we would be able to sustainably rescue more food to support the growing needs of our community partners and community members. We do not lack food in Canada. We lack the infrastructure to efficiently get the surplus food to vulnerable families in need.”

Another area of investment: affordable housing. We have more than 92,000 homes delivered or under way throughout British Columbia since 2017. That includes nearly 1,900 in Nanaimo alone. Of those, 1,300 are open and 571 are underway, and that includes 266 student residences being built right now at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo.

Here’s a great example that I love. This is from a few years ago, but it’s an example of what can happen when people work together. Parishioners of the United Church on Brechin Road decided that they would, basically, donate their church, which they tore down. They built, in a little corner of the building, a beautiful, small chapel. The rest of the project — it was a B.C. Housing project — provided 74 new affordable rental homes to families with low or moderate incomes, seniors and people living with disabilities.

I hear again and again the sense of community that is created in a place like that, and this has been literally life-saving for some people. The partnership is fantastic. We’re really grateful for the work. It took, again, the United Church to make that very brave decision to knock down their church and to donate the land.

I am very happy that because of the advocacy of our community members and organizations, Nanaimo was chosen as a heart and hearth recipient community. Two pieces of it. These are B.C. Housing projects, and it’s a lift in this year’s budget, because the results of these programs have already been so strong in the communities that are a little bit further ahead than Nanaimo: Prince George, Kelowna, Victoria. There’s another one.

They’re a little bit further ahead than Nanaimo is. But this is what the heart and hearth program is. This was announced initially in Budget 2023. It builds multidisciplinary teams out of existing outreach services to provide a much more integrated, rapid front-line response to encampments.

It coordinates partners from Housing, Health, local government, community, Indigenous and social support agencies through the heart. That complements the rapid development of temporary shelter sites via the hearth initiative. This is an interim solution to meet the urgent and existing gap in the overall housing continuum.

[4:05 p.m.]

People in Nanaimo will remember well when an old city council said no to the $13 million offer that our government had made to build a supportive housing project. The city said no to the site and turned the funding down. That resulted in a protest encampment that grew to 300 tents. People from all over the Lower Mainland came to protest. Then, ultimately, there was a court-ordered evacuation of the tent city. We had to stand up, extremely quickly, supportive housing, but it was workforce trailer housing because we had this court-ordered deadline.

The ways in which the supportive housing was built and supervised was problematic for the neighbourhoods. There’s no question. We’ve also heard very clearly that in some cases, people who had been living unhoused for some time had a real challenge following rules or even just living under a roof again. I just cannot overemphasize how challenging the transition can be.

We are now, through the heart and hearth program in Nanaimo, not moving people who are living rough directly into supportive housing. We’re instead now moving people from the shelter community, where they’ve got some relationship with the shelter operators. Them moving into the new hearth units is going much better, and this will then take pressure off the shelter system. People who are more actively street entrenched will be able to get used to living indoors again and have all the supports that they need to move to the place of their choosing in a time that makes sense for them.

In Nanaimo, we have already opened, with the funding that was in last year’s budget, 50 beds at Newcastle Place. It’s complete and fully tenanted. Travellers Lodge, a former long-term-care facility that’s been empty for some years, has got 78 beds. That will be our next move-in. That’s coming very soon.

You can see, just south of the RONA on the Island Highway, modular construction that’s going up really fast right now. That’s 50 beds. And then we have a fourth location, 60 beds, which is also on track to be complete this spring or summer.

The Travellers Lodge facility is focused more on fragile seniors and people that are not in active substance use. Now we finally have enough variety of supports that we can start to specialize a little bit more, which is certainly something that we’ve heard from people in community.

We are extremely grateful for the support that has been shown by the community not-for-profit service providers. We’re also really happy about some of the outcomes from complex care housing. That is maybe something, with only five minutes left, that I will talk about in more detail another time.

I will say, though, that the outcomes we’re starting to see about drops in what we’re witnessing from my ministry, people that are of no fixed address who are on income assistance…. We’ve had, in Nanaimo, a 1 percent drop; in Victoria, a 1.4 percent drop; a 10 percent drop in Kelowna; a 9 percent drop in homelessness for people that are on income assistance in Prince George; 3 percent in Chilliwack; 8 percent in Abbotsford; almost 5 percent in Victoria; and 7 percent on the Downtown Eastside.

All the way through, to be able to see, after an intense population growth, intense affordability pressures and also an extraordinary level of building, some of the bend of the curve of homelessness being driven down…. That’s just what we were hoping for, what we needed.

[4:10 p.m.]

I am extremely grateful, in my own ministry, for the community integration specialists that have helped facilitate some of this work. We know that when someone makes a decision to seek help, it always goes better when they’re met with supports that meet their needs.

To better help vulnerable people get that help, we recognized that having our Social Development and Poverty Reduction workers only behind a desk didn’t work. It used to be in the old days that there were social workers, caseworkers, attached to everybody who was on income assistance. That was a program that was cut by the old B.C. Liberal government. We brought these outreach workers back, and there are almost 200 of them now across the province.

For any member, I would recommend: talk with the community integration specialists in your community. Talk to my office if you want to get connected, if you’re having difficulty. They’re everywhere. They will embed themselves in places where they think that people are unhoused, who need to get signed up for disability assistance, people who need to get their ID replaced, people that need to get onto the B.C. Housing list. They are fantastic navigators. They’re extremely kind, and we are extremely grateful for them.

In my case, in Nanaimo, a woman who was diagnosed with PTSD and psychosis was living on a boat in the harbour. She approached my community office for help. My office reached out to a community integration specialist. Within 24 hours, that worker had successfully connected with this woman living on her boat and helped develop a support plan. We were able to increase their shelter benefits to help cover the costs associated with their boat. The community integration specialist will remain a direct contact for that person, to build continuity of service and be available should new needs arise.

I also hear all kinds of stories…. As we continue to open up more addiction treatment beds, it’s often that community integration specialist that has the trusting relationship with the individual. Not only can we help people get on the housing list; the step into a path of healing and recovery or primary health care, whatever it is that they need, is often facilitated by our community integration specialists. I’m really grateful for the very important and very challenging work that they do.

Another group of partners — I’ve alluded to them a number of times in this half-hour: not-for-profits are delivering so much of this work that I’ve described. It would not be possible without them. They are helping us deliver housing, health, cultural supports, food security.

I’m so glad that I am working now with the new Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development and Non-profits. She is right here, in fact: the member for Vancouver-Strathcona. To have an Elder and a Matriarch in this role is especially important.

We hear what they need so far as capacity-building and structural supports. Then all our ministries reach out and work, at a contractual level, to deliver services and safety in so many ways. We’ve been funding them with multi-year, low-barrier grants. Then again, we contract their services as well.

Together, in the tough times that we are in, and in all times, we’re stronger when we work together. We’re stronger when we look after each other. Together, with the power of partnership, we can build stronger, more healthy, more inclusive communities, and we can weather whatever comes at us from south of the border or anywhere else. I’m grateful to all the partners and organizations that support this work.

I’m grateful to support this budget, and I thank you for your attention.

Macklin McCall: Mr. Speaker, esteemed colleagues and fellow British Columbians, today I stand before you as the proud representative of West Kelowna–Peachland, a community that, like so many others in this province, is facing unprecedented challenges. It is a community that has been patient, that has worked hard, and that has waited for leadership to step up.

[4:15 p.m.]

What we have seen in the 2025 B.C. NDP budget is a failure to meet the needs of the people I represent. It is a failure to take the necessary steps to address the most pressing issues we face in our communities. The B.C. NDP’s 2025 budget does not just fall short; it abandons our communities. It leaves behind the workers who keep our province running, the families who are struggling to make ends meet and the seniors who are living in fear, as the streets they once knew become unsafe.

Let me be clear. This budget fails British Columbians, it fails my riding of West Kelowna–Peachland, and it fails to provide the leadership we need to move forward, in a time when strong, decisive action is needed more than ever.

First, I want to speak about the failure of this budget to address the basic needs of our community. West Kelowna–Peachland is a beautiful and growing part of this province, but we face serious challenges that this budget completely ignores. From affordability to homelessness to public safety, the issues are real, and they are affecting the lives of my constituents every single day.

The NDP government’s approach is a missed opportunity to address the very issues that matter most to my community. This budget makes no meaningful effort to address the soaring cost of living that is squeezing families and working individuals out of their own communities. There is no plan to provide affordable housing to those struggling to keep a roof over their heads. There is no consideration for improving the road infrastructure that is crucial to the safety of our citizens.

Perhaps most alarming of all, there is a complete failure to support our emergency responders, the brave men and women who put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe. We cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the growing crisis of homelessness that is now a daily reality for too many in our province. This is not just an issue of people without homes. This is an issue of real people, families, seniors and workers being abandoned by a government that fails to act.

Every day I hear from my constituents — people who are not only worried about their own safety but are also terrified for their children and their loved ones, people who now walk our streets and find themselves navigating areas plagued by discarded drug paraphernalia, tents and the constant threat of violence.

Just last week I had a senior tell me she had to walk on the highway to avoid stepping on needles in her own neighbourhood. This is a senior who has lived in West Kelowna for decades, in a community she has called home for years, yet in this government’s British Columbia, she is forced to make a choice between walking on a busy highway or avoiding hazardous, unsafe conditions on the sidewalk, conditions she should never have to face.

This is the tragic reality for so many people in my riding. They never imagined that their beautiful community would be plagued by the rise of homelessness, yet this budget makes no meaningful attempt to address the root cause or provide real solutions.

The government’s 2025 budget does not provide the kind of targeted support that is needed to address the homelessness crisis. There are no clear plans to increase affordable housing in the communities that need it most. In fact, the promise of action from this government has only resulted in more families living in their cars, unable to afford the astronomical cost of housing. Families who have worked hard for decades are living paycheque to paycheque and are now being forced to make unimaginable sacrifices just to survive.

At the same time, we are witnessing people in critical jobs — nurses, teachers and construction workers, who have dedicated their lives to serving our communities — being priced out of the very neighbourhoods they serve. This is the unfortunate reality of affordability in British Columbia under the NDP. The cost of living continues to soar, yet wages have not kept pace.

The dream of owning a home is slipping farther and farther away from many young families. Those who have worked their whole lives to own a house are now at risk of losing what they worked so hard for. The lack of affordable housing is not merely an inconvenience; it is an attack on the dignity of those affected. It is a cruel, silent epidemic that strips away people’s sense of security, their sense of belonging and their ability to plan for a stable future.

When I speak of this crisis, I’m not just speaking about numbers on a page or a theoretical policy solution. I’m speaking about real people, real families and real stories.

[4:20 p.m.]

Just a few weeks ago, I witnessed something that illustrates the heartbreaking conditions that many are forced to endure. On a cold, snowy day, I saw a senior woman struggling to walk down a sidewalk using a mobility device. The sidewalk, covered in ice and snow, had been cleared for pedestrians, but a homeless individual had set up camp in the middle of the path. His belongings were scattered everywhere — clothing, bags and drug paraphernalia littering the area.

This senior, who would have been able to walk down the sidewalk with ease, was forced to go around this individual into oncoming traffic, onto the roadway, because no one was there to ensure that she could walk safely on the sidewalk.

The residents of my riding, people who care deeply about their community, saw this elderly woman struggling and immediately pulled over to help her navigate this dangerous situation. They did what the government should have done: step in to protect the most vulnerable. This story is just one example of many.

The issue of homelessness is not just about those who are homeless. It’s about everyone in the community who is impacted by the rise in visible drug use, public disorder and violence that accompanies it.

What makes it even worse is that this government promised during the election that they would fund involuntary care for those suffering from addiction. Yet the budget makes no mention of that commitment, and minimal progress has been made. Once again, British Columbians have been let down by empty promises, a promise made to secure votes and then conveniently forgotten once the election was over.

I’m deeply disappointed to see this government ignore the promises they made and fail to act on what is an urgent and growing issue. This issue isn’t going away, and the people of West Kelowna–Peachland and across this province deserve better. We need a government that takes real action to address homelessness, not just a budget full of vague promises and non-committal plans.

The reality is this. If we want to solve homelessness, we must first address the root causes — affordability, addiction, mental health and housing. The NDP’s refusal to tackle these issues head-on is simply prolonging the crisis, and it is British Columbians who are suffering as a result. This crisis is too large, too dire, to be swept under the rug any longer. It’s time for the B.C. NDP to stop pretending that the problem will fix itself. The people of West Kelowna–Peachland and all of British Columbia deserve a government that will act, not one that just talks.

The affordability crisis in British Columbia is one of the most pressing issues facing families, workers and communities across our province. The skyrocketing cost of living, from housing to everyday essentials, has become a heavy burden for far too many. The truth is, this government’s failure to address affordability has made life harder for British Columbians, especially for those living in my riding of West Kelowna–Peachland.

We are now seeing essential workers, people we rely on every day, living out of their vehicles because they simply cannot afford a place to call home. Nurses, teachers, construction workers and so many others who play a critical role in the success of our province are being priced out of the communities where they work and serve. It is absolutely unconscionable that a teacher who educates our children, or a nurse who cares for our sick, should have to worry about where they will stay that night. Yet that is the reality they are facing.

And what has this government done? Nothing substantial. This budget does absolutely nothing to address the growing gap between wages and housing prices, leaving hard-working families to fend for themselves in an increasingly unaffordable market.

In my community of West Kelowna–Peachland, we are seeing the very fabric of what makes this province great — strong, resilient families — being torn apart.

We have hard-working young families who have invested their time and energy into building a life here. They’ve played by the rules, gone to work every day, paid their taxes and contributed to our community. Yet despite their best efforts, they are being pushed out of their own homes because they cannot keep up with the relentless rise of the cost of living. They can no longer afford the homes they’ve built their lives around, and this government has no plan to change it. This is simply unacceptable.

The dream of owning a home, once a fundamental part of a Canadian dream, is slipping further and further away for too many of our young people. They’ve done everything we’ve told them to do. They’ve worked hard, they’ve gone to school, taken on debt in the hope of getting ahead, and now they’re left watching as home prices continue to soar, leaving them trapped in a vicious cycle.

In my riding, there are young people who are doing everything right. They’re working multiple jobs, going to college, trying to make ends meet. But despite their best efforts, they can’t afford to buy a house.

[4:25 p.m.]

The dream of home ownership is now dead for too many of them. I speak with so many young families and young professionals in my riding, and their stories are heartbreaking. They’re in their 30s, they’ve been working hard for years, and yet they can’t move out of their parents’ basement.

They have done everything that society has told them will lead to success, worked hard, educated themselves and tried to build a future. Yet they find themselves stuck, not because of their work ethic, but because this government has failed to take the necessary action to make housing affordable again. These individuals have become disillusioned with the system that has promised them success but which has now trapped them in an unaffordable housing market that has no room for them.

This budget does nothing to address this reality. Why is this important? Because the rising cost of housing doesn’t just affect young people. It affects families, it affects retirees, and it affects the future of our communities.

The people in my riding deserve better. They deserve a government that is willing to roll up its sleeves and make life affordable again. They deserve a government that will create policies that help young people move out of their parents’ homes and into homes they can afford. They deserve a government that will bring in real solutions to make sure a hard day’s work can still pay for a place to call home.

But what have we seen from this government? We’ve seen taxes increase. We’ve seen more and more regulations that make it harder for people to build homes. We’ve seen more red tape for developers, driving up the cost of new housing, and we’ve seen a complete lack of leadership when it comes to solving the affordability crisis.

Instead of rolling up their sleeves and addressing the issues head-on, this government has been content to sit back and let the problem get worse. That’s not good enough. In West Kelowna–Peachland, where housing prices have skyrocketed and rental availability is at an all-time low, the affordability issue is exacerbating. People are being forced out of their communities, and we’re losing the very people who make our communities thrive.

From teachers to health care workers to seniors who have lived their entire lives in our communities, this crisis is pushing people out of the places they love. Young families are being forced to the sidelines while wealthy investors and developers continue to capitalize on this crisis.

This crisis doesn’t just hurt the people of my riding; it hurts our province as a whole. We’re seeing communities fractured and people displaced while the current government continues to throw money at solutions that aren’t working. Instead of helping people move forward, it feels like the government is just trying to keep the status quo and make people more reliant on government handouts.

The people of West Kelowna–Peachland and the people of British Columbia deserve better than the broken promises and failed policies of the current government. This crisis has gone on long enough, and it’s time for real solutions.

There was a time when we didn’t have to think twice about the safety of our communities, when families could walk down the street without fear, when seniors could enjoy a peaceful afternoon in their neighbourhoods and when parents could send their children to the park without worrying about violence or drug use.

Unfortunately, those days feel increasingly distant under the leadership of this government. The lack of action in this budget to address public safety is nothing short of a disgrace. Homelessness and public safety are inextricably linked, and the NDP’s failure to address both has made our streets more dangerous than ever before.

Right now, my community of West Kelowna–Peachland is facing an escalating crisis. People are afraid to go for a simple walk. Parents are afraid to send their children to the park. These are basic rights that every citizen should have — the right to feel safe in their own neighbourhoods. But instead, what we are seeing is a growing concern and fear, and it’s unacceptable.

[Mable Elmore in the chair.]

I hear from seniors, young families and everyday citizens who are no longer comfortable in their own communities. They tell me they feel threatened by an increasing presence of individuals struggling with addiction, often engaging in violent and unpredictable behaviour. And yet, the government’s response? Silence. This budget does nothing to address the public safety crisis that is plaguing our province.

I want to share a recent experience I had in my own community that truly highlights the severity of this issue. I saw a couple walking hand in hand, clearly enjoying a night out together, completely unaware of the danger they were about to face. They were happy and content until they encountered an individual on the street, clearly under the influence of safe supply, wielding a machete and violently attacking an inanimate object.

[4:30 p.m.]

I watched as the couple’s joyful expressions turned to sheer terror. The woman’s face turned pale, and her husband immediately pulled her across the street and positioned himself instinctively between the individual and his wife in an attempt to protect her. It was heartbreaking, not just as their elected representative, but as a citizen of the community and as a former police officer who dedicated years to ensuring the safety of our streets.

These are the very moments that no one should have to experience. This is not what our community was like before this government’s failure to address the issues that matter. This was never a reality in West Kelowna–Peachland before the Premier and the dangerous NDP took the reins.

I was grateful for the response of our local West Kelowna RCMP, who arrived swiftly to ensure public safety. But what followed was the harsh reality. This individual, after being apprehended, was back on the streets again, potentially causing harm to someone else. Despite the hard work of our officers, the issue remains on the street.

What does this budget do to fix it? Absolutely nothing. There is minimal mention of increasing the capacity of our provincial corrections system to keep dangerous individuals in custody where they belong. There are no provisions for hiring additional correctional officers or sheriffs to keep our courtrooms secure and functioning.

I’ve seen firsthand what happens when there are not enough sheriffs to maintain order in our courts: the cases get thrown out and victims of crime are left without justice. This is disrespectful, not only to the victims but to the very rule of law that keeps our society safe.

The government’s inability to prioritize adequate staffing to ensure our courts remain operational is appalling. While this budget does allocate funds to expand the Justice Institute of British Columbia, it does not allocate funding for more RCMP officers or resources to help our provincial police ensure that our communities are safe. It doesn’t address the backlog in Crown prosecutions or the crushing delays in approving charges, which hinder our ability to bring criminals to justice in a timely manner.

These are basic, foundational elements of public safety that this government is neglecting. If this government were serious about tackling crime, these areas would have been a priority. Instead, they have shown time and time again that they don’t take public safety seriously.

This government has demonstrated a dangerous disregard for the safety of British Columbians. This is a serious issue, and it’s one that is directly affecting the people in my riding and across the province. It’s time for a government that takes the safety of our communities and the well-being of our citizens seriously.

In the past, West Kelowna–Peachland was a place where families could feel secure in their homes, where seniors could walk the streets without fear and where our children could play without worrying about being exposed to violence or drugs. But now people are afraid. They’re afraid to walk their neighbourhoods. They’re afraid to send their kids to the park. That is a sad, sad reality, one that should never have to come to pass.

The NDP’s failure to act on this issue is not just a policy failure. It’s a failure of leadership. It’s a failure to protect the people who rely on this government to ensure their safety. The people of British Columbia deserve better. They deserve a government that will stand up for them, that will provide the resources necessary to keep our streets safe and that will hold offenders accountable for their actions.

The time for action is now. We cannot afford to wait any longer. Public safety is not a political issue. It’s a fundamental right for every British Columbian. The residents of my community and communities across this province deserve to feel safe again.

As the critic for Emergency Management, I feel it is my duty to raise an issue that is close to my heart: the well-being and support of our first responders. Brave men and women put their lives on the line every day, working in dangerous, high-stress environments to keep us safe. Whether it’s battling wildfires, responding to medical emergencies or protecting our communities in times of crisis, our first responders are the backbone of our emergency management system.

Unfortunately, under the current government, their needs have been all but forgotten. The B.C. Fire Fighters Association, along with countless other organizations representing first responders, has made it abundantly clear that they are in desperate need of better mental health support, more staffing, improved health and safety protocols and crucial post-incident care to help them deal with the trauma they face daily.

Yet when we look at this budget, none of these issues are adequately addressed. I want to be very clear. This is not just a policy failure; this is a moral failure. Our firefighters, paramedics and emergency responders are working harder than ever, especially in the face of rising wildfire threats and increasing emergency calls. Yet this government’s budget completely ignores their needs. The government talks a big game about supporting essential services, but when it comes time to back up their words with real action, they fail time and time again.

[4:35 p.m.]

How can we expect our first responders to continue protecting us when they are not even given the resources and support they need to do their jobs effectively and safely? How can we expect them to keep showing up for us day after day when their mental health is ignored, when their numbers are insufficient and when their working conditions remain unsafe?

We must ensure that our first responders have access to mental health services that are specifically tailored to the unique stresses of their profession. After all, how can we ask them to face the unimaginable without providing the proper tools to cope with the emotional toll it takes? Yet this government has shown time and time again that they don’t care enough to make this a priority.

We also need to address the growing strain on our emergency services caused by chronic understaffing. We are facing more frequent and intense emergencies from wildfires to medical crises, and yet we are not adequately staffing our emergency response teams. How are we supposed to deal with these growing threats when we are asking more and more from fewer and fewer people? It’s time for the government to recognize that supporting emergency services workers isn’t just an afterthought; it should be a top priority.

Let’s not forget about the physical safety of our first responders. We need to ensure that their working conditions are safe and that they have the right equipment and training to do their jobs without putting their lives at even greater risk. It’s about protecting those who protect us, about ensuring that they are given the tools and resources they need to perform their duties safely and effectively. This government has failed to take the necessary steps to make this a reality, and that is a failure that we cannot afford to ignore.

It’s time for this government to put its money where its mouth is. It’s time to stop with the empty rhetoric and start investing in the men and women who put their lives on the line for us every single day. We owe it to them and we owe it to the people of British Columbia to ensure that our emergency services workers have the resources they need to keep us safe. Our first responders deserve more than just gratitude. They deserve the full support of this government. The time for change is now. It’s time to stand up for those that stand for us.

The state of our infrastructure in British Columbia is a growing concern that cannot be ignored. Infrastructure is the backbone of any thriving community, whether it’s the roads that connect us, the bridges that provide access or the systems that support our daily lives. Unfortunately, this government has shown little urgency in addressing the critical infrastructure issues facing our province, particularly in West Kelowna–Peachland.

Let’s take, for example, Westside Road, the crucial route that connects West Kelowna to Vernon. This road is outdated, poorly maintained and, frankly, it’s dangerous. It is a road that many in our community rely on daily, yet it has been left to deteriorate. Westside Road desperately needs immediate upgrades to improve safety and efficiency. Wider lanes, improved maintenance and enhanced fire prevention measures are just the start.

The current condition of the road puts lives at risk every day, yet despite the calls for action from the local communities along Westside Road, this budget does nothing to address these pressing concerns. It’s a clear example of a government that is failing to listen to the needs of British Columbians.

The same goes for Highway 97, a major artery for our region and a critical lifeline for thousands of people who depend on it for their daily commutes and livelihoods. This highway has long been in need of serious improvements, safety upgrades, wider shoulders. And reliable year-round emergency routes are absolutely essential to ensure the safety and well-being of everyone who travels on it. But once again, this budget does nothing to address these critical infrastructure gaps. It is simply unacceptable that a government would fail to prioritize the safety of its citizens on such a vital route.

The issue of wildfire prevention is one of the most pressing concerns for my community and for the entire Okanagan region. Over the past several years, we have seen firsthand the devastating and catastrophic effects of wildfire. In West Kelowna, homes were lost, communities were torn apart and families were displaced. The emotional and financial toll is something that can never truly be measured. For the people in my riding, these are not just statistics. These are real people, real families and real lives that have been affected.

Yet, despite the ongoing risks, this government’s failure to implement proactive wildfire management strategies is putting our communities at risk. Wildfires don’t wait for us to be ready. They strike when we least expect it, and if we fail to take action now, we will continue to face even more devastating consequences in the future. This is not just a reactive problem; it is a preventable one.

Got a lot more to say, but running out of time here.

[4:40 p.m.]

We cannot keep relying on reactive measures, we need a proactive approach, one that treats wildfire prevention as a priority every single day of the year.

Our communities deserve the peace of mind that comes with knowing their government is doing everything possible to reduce the risk of a destruction, not waiting until disaster strikes. This government has dropped the ball on wildfire prevention, and the people of West Kelowna–Peachland and all across the Okanagan will not forgive them for failing to act.

We can’t afford to wait for the next disaster to strike. It’s time for a government that will put the safety of its residents first, before the fire, not after. We owe it to the families who lost everything in recent wildfires to make sure we never have to experience this level of devastation again. Preventing these disasters before they happen is not just the right thing to do; it’s a moral obligation to the people we represent.

The issues I have outlined today are not just political talking points or abstract statistics. They are the real, everyday struggles of people in West Kelowna–Peachland and the countless British Columbians who are being left behind by this government.

Affordability, public safety, homelessness, emergency management and infrastructure — these are not mere policy issues. They are the lived experiences of families, workers, seniors and children who wake up every day with the weight of these challenges on their shoulders. How many more families must be pushed to the brink before this government takes meaningful action?

How many more hard-working individuals must choose between putting food on the table and paying their rent before we acknowledge the dire state of our province’s affordability crisis? How many more seniors will be forced to walk through streets plagued with drug paraphernalia, fearing for their safety, before the government recognizes the need for real public safety solutions? How many more lives must be disrupted by wildfires or homelessness before this government wakes up and starts prioritizing the well-being of its citizens over partisan politics and broken promises?

This government has had years to act. They’ve had years to address these crises, but instead, they’ve failed to lead, failed to listen and failed to deliver. British Columbians deserve better. They deserve a government that takes bold, decisive action. They deserve a government that recognizes the urgency of these problems and isn’t afraid to make the tough decisions required to solve them.

As your MLA, I am unwavering in my commitment to fight for the people of West Kelowna–Peachland and for all British Columbians who fear their voices are falling on deaf ears. I will not stand idly by while our communities are torn apart by the very issues this government has chosen to ignore. I will not rest until we see real, meaningful change in the areas that matter most: affordability, public safety, homelessness, emergency management and infrastructure.

We cannot wait any longer for a government that is complacent in the face of growing crises. We cannot afford to sit back while our streets remain unsafe, while our young people struggle to buy homes, while our emergency services are underfunded and understaffed and while our infrastructure continues to deteriorate.

British Columbians deserve more than words. They deserve results. It’s time for the government to stop making excuses. It’s time for them to stop passing the buck and start taking real action. The people of West Kelowna–Peachland, the people of this province, have waited long enough, and I will not back down until I see the change we deserve. I will continue to be a voice for those who feel forgotten by this government, and I will hold this NDP government accountable until they put the needs of British Columbians first.

The stakes are too high, and the people of this province are too important to be left behind. This is not just about politics; it’s about the future of our communities. It’s about ensuring that our children, our seniors and every hard-working family has the opportunity to thrive in this province. I will fight every step of the way to ensure that the dreams of British Columbians are not crushed by the failures of this government.

We must act now. We must put the needs of British Columbians first. We must act to make this province a place where affordability isn’t a pipedream, where our communities are safe, where public services are fully supported and where our infrastructure is ready to support a growing and prosperous population. The people of British Columbia deserve nothing less.

Hon. Jennifer Whiteside: It is such an honour today to rise on the traditional territory of the lək̓ʷəŋən-speaking people of the Songhees and SXIMEȽEȽ First Nations to respond to Budget 2025. And it is with great pride and such a deep commitment to supporting British Columbians that I do so.

[4:45 p.m.]

I want to say that this budget really is framed in times of profound uncertainty for our communities, for our province, for our country and, indeed, the state of things in our world. This is a budget that stands resolute in its commitment to the people of British Columbia. We could not have anticipated, even just a few short months ago, that we would be the subject of such unprovoked, aggressive attacks by our friend, ally and neighbour to the south, or that we would be in the midst of a trade war that we did not ask for and that we do not want. But it is one that we will respond to.

Premier Eby has been clear and resolute about the way in which we will stand up for British Columbia. We will strengthen B.C.’s economy, including expediting projects that support industry and workers. We will continue our work to diversify trade markets for products in B.C. to ensure that we are less reliant on U.S. markets and customers. We will respond to U.S. tariffs with tough counteractions and with outreach to American decision-makers. This is a crisis that will take all of us working together to manage, to get through, to support British Columbians through.

As Minister of Labour, I want to focus on what I think is one of the most fundamental elements of our economy in our province and, frankly, of our response to the situation we find ourselves in: the hard-working people who power our workplaces, who power our economy and who drive our communities forward.

Budget 2025 is built on the recognition that a thriving economy is not just about numbers on a balance sheet; it’s about the people who go to work every day, the people who create the products and provide the services that make this province strong.

Whether it’s in the resource sector, providing health care, supporting the education of our children, caring for vulnerable people or providing the multitude of services that keep our province going, this budget is about ensuring that our workforce is skilled, is supported, works in safe conditions, is supported in the work of today and ready for the opportunities of tomorrow. As we continue to navigate a global landscape filled with unprecedented challenges, we have to ensure that the needs of workers and the safety of workplaces are at the forefront of our priorities.

Now, Premier Eby has outlined the threats that we face, including the threat of the tariffs that we are indeed facing, the impact of which we’re already seeing across our province and across the country, and the economic volatility that comes with that. These challenges are profoundly real for people across our communities. The real test will be in how we ensure that British Columbians are protected from the worst impact of this situation.

Budget 2025 takes crucial steps to stand with workers, who are the foundation of this province, in this time of uncertainty. As the Minister of Labour, I can see firsthand how important it is to create pathways for workers to transition to high-demand fields, particularly as we work towards a changing and diversified economy.

This is particularly necessary as we look at the future of work and at how workplaces are changing. We see the rise of automation, of remote work, of global economic shifts. All of this means that the skills that workers need in these times are also evolving.

We see the rise of what we call gig work, where workers work in very different conditions to traditional workplaces, where their work could be assigned through applications on their smartphones, where they don’t regularly see their employer or even, perhaps, have regular shifts. Technology is really impacting how we engage with work, in very many ways.

In Budget 2025, we’re taking proactive steps to help workers navigate these changes, from expanding access to retraining programs to investing in tech infrastructure that will allow workers to thrive in these kinds of environments. Our focus will remain resolute in ensuring that no worker is left behind in this shifting landscape.

[4:50 p.m.]

This budget also demonstrates a clear commitment to ensuring that our workplaces are not only productive but safe for workers. We’re taking action to ensure that workers in industries most affected by global disruptions are supported. From forestry to film, technology and clean energy, we’re investing in training, in safety and in wages, to help our workers stay competitive, secure and successful.

Our government continues to stand firmly behind the principle that no worker should fear for their livelihood. That’s why we’re strengthening protections for workers across industries, including ensuring that the most vulnerable workers, those in precarious work and in temporary employment, have the protections they need to build a secure future for themselves and their families. We’re committed to ensuring that every worker’s rights are upheld.

The budget’s commitment to increasing the minimum wage and improving working conditions for those in precarious employment is vital and is an example of this. When we were first sworn into government in 2017, we had, in British Columbia, one of the lowest minimum wages in the country, where we’d hardly seen an increase over the previous ten years.

We increased the minimum wage. We indexed it to inflation. We now have one of the highest minimum wages in the country, and that is important because we know that a rising tide lifts all boats. We have to have a clear floor, because we know a strong economy is built on fair pay and fair work. So we will continue to be unwavering in our commitment to stand up for workers in every corner, in every sector of our province.

Now, when Premier Eby appointed me as the Minister of Labour, he set out some key priorities — priorities that deliver for our province, that deliver for workers and families and that we see expressed in the vision in Budget 2025.

It’s things like standing up for workers who face exploitation, helping workers who are experiencing intimate partner violence, partnering with the Ministry of Health to support trade workers affected by the toxic drug crisis, collaborating with WorkSafeBC on injury prevention and facilitating injured workers’ return to work, ensuring that the standards and protection that we brought in for gig workers last year are serving their intended purpose to reduce the precarity and ensure the safety of workers.

Now, we all know…. I mean, everybody in this House agrees that British Columbia is such a rich and prosperous province and that we have immense potential to create high-quality, sustainable jobs. That’s why we are accelerating infrastructure and resource projects, especially in clean energy and technology.

But it’s not just about the projects themselves. It’s about ensuring that these projects benefit the workers who will make them a reality. And $20 billion in major resource projects outlined in the budget will not only help build our economy but will also create thousands of good-paying jobs for B.C. workers. It’s encouraging to see that half of these projects will be in clean energy and that many of them are Indigenous-owned.

The investment in the B.C. manufacturing jobs fund is a key initiative to help protect jobs in communities that have historically been at the mercy of boom-and-bust cycles. This fund will provide crucial resources for businesses to modernize, to innovate and grow, while ensuring that workers in these communities remain employed and secure.

A crucial aspect of this budget is its focus on ensuring that workers benefit from economic diversification. In the coming years, B.C. will continue to grow in industries such as technology, clean energy, film, innovation. By investing in these sectors, we’re not only creating jobs but we’re also building a workforce that is adaptable, resilient and future-ready.

Our integrated marketplace initiative will continue to play a key role in connecting promising tech companies with real-world opportunity.

[4:55 p.m.]

The Moment Energy success story is a perfect example of how B.C. workers and businesses are rising to meet global challenges, and Budget 2025 will further expand these opportunities.

We know that the bedrocks of our economy are industries like construction and forestry and agriculture and manufacturing. These sectors provide vital services and products for our communities, and the workers in these sectors continue to deserve our full support.

I just want to reflect for a moment on this week.

We had the B.C. Building Trades on the precinct this week. It was a pleasure to meet with the folks who literally build B.C. Whether it’s the many hospital, long-term-care and school projects around the province, like the new Royal Columbian Hospital tower in my community in New Westminster; or whether it’s transportation projects like the new Pattullo Bridge, which will bring a safer, more modern crossing between New Westminster and Surrey; or the Highway 1 expansion; or Langley SkyTrain; or any of the numerous projects around the province, building trades workers are so visible in every community. We are so grateful for their work.

We also celebrated International Women’s Day last weekend. I want to give a big shout-out to women in trades, and to the group B.C. women in trades that works to recruit and support and encourage women to take up a career in the trades.

I know that there is so much more to do to support women in trades, but I have to say: wow, do the women who are leading this work make us all so incredibly proud. Thank you so much for everything you’re doing.

These are some of the reasons why the work of our government, investing in skilled-trades training and apprenticeship opportunities, is so important. I can’t help but reflect on what a devastating blow it was to the whole trades sector when the folks across the aisle, when they were on this side of the House, ripped up apprenticeship training in this province.

We know that workers need to be properly trained and supported to do the incredibly skilled work that is involved in the trades. I am so proud of our government for bringing back skilled-trades apprenticeships, because we know that by enhancing skilled-trades certification our government is supporting better-paying jobs. It creates steadier work to attract more people to the trades and to ensure that workers in these fields are well prepared for the future.

We, in fact, have seen over the last few years record numbers of apprenticeship registrations. We’ve invested in dual-credit programs so that we are encouraging students younger, in high school, to take up that trades pathway.

I want to give a shout-out to all of the unions in this sector who provide education and training and that apprenticeship pathway to SkilledTradesBC. This is a critical part of how we are going to grow our economy, how we are going to be ready, sort of future-proof ourselves, for the challenges that we are facing today.

Furthermore, we’re making significant investments and advancements in workplace safety. We’re ensuring that all workers, regardless of the industry they are working in, work with dignity and security.

Whether that is through our continued push to improve occupational health and safety standards and prevention, and ensuring that workplaces are safe, or by strengthening mental health initiatives in the workplace or working to expand presumption so that workers have the care and support that they need when they experience an occupational-acquired illness, our government is committed to ensuring that workplaces remain places of empowerment, of safety, and don’t pose a danger to workers.

Of course, we know, as well, that affordability remains a key issue for families across our communities. We know that when workers struggle to make ends meet, it’s not only their individual lives that are affected but also those of their families and their communities.

[5:00 p.m.]

I have to say that I learned this lesson so profoundly from workers who banded together to create the first living-wage campaign in British Columbia. I have to say it was a really profound experience for me. I was working with the Hospital Employees Union. I was a researcher at the time.

Workers in the health care sector had just been through the most devastating experience that we had seen in this province in decades, with legislation that had been introduced when the opposition was sitting on this side of the House, legislation they introduced to facilitate mass privatization in our health care sector.

The outcome of that was the largest mass firing of women workers in the province’s history. Many of those workers — 10,000 workers — were from racialized communities, from vulnerable communities. Those jobs in health care…. They might start as a housekeeper or a dietary worker, and then they’d work their way up through. They might become care aides or LPNs or eventually RNs.

The actions of the government at the time really broke the internal structure of the labour force in our health care sector.

What I learned from the workers, who were mostly Filipinas, were incredible lessons about resiliency and strength in their generational battle to fight privatization in health care, which they won. They won eventually, because we all stood in this House — every single member of this House — in 2018 and agreed that that legislation, Bill 29, was not an appropriate way to organize our health care sector, and we repealed that legislation.

That was a significant generational win for people who are just looking for decent jobs that can support their families. I am pleased to say that our government has increased decent family-supporting jobs in our health care system.

We have to ensure that workers have the resources that they need, that they have the education that they need, that they have access to health care, that we can support the decent lives that they are looking for to grow their families, that they don’t have to work multiple jobs in order to scratch out a living and that they actually have time to spend with their kids at the end of their shift.

These issues are, of course, particularly acute for those working in low-wage sectors. We’re really committed to easing that burden by taking some of the action that we’re taking on housing, for example. That is a really key piece of the work that we’re doing.

We’re supporting investing more supports in the SAFER program and in the rental assistance program to ensure that we’re doing more work to help seniors who built this province.

We’re laying the foundation, as well, for workers in terms of the investment that we’re making in building affordable housing and worker-oriented worker housing so that workers can actually stay in the communities they work in, reduce commuting time, spend more time with their families.

When it comes to our families and our communities and how important health care and support for seniors is, I have to reflect on the incredibly moving event that we had with the Alzheimer Society today at lunch. It’s why I’m wearing my blue pansy scarf.

I think everybody who was there would have been very moved by the presentations that we heard of people who are living with Alzheimer’s or who are caring for someone with Alzheimer’s.

It really brought to mind my own experience, the experience of my family, of my sisters and I, who were the primary caregivers for our mother, who had Alzheimer’s and who died at 92, having had Alzheimer’s for many, many years.

What an incredibly difficult disease it is. How difficult it is to care for and be with your loved one as they are impacted by dementia. They call it the long goodbye. It is a uniquely painful experience for everybody to move through.

[5:05 p.m.]

I want to thank the Alzheimer Society for their work in raising awareness, in breaking down stigma, in all of the work that they do to bring us together to help figure out how we can create cities that are better adapted to seniors who are aging and seniors who may be experiencing the impact of dementia.

Again, I have to come back to how important our long-term care system is in this regard and how important it is that we reverse the damage that was done by the previous government in our long-term care system by ripping up terms and conditions of work, by privatizing care, which should never be privatized, should never be the subject of what people experienced when the opposition was sitting on this side of the House.

It has taken a long time to build back a robust long-term care system that can take care of our seniors in the way that they need to be taken care of. But I am so proud of the work that has been done by our government to invest in long-term care, to build new beds all over the province, to ensure that we are investing in home care supports for seniors, in virtual long-term care so that we are using, again, technology and adaptive devices to be able to support seniors age at home.

We have to be very creative in these times, but our seniors really need all of the work that we are doing to support them to age safely and age in place as much as possible. I am so grateful for all of the advocates and all of the work that health care workers are doing to support our seniors.

Our investments in this budget are really about protecting those core services for people, doing everything that we can to protect the crown jewel of our Canadian identity, which is our public health care system. We are, through that as well, laying the foundation as best we can for workers to stay and raise their families in the communities that they love.

And speaking of communities, I just want to speak for a moment about my own community of New Westminster. I want to acknowledge the extraordinary work of my constituency assistants because, as I think some folks have said in this House over the course of this week, they can be really unsung heroes. But Amy Ryder and Hope Alica and Sam Fawaz, who are constituency assistants in my office in New Westminster, really provide extraordinary support and help to people in New West, whether it’s helping out on health care issues or identification issues or helping our not-for-profits figure out how to advocate or helping folks figure out how to navigate government. They’re a really, truly extraordinary support for people in New West.

I feel so lucky to be representing the place where I was born. I was born at Royal Columbian Hospital. I grew up in New Westminster. I didn’t always live there as an adult. I lived in a lot of different places. But I somehow…. You know, once you’re… You can’t take New West out of anybody. People come back to New West. And I came back to one of the most compassionate, empathetic, thoughtful communities that anybody could really hope to live in.

We have extraordinary leadership in the community, in our not-for-profit sector, at our city. People really band together. We banded together during COVID to support small businesses. We’re doing the same thing now to support small businesses, which are truly the backbone of New Westminster, through the volatility related to the trade war that we’re in.

[5:10 p.m.]

The investments that we’ve made, whether in education or health care…. I really see them in my community. I see it in the work that we’ve done in education. If you’re at Royal Columbian Hospital….

I spent a lot of time at RCH when my mom was really sick towards the end. I would look out of her hospital room, and I could see right up the hill to Skwo:wech Elementary School, which is one of the most beautiful elementary schools I think we’ve built anywhere.

I was just struck by looking out one way up to Skwo:wech, which had just opened, and then looking out the other side. I could see the new Royal Columbian tower coming up, which is going to bring such much-needed capacity to our tertiary care system provincially. It’s a benefit for our community, but also for our provincial health care system.

In Queensborough, we’ve seen an increase in funding for Queen Elizabeth Elementary School. We’re adding 325 more elementary spaces. We’ve completed seismic upgrades at École Qayqayt Elementary, F.W. Howay, Lord Tweedsmere and Skwo:wech. We have new accessible playgrounds, which are the best things ever for kids, at Lord Kelvin, at Qayqayt, at Herbert Spencer, which is my old elementary school.

One of the things that I really get excited about is the work that we’ve done with Douglas College in supporting their vision for a new building that is going to bring 368 student beds, residences in two- and four-bed units, in a 20-storey building right across the street from the current site of the college, as well as incorporate new classrooms and student collaboration spaces and labs and community space.

It’s an extraordinary project. I’m so proud of the work that Douglas College has done to make it a reality and proud of our government for supporting these 368 beds, among the tens of thousands of new student spaces that we’re building across the province. I cannot wait to see it. It’s going up, and I can’t wait to see it open. I mean, this project alone is expected to create 1,430 direct jobs and 698 indirect jobs. The last report I had was that it’s pretty much on time and pretty much on budget.

I see through the work that we’ve done on child care, as well, reflected in my community. I know there’s always more to do. We have one of the most…. I think New Westminster is now the fastest growing municipality, and certainly one of the densest, in all of Metro Vancouver.

We have been working to invest in child care since 2018. Over $94 million has been invested in child care in my community; $50 million has been returned to parents. We have seen 371 new spaces created as of last June. We have 114 $10-a-day spaces. One of the child care spaces that I’m most proud of is the one that we funded to open. The Y is operating it, the new təməsew̓txʷ pool and community centre.

I just want to say, for a moment, kudos to the city of New Westminster, to Paul Fast, who’s the principal at HCMA, the whole team at HCMA Architecture + Design, to our former mayor, Jonathan Cote, who really led this project. The whole team at the city has built an award-winning pool and community centre that won the Prix Versailles last year. It is something we are very proud of in New Westminster. Congratulations to the whole team at the city. The province had a little bit of it. We provided some money through CleanBC to contribute to the zero-carbon element of the project.

All of this is such an incredible statement and demonstration of what we can do when we work together, when we truly have the backs of our communities and the backs of British Columbians, which is what Budget 2025 is all about. I am so proud of the work our government has done. I am so proud of this budget. I will just rest with that.

Rosalyn Bird: I rise today not just as a member of the opposition, but as a voice for every British Columbian that has struggled to access government services, for every small business owner tangled in bureaucratic red tape, for every rural community left behind in the push for digital transformation and for every taxpayer who expects — no, deserves — transparency, accountability and efficiency from their government.

[5:15 p.m.]

As a veteran, I served the Canadian Forces for well over two decades. As a logistics officer, these values — transparency, accountability and efficiency — were expected and anticipated in carrying out my duties. So why wouldn’t I expect the same from the government?

Now among my caucus I proudly serve as the veterans and military liaison and critic for Citizens’ Services and, of course, the MLA for Prince George–Valemount. I want to thank the people of Prince George–Valemount for electing me as their representative in the Legislature. I am truly honoured and have great appreciation and gratitude to the many friends, family and constituents that worked tirelessly to help me achieve this result. They offered incredible support and encouragement during the campaign.

While campaigning, I often used the line: “Prince George–Valemount: beautiful places, spaces and faces.” And it could not be more true.

Prince George–Valemount, like other ridings in northern B.C., is large. The square kilometres are equivalent to a small country like Belgium. Prince George and surrounding communities, McBride, Dunster, Valemount and Blue River, offer some of the best outdoor activity opportunities.

Locals and visitors flock to the numerous spectacular and breathtaking parks, lakes, streams and mountain areas to enjoy a multitude of outdoor activities: hunting, fishing, skiing, snowmobiling, mountain biking and boating, to name a few.

Today I rise in this House as a proud representative to my constituents and commit to stand against government overreach and overspending. I stand against heavy-handed legislation, and I will always defend our rights and freedoms. I do not take living in a democratic country for granted, and I am a very proud B.C. resident and Canadian.

The government’s role is to create a healthy environment for the economy to grow and flourish. They are responsible for and expected to streamline regulations, expediate permitting, cut red tape for our resource sectors: mining, forestry, oil and gas.

Businesses need to feel supported, investors need to feel confident, and we need to ensure B.C. is an attractive place to invest, build and raise our families. Only then will we see new jobs and new and increased revenue that can fund public services without breaking the backs of B.C. residents.

This budget contains lip service to diversification and innovation but lacks substance for opportunities and-or improvements for large resource projects, interprovincial trade and foreign investment opportunities. These opportunities are either moving glacially or stuck in a slew of red tape. This is mismanagement through inaction. We must do better. That is evident in reading this budget.

British Columbia is facing strong economic headwinds. Nowhere has that been more apparent than in northern communities like Prince George–Valemount. Unfortunately, Budget 2025 does little to address the economic downturn and wave of jobs we are losing in my region. The government points to external factors, notably the trade war initiated with the U.S. tariff agenda. But we must also look at how our province’s own vulnerabilities and this budget’s shortcomings leave us ill-prepared to weather the storm.

The numbers are alarming. B.C.’s real GDP growth is projected at a meager 1.8 percent in 2025, barely an improvement over last year’s sluggish 1.2 percent. Unemployment is expected to rise. The government’s forecast says joblessness could hit 6.7 percent by 2026 under the tariff scenario. Over the next few years, the cumulative impact of U.S. tariffs could be 45,000 B.C. jobs lost by 2029. Let that sink in: 45,000 families facing unemployment, largely in resource-dependent regions like mine, if this trade war continues unchecked.

The budget projects a 25 percent plunge in corporate tax revenues for the province, a clear sign that companies expect to earn and invest less in B.C. going forward. In short, we could be staring at a made-in-B.C. recession on top of external economic threats.

What is the NDP’s government response to this looming crisis? A vanilla budget and fiscal plan. No blueberries, no chocolate. And the Finance Minister has tried to cast this budget as a defensive measure against tariffs, calling them economic warfare by our neighbours.

[5:20 p.m.]

Yet beyond stockpiling a large contingency fund, we see little that will stimulate economic activity or save jobs. This is not a budget intended to actually deal with the tariffs. As a colleague from Prince George–North Cariboo put it: “I could not agree more. The government seems content to just blame America for our woes instead of taking bold action.”

The downturn in the forestry sector has already hit my region hard, and the tariff threat adds yet another layer of challenge and density. Mills are closing and jobs are disappearing, especially in the North. Last year the Prince George area alone lost eight to 1,000-plus direct or indirect jobs. These are not just statistics. These are livelihoods in northern communities. Each job lost is a family wondering if they’ll have to move or how they will pay their bills.

The budget offers nothing new to forestry workers or communities — no bridge support, no emergency assistance, no strategy to diversify forestry communities. The opposition, however, has asked to immediately strike a task force to provide targeted cost reductions for the B.C. forest sector, with no commitment from this NDP government.

Agriculture and tourism face similar bleak outlooks — critical industries in my riding. The Ministry of Agriculture itself predicts 7,000 jobs lost in agriculture this year, when ranchers and farmers in my area are already struggling.

The beautiful Robson Valley is a dream come true for outdoor enthusiasts. With extensive recreational opportunities, including hiking, fishing, camping and mountain biking, the region offers a fresh mountain air experience that’s hard to match. The majestic Mount Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, and the nearby Mount Robson Provincial Park provide stunning backdrops for unforgettable adventures.

Whether you’re trekking through ancient forests, rafting down clear, flowing rivers or exploring the rugged backcountry, the Robson Valley promises exhilaration and serenity. However, tourism operators in the past few years have struggled with challenges regarding back road and highway closures, increased cost, supply chain issues and now the fear of fewer American visitors.

To complicate matters, this government has implemented a short-term rental registry to address a housing shortage their government policies have created. Many owner-operators of tourist accommodations have not received notice to register or are unable to get answers regarding the registry or the process. Not all owners of short-term rentals fall under the same umbrella, and passing legislation without examining the full impact is likely to produce unintentional consequences and have serious impact on the 2025 tourism season.

I must voice how deeply disappointed I am by the lack of support for my region’s needs. It’s one thing to face a tough economy. It’s another thing to see in black and white, when reading the budget, that your government has largely ignored the northern regions of this province.

Prince George is home to the University Hospital of Northern British Columbia, the largest hospital in the North. Health care workers and patients have long been dealing with a facility that is outdated and too small to keep up with Prince George and the surrounding area’s population growth. Construction for our new patient tower is set to commence in 2026 and targeted to be operational by 2031. The planned redevelopment will more than double the current number of surgical, mental health and cardiac beds from 102 to 211.

Although we naturally welcome investment, this project announcement was long overdue, having been promised for multiple elections, and it does little to address overcrowding or the surgery wait times we face, that continue to accumulate today.

Unfortunately, this develop does not include a much-needed helipad. This is northern B.C. we’re talking about. We’re servicing rural and isolated areas, challenged with extreme and often unpredictable weather. Northern residents should not have to count on transporting emergency patients to the airport by ground to transfer them to air ambulance or the opposite, adding an additional 20 to 25 minutes of transportation that could ultimately make the difference in the receipt of life-saving treatment.

As one of my colleagues noted, there is very little investment mentioned for the North — no schools, no highway improvement, new bridge, new transit investment or any major industry development in Prince George–Valemount.

[5:25 p.m.]

The Highway 5 corridor that runs from Kamloops to multiple communities in my riding was never intended to bear the amount of commercial and non-commercial traffic it currently withstands. However, with population growth and commerce growth over the past few decades, we are now at a critical tipping point for public safety. There are few passing lanes, few pullouts and minimal highway patrol, resulting in a significant increase of vehicle accidents involving fatalities. Last summer that stretch of highway was named the highway of death, for having accumulated the largest number of fatalities in a single month.

Last June the province committed to building a $21 million wildfire equipment depot in Prince George to support wildfire fighting across northern B.C., and yet you read nothing in Budget 2025. There appears to be simply nothing about this promised depot, even though northern B.C. has been a concentrated area of wildfires. This is just part of a trend where the government makes announcements, and then we hear nothing for months or years.

Let’s talk about wildfires and the devastating economic impacts they can have indirectly. On July 22, 2024, the municipality of Jasper and surrounding area were evacuated due to wildfires. Highway 16 from British Columbia through Jasper National Park, along Highway 93 south to the icefields, was immediately closed to all commercial and tourist traffic. The highway remained completely closed for almost three weeks.

On August 9, 2024, Highway 16 opened to reduced traffic and only fully opened another ten days, on August 19. Highway 93 opened to traffic on August 23, but routes were still impacted both by fear of further closures and the lack of communication in their reopening. With summer coming to an end and the last days starting to cool, Valemount’s residents and businesses lost the busiest part of their year.

As documented in the village of Valemount economic recovery strategy, January 10, 2025, the Jasper wildfires forced thousands to evacuate on short notice, most without a place to go. The municipality of Jasper and Jasper National Park issued an evacuation order simply telling people to use Highway 16 towards British Columbia — 16,000 evacuees arriving in the middle of the night, almost 15 times the population of Valemount.

Valemount welcomed them into their community with open arms. The mayor, Mr. Owen Torgerson, said: “Valemount is a kin community to Jasper. We’ll do whatever we can do for our neighbours.” Businesses and organizations opened their doors, allowing evacuees to rest, shower and eat, and provided them with goods and services at no cost to them. Almost every building with a space in the community was open and looking to help, from churches to the food bank to hairstylists and an RV park opening up its sites to any and all evacuees, and asking for nothing in return, even when doing so put financial strain on themselves.

Providing emergency accommodation, preparing meals and offering services, Valemount’s response was immediate and phenomenal. The community came together, juggling an interprovincial crisis event with little capacity for themselves, showing how important it is to have strong businesses and organizations in our communities.

When disaster strikes, British Columbia as a province and Canada as a country rely on the support of local businesses and community groups. These people and organizations set up because it’s needed, even though it can be difficult. However, it is important to ensure that those businesses and organizations are not overly disadvantaged because of the help they provide and that they survive to be there for the future. This is a collective responsibility to make sure that the businesses, organizations and communities that stepped up remain supported.

They weren’t just vital in the moment; they’re key in long-term prosperity for the community and the province. Yet no consideration of financial relief has been offered from this NDP government to these incredible and most generous businesses and community organizations in the Robson Valley.

Further, this budget does not address the challenge so many non-profits in the region face. There is no indication of any significant increase to the amount of gaming grant funds necessary to support front-line service providers, many of which are volunteer organizations.

[5:30 p.m.]

The Prince George highway rescue society is one such group. Dedicated, brave volunteers offer life-saving techniques and equipment to save victims of vehicle accidents in the back country of the North, where no other rescue agency is able to respond. Residents in my riding do not want to see or deal with the consequences of this vital service becoming non-operational due to no funding.

Thankfully, Prince George has several non-profit or charity organizations that offer wraparound recovery options. The choices, however, are far and few between.

A new B.C. Coroners Service has stated that more than 2,000 people died in the toxic drug crisis last year. Prince George is the biggest community in the North and has one of the highest rates of death across the province, with an average of nine individuals dying per month. This budget reflects a lack of seriousness from this government to address this issue. There are no specific line items to indicate their commitment to offering long-lasting recovery or wraparound services, leaving non-profits and charity groups to fill in the gaps.

If there is one thing that I hear about every day from residents in Prince George–Valemount, it is the rising cost of living. Families are struggling under the weight of inflation, from grocery store to gas pump to the heating bill. We are in what many would call an affordability crisis. This budget was an opportunity for the government to support British Columbians through that crisis. Instead, it does very little to help people make ends meet and to improve their day-to-day lives.

Food bank usage has increased astronomically in Prince George since pre-pandemic years. The usage is up 80 percent from 2019, and the increase from ‘23 to ‘24 was 15 percent. Over 30 percent of food bank users in Prince George are children and seniors. This is abominable.

Renters and young families in Prince George who dream of buying a first home see those dreams slipping further and further away. It’s telling that despite all of the talk, housing starts are down, and it’s a sign that the government policies are not effectively encouraging the new builds we need.

I would also like to address some concerns regarding my role as the Citizens’ Services critic. The Ministry of Citizens’ Services is supposed to serve the people. It is supposed to make government services easier to navigate. It is supposed to modernize public services. It is supposed to ensure transparency and protect privacy in an age where digital threats are on the rise. And yet, this budget exposes a government that has utterly failed on every single one of these responsibilities. This government is spending record amounts but delivering less than ever.

Wait times for services have never been worse. Freedom-of-information requests are slower, more costly and more obstructed than ever. The digital divide is leaving rural communities behind, while cybersecurity threats are growing, while this government sits idle. This budget is not about the service to people. It is about expanding bureaucracy, protecting political interests and making life more difficult for British Columbians.

Let’s talk about one of the biggest betrayals of public trust under this NDP government: their systematic dismantling of transparency in British Columbia. At the heart of any democracy is the right to know what the government is doing.

That is why we have freedom-of-information and protection-of-privacy laws. These laws are designed to give British Columbians access to government records, ensuring openness, transparency and accountability. However, under this NDP government, FOI is no longer a tool for transparency. It is a bureaucratic nightmare designed to keep the public in the dark.

Let’s look at what the government has done. FOI wait times have skyrocketed under this government. Requests that used to take weeks now take months or years. They have introduced a $10 fee just to make a request. Let’s be clear. This is nothing more than a paywall to transparency. They have consistently redacted, delayed and obstructed public access to government documents.

Let’s be clear. This government is not incompetent when it comes to FOI. They are deliberately making it harder for British Columbians to access information. Why? Because they don’t want the public to see the real cost of their mismanagement.

[5:35 p.m.]

They don’t want British Columbians to know how many times they’ve failed to deliver on their promises. They don’t want people to know where their tax dollars are really going. This is not transparency. This is a government hiding from accountability.

Let’s talk about facts. This government is spending more on office space and real estate management but refuses to disclose how much is being wasted on unused or underutilized buildings. Technology permit costs are ballooning, but there is no oversight or accountability on how these contracts are being awarded. The Premier’s office is getting a million dollar increase but services for British Columbians remain stagnant.

How can this government justify spending millions more on bureaucracy while British Columbians are waiting months for basic government services? How can they justify expanding the size of the government but shrinking the ability to deliver services for its people? How many times have we heard this tired, failed government, led by this tired, failed NDP Premier, boasting about all of the wonderful things they are doing for British Columbians? Boasting — imagine that.

We’re living in a digital age. Technology should be making government services faster, easier and more accessible. Yet under this government, digital transformation has stalled. British Columbians still wait hours on hold to speak to a government representative. Government websites are outdated, clunky and difficult to navigate, and rural communities still lack access to reliable, high-speed internet.

Where is the investment in digital accessibility? Where is the plan to modernize government services? Where is the commitment to ensuring every British Columbian, no matter where they live, can access the services they need online?

Budget 2025 is failing my region and our province. This budget was supposed to guide us through challenging times, but instead, it highlights the government’s key failures: fiscal mismanagement, broken promises, an inadequate response to economic downturn, neglect of our infrastructure and skyrocketing cost of living.

My constituents and many B.C. residents are hurting, and nobody is happy with this budget. This Premier, this Finance Minister, this NDP government is letting down the residents of this province. This budget is a blueprint of failures. It is a failure of transparency. It is a failure of efficiency. It is a failure of privacy protection and digital modernization. And most of all, it is a failure of leadership.

We in the opposition cannot support a budget that piles on debt while ignoring the real needs of British Columbians.

Hon. Diana Gibson: Good afternoon, everyone.

I would like to start by acknowledging that we are gathered on the territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples, the Songhees and SXIMEȽEȽ First Nations.

I’m Diana Gibson, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation.

The economy is so much more than just numbers and figures. It represents British Columbians working hard to build good lives for themselves, for their families and for the communities they call home. People power the economy. People built this economy, and it’s critical that we as decision-makers do everything we can to protect people and continue to grow the vibrant economy that British Columbians have built.

The good news is that we’ve got everything we need here to thrive. For example, B.C. has one of the lowest debt-to-GDP ratios in Canada and the highest GDP growth rate amongst the provinces in 2023.

[5:40 p.m.]

So far this year alone, B.C. has gained 25,400 full-time jobs, the highest increase amongst the provinces. Total employment gain since 2017 is over 360,000, with 175,000 of those in the private sector. We lead the country with an average hourly wage of $37.89, and our unemployment rate is well below the national average.

We have a strong, diversified economy with abundant natural resources, access to global markets, limitless clean energy and, most importantly, the skilled, diverse and hard-working people of B.C. We have the talent.

There are many incredible sectors that make up B.C.’s robust economy. For example, something many don’t know is that B.C. is home to the fastest-growing life sciences sector in Canada, with over 2,000 companies employing close to 20,000 people in this province.

Since our award-winning life sciences and biomanufacturing strategy launched in 2023, our government has committed over $737 million across its five pillars, leveraging over $1.2 billion in foreign, federal and private investment, attracting over $335 million in research partnerships. These investments are helping companies create more made-in-B.C. solutions to global health challenges while providing good, family-supporting jobs for British Columbians.

When COVID hit the world, nobody knew what the disease was or how to treat it. Luckily, here in B.C., Acuitas was a world leader in creating lipid nanoparticles, microscopic particles that transport therapeutics in human cells. This B.C. company created an indispensable ingredient to the four billion doses of mRNA vaccine that later saved millions of lives globally. We now know how potent and safe this technology is, and much more can be done with the help of our local companies.

Another amazing example of what’s happening in the life science sector is a new hand-held ultrasound device created by Clarius Mobile. This has already made an incredible difference in B.C., especially in our rural areas. With just a cell phone and a small hand-held device the size of a glasses case, physicians everywhere can now monitor pregnancies and diagnose conditions like pneumonia, bladder stones and kidney disease. There’s no need for a long wait and travel for a diagnostic.

There’s incredible work underway in so many parts of B.C.’s technology sector. This sector includes over 12,000 companies here in B.C. that employ 180,000 people, all working to tackle challenges, improving health care and health outcomes, increasing food production, and so much more.

The work we’ve done to strengthen the vibrant sectors in B.C. has helped companies grow and provided opportunities in communities they call home. We’ve been working with organizations across many sectors of the economy through our manufacturing jobs fund. We have financially supported value-added projects and emerging sectors.

One example is Vancouver-based pH7 Technologies Inc., a clean tech company that has developed an innovative process for extracting and refining critical minerals, including platinum-group metals, to support the transition to renewable energy in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner. pH7 Technologies is receiving funding to construct a full production plant and purchase new equipment to scale up to full commercialization and create more jobs.

Another, Ideal Gear & Machine Works, is a Delta-based manufacturer that produces custom-made gears used in the machinery for forest, marine and mining equipment, and transmission systems for hydroelectric power. Ideal Gear is receiving funding to upgrade its manufacturing facility to help improve production time and precision as well as create skilled jobs to promote youth to enter the sector.

This manufacturing jobs fund has focused also on projects within the forestry sector to move to higher-value production as part of our work to drive clean and inclusive growth by targeting projects to get more value out of our resources as we build resilient communities throughout B.C.

The manufacturing jobs fund has committed as much as $146 million to 132 projects to date, unlocking over $1 billion in private sector and other public investments. This will lead to the creation and protection of over 4,700 jobs, 3,500 of which are in the forest sector. Also significant is that every $1 million invested in this program results in over $7 million in total direct investments to B.C., another $590,000 in tax revenue for the province and $5.3 million in GDP for the province during capital construction alone.

[5:45 p.m.]

This construction phase will result in the creation of over 5,000 jobs to support expansion happening around the province, meaning the economy will see the benefits of these investments from day 1. This is another way our government is providing real support to encourage growth and to help B.C.’s forest sector capitalize on more sustainable and value-added wood production.

On top of the focus on forest sector investments, the manufacturing jobs fund has invested in core manufacturing sectors like food and beverage processors, metals and machinery operations that supply the resource sector and emerging sectors like critical minerals. We have more good news to share through the manufacturing jobs fund in the coming weeks.

We are participating in many successful partnerships and working with the federal government, including the Canada Infrastructure Bank, with the funds through CEF, BDC, EDC and PacifiCan.

One example is our investment in Vitalus, a new state-of-the-art milk production plant that is bringing more jobs to B.C. in the agrifood sector, as well as increasing our food security through domestic production, a critical thing to be doing in these challenging times of tariffs.

Our partnership with the government of Canada and AbCellera is supporting a made-in-B.C. anchor company to expand in Vancouver and solve global health challenges while creating hundreds of high-paying jobs.

Right now we all know one of the big challenges B.C. and Canada is facing are the unjustified tariffs that amount to economic warfare. We are strongest when we leverage our province’s advantages and stand together to support industries and workers. That’s what has brought us through so many challenges as a province — through the pandemic, through devastating wildfires, through floods — and that’s what’s going to get us through Trump’s indefensible tariffs.

In Budget 2025, we are standing strong for B.C. by working with communities, workers and businesses to continue to strengthen our economy and create good jobs and prosperity across the province.

We’ve been working to create the right conditions to attract and increase investment in resource development, prepare and train a skilled workforce, mitigate against the impacts of climate change and enable strong economic partnerships with First Nations and businesses.

B.C. has been a leader in supporting a more diversified and inclusive economy where all British Columbians can thrive. Growing a stronger and more diverse economy will help protect British Columbians in B.C. from instability outside our borders, with investments that will bring good-paying jobs to the province as part of robust and sustainable industries.

That’s why we launched the integrated marketplace initiative delivered by our Crown corporation Innovate B.C. It’s designed to create high-quality jobs, help B.C. companies succeed in an increasingly challenging global economy and unlock more economic opportunities for British Columbians. The integrated marketplace links buyers, or reference customers, with B.C. companies to demonstrate the benefit of their product, which, in turn, helps them to scale up in B.C. with B.C. technology at home and export globally.

Local companies can test their products through one of four regional or digital test beds in the province. These test beds are hosted by Vancouver International Airport, the Vancouver-Fraser Port Authority, Provincial Laboratory Medicine Services and the Port of Prince Rupert.

Each test bed location focuses on tackling large real-world challenges. For example, in YVR, projects are focused on addressing challenges that include implementing alternative energy and green energy, increasing the efficiency of airport operations and health- and safety-related items that are linked to the A&K project, with mobility pods announced last summer.

Vancouver-Fraser Port Authority projects include areas like improved weather predictions and the efficiency of port operations.

Provincial Laboratory Medicine Services projects are addressing operational efficiency for expediting and improving the handling of patient samples and approved access to health services in remote regions through the digital pathology project‘s pilot.

Prince Rupert Port Authority projects are focused on alternative energy for transportation via heavy trucking.

All of these are clear examples of tackling practical challenges while scaling up businesses.

For the buyers, the integrated marketplace helps de-risk the adoption and procurement of domestic technologies that can help with potential cost savings, improved worker safety, operational efficiencies and carbon reductions.

[5:50 p.m.]

Solutions created by these projects will help them to solve challenges here at home and around the globe. Already we’re seeing the program help participating companies make new sales and bring in new investment.

For example, A&K Robotics is helping Vancouver International Airport take an important step forward in accessibility by testing their self-driving robotic pods. These pods help connect people with mobility challenges to access airport amenities.

Moment Energy provides high-speed charging capacity for public and fleet vehicles at the Vancouver International Airport. Their product allows for efficient energy storage that can be utilized for fleet vehicles in areas lacking electric infrastructure or during peak demand times. These initiatives also promote sustainability by giving a second life to retired batteries.

MarineLabs has utilized its AI-driven marine weather data platform to provide predictive coastal intelligence through hyper-local weather insights, real-time coastal images and actionable data that’s going to support safer decision-making at the Vancouver port and the Port of Prince Rupert. These are the kinds of outcomes we want for B.C. businesses, especially in the face of the current economic headwinds.

Through the StrongerBC economic plan, our province invested $11.5 million in 2022, which was further bolstered by $9.9 million in 2023 from the federal government through PacifiCan to support the integrated marketplace. Budget 2025 provides increased funding for three more years to continue this incredibly important program to enable us to support new and emerging B.C.-based technologies and local jobs by finding commercial partners to test and grow new products.

Creating innovative ideas and solutions that increase competitiveness and productivity, reduce emissions, improve health and safety and support the ability to buy B.C. innovations is essential to growing a strong and secure economy, building durable supply chains and ensuring that our economy is more resilient to potential threats.

Right now, the world is feeling uncertain. People in B.C. are worried. We’re hearing people ask: “What do these tariffs mean? What’ll happen to my job, my community?” As a former small business owner, I know firsthand that the last few years have been challenging for businesses dealing with extreme weather events, global uncertainty, global inflation and the pandemic, which made life more expensive here and around the world.

B.C. small businesses were just starting to turn the corner, to come back from the negative effects of the last few years. Interest rates were turning down, and it was feeling hopeful. Then Trump tariffs came at us.

Let me reassure people throughout this province that our government will continue to work hard every day to defend British Columbians and their livelihoods. While our economy is built to withstand Trump’s tariffs better than most provinces, we know the impact will still be significant. We may be the least dependent on the U.S. and the most diverse of the provinces, but we know it will still be challenging for our businesses and communities. We know that many businesses, big and small, are extremely vulnerable.

One of our priorities is to work with business leaders across the province to develop performance measures in relation to the ease of doing business. We will be addressing issues and improving competitiveness for business to grow our province’s economy and create good jobs.

I am engaging with businesses of all sizes across the province, industry associations, businesses across different communities and sectors to discuss the barriers they have identified as well as opportunities to improve competitiveness.

Since 2016, our coordinated omnibus regulatory amendment process — better regulations for British Columbians — has delivered over 4,000 regulatory amendments through eight processes. We’re updating our laws and regulations by transitioning from paper-based processes to more efficient electronic methods for citizens and businesses, moving to e-transfer payments and posting notifications online. We’re working to make it easier and faster to interact with government services to enhance overall accessibility and convenience.

We have not slowed down on our work to streamline permitting and reduce red tape, and we are already seeing the benefits of new investments in projects, including the Cariboo Gold mine in Wells and the Artemis Gold Blackwater gold project.

Cedar LNG has received its environmental assessment certificate, as did Tilbury LNG jetty in Vancouver and the bulk export facility in Prince Rupert.

[5:55 p.m.]

We’re introducing legislation to ensure rapid permitting and robust regulation of renewable energy projects like wind and solar. These new projects will supply communities, people and businesses with clean energy while ensuring that First Nation interests and environmental mitigations are protected and maintained.

The development and construction of new clean energy projects will generate between $5 billion and $6 billion in private capital spending throughout the province. These projects are part of a commitment to fast-track resource projects right now, to grow our economy and reduce our reliance on trade with the United States. This list includes energy, mining and critical minerals that are worth approximately $20 billion and will employ 8,000 people across the province.

We’re unlocking clean energy — wind and solar — and ensuring that we’re supporting quality jobs across the province. B.C. has built a strong economic foundation, despite global challenges, attracting record investment and supporting industry to grow and innovate. We have led economic growth with strong, high wages. We are the most diverse of the provinces in terms of trade. I’ve shared many details here today of the investment, innovation and job growth that have been leading across the country.

Budget 2025 adds to the work of our government, since 2017, to prepare us to carefully navigate these uncharted waters so that we can put people first and protect businesses as we build stronger and more self-sufficient communities and a better future. Helping B.C. companies scale up, saving small businesses money and protecting B.C. workers and communities will go a long way towards building a resilient economy.

Regardless of what’s happening outside of B.C., we will do everything necessary to support British Columbians in the face of these tariffs, defending jobs for British Columbians, as we strengthen and diversify. The journey ahead won’t be easy, but as British Columbians and as Canadians, we stand strong and united.

Point of Order

Hon. David Eby: Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Earlier today, I withdrew a remark when I indicated that a member of this House was collecting a second salary.

In fact, the member has been collecting a second salary. I withdraw my retraction and my apology.

Korky Neufeld: If the Premier would read the paper in Abbotsford as of today, he would see that I am correct and that he is wrong. Thank you.

Deputy Speaker: Thank you, Member.

Recognizing the member for Abbotsford-Mission.

Budget Debate
(continued)

Reann Gasper: Thank you, hon. Speaker. I want to first acknowledge and congratulate you on your newly appointed role.

I stand here today knowing that this moment is bigger than me. When I stand in this House, I do not stand alone. I carry with me the people who made this possible: my family, my campaign team and my community. To my husband, Chuck, who has been by my side through every high and low of this political journey and who truly has championed my success in my career, I love you and thank you.

I carry with me my three miracle children, who are the reason I fight for a better future for British Columbia. To my parents, Rodney Ramkissoon, Angel Isaacs and my stepdad, Gregory; my siblings Nikki, Mark and Chrissy; and my extended family in Canada and in Trinidad and Tobago, my birthplace: your love and support have carried me here.

[Lorne Doerkson in the chair.]

To my incredible team — Bea McLeod, Mary Holtby, Shirlene Lynch, Adrian Tarcea, Val Andres, Josh Reynolds — and to Joshua Domnich, who was my campaign manager, your work ethic and your encouraging demeanour is second to none.

[6:00 p.m.]

Now, stepping into your own role in this building as an LA, I couldn’t be prouder of you. You all gave your time and energy so generously as you knocked on doors, made phone calls, rallied volunteers and showed up, rain or shine, to see me stand here today. Your belief in me was much greater than just a campaign, and I thank you so much for everything.

To my sign team, my door-knockers, my fundraisers, my community leaders, my church family, to the people who donated to my campaign, my colleagues, those who prayed for me — listen, this list goes on and on — to those who didn’t want to be in the spotlight but helped behind the scenes because they believed in what we were building, I appreciate you all so much.

To my constituency team, Sean Mark, Chelsa and Candis, your passion and your vision for our community, Abbotsford-Mission, will be the fuel to see the change our constituency needs.

I carry with me the ones I have lost along this journey this year: my father-in-law, Ron Gasper, who was so proud of my victory and understood the cost that this political role requires because he walked it himself; my dear friend Nancy Sapach, who bravely fought cancer until the very end; and my 92-year-old grandfather, Charles Mondesir, who cheered me on faithfully as I ran this race. I cherish their support, and I am fuelled by a desire to see their legacy carried forward in the manner I steward this office.

But this is not about me. This is about the people I serve. It is about the single mother working two jobs just to keep food on the table, the senior waiting in pain because our health care system is failing them, the young couple watching their dream of home ownership slip further out of reach. These stories are not distant issues to me. They are the daily realities of my constituents, and their voices will be heard in this chamber. I will make sure of that.

Mission and Abbotsford are two unique, diverse and dynamic communities that embody the hard-working spirit of British Columbia. Mission, with its rich history, strong community ties and breathtaking natural surroundings, blends small-town charm with growing economic opportunity. Abbotsford, known as the agricultural heart of B.C., is home to farmers, entrepreneurs and families working tirelessly to build a better future. From the vibrant neighbourhoods of Mission to the rolling farmlands of Matsqui Prairie, my constituents represent the very best of what this province has to offer.

This budget before us is more than just numbers on a page. It is a statement of values. It questions priorities. And it will reveal what this government puts first. Will they prioritize political optics, or will they prioritize people? Will they make life easier for families, or will they continue down a path that makes it harder for families across British Columbia to afford the basics? British Columbians are not asking for the impossible. They’re asking for leaders to listen, for a government that delivers, for a province where they can build a future and not just scrape by.

As the official opposition critic for child care, children and youth with support needs, this responsibility I hold so close to my heart because at the very centre of a thriving society are our children. They are our greatest investment, our brightest hope and our shared responsibility.

[6:05 p.m.]

Being a mother has deepened my perseverance to fight for better services for families across British Columbia. And I know what it means to want the best for our children. I want them to have opportunities, to feel safe, to be supported in their growth and their learning. This is why I will always push for policies that ease the burden on parents and prioritize children’s well-being, that build a future where every child has resources they need to thrive.

The 2025 budget presented to us tells us what our government values, what they’re choosing to invest in and where they’re deciding to make sacrifices. A budget needs to be a roadmap to stability, growth and opportunity for British Columbians. I wish with every fibre of my being to somewhat be hopeful, but I am deeply disappointed and profoundly concerned with this budget.

It does not provide meaningful solutions to the affordability crisis; nor does it offer real investments to fix our broken health care system. It doesn’t support working families or strengthen our economy. It is a budget filled with uncertainty, misplaced spending and a growing burden of debt that will weigh down future generations.

What makes this even more concerning is the response I have started getting from my constituents about the cuts to programs by this government. I have heard from residents who are saddened and frustrated, people who rely on these services and are now left wondering how they will move forward. The feedback is one of disappointment and fear, as they come to terms with the reality of what these cuts mean for their families, their businesses and their future.

I understand that it is difficult to satisfy every person in every industry. But we have been handed a financial framework that raises the costs across the board, from fuel to groceries to transportation and essential services. A key driver of these rising costs is this government’s decision to move ahead with a punishing 19 percent increase to the carbon tax. On April 1, the Premier is raising the price of gasoline by 3.3 cents per litre. This increase will make life more expensive for every British Columbian, raising the cost of filling up a tank, heating a home and putting food on the table.

Despite the economic threat to B.C.’s families from American tariffs, this government has chosen to move forward with tax hikes that will only make things harder. And even if the government chooses to scrap it down the road, the burden will simply shift elsewhere and someone will still have to pay for it. At a time when British Columbians are facing rising inflation, job insecurity and a growing affordability crisis, this government has chosen to deepen the financial strain rather than provide a path forward.

British Columbia’s economy entering 2025 is marked by uncertainty and transition. The provincial government is contending with U.S. trade tariffs even as it tries to maintain growth. The budget forecasts a staggering $10.9 million deficit as the province attempts to invest in jobs and infrastructure to buffer economic headwinds.

But where is the plan? There is no clear strategy in this budget to address the potential economic blow that tariffs could deliver. The United States remains one of our largest trading partners, and any new tariffs could have devastating consequences for key B.C. industry: forestry, manufacturing and agriculture.

Communities like Abbotsford-Mission, with its diverse mix of agriculture, industry and small business, are especially vulnerable. Growth alone does not secure economic stability. Without a solid trade strategy and economic protections, workers and businesses in these industries will bear the cost of this government’s decision to leave B.C. in a vulnerable position.

British Columbians are being handed a growing deficit, rising costs and higher taxes without any roadmap to navigate these challenges. The government has been reactive instead of proactive.

[6:10 p.m.]

Housing affordability and homelessness are front-and-centre issues in Abbotsford and Mission and B.C. at large. Residents identify homelessness, affordable housing and crime as some of their top three concerns in our region. These concerns are not unfounded, as housing costs have continued to rise, outpacing local income growth and putting home ownership out of reach for many families.

There are no adequate measures to address the affordability gap. They fail to address the root causes of the crisis, leaving many families struggling to find stable housing. Homelessness across B.C. remains a visible and pressing issue, exacerbated by the housing shortage and the opioid addiction crisis. Abbotsford, like other urban centres, has struggled with encampments, and there remains a significant gap in meaningful progress on the ground.

Community advocates in the Fraser Valley emphasize the need for a comprehensive approach, not just building more housing, but expanding mental health and addiction services, job training and preventative measures to address the root cause of homelessness. Social inequity remains a major challenge, with certain groups such as single-parent families, Indigenous people and new immigrants facing higher rates of economic hardship.

Adding to these concerns, public safety remains a critical issue across our province. Crime, including property offences, gang-related violence and random-stranger attacks have heightened anxiety in our communities like Abbotsford-Mission. Additionally, the opioid crisis in British Columbia is not just a health emergency. It is a catastrophe that this government has allowed to spiral out of control.

Instead of tackling the root causes of addiction, the government has doubled down on harm reduction strategies that have failed to make our communities safer. The decriminalization of illicit drugs, including fentanyl, has not curbed overdoses or provided real pathways to recovery but has fuelled public disorder, increased crime and made our streets less safe.

As a mother, I know how important affordable and available child care is for working families. It is not a luxury; it is a necessity. The Premier campaigned on affordable, accessible child care for all, with a $10-a-day promise, which has failed to become a reality for the vast majority of families.

Families across British Columbia heard that, bought into it, believed it, planned their future around it, budgeted for it, yet only 10 percent of families in British Columbia are actually paying $10 a day. I’ll say that again. Only 10 percent of families in British Columbia are paying $10 a day. The rest are still waiting. They’re still struggling. They’re still paying exorbitant fees, because this government has failed to expand access in a meaningful way.

As a mother, I understand these struggles. I remember what it was like to arrange child care for my own children. Sometimes it worked; sometimes it didn’t; sometimes it was a nightmare. There were days when it felt impossible to find available space, and when you found one, the cost was overwhelming.

Like so many other working parents, I had to make difficult choices. Do I adjust my work schedule? Do I sacrifice my family income? Do I accept a subpar care because it’s the only option available? No parent should have to make these choices.

[6:15 p.m.]

Stable child care allows parents to provide for their children, to contribute to the economy, to build a better future, yet the government has frozen child care funding at $865 million. Not a single new dollar has been invested to expand spaces or help struggling families.

Let’s be clear about the facts. Child care wait-lists remain years-long, forcing parents between giving up their jobs or paying thousands per month for private care. The minister claims record investments, but what good are record investments if they never reach the families who need them the most? Parents were promised relief, but this budget delivers no new spaces, no additional support and no meaningful expansion of access.

Alarmingly, when questioned about the creation of infant-toddler child care spaces in last year’s estimates debates, the minister revealed that there were only 20,100 government-funded spaces, enough for approximately 15 percent of the children who need or want access to group child care for children under three years old.

During the same estimates debates, the minister also shared troubling data regarding before- and after-school care, revealing that there were only 44,800 spaces available across all of B.C., despite a population of over 500,000 children between the ages of five and 14. This equates to a coverage rate of 11 percent for before- and after-school care.

To put it another way, despite billions of dollars having been invested as we enter year 8 out of a ten-year commitment to create universal child care across B.C., approximately 85 percent of children under three years old who want or need access to infant-toddler spaces, and 89 percent of children of ages five to 14 who want and need before-and-after space, still do not have it.

As a result, parents are being pushed out of the workforce because they cannot find care. Families are being forced to rearrange their entire lives just to accommodate unreliable, affordable child care. Children who would benefit from high-quality early learning experiences are being left behind.

British Columbia parents deserve better than broken promises. They deserve a government that truly values family and will not just make announcements. They deserve real solutions. They deserve an expansion of child care spaces, so that no family is left without options. British Columbians deserve better, and our children deserve better.

Caring for a child with disabilities or special needs is a journey filled with love, resilience and determination. Every parent wants to see their child thrive, to give them every possible opportunity to succeed, but for too many families in British Columbia, that journey is marked by struggle, endless wait-lists, bureaucratic hurdles and a system that makes it harder, not easier, to access support.

Families of children with autism, Down syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome disorder and complex medical conditions have fought for years to be heard. They have shared their stories in town halls, in letters to government, in advocacy groups — not out of frustration alone but out of deep, unwavering love for their children.

They have told us about years-long wait-lists just to get an assessment, delaying crucial early interventions. Parents are having to leave their jobs because care is too expensive or unavailable. Families are on the brink of crisis because trying to find the right support for their child is not available. These are not isolated cases. These are the daily realities for thousands of British Columbians.

[6:20 p.m.]

I would be remiss…. I’ve sat in rooms with moms that have told me these stories, yet despite all this, the budget for 2025 cuts funding for children and youth with support needs. This is not just a number on a page. It means fewer services. It means fewer resources for families who are already struggling. It means delays and more stress and more children being left without the support they need.

This government says it’s investing in children. But if that were true, then parents wouldn’t be waiting years for services and schools wouldn’t be struggling to accommodate students with complex needs and families wouldn’t feel like they’re navigating the system alone.

The Representative for Children and Youth has repeatedly said that our province’s services for kids with special needs are underfunded, under-resourced and inaccessible. Despite this, the funding for Budget ‘25 was reduced by $590 million to $585 million.

I have so much to say, and I’m running out of time.

I want to read you this quote, because these aren’t just words on a page that I sat at a computer and wrote; these are real stories. The editor from B.C. Disability says:

“While the provincial government made investments to keep up with the anticipated increase in the number of British Columbians receiving disability assistance, the failure to raise the rates or significantly improve other supports is deeply disappointing.

“With the assistance rates far below the poverty line already, the cost of living having increased substantially over the last few years, persons with disability have been left to struggle, as much as ever, to afford the basic, let alone to invest in education or training to get ahead.

“Instead of merely expanding access to an inadequate system that keeps people locked in poverty, the government must take a bolder step to transform the system so that people can get ahead. How can they do so? Here are some ways.”

You get the point; it’s devastating.

I’m pretty passionate about it because it’s our kids. When I ran for this campaign, people would ask me: “What are your platforms? What are you running for?” I said to them: “I could give you a list. There’s a lot broken in our society. I could give you a list. But I’m running for your family. I’m running for my family. I’m running for our kids.”

While I have concerns, I also have hope, because that’s who I am. I believe that if we work together, if we truly listen to the needs of families and workers and communities, we can do better, because British Columbians are resilient and our families are strong and our workers are dedicated and our communities are filled with people who care deeply about each other.

It is time to build a future that prioritizes affordability for families. It is time to make sure that every child, regardless of ability and background or circumstances, has the opportunity to succeed. It is time to commit to supporting our health care workers and our teachers and our small business owners.

For everyone who contributes to making this province, I believe we can do better. Because at the end of the day, that’s what British Columbians expect of us — not division but solutions. That is exactly what I will continue to fight for.

[6:25 p.m.]

Hon. Anne Kang: I’m honoured to stand in the House today in support of Budget 2025, in my role as Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills.

I would like to start by acknowledging that we’re on the unceded territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən people, the Songhees and the SXIMEȽEȽ Nations, upon whose territories we gather today.

From a Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills perspective, Budget 2025 is all about standing strong for B.C. and making sure public services are there when we need them. This budget will protect jobs and the public services people rely on, and we will continue to prepare B.C.’s economy to withstand unpredictable impacts in an unpredictable world.

The province’s strength is its people. For us to prosper and forge a new destiny, supports in training, education and workforce development will be key to forging our new way forward. Our destiny and sovereignty are in our hands, and we have the tools to prosper.

Budget 2025 provides my ministry with a total budget of $3.52 billion for 2025-26. This means we can continue to build on the historic investments in training and education that this government has made over the years. We believe in supporting people by providing the skills they need that will put more money in their pockets and future-proof their lives and livelihoods. We will work with industry and employers to meet our economic priorities, create an environment for growth, fill labour gaps and provide the skilled workers we need to provide the goods and services that we all rely on.

I am in a unique and privileged position to stand shoulder to shoulder and in partnership with B.C.’s incredible post-secondary institutions — institutions that are on the front lines of workforce development, economic prosperity, innovation, education training and, quite frankly, helping people make more money.

While we face challenging and uncertain times together, our government is continuing to invest in programs at post-secondary campuses throughout the province to meet the moment and create our own future. Government knows that when people have a good job with powerful paycheques, it reduces some of that uncertainty.

Programs like the B.C. access grant help to break down barriers and increase accessibility to education and training. More than 85,000 students have received over $166 million in funding through this grant to help with costs, such as tuition and living expenses. Families have saved up to $16,000 over the course of their children’s studies, relieving financial pressures from their bottom line.

In 2019, we ended interest payments on student loans. This has resulted in over $175 million in interest payments saved for post-secondary students and their families. In 2023, we increased student financial aid, and we also made repayment terms more flexible. We also invested in zero-cost textbooks, saving approximately 350,000 students more than $39 million. These are just some of the tools we use to develop and support our workforce here in B.C.

We have also made historic investments in student housing on campuses throughout B.C. Since 2018, this government has committed over $2 billion to build 12,000 student housing beds on campuses throughout B.C., and we are well on our way towards that goal. Prior to this government, the previous government only built 138 student housing units over 16 years, and that’s a contrast. We took another approach and have been making inroads to fix what that government broke. In seven years, our government has funded over 10,700 student housing beds that are already built or underway, with more to come.

By providing grants, improving student loan structures, investing in student aid, decreasing the price of textbooks and building more affordable student housing, our government is clearing the path for people to access post-secondary education easier and faster.

[6:30 p.m.]

But what does that mean? How do these investments translate into the real world? Hon. Speaker, let me tell you. Since 2017, our colleges, institutes and universities have equipped students with the skills needed to help build our workforce in critical areas.

In the health sector 49,450 people have graduated from health programs between 2017 and 2023, and we’ve seen a significant increase in the annual graduates since 2017. That means that under our government, B.C.’s post-secondary institutions have produced more doctors, more nurses, more paramedics and more allied health professionals. This includes at least 1,700 doctors, 11,000 nurses and 1,400 paramedics.

In fact, every year at least 2,500 students are starting their nursing journey at B.C.’s public post-secondary institutions. That’s 600 more every year than in 2017. And 328 future doctors began their medical doctor training. That’s 40 more every year than in 2017.

We’re seeing growth in other major fields as well. The engineering and applied sciences sector has seen the largest increase, around 25 percent more graduates in 2023 than in 2017. That’s 55,270 graduates since 2017.

These graduates are B.C.’s new civil, structural and environmental engineers. They are the mining engineers overseeing projects in our Interior and North. They are the agritech professionals finding new and more efficient ways to improve our agricultural independence. And they are the leaders who are growing and innovating our manufacturing sector.

We also saw 28,000 graduates from education programs, which includes new teachers, teachers assistants and early childhood educators. Every year, close to 1,500 people begin an early childhood educator program, 800 more than in 2017.

And since 2017, 36,000 apprentices have earned their certification of qualification from SkilledTradesBC. These are the people who fix our cars, repair our roads and build our homes, schools and hospitals. SkilledTradesBC manages nearly 90 trades programs in B.C., from arborists to saw filers to welders, 49 of which are Red Seal certified.

I could go on, but I only have 30 minutes. We know there is much more to do, and we will keep working with students, their families and employers to take action to make post-secondary education and training more affordable and more accessible in B.C.

Just as we are working on clearing the way for easier access to post-secondary education, we’re also ensuring that we’re building the infrastructure to support training the workforce of today and tomorrow. We know that people are B.C.’s most important asset, and we continue to support and invest in them. Before our government, the workforce development needs of workers and industry were neglected. We continue our commitment to workers, economic development and service delivery in key sectors, including health, science, trades and technology.

Budget 2025 includes $4.7 billion in total capital spending over the next three years for post-secondary institutions across the province. We’re investing $315 million in Vancouver Community College to build a centre for clean energy and automotive innovation. That training hub will train up to 1,400 people every year, with new programs in clean energy technology, light rail and zero-emission-vehicle repair.

We’re also investing $218 million in BCIT trades and technology complex, which will train 12,000 trades professionals every year once completed. We’re also investing $108 million in the WestShore learning centre campus to increase access to education on the West Shore, along with $57 million to support agrifoods, hospitality and tourism at Okanagan College by building the Centre for Food, Wine and Tourism.

[6:35 p.m.]

And of course, we’re building the Simon Fraser University medical school in Surrey, which will be ready for its first cohort next year, in 2026.

By putting people first, we are building a strong foundation for tough times, and we are building a strong foundation for better times that will no doubt follow.

Our government is planning for the future. One of the ways we are creating the environment where people can be masters of their destiny is by ensuring we know how the labour market is changing and that our education and training programs today meet the needs of the future. Tools like the labour market outlook can help government, parents, workers and employers understand what sectors and occupations are growing and where we need to invest in post-secondary education and training.

We have a responsibility to make sure that we are making the most effective and efficient use of public dollars — to grow the economy, to protect and strengthen the services people count on and to increase people’s wealth through great-paying careers.

We are growing the middle class and training people for the future. I would like to talk about the $480 million investment in the future-ready action plan and what’s been achieved since it was launched.

Now, markets don’t have values; people do. And one of our government’s key values is and has been and will be a commitment to breaking down barriers to access a better life and build a more inclusive economy.

As an example, through the future-ready action plan, StudentAid B.C. accessibility programs have helped 7,670 British Columbians with disabilities access more education and training. Through future-ready, more than 3,000 former youth in care have accessed post-secondary education and training through the provincial tuition waiver program, with up to 50,000 more B.C. former youth in care, of any age, eligible to access this funding.

More than 10,000 students and future workers have been supported through investments in Mitacs, an organization that connects businesses and researchers to drive competitiveness and productivity in sectors such as digital technology and advanced manufacturing.

More than 13,000 students have benefited from the career-life connection and dual-credit programs offered in partnership between my ministry and the Ministry of Education and Child Care.

More than 17,000 British Columbians have been served by the rapid response training program that provides sector-based professional development pathways to employees to support non-profit, public and private goods and service delivery.

Did you know that more than 12,000 British Columbians have participated in the training from the digital skills bootcamp and tech talent accelerator that have supported people to get better jobs and match people with employers so that they can grow their businesses and be competitive, not only here in B.C. but around the world?

We are equipping people for success and bigger paycheques in our changing economy and closing the skill gaps employers are facing.

We are making education and training more accessible, affordable and relevant so British Columbians can gain the skills they need for good-paying, high-demand jobs.

Now, speaking of high-demand and critical jobs, I am so proud of B.C.’s construction industry. The construction industry is crucial to building the housing and infrastructure people rely on, as well as driving B.C.’s economic growth. We recognize that businesses and employers are facing challenges in finding and retaining people in B.C.’s tight labour market. We must ensure that people can access the training they need to step into a rewarding career in the trades.

Before our government, trades training in B.C. was seriously neglected by some of the members who are now on the other side of the House. Trades ambassadors had been fired, leaving only three staff ambassadors to support the thousands of apprentices in the entire province. And trades were decertified, meaning that anyone, anywhere could do the job without certification.

[6:40 p.m.]

This led to low or suppressed wages, decreased esteem in the trades and, quite frankly, devalued one of the most noble and important careers not only in our province but in our civilization.

But our government committed to fixing what the old government broke. Through my ministry, government invested over $100 million a year through SkilledTradesBC for trades education and support, delivering 28,300 training seats in every region of the province. Nearly 70 percent of all training seats delivered are focused on construction-related skills.

SkilledTradesBC also works with more than 11,000 employer-sponsors of apprentices. Over 2024 and into 2025, B.C. is seeing a record-breaking number of people registered as apprentices, because they know, finally, they have a government who cares and respects their profession and livelihoods.

Another program supporting the expansion and innovation of trade training is TradeUp B.C. This continuing education program provides a flexibility for people in the construction trades to advance their skills while continuing their work by offering short-term courses at public post-secondary institutions.

Our government supports people. We support workers. We believe in the inherent right for people to control their own destiny through their own hard work. That is why our government continues to be committed in supporting reconciliation through education, starting with the implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. We are also fully committed to implementing the ministry’s Declaration Act action plan commitments. We are working closely with First Nations, Métis and other Indigenous partners to advance those actions.

We have made significant investments in post-secondary supports, housing, gathering places and First Nation-led post-secondary institutions. By investing $6.4 million annually through the Aboriginal service plan, we are ensuring that Indigenous students can access education and supports in a culturally safe environment while they are attending a public post-secondary institution or within their communities through initiatives that support community-based education. Since 2017, an estimated 160,000 Indigenous learners attended either public post-secondary institutions or Indigenous institutes.

In the province of B.C., Indigenous learners make their own way on their own terms. Through the StrongerBC future-ready action plan, we’re making further investment into programs and initiatives that support First Nations and Métis people, including strengthening investments in institutes, language revitalization and supports for the First Nation language fluency degree framework.

[The Speaker in the chair.]

Together we are creating a path forward toward good jobs, good opportunities and, most importantly, a good life in a province where all people can reach their full potential.

I reserve my place for the next sitting of the day, and I move adjournment of the debate.

Hon. Anne Kang moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. Adrian Dix moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

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

The House adjourned at 6:44 p.m.