The House met at 10:02 a.m.

[The Speaker in the chair.]

Routine Business

Prayers and reflections: Darlene Rotchford.

Introductions by Members

Harman Bhangu: My beloved 49ers won yesterday. I’m proudly wearing the pin. Also, I know the member for Delta North is also a fan.

[10:05 a.m.]

Speaking of the 49ers, I wanted to…. Over a month ago, it was my wife’s birthday, on September 7. We had the ability to go down and catch the game. Came back the same night, took a ferry, to be on committee, with a few members on the other side. Just recently, on the 14th, my wife and I celebrated our nine-year anniversary. I just want to give my wife at home a shout-out.

Courtney, I love you, and you are the heart and soul that makes our family tick.

One other last one. I want to acknowledge the member for Delta North. We had a great conversation in the hallway. He gave me some pointers on having a young family, and I really appreciate that. Thank you very much.

Hon. Brittny Anderson: You know what they say about mothers-in-law. I’ve got the best one. I would like to wish my mother-in-law a very happy birthday. I was really grateful I was able to celebrate with her this weekend. We had an amazing meal out, and then I was able to cook her breakfast in the morning. She has been so kind, so generous, so loving and so understanding.

I’m so grateful that you’re in my life, Marian Dixon. I love you. Happy birthday.

Scott McInnis: Just another birthday announcement. My wonderful nephew Charlie Bear McInnis turns four today.

I’m very sorry, Charlie, that I couldn’t be at your birthday party yesterday, buddy. But I love you lots. Happy birthday, and we’ll see you next weekend.

Introduction and
First Reading of Bills

Bill 31 — Energy Statutes
Amendment Act, 2025

Hon. Adrian Dix presented a message from Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor: a bill intituled Energy Statutes Amendment Act, 2025.

Hon. Adrian Dix: I move that the bill be introduced and read a first time now.

Bill 31, the Energy Statutes Amendment Act, amends the Hydro and Power Authority Act and the Utilities Commission Act. The proposed amendments will enable B.C. Hydro to enter into co-ownership arrangements with First Nations, allow B.C. Hydro to retain rights under the Hydro and Power Authority Act while acting on behalf of a limited partnership and make amendments to the Utilities Commission Act to allow for the implementation of an electricity allocation framework.

We’re expanding access to B.C.’s clean electricity grid in the northwest, in particular with the North Coast transmission line, not just to power homes and businesses, which it will, and improve service in the region but to unlock the full potential of the northwest as a driver of economic growth and diversification.

The North Coast transmission line provides the opportunity to unlock new clean growth opportunities in our province and in our country and create well-paying jobs at a moment that we need them. This is a nation-building opportunity for B.C. and Canada to unleash the economic potential of our province, in particular, the North Coast, and develop critical mines, port expansions and other resource development, including the lowest-emission LNG in the world.

In addition, the bill will enable smart pace growth in strategic sectors such as artificial intelligence and data centres through the electricity allocation framework, which ensures we support projects in sectors that are of the greatest benefit to B.C. in every way.

We need to take bold action in our province now, like governments in the past, in the 1960s, when the government nationalized B.C. Electric to create opportunity for jobs everywhere in B.C. We need to do that now, and we’re determined to do that. I ask all members of the House to support this legislation.

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

Motion approved.

Hon. Adrian Dix: 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.

Orders of the Day

Private Members’ Statements

1000x5 Children’s Book Project

Darlene Rotchford: I would like to begin by acknowledging that we are gathered here today on the traditional and unceded territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən-speaking people, known today as the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations.

[10:10 a.m.]

Today I rise to highlight the remarkable work of 1000 x 5 children’s book recycling project, an organization making a lasting difference in the lives of children and families throughout the capital district region.

The idea behind 1000 x 5 is beautiful, simple and profoundly powerful. The project began in 2008 on the Saanich Peninsula with one clear goal: to ensure that every child has heard at least 1,000 stories before the age of five.

This vision quickly grew, expanding from the peninsula to Victoria and across the Western Communities. Today 1000 x 5 operates in all 13 municipalities in our region.

[Mable Elmore in the chair.]

So why does this matter? One of the most important things we can do for our babies and toddlers is read to them. Listening to stories, holding hands and exploring pictures helps children build language skills, spark imagination and foster the neural connections that shape lifelong learning. These simple, joyful experiences are essential to early brain development and to literacy itself.

Here in my own community, 1000 x 5 West Shore has been serving families in Colwood, Langford, Metchosin and the Highlands since 2012. Working in partnership with school district 62, the project collects gently used children’s books from local elementary schools and the Sooke school board office.

Each week a small but mighty team of volunteers sorts, cleans and packages books into age-appropriate bundles. These bundles are then distributed by family-serving agencies, ensuring that every child, regardless of circumstances, can experience the joy of owning books at home.

Each month about 1,600 children’s books made their way into the hands of young children through the 1000 x 5 network and across the capital region. This project has now distributed over half a million books to local families. That incredible achievement is supported by 42 community agencies and powered by volunteers who have contributed more than 9,000 hours of their time, simply because they believe that every child deserves a story.

I want to take a moment to thank these volunteers, the families who donate the books and the educators who help coordinate these efforts through the schools. Together they are strengthening the foundation of early learning within our region.

Former Premier John Horgan once said that education is the great equalizer. I would add that literacy is the key that unlocks that equality. It is the single most important variable in determining a person’s economic, social and emotional success.

When I think back to my own upbringing, this truth feels deeply personal. I grew up in a middle-class family that didn’t have many extras. My parents both left school after grade 7, and my mother was illiterate.

As a child, I didn’t fully understand what that meant, but as a mother myself, now I do. I see every day how important it is to fill our home with books, to read to our children and to watch their curiosity grow with every page that we turn. I often wonder how different my mother’s life actually would have been if she had been given the same opportunity.

The reality is that many families in our region still own very few books, yet we know that literacy begins forming in infancy, from the first time a child holds a book, hears a story and turns a page. The small acts build the foundation of everything that follows.

That’s why the work of 1000 x 5 is so vital. It’s not just about handling books. It’s about building connection, confidence and community. It’s about giving every child, no matter where they start, an equal chance to learn, dream and succeed.

Today I encourage everyone who’s listening, if you have a gently used picture book at home, please consider donating it. If you have time to give, volunteer. When you support 1000 x 5, you are not only promoting literacy. You are changing the lives of tiny humans who are our next generation.

Public Service Labour Dispute

Rosalyn Bird: We are now six weeks into a provincial-wide labour dispute that has now seen over 25,000 BCGEU and PEA workers walk off the job and many others feeling the impact in one way or another. What began as a negotiation between the government and its own workers has now grown into a crisis that’s touching the lives of everyday British Columbians in a very real and very painful way.

Nearly 23,000 public servants are on strike. It’s not just about wages and contracts. It’s about people — the seniors, families, students and vulnerable citizens who depend on provincial services to get through each day.

Across this province, we are hearing the same stories of delays, disruptions and disarray. From stalled environmental permits and mining approvals, to the closure of liquor and cannabis stores, to the breakdown of administrative and social supports, this labour action has exposed how fragile our public systems have become under this government’s management.

[10:15 a.m.]

Service B.C. offices have been shuttered. That means no access to driver licensing, income or disability assistance or even student loan payments. Students who rely on StudentAid BC are waiting weeks for the funding they need just to pay rent and to buy groceries. Families of children with autism are struggling to cover therapy costs out of pocket as provincial reimbursements stall.

Perhaps the most alarming of all, our justice system, the very foundation of fairness in this province, has been paralyzed. Hearings at the Motor Vehicle Act tribunal are being postponed indefinitely. People are waiting to challenge driving prohibitions or defend their livelihoods and are stuck in limbo. Lawyers are warning that this backlog could take months to clear even after the strike ends.

These are not abstract inconveniences. They are consequences that touch the most vulnerable among us. People who can least afford the delay are the ones that are paying the highest price.

Now, no one disputes that workers have the right to strike and to bargain in good faith for fair wages. But the government also has the responsibility, a moral and constitutional duty, to ensure that essential services continue and that British Columbians are not left without critical supports.

It’s not enough for the minister to say: “We are deeply focused on getting back to the table.” British Columbians deserve more than vague assurances. They deserve action, and they deserve leadership. When adjudicators can’t hear cases, when families can’t access autism funding, when students can’t receive loans and when parents can’t renew their licences, that is not just a labour dispute. That is governance failure.

While thousands of British Columbians are feeling the consequences of this strike, while parents, students and seniors wait for services, it seems there’s one place where the impact has not been felt: the B.C. NDP caucus offices. The BCGEU members who work directly for the government caucus remain on the job. It’s hard not to notice the double standard.

When it comes to serving their own political operations, the government somehow finds a way to keep the lights on. But when it comes to serving the people of British Columbia, they shrug and they say their hands are tied. That says a lot about this government’s priorities, and none of it is reassuring.

The B.C. Conservatives stand with workers who want fair treatment, but we also stand with British Columbians who are being left behind. We believe in fair negotiations but also in accountability, planning and the respect for the taxpayer.

This government’s inability to manage labour relations or maintain continuity of essential public services is not just inefficient; it is irresponsible. It sends a clear message that when things go wrong, it’s everyday people who pay the price.

British Columbians deserve a government that can both respect its workers and protect the public. They deserve leadership that plans ahead, communicates clearly and ensures that critical supports of our most vulnerable citizens are never disrupted again.

The government has been missing from the bargaining table but has finally agreed to take part in mediation this past Friday. I sincerely hope this leads to a deal before more vulnerable British Columbians suffer because of this government’s failures.

At the end of the day, it isn’t just about contracts and percentages. It’s about people. It’s about trust. Right now too many British Columbians have lost both.

Public Libraries

Amna Shah: I’m pleased to acknowledge October as Library Month here in British Columbia and to speak about the significance of our public libraries. Public libraries are more than just buildings filled with books. They are the heart of our communities. They provide safe, inclusive and welcoming spaces where people of all ages and backgrounds can access knowledge, learn new skills and connect with each other.

Whether it’s a parent attending storytime with their child or a newcomer learning English, a student doing research or a job seeker updating their resume, libraries are there providing support that truly makes a difference.

As a young immigrant to this country myself, my local library was my first safe haven. I still remember the calm of the atmosphere, the warmth of the staff and the endless selections of books and adventures that would transform my life and shape me into who I am today.

[10:20 a.m.]

Here in British Columbia, our library system is one of the most robust in the country. With 71 public libraries, over 250 service locations and six federations, libraries serve 99 percent of our population, and the numbers tell a powerful story.

In 2024 alone, 1.9 million British Columbians were active library card holders, including 312,000 new registrations, a clear sign that public libraries remain relevant and needed more than ever.

In fact, nearly 40 percent of B.C.’s population used a library card this year, and over 1.6 million people attended library programs, everything from coding workshops to book clubs to small business seminars.

These numbers are impressive, but what they really show is that libraries are evolving. They’re no longer just about boring books. They’re about building communities, bridging digital divides and helping people of all ages adapt to a rapidly changing world.

Just a few days ago, I attended the Surrey library’s Youth Writing Contest gala, which awards and celebrates young writers in the city of Surrey. Reading the work of these youth, I know that our future is bright.

As a province, we recognize the critical role that libraries play, especially as they face growing social and economic pressures. We know that local governments are the primary funders of libraries, and we also understand how difficult it can be to make decisions about service levels in a time of rising costs and complex community needs. That’s why since 2020 the province has invested $56 million to support libraries across British Columbia, including a historic, one-time $45 million enhancement grant in 2023, which is the largest single investment in B.C. public library history.

This funding was distributed to all 71 public libraries and library sector service partners, helping address rising operational costs and ensuring continued access to the services British Columbians rely on. This support is more than just about keeping the lights on. It’s about helping libraries do what they do best, and that is to empower people.

Provincial funding is being used to expand access to digital resources like e-books and audiobooks, provide literacy programs, deliver internet and technology access and support lifelong learning, all of which help individuals build skills, find opportunities and stay connected in the communities that they love.

Additionally, through the $1 billion growing communities fund, communities have been able to invest in infrastructure, including library capital projects, ensuring that our libraries can continue to meet the needs of growing and changing populations.

Behind every library is a team of staff, volunteers and library boards who are working tirelessly to serve our communities. We remain committed to working in partnership with library leaders and local governments to ensure that public libraries are not just equipped to survive, but also to thrive.

Libraries are a universal service. They are free. They are for everyone, and they meet people where they are. Importantly, public libraries are a powerful force for equity, inclusion and resilience. We must continue to invest in them, champion them and ensure they remain strong, accessible and future-ready for generations to come.

Resource Sector and Communities

Harman Bhangu: Over the past year, I’ve had the privilege of travelling across this incredible province, from the north coast to the Kootenays, from the Island to the Interior, listening to people’s stories, sitting at kitchen tables and walking their main streets and hearing what life has been really like outside of the Lower Mainland.

In Prince Rupert, I met people who remember when the town was buzzing. My dad used to talk about Prince Rupert when I was a kid, how it was an amazing place by the water, alive with opportunity.

I always thought one day we’d go there. When I finally did, I could feel what it used to be. It’s a town that once had 16,000 to 18,000 people. Now it’s around 12,000. You can still feel the pride, but also the frustration. The port is still there, but the jobs aren’t what they once were.

It’s a story that echoes across British Columbia, and honestly, it reminds me of the 1990s. Back then, people were leaving this province because they just couldn’t afford to stay. There weren’t enough jobs. Families were struggling to keep up.

[10:25 a.m.]

I remember what it felt like growing up, watching my parents do everything they could do just to keep the lights on and build something here. When so many others were packing up and moving away, it was a time when hope felt distant.

Today I’m hearing those same stories again. In Invermere, I met young people who said they love their hometown, but there’s no work outside the summer season. The year-round population is under 4,000, but in the summer, it jumps up to 20,000 — even more when tourists arrive. Businesses told me it’s hard to find workers because young people leave to chase opportunity elsewhere. Who can blame them? There just aren’t good jobs for them to build a future.

Across dozens of communities, from Quesnel to Port Alberni, from Terrace to Cranbrook, the message is the same. Our resource towns struggle. Our youth are leaving. The opportunity that once defined British Columbia is slipping away.

If we’re serious about solving the housing crisis, we have to be honest. We will never solve it by building more towers in the Lower Mainland. We need to build the rest of this province, strengthen the regions, grow our resource communities again and make it possible for people to live, work and raise a family in every corner of British Columbia.

When I talk to people in forestry and mining and energy and agriculture, they’re not asking for handouts. They are asking for stability, for a government to have their backs, to fix the permitting delays, to bring common sense back into regulation and to stop punishing the industries that built this province.

When the resource sector is strong, small towns thrive. When mills close, exploration stops. When investment leaves, so do families and the schools, the rinks and the restaurants that depend on them.

We have a generational opportunity right now to rebuild these sectors, to attract value-added manufacturing, to support clean innovation technologies and to show that British Columbia can be prosperous and sustainable. That’s how we create the kinds of jobs that bring young people back home. That’s how we make it possible for families to afford to live here again.

This isn’t just an economic issue. It’s a matter of belonging. When people stop believing they have a future in their own hometowns, they start believing they don’t have a future in their province. That’s what we have to change.

I think back to my parents in the ’90s working hard, those uncertain years, and I think of how close we are to repeating that same story today. People are stretched thin. Businesses are struggling. Families are wondering if their kids will ever be able to afford a home in the place they grew up.

But the good news is, everywhere I go, I still see resilience. I see communities ready to build if the government is finally willing to listen. So let’s show up for them. Let’s invest in our resource towns again. Let’s make it possible for young people to stay, work and dream here.

The strength of British Columbia has never come from just big cities. It has always come from the hard-working people who live and build across this entire province. Let’s make sure they’re not forgotten.

Cherryville Community Food
and Resource Society

Steve Morissette: I rise today to shine a light on a remarkable organization serving the Cherryville community, the Cherryville Community Food and Resource Society. This small but mighty centre is proof that when people care deeply about one another, they can build something truly special.

Cherryville is a tiny, unincorporated rural community with about a thousand people scattered in the area. But what happens there is a master class in connection, compassion and community spirit.

From Monday to Thursday, the doors of the resource centre are open, and so are their hearts. Anyone can call or drop in, whether you need help filling out a pension application, applying for Fair PharmaCare, navigating disability supports or even finding out how to access subsidized housing. Someone is there to listen and lend a hand.

It’s a place where practical support meets genuine kindness. There’s a free income tax clinic, food security programs and help with everything from benefits to advanced care planning.

[10:30 a.m.]

But what makes the Cherryville Resource Centre so special is that it’s not just about services; it’s about belonging. For seniors, that sense of belonging comes through in the seniors services and compassionate communities program. Imagine drive-through meal programs, transportation for appointments, sit-down dinners, recreation, and case management, all run by people who know your name and care about how you’re doing.

They even offer support for people and families facing end of life, ensuring that no one walks that road alone. For those living with disabilities, Cherryville’s outreach team helps navigate the often complicated process of applying for supports. A registered social worker is there to guide people every step of the way, turning what can feel like an overwhelming process into something achievable and dignified.

Of course, the Cherryville Resource Centre is investing in the future of the community through its youth and family programs. Under the leadership of their dedicated coordinator, Maya Arcand, they’re building opportunities for rural families to thrive, creating programs that support health, confidence and connection. They invite the community to get involved, to volunteer, to donate or collaborate. The result is a web of support that’s as strong as it is caring.

Behind all of this are the people, the staff, the volunteers and neighbours who make Cherryville shine — people like Amanda and Meghan, who welcome residents with warmth and help them navigate forms, benefits and systems that can otherwise feel impossible to manage. They are the beating heart of Cherryville’s commitment to taking care of one another.

This is community in action. This is what it looks like when a town takes care of its own, with creativity, compassion and a dash of Cherryville grit.

To everyone at the Cherryville Resource Centre, the Cherryville Community Food and Resource Society and the board of directors, thank you. Thank you for showing us what’s possible when we put people first. Your work reminds us that rural doesn’t mean remote. It means resilient. And Cherryville proves that when we invest in community, we build a stronger, kinder British Columbia for everyone.

Resource Sector and Rural Economy

Sheldon Clare: It has been one year plus a day since the last provincial election, and a consistent theme I’ve heard from constituents and stakeholders alike is the neglect from this government to take seriously the power and opportunity rural British Columbia presents.

An adage in B.C. politics is we, rural B.C., are beyond Hope. This sentiment seems more accurate than ever. As former MLA Cyril Shelford argued, Victoria ignores rural B.C. at its peril. It’s where the money is made.

If B.C. is truly leading the path to a brighter future for all of Canada, that path will be illuminated by the industrious people and businesses of rural B.C. These people and businesses can be those pathfinders, blazing a trail for the rest of the province, and indeed the country, to find prosperity.

Prosperity for all means good jobs, healthy communities and robust services. This prosperity is but an illusion if this government continues to ignore the opportunities rural British Columbia presents, whether it be in mining, forestry, LNG or agriculture, to just name a few.

Victoria must get out of the way and let loose the engine that is our resource extraction economy. Give us the tools to do the job and cut out the barriers of bureaucracy that are impeding economic growth.

Forestry is under attack, and we have heard from this government that the attack has come from afar. However, this government has failed to acknowledge the attack from within. Economic threats from the United States are real, yet after nearly a decade of obstruction and failure on the forestry file by this government, it fools no one.

[10:35 a.m.]

Long before the United States presented additional headwinds with duties and tariffs, our forestry sector has pleaded with this government to act. Mills closed, workers lost their livelihoods, and workers lost their abilities to support their families. Families lost their ability to support their communities. Communities have lost their identity as proud members of a foundational industry in this province. For nearly a decade, this government has made it harder to cut, haul, process and survive.

Deeds are what’s needed here, not more time-wasting exercises like the Provincial Forest Advisory Council. No more stalling. Stakeholders like First Nations, businesses, workers, unions and ecological, environmental and biodiversity experts were here long before the provincial forestry council, and they’ll be here long after this government’s mandate ends.

The necessary actions are clear. Get to 45 million cubic metres annual allowable cut. Resolve the backlog of active permit applications and accelerate the processing of new applications. Empower First Nations to expedite referrals, co-develop land use plans and create shared prosperity. This government must either act or get out of the way and let a new government do the job.

It’s not just forestry that’s collapsing under the weight of this government’s inaction. Mining, too, has had to scrape by without government providing clarity, consistency and common sense. What is the mining industry to think when they are told, as is the case for placer miners in rural B.C., according to the Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals, that “following the provincial priorities, placer is a lower priority sector and so longer wait times should be expected.”

This dismissive attitude towards yet another foundational industry in this province is offensive and does not serve to empower rural B.C. to lead both our province and our country to brighter days.

What are First Nations to do when the miner claims consultation framework requires them to review mining permits without the resources or capacity to do the job? First Nations in my constituency are burdened with this tremendous task without support from the government to do that work. This is unacceptable to both First Nations and industry. Thankfully their frustrations are accurately and squarely directed not at each other but rather at government.

What are we all to expect when the government waivers between fixed and prospective permitting timelines only to fail in both cases? Resource extraction and development need well-maintained roads and bridges with broad lanes and reliable driving conditions. It means support for alternative routes and clear commitments to road quality and the safety of the public. Equipment must get to the forests and mines on our highways, and the resources extracted need to get to the ports on the trucks and trains.

Where is the province in keeping the roads strong and the rail lines open? The province speaks of historic investments south of the Fraser, but where are these historic investments north of Hope? Whether it be the need for alternative routes in the Okanagan and the Cariboo and rail lines in between Squamish and the 100 Mile House, the replacement of the Taylor Bridge in the Peace, or the construction of B.C.’s interconnector in Quesnel, historic investments in B.C. are essential to our shared prosperity.

The priorities are clear. Prioritize forestry, mining and infrastructure to empower the economic engine that is rural B.C. Our province and our country have a brighter future, and action is what will get us there.

Deputy Speaker: Hon. Members, according to the order paper, we will consider Bill M210, intituled Korean Heritage Month Act, as reported complete without amendment from the Select Standing Committee on Private Bills and Private Members’ Bills.

Reporting of Bills

Bill M210 — Korean Heritage
Month Act

Paul Choi: I move that Bill M210, intituled Korean Heritage Month Act, be concurred in at report stage.

Hon. Speaker, colleagues, the Select Standing Committee has reported this bill complete without amendment, and I am proud to open debate at report stage. This is a concise bill with a clear purpose, to recognize October as Korean Heritage Month throughout British Columbia and to provide an annual anchor for education, celebration and community connection.

The preamble speaks to why recognition matters. It affirms the social, economic, cultural, religious, military, philanthropic and political contribution Korean Canadians have made to our province. It highlights the historical significance of October. It highlights the National Foundation Day on October 3. It frames this month as an opportunity to coordinate events that remember, celebrate and educate future generations.

At committee, we heard a consistent message. A named month is not symbolic fluff. It’s a practical infrastructure. Schools can plan curriculum, libraries can schedule exhibitions, and municipalities and community groups can plan with a predictable date in mind.

[10:40 a.m.]

This bill is enabling, not prescriptive. It imposes no new costs and creates no red tape. It simply sets the table so communities can gather.

As someone who immigrated to B.C., stocked shelves in my parents’ corner store, then served as a police officer and lawyer, I’ve seen how visibility builds trust. A senior is more likely to report a crime when they believe their language and culture are understood. A child is more likely to thrive when they see their family’s story reflected in public life.

As Parliamentary Secretary for Trade and former president of the North Road BIA, I know cultural bridges become trade bridges. The relationships we nurture in October often become partners in November.

So colleagues, concurrence at report stage affirms that we have examined the bill and found its purpose sound. I invite members to support this step so we can move promptly to third reading and, this October, give classrooms and communities the certainty they need to celebrate, learn and build together.

Debra Toporowski / Qwulti’stunaat: I’d like to start by thanking the committee for their work and thanking the community members who had made the written submissions. I also would like to acknowledge that the committee recommended the bill continue without amendments.

The Korean community has a significant impact in our province. B.C. has the second-largest Korean community in Canada. There are more than 72,000 people of Korean descent in B.C.

Designating October as Korean Heritage Month gives British Columbians an opportunity to celebrate the achievements and the contributions of Korean Canadians and strengthen the bonds of friendship between B.C. and Korea.

After Canada and Korea established a formal diplomatic relationship in 1963, the Korean community in Vancouver grew from approximately 50 people to 1,670 people by 1975.

Another trailblazer was John Jihan Kim, who started Vancouver’s first Korean food store in the early ’70s, located at Main and 18th street. The store was named Semaul, which means “new village.”

By the mid-’70s, Kim opened the city’s first Korean restaurant, New Seoul, and later another, Korean Gardens. Soon more Korean businesses followed in the Kingsway area, including food shops, and, later, a computer and video store and even a credit union.

By the late ’90s, the Korean business community needed more space. In 1998, with the opening of Hannam Supermarket in Burnaby on North Road, the area now known as Koreatown began to shape. Joining the neighbourhood were more stores, restaurants and offices for lawyers, accountants, doctors, dentists and other professionals. The area is now a vibrant cultural hub for the Korean community and a key piece of the mosaic that is in Metro Vancouver.

The Korean community in B.C. makes their mark throughout the year with a wide variety of events and celebrations. The annual Korean Cultural Heritage Festival in the Lower Mainland is now on its 22nd year of bringing people together to enjoy many facets of Korean culture from taekwondo to K-pop and traditional music and dance. The Korean community dance takes place in October at the Korea Town Centre in Hannam village, with music, food, dance and more.

Food connects us. So that’s all I have to say.

George Anderson: I rise today in support of Bill M210, the Korean Heritage Month Act.

[10:45 a.m.]

Again, I would like to start by thanking the committee for their thoughtful review and all of the individuals who provided written submissions. Their words help bring life to what this bill represents, the lived experiences of Korean Canadians across British Columbia, whose hard work, generosity and commitment to community have left an enduring mark on British Columbia’s shared history.

When we speak of Korean Heritage Month, we speak of gratitude and the ways in which Korean Canadians have helped shape British Columbia’s social, cultural and economic life.

From Vancouver’s vibrant Korean community in the West End, along North Road in Burnaby, and Coquitlam, home to small businesses that employ thousands, to faith communities that provide comfort, belonging and outreach across the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, the impact of Korean Canadians is woven throughout the fabric of British Columbia’s history and Canadian history. It’s one that we ought to acknowledge, and I’m glad that we’re doing this today.

We see it in education, in the leadership of professors at the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and even Vancouver Island University, in my own community, who are advancing global research in engineering, business and the arts.

We see it in health care, in doctors and nurses who serve patients with compassion in large communities and small.

We see it in the arts, from the Korean Cultural Heritage Society’s annual Korean festival in Burnaby, to local music, film and food festivals that bring people together and foster understanding. My colleague mentioned earlier that food does bring people together.

We see it in public life, in Korean Canadians serving as community organizers, volunteers and advocates, helping newcomers, supporting seniors and mentoring the next generation.

I have to say we are fortunate that this bill was moved through the committee stage without amendment. I think that speaks volumes to the work of the committee and also to the importance of this particular bill. I am very honoured to be able to speak to this report stage. I look forward to the work that we continue to do and to seeing this bill receive royal assent.

Lawrence Mok: Today I rise to support Bill M210, the Korean Heritage Month Act. I want to say, in support of this bill, that I do have many Korean friends. At the same time, I also enjoy eating Korean food, especially their grilled meat and hot pot soup. I have visited the Korean super stores in Port Coquitlam, in Langley and in New West.

Very recently, in June of this year, for the first time, I visited Korea. I got a chance to see beautiful Seoul and also the coastal city of Busan. My wife and I actually had seafood in Busan city.

I truly support this Bill M210.

Susie Chant: Thank you so much for this opportunity to speak on a really important issue, in my mind. When we live in British Columbia, we have incredible diversity of so many different cultures, and we are so very fortunate to have that.

I am lucky. I’m in the role of the parliamentary secretary that works as the liaison with the Consular Corps. So I get to meet all the consuls-general and honourary consuls from the different parts of the world.

[10:50 a.m.]

I’ve had the opportunity on a number of occasions to be interacting with the Korean consul general, who is very much engaged in being part of British Columbia and representing his country here. He’s representing the Korean diaspora here and making sure that the folks that are here are well represented back in Korea as well, as well as promoting trade between our provinces and our nations. This is really, at this point in time, very important and very much appreciated, the things that are becoming more and more available across the Pacific.

The other thing that comes to mind when I think about the Korean Heritage Month is meeting with the Korean veterans. I have the opportunity every August to go to the service that is put on at the Korean memorial that recognizes the Korean War, Canada’s contribution and service there.

Actually, when I started in the reserves, there were a number of people….

Deputy Speaker: Member, I’ll ask you to wrap up because we’re…. You’ve got about 30 seconds to wrap up.

Susie Chant: Oh, I’m terribly sorry, Madam Speaker. Let me finish up.

To my mind, the Korean Heritage Month Act is something we really want to get behind. It shows that we support diversity in British Columbia, yet again that we’re working in the various different areas, and I think it’s a very terrific bill.

Deputy Speaker: Now the member for Burnaby South–Metrotown closes debate.

Paul Choi: Colleagues, thank you for this thoughtful debate. Let me close with three quick points before the question is put.

First, clarity. The bill contains that single operative clause: October is Korean Heritage Month throughout British Columbia. It’s supported by a preamble that sets out the community’s contribution and the significance of October. That precision is deliberate and effective.

Second, capacity. This is an enabling recognition. It signals to schools, municipalities and civil society that the Legislature welcomes programming. But it does not mandate expenditures or create new administrative burdens. Communities already doing the work gain a stable, annual focal point.

Third, cohesion. While we honour Korean heritage today, we also signal to Thai, Vietnamese, Singaporean, Malaysian, Indonesian and many other neighbours that recognition expands the circle. It never shrinks it. A province that names and celebrates one story becomes safer for all stories.

With that, I respectfully ask members to pass the motion at report stage so we can proceed to third reading.

Deputy Speaker: Members, the question before the House is that Bill M210, intituled Korean Heritage Month Act, be concurred in at report stage.

Motion approved.

Deputy Speaker: Hon. Members, the House will now proceed to third reading of Bill M210, Korean Heritage Month Act.

Third Reading of Bills

Bill M210 — Korean Heritage
Month Act

Paul Choi: I move third reading of Bill M210.

Third reading is where we ask a simple question. Does this bill advance the kind of British Columbia we want to build? I absolutely believe it does.

The core of this bill is straightforward: October is Korean Heritage Month throughout British Columbia. The preamble explains why. Korean Canadians have strengthened our province in every sphere, October carries historical meaning for Korean people, and an annual month creates a platform to remember, celebrate and educate.

What does that look like on the ground? Well, it looks like our children learning about other languages, Hangul, and also learning to respect Hongkomanian, Gurmukhi and Tagalog, because honouring one language invites curiosity about others. It also looks like a library hosting a film night on Korean-Canadian history and partnering with an Indigenous storyteller for a conversation about belonging. It looks like small businesses on North Road welcoming new customers who come for a culture and return for the community.

[10:55 a.m.]

This bill also resonates with my own story. I came here as a child immigrant, worked in my family’s small business and later served as a police officer and lawyer. On patrol, I saw costs of invisibility: elders reluctant to ask for help, victims uncertain that they would be understood. Recognition is about inclusivity and caring. When people feel seen, they participate, report, volunteer, get involved in their community and lead.

Now, we all can’t do all this alone. We have seen Senator Yonah Martin, former MLA Jane Shin and Coquitlam city councillor Steve Kim, who paved the way for new Korean lawmakers like myself.

As Parliamentary Secretary for Trade, I also see the strategic value. Cultural diplomacy paves the road on which trade and investment travel. Our relationships, from community festivals to our sister-province ties with Gyeonggi province in Korea, help B.C. businesses connect to partners across the Pacific. A predictable month of cultural programming strengthens those people-to-people links that precede every deal and every student exchange.

Importantly, witnesses at committee reminded us that naming one heritage invites others in. Today we recognize Korean heritage. Tomorrow we amplify the stories of Thai, Vietnamese, Singaporean, Malaysian, Indonesian and Laotian neighbours. Recognition is a renewable energy and resource. The more we share it, the more it grows.

So hon. Members, third reading is the Legislature’s final word. By passing this bill, we will give communities a dependable anchor each October. We will equip educators and organizers to plan with confidence that we will tell every newcomer child that their story belongs in our collective story.

I urge all members to support third reading of Bill M210.

Debra Toporowski / Qwulti’stunaat: I get to continue further on my speech from earlier about Korean food also getting a chance to shine at the annual Dumpling Festival, which brings together many culinary cultures united by their love of dumplings. Korean dumplings, called mandu, are stuffed with meat and vegetables and can include kimchi, tofu or chopped sweet potato noodles.

As I said earlier, food connects us, and it is a connection in every community. I miss the World Festival in my community, where the multicultural society put love and care into having everyone included in our community to make different foods from different cultures. The society is an important place for our residents. There are about 121 residents in the Cowichan Valley that are of Korean descent as of the census in 2021.

October is chosen as Korean Heritage Month because October 3 marks National Foundation Day. The day celebrates the foundation of the first Korean state of Gojoseon by the legendary King Dangun in 2333 BC. It is traditionally considered the date of creation of the modern Korean state. Following Korean liberation in 1949, National Foundation Day was officially declared a national holiday. It is an opportunity for Koreans to not only celebrate but to remember their history, pay tribute to the past and look forward to the future.

B.C. and Korea enjoy a strong two-way trade relationship and extensive business connections. Our trade relations with southern Korea total billions every year, including sectors like natural resources, agrifood and seafood, international education, technology and tourism.

[11:00 a.m.]

The Canadian-Korean free trade agreement is Canada’s first free trade agreement with an Asian country. It covers all aspects of Canada–South Korea trade, including trade in goods and services, investments, government procurements, non-tariff barriers, environment and labour corporations.

Since the CKFTA came into force in 2015, B.C. has seen more gains in exporting to South Korea. In 2023, Premier Eby signed an enhanced action plan agreement with our sister province, Gyeonggi, to strengthen cooperative on clean tech and clean energy to address climate change.

As a global trade war threatens our economy, now is a crucial time to deepen our bonds with the trade partners outside of the United States. B.C. is Canada’s gateway to the Pacific. This comes with unique opportunities but also with responsibility. We can do our part for Team Canada by working with, strengthening and diversifying our relationships with partners in South Korea.

I also wanted to acknowledge that there are students in the House.

Welcome. I just wanted to say we are passing a bill on Korean Month. This is what we’re talking about right now.

Thank you, hon. Speaker. I will take my seat now.

George Anderson: Again, very, very proud to support Bill M210, the Korean Heritage Month Act. When we speak of Korean Heritage Month, we speak about the gratitude of the Korean Canadians who helped shape British Columbia’s social, cultural and economic life.

There are many, many acts that demonstrate the leadership of the Korean Canadians in British Columbia, and the story of the Korean Canadians in our province is one of determination. It is one of renewal, from early immigrants, like my parents who arrived here in Canada with few resources but boundless hope, to second and third generations who are redefining what it means to be both proudly Korean and proudly Canadian.

By designating October as Korean Heritage Month, we are doing more than just recognizing culture. We are reaffirming the values that have made British Columbia strong: perseverance, family, service and unity.

For a little insight about me, when it comes to music, I’m a K-pop fan. I’m a big fan of Night Tempo, a South Korean future funk producer that has some groovy blends, so I highly recommend to anyone who is willing to go take a look to go find out what that group does. Let me tell you the music is phenomenal.

Furthermore, this bill also celebrates the growing friendship between British Columbia and the Republic of Korea. Ours is a partnership of shared democratic ideals, innovation and mutual respect. Korea is now one of our province’s key trading partners in technology, clean energy and education, and people-to-people ties have strengthened through exchange programs, cultural events and community initiatives that connect us across the Pacific.

There is a Korean saying that the ground hardens after the rain. It reminds us that from challenge comes strength, that adversity can deepen our resolve and make our foundation more secure. That spirit of resilience has defined the Korean-Canadian experience, and it speaks to the very character of British Columbia itself.

But inclusion is not something that happens by accident. It is a choice — a choice to see one another, to listen and to celebrate the many threads that make up our shared history and story in British Columbia.

[11:05 a.m.]

By passing this bill, we make that clear choice. To every Korean-Canadian family from Vancouver to Nanaimo, from Burnaby to Prince George, this bill sends a simple but powerful message. Your story matters, your heritage matters, and you strengthen us. Your future is part of ours.

I am honoured to stand in support of Bill M210, and I would also like to thank my colleague for bringing forward this tremendous legislation that we should all be proud of as British Columbians.

Let October be a month to celebrate food, art, language and cultural traditions of Korean Canadians. Also, let us ensure that this month reflects on the kind of province that we are building, one that recognizes that when we lift up another’s cultural heritage, we lift up our entire province.

Amna Shah: I am so pleased to rise today to speak in strong support of the Korean Heritage Month Act bill.

I do want to point out how proud I am to call the member for Burnaby South–Metrotown my colleague. This member has been working very effectively and with much dedication to not just the Korean community but to our entire province.

This is not just about words on paper. This is about inclusion. This is about compassion. This is about love for a community that has given us so much in this province. On a personal note, I will say, when growing up, I had many Korean friends. I remember not just learning recipes on how to make Korean food, which actually was my favourite food for a significant portion of my life, but also Korean clothing that was gifted by my friends’ parents to me. It’s so much more than just the experience of the culinary treats and the clothing that makes the Korean culture so rich.

It’s about the experience of togetherness, the experience of belonging collectively in a community that is meant to be inclusive for everybody. Through that process of sharing and caring for each other, we were practising just that. This is how we build healthy communities.

I can just reflect on my community in Surrey City Centre and the broader Surrey community, where our Korean community and elders do so much work to give back to our communities. There are multiple Korean churches in my community, multiple seniors groups that do not-for-profit work in my community, helping the most vulnerable and, also, specifically, assisting newcomers into this country and making them feel as welcome as they would have liked to feel when they came to this province.

I commend the Korean community. I think that this is long overdue, and it’s a very happy occasion, one that I know that members across the aisle are happy to share with us. For our future, I intend that this is going to end up being a great community celebration in our province, from Surrey to Burnaby to the Interior to Vancouver.

I guess we’ll see which jurisdiction has the best celebrations, and I’m sure there will be contests around it. I will say that I know that our Surrey community can really bring it, so I challenge the member for Burnaby South–Metrotown to bring his.

Deputy Speaker: Recognizing the member for Coquitlam-Maillardville. You’ve got two minutes. Go about two minutes.

Jennifer Blatherwick: Two minutes? Thank you.

I am truly pleased to be able to offer my support, and I am grateful to all of my colleagues for canvassing the big reasons why we support this bill and the MLA for Burnaby South–Metrotown.

[11:10 a.m.]

I am very fortunate to be able to go last before the MLA for Burnaby South–Metrotown closes the bill, because I get to talk about the small reasons why we support this bill.

In my community, I have an office on Austin Avenue, and there is a healthy, thriving Korean business community there, populated by members who live in my community and care deeply about the success of my community and the success of their children, about their businesses and about the organizations that make our community great.

I am thinking very much of one particular society called the Garden of Compassion. When they realized that Korean seniors within British Columbia did not realize that there was the Memorial Society of British Columbia that could make sure that they could access low-cost funeral services, they reached across community lines and brought together these two organizations to do an educational presentation to seniors so that they could have the information that was so accessible to everyone else in the community but not necessarily if you didn’t speak fluent English. That effort allowed the enormous number of Korean seniors in my community to have access to the same services that everyone else does.

A bill like this proving, showing, publicly demonstrating that we support people of Korean heritage and their contribution to British Columbia shows that we care, that we want everyone in our community to have the access to services that everyone enjoys.

I’d also like to recognize some of the members of the Korean community who make my life so flavourful. Ahyoung Baek, who is the proprietor of a restaurant in my community, was recently Tri-Cities Chamber Member of the Year.

Deputy Speaker: Member, you’ll wrap it up.

Jennifer Blatherwick: Yeah.

She was recognized for her outstanding work as a chef but, also, her community contributions. Thank you so much, and congratulations. 감사합니다. Thank you.

Deputy Speaker: Recognizing the member for Burnaby South–Metrotown to close debate.

Paul Choi: Colleagues, as we close debate on third reading, let’s centre the essential. This bill does one clear thing. It designates October as Korean Heritage Month across British Columbia, and it does so with a preamble that honours contributions and explains the month’s historical significance.

Practically, it equips communities, classrooms and cultural groups with a fixed point to plan lessons, exhibits and events. It strengthens social cohesion by normalizing cultural literacy, and it signals to all visible minority communities that this House is expanding the circle of recognition, not rationing it.

We also have scrutinized the bill at committee, debated it at report stage, and it is clear that this bill will create opportunities for our communities. So let’s seize the opportunity now.

I would also like to mention and recognize and invite all the members of this House on November 18, during lunchtime…. We will host a Korean heritage reception in the Hall of Honour, and we will have Korean food there, including kimchi. So please, I encourage all the members to show up.

I respectfully ask the House to pass the Bill M210 at third reading so that this October we can celebrate resilience, teach our shared history and build the kind of British Columbia where diversity is not merely tolerated but legislated, celebrated and leveraged for the common good. 감사합니다. Thank you.

Deputy Speaker: Members, the question is third reading of the bill.

Motion approved.

Deputy Speaker: Hon. Members, Bill M210, intituled Korean Heritage Month Act, has been read a third time and has passed.

[11:15 a.m.]

Second Reading of Bills

Bill M213 — Drug Use Prevention
Education in Schools Act

Deputy Speaker: Hon. Members, according to the order paper, we will look to the member for Richmond-Queensborough to move second reading of Bill M213, intituled Drug Use Prevention Education in Schools Act.

Steve Kooner: I move that Bill M213 be now read a second time.

I rise today to introduce second reading of Bill M213, intituled Drug Use Prevention Education in Schools Act. Our province is in the grip of a drug crisis that is devastating lives, families and communities.

The crisis is not confined to downtown Vancouver. It is felt in Richmond, New Westminster, Surrey, Kelowna, Nanaimo, Kamloops, Prince George and many other smaller towns across the province. It is visible on our streets, in our neighbourhoods and now, tragically, in our schools. Multiple thousands of British Columbians died last year from toxic drug poisonings. Increasingly, those lives are young people, students who should be safe in our classrooms not at risk of being exposed to drugs and overdose.

B.C. needs M213. Youth are at their most vulnerable during adolescence. Their judgment and resilience are still forming. When schools send mixed messages about drugs, young people are left confused and unprotected.

Instead of prevention, we see current government policy approaches in terms of normalizing drug use. We have seen examples such as flash cards and classroom material that downplay risks. We have seen curriculum frame abstinence as just one option. Schools are left sending the wrong signal at the worst possible time. Parents across B.C. are asking the same question; “Why aren’t our schools telling my child clearly and consistently that drugs are dangerous?”

The purpose of M213 is clear. M213 puts prevention and protection back at the heart of our education system. It restores common sense and moral clarity. It requires schools to deliver consistent, unambiguous anti-drug education. It emphasizes abstinence as the only safe and responsible choice. It reinforces the duty of schools to keep children safe by sending one clear message; “Drugs are dangerous.”

Bill M213 will mandate a prevention-first curriculum in every school across British Columbia. There will be no vague language. There will be no normalization. There will be a clear focus on the health, social and legal dangers of drug use.

M213 will require schools to display anti-drug messages prominently in classrooms, hallways and common spaces. M213 will provide annual prevention education sessions for both students and parents, ensuring consistency between home and school. M213 will re-stigmatize drug use in schools, restoring the principle that drugs are not safe, not normal and not acceptable.

I clarify that this stigmatization of drug use will be used for children who have never tried drugs to help keep these children away from drugs. This stigmatization is not about judging or shaming those who struggle with addiction. It’s about protecting young people who are still drug-free and ensuring they stay that way.

We’ve seen many examples of many tragedies where M213 could have helped. There was an incident in Kamloops. A father lost a 17-year-old son to fentanyl poisoning. The boy thought he was taking a prescription pill from a friend. That one pill killed him. He didn’t need to be told about safe supply. He needed a strong prevention message that drugs are deadly.

There was also another concern out of Burnaby. Parents discovered classroom material that presented abstinence as just one option amongst many. One mother asked: “Why is my teenager being told that using drugs can be normal?” Parents deserve better.

There was an incident in Nanaimo. Flash cards were handed out in a local, school-sanctioned event depicting safe supply with bright colours and friendly illustrations. Instead of warning students of the dangers, it softened the reality of drugs. Parents were outraged. Teachers were uncomfortable.

[11:20 a.m.]

Yet this is what education looks like under the current government approach. These are some examples amongst countless others that we have seen in recent history in this province.

These examples show why prevention must come first. When schools blur the message, the results are confusion, risk and sometimes tragedy. Prevention is not just a slogan. It works. In decades past, schools with strong prevention programs saw far lower rates of youth drug experimentation. Students exposed to clear anti-drug education were less likely to try substances.

Today, when harm reduction dominates and prevention is sidelined, youth are being left vulnerable. We cannot accept that as the new normal. Bill M213, this legislation, is based on commonsense guiding principles. It enforces clear moral leadership. Schools have a duty to send a clear, unambiguous message that drugs are dangerous. Children deserve certainty, not confusion.

M213 restigmatizes drug use for drug-free children, children that have not experimented. We need to keep it this way — that children stay away from drugs. For too long, drug use has been normalized. We must re-establish the truth. Drugs harm health, destroy futures and tear families apart.

M213 promotes abstinence as the safest choice. This bill is grounded in the principle that abstinence is not only effective but ethical. It is the only way to ensure youth remain free from the dangers of drugs.

M213 views parents as partners. We must stand with parents. Families expect schools to reinforce their values, not undermine them. This bill ensures schools and parents speak with one voice: “Don’t do drugs.”

M213 supports teachers. Many teachers feel uncomfortable with the current mixed messaging. This bill gives them the clarity and tools they need to deliver strong prevention-based education without fear of contradicting government policy.

M213 restores common sense and responsibility. We must reject ideological experiments. We must have practical steps that protect children, strengthen families and save lives. M213 enforces the public duty to protect youth. At the heart of this bill is a simple truth. Society has a moral responsibility to protect our youngest and most vulnerable from harm. Prevention is not just judgment; it is protection.

In conclusion, this bill is about protecting the next generation of British Columbians. It is about making sure every child hears the same message at school as they do at home: don’t do drugs. It is about preventing tragedies before they happen, rather than managing them after the fact.

It is about restoring confidence for parents, clarity for teachers and safety for youth. To every student in B.C., this bill sends a united message. Drugs are dangerous. Abstinence is the safest choice. Prevention saves lives.

I urge all members to support Bill M213. Let us put children first. Let us restore prevention as the cornerstone of our schools. And let us stand together in protecting the future of our province.

Stephanie Higginson: I rise today to speak in opposition to Bill M213, the Drug Use Prevention Education in Schools Act. I want to begin by acknowledging the intent behind this legislation.

We all want the children of this province to grow up healthy, safe and informed. As a parent, as a former secondary school teacher, as a former school trustee, I fully support the goal of protecting youth from the harms of substance use. But I believe this bill takes a misguided and potentially harmful approach that could do more damage than good.

[11:25 a.m.]

Drug use is a serious issue, and education is a powerful tool. However, the approach outlined in this bill is not only outdated — in fact, it reminds me of the 1980s-era Scared Straight that was in place when I was young — but it risks undermining the very outcomes it seeks to achieve. The bill mandates a curriculum that explicitly discourages drug use and promotes stigma against drug use as a deterrent. This language is deeply concerning.

We know from decades of research and experience that stigmatizing drug use does not prevent it. In fact, we know that this exacerbates the problem. Stigma drives people into silence, into shame and away from the support that they need. It fosters fear rather than understanding. In the case of this bill, it risks alienating the students who may already be struggling.

As we fight this crisis, the evidence is clear that stigma does not protect youth. It silences them. If their school environment, as is mandated by this bill, is filled with shame and fear, the literal walls around them shouting condemnation, students won’t seek support. They’ll hide in silence, in fear and in shame.

Education should open doors. It should create space for truth, compassion and safety, not fear. When we tell schools to shame drug use, we silence students. They’ll stop asking questions. They’ll suffer in silence. We have learned at tremendous human cost where stigma leads in this province: to people dying alone and afraid to ask for help. Why would we continue this legacy with our youth?

One of the strengths of our education system is the flexibility and local autonomy within the system to reflect local priorities. Schools in Kelowna, Prince Rupert, East Vancouver and Ladysmith face different realities. Indigenous communities in particular deserve culturally responsive, community-led approaches, not a single message written in Victoria and mandated by someone from the Lower Mainland.

Another strength of B.C.’s public education system is our government’s commitment to consultation when considering any broad-based changes. This government knows that when we consult, when we work with the local and professional expertise in the system, we get thoughtful and relevant education.

So we consult. We consult with First Nations, with teachers, with support staff, administrators, boards of education, superintendents, parents, students. There is no evidence of consultation in this bill. Zero.

Let’s talk a little bit about what B.C. is already doing in schools to further justify why this bill is not necessary. This government cares deeply about students and their well-being, as well as teaching them about the impacts of substance use and supporting their lived experiences.

We are already taking steps to address substance use. B.C.’s world-renowned curriculum, which is also used in other Canadian jurisdictions, already incorporates age-appropriate learning about substance use, including the negative consequences of drug use embedded throughout. From the earliest grades, students learn about substances and their effects, about risk and about how to make healthy choices. By the time they reach high school, the curriculum includes content on psychoactive substances, addiction and decision-making skills.

The level of prescriptive content and the focus on stigma and shame promoted in this bill do not align with B.C.’s modern pedagogical approach to education. Young people are curious and intelligent, and they see through exaggeration. What reaches them is honesty, trust and critical thinking, not posters and punishments and talking-head assemblies.

Critical decision-making skills are embedded across B.C.’s modernized learning curriculum. When students are invited to think critically, when they discuss real situations, weigh choices and share their perspectives, they engage honestly and thoughtfully. They learn to protect themselves and one another.

British Columbia’s existing curriculum helps students evaluate risk, manage emotions and make choices grounded in self-awareness. It equips teachers with the resources to teach about the toxic drug crisis and the science of harm reduction.

[11:30 a.m.]

The B.C. curriculum is designed for teachers and counsellors and support staff to meet students where they are, with evidence-based supports that they actually need. The curriculum is already doing its job.

The Drug Use Prevention Education in Schools Act has a compassionate name, but it discards evidence-based approaches in favour of outdated messaging that oversimplifies the complex realities faced by students and staff in schools today. It mandates what teachers must say, what messages must be displayed and how students must think. It transforms educators from facilitators of learning to enforcers of ideology. This does not prevent harm. It breeds disengagement and mistrust.

This bill replaces thoughtful, age-appropriate education with a prescriptive, top-down program that today’s youth will see right through. That is not education; it is moral instruction that does not align with modern educational theory and practice as well as with evidence-based approaches to substance use education.

Because we believe in modern, evidence-based harm reduction strategies, this government is also taking steps to engage communities and wrap supports around students when and where they need them.

The ministry’s ERASE program includes information, resources and supports related to substance use. The ministry offers free virtual training sessions for parents and guardians on talking with youth about substance use. These interactive sessions have reached almost 2,600 participants in the last two years.

We’ve invested over $30 million in grants to all 60 school districts to support mental health and substance use initiatives in schools. There are 39 integrated child and youth teams, across 20 school districts, to provide children and youth with wraparound mental health and substance use care when and where they need it.

That is prevention. That is education. That is compassion in action. This government is investing in programs and curriculum that build resiliency, foster connections and involve families and communities, because we know that is how you save lives.

If we pass this bill, we risk reinforcing the very stigma that isolates the next generation. We risk sending the message that talking about drugs is dangerous and asking for help is wrong. That message will cost lives. A stigmatizing approach is not supported by research and has the potential to do harm.

We know that schools must be safe, caring and inclusive communities where every student is welcome and supported. That’s what this government is focused on. I cannot support legislation that threatens to erode care and replace it with fear. This bill may have good intentions, but its approach is outdated and deeply flawed. It mandates stigma, not understanding. It dictates fear, not learning. It undermines the trust between students and the many professionals who care about them in their schools.

I will be voting against this bill, not because I don’t care about the safety of children but because I care too much to get this wrong, and the evidence is clear that this is not the way. The answer isn’t to double down on fear; it’s to use our world-class public education system to build trust, compassion and connection, because that is what the youth of B.C. deserve — the knowledge, the competence and the empathy to make their own safe and informed choices.

I urge this House to prioritize outcomes over optics and science over stigma. I choose education over ideology, I choose evidence over control, and I choose hope over fear.

Scott McInnis: It’s a tremendous honour to support my friend and colleague with his Bill M213, Drug Use Prevention Education in Schools Act. I’m ecstatic to speak in support of this bill. I’m also flabbergasted that the government is speaking in opposition to this.

This legislation is not intended to replace anything. This is intended to make drug use prevention education in schools more robust. We seem to be at an ideological divide here in this House when it comes to toxic drug use. As we hear members in government talking about how stigma is bad, we’ve seen deaths from toxic drug use go absolutely through the roof.

[11:35 a.m.]

We, as members of the opposition, are not prepared today to be lectured on how that ideology somehow seems to be working.

Deputy Speaker: Member, can I ask for leave? We have a member who wants to introduce a school.

Leave granted.

Introductions by Members

Dana Lajeunesse: It’s my honour to introduce to the House the students and their teacher Jeff Trapp from St. John’s Academy, Shawnigan Lake. Let’s give them a warm welcome.

Debate Continued

Scott McInnis: Welcome to the students here today.

As I said, this is intended to supplement and support what is already happening in schools, which is not enough, in my opinion.

In my last job, I was an acting principal in a high school. The most difficult conversation you can have with parents, when their child has been caught with drugs or caught using drugs on the premises, is trying to explain what happened, being looked in the eye, and parents telling you that you could have done more, as somebody they put their trust in to support their children.

This legislation is very, very simple. It ensures every child in every classroom in this province receives the same strong, unwavering message. Drugs are dangerous, and our young people deserve to be protected from them. It’s that simple.

Section 2 of this bill is clear about its purpose: consistent anti-drug messaging in all B.C. schools, mandating drug use prevention education further within the curriculum.

I’ve been a teacher for 15 years, and although teachers dabble at times into the harms of drugs, and our local health nurses do the best that they can to come and support children, it’s not enough. We are in the middle of a public health crisis with toxic drugs. This bill will only support educators in providing the message that drugs will kill you. This is common sense and long overdue.

In section 3 of this legislation, the Minister of Education is to ensure that within six months of the act taking effect, the drug use curriculum explicitly discourages drug use and focuses on the negative health, social and legal consequences of those choices.

Now, I do not understand what’s wrong with that messaging. Our children need clear, moral and practical guidance, not mixed messaging. This government feels like kids can just guide along their way in their formative years and make their own informed decisions. It’s much more complicated than that. Kids need support. Drug use prevention education is one of those tools that we can use with this legislation.

This is not intended to be an onerous, top-down, heavy, added piece to our already overworked, busy teachers in the system. There will be clear resources created at the ministry level which teachers can then deliver in the classroom. There won’t be tremendously burdensome time constraints on teachers to deliver this curriculum.

As a former educator, I know that clarity and structure empower teachers to focus on what they do best, which is connecting with students to make a difference. As a resource to come into schools…. One of the pieces that makes me so excited about this legislation is that, regardless of whether kids are in kindergarten or grade 12, they all love a story. We need to have more people coming into schools talking about drug use prevention education.

If I may, the last time I was in a school, we had a wonderful speaker come. You can look him up. The name he went by was “The Creature”. The Creature was a man in a wheelchair who had suffered a terrible accident.

[11:40 a.m.]

He talked to children about making several wrong choices, including the use of drugs and alcohol, which resulted in a car accident, killing his best friend and making him a paraplegic. You could have heard a pin drop in front of those 650 students in the auditorium. We need to provide more of these opportunities in the school, not take them away because it stigmatizes drug use.

The reality is that illicit drugs are disproportionately affecting First Nations. Why on earth are we not looking at legislation, just like M213, to further support our Indigenous education student support workers in schools to provide preventative education, starting in kindergarten, on the harmful effects of drugs? What could go wrong with providing more of this education? Clearly, in society, whatever the government has done over the last ten years isn’t working.

Drug use prevention saves lives, but it also strengthens communities. By focusing on the education early, we reduce future strains on our health care system, policing and social services. Every child who learns to say no to drugs is one more child with a better chance at a healthy, successful life. The bill represents long-term investment in our youth and in the safety of every B.C. community.

Again, I’m shocked that the government won’t support supplemental drug use prevention education in schools. It’s something that provides clear messaging of the consequences of illicit drug use, something that’s easy for teachers to implement, something that’s easy to record, assess and evaluate, and something that’s easy to communicate with parents. Most of all, it’s something that parents are asking for.

The fact that the government is opposing this legislation speaks to the bigger ideological divide which our society faces today: that somehow stigmatizing drug use is a bad thing. I’m sorry, but I completely disagree, and I think the 16,000 or so people that have lost their lives to illicit drugs are an example of that.

I’m ashamed that they won’t support this legislation. Thank you for the time.

George Anderson: I want to begin by acknowledging what every member of this House shares: a deep and sincere concern for our children, our families and the communities that hold us together. Each of us has seen the pain that addiction can bring — parents who’ve lost sons and daughters, students who’ve lost classmates, and families that never quite recover. Protecting young people from pain is something that every one of us believes in, but good intentions do not always make good law.

The bill before us confuses education with instruction. It seeks to replace understanding with obedience, to legislate fear as a teaching tool. It assumes that promoting stigma will deter behaviour. That approach has been tried before, and history tells us that it does not work. We cannot frighten young people into wisdom. We cannot shame them into safety.

Every parent wants their child to be safe. Every teacher wants their classroom to be free from harm, but this bill crosses a line that should give all of us pause. It asks government to take on a role that belongs to families, teachers and communities — the shaping of conscience and character.

When we allow the state to dictate what moral lessons children must learn, we weaken the very institutions that make those lessons meaningful. Margaret Thatcher once said: “There is such a thing as society. It’s just not the same thing as the state.” She was right.

[11:45 a.m.]

Society is not government decrees or bureaucratic programs. Society is the quiet work of families sitting around kitchen tables, of teachers who see the hurt behind a student’s silence, of neighbours who check in when their neighbour is struggling. That’s where prevention begins, not in legislation but in relationships.

Our role as lawmakers is not to replace those bonds with bureaucracy but to strengthen them, to make sure families and educators have the resources and trust to reach young people before a crisis occurs. Ronald Reagan put it just as plainly: “Families stand at the centre of society, so building our future must begin by preserving family values.”

If we truly want to protect young people from the harms of drugs, that is where we start: by upholding the strength of families and the fabric of community, by ensuring that parents are supported and not sidelined, that teachers are trusted and that we create an environment where children can ask for help without being met with fear and condemnation. This bill, however well-meant, risks doing the opposite. By mandating stigma, it risks silencing the very students who need to be heard.

We look at the definition of “stigma.” Stigma is negative attitudes, beliefs or behaviours about people. Stigma includes discrimination. Stigma includes prejudice. Stigma includes judgment. Stigma includes stereotypes. By subscribing to one-size-fits-all messaging, it strips educators of their professional judgment. By relying on slogans rather than supports, it risks substituting appearance for impact.

We know better. We know that addiction is not born of ignorance alone. It’s born of pain, of loneliness, of trauma and disconnection. The antidote to those things is not shame. It’s belonging; it’s compassion. It’s the sense that someone believes in you, even when you have stumbled. That belief cannot be printed on a poster or legislated into curriculum. It has to be lived in families, in classrooms and in communities that care.

Real prevention is not loud. It does not shout through fear. It works quietly, through trust. Prevention without stigma teaches young people to make decisions rooted in self-respect, not self-doubt. It gives them the confidence to reach out before crisis strikes. That’s what our education system should be nurturing.

Yes, let’s protect our children. Let’s confront addiction with courage, but let’s do it wisely by empowering those closest to them. Let’s invest in school counsellors, youth mentors, mental health supports. Let’s strengthen the networks that already hold them up. Let’s build a society that teaches through care, not coercion.

For these reasons, I cannot support Bill M213, not because I reject its purpose, but because I share it. Protecting children demands more than slogans. It demands partnerships between government and family, between schools and community, between compassion and responsibility. That’s how real prevention happens.

Let’s equip our young people with knowledge, not fear. Let us never mistake stigma for strength, because the strength of a society is measured not by how loudly it shames but by how deeply it cares.

Ian Paton: I rise today in strong support of Bill M213, the Drug Use Prevention Education in Schools Act. This bill is about protecting our kids. It’s about bringing back common sense and moral clarity to classrooms that have been clouded by confusion.

We’re facing a drug crisis that’s claiming lives every single day, yet the message too often sent to young people is: “Drugs are dangerous, but here’s how to use them safely. ” That’s not prevention; that’s surrender.

Only the NDP, in the middle of a decade-long crisis of drug deaths in B.C. — by adults, by teenagers, by children — could stand this morning and speak against a drug prevention education program.

[11:50 a.m.]

[The Speaker in the chair.]

I’d like to put forward a quote from the Premier of this province, from October 3, 2025: “I was wrong on drug decriminalization and the effect that it would have. I wasn’t alone, but it wasn’t the right policy.”

This bill does three straightforward things. It mandates a prevention-first curriculum in every B.C. school. It requires clear, visible anti-drug-messaging posters, assemblies, education sessions for students and parents. And it reaffirms the duty of schools to protect children from the dangers of drug use.

We teach school kids not to run into traffic and not to smoke because it kills. Yet somehow, we’ve lost the will to teach them that drugs destroy lives. Bill M213 puts prevention back where it belongs, at the front of the line.

Compassion matters, but compassion without boundaries is chaos. Right now we have classrooms using flashcards to destigmatize drug use and government-endorsed materials telling kids that some people use drugs safely. That’s not progress. That’s recklessness dressed up as empathy.

Bill M213 flips the script. It tells our schools and our kids that drugs aren’t normal. They’re not safe, and the only sure protection is abstinence. It replaces moral confusion with moral clarity.

Since 2016, over 14,000 British Columbians have died from toxic drugs. Every one of those numbers is a life — a son, a daughter, a friend. Research shows that if a young person can avoid drug use until age 21, their chances of lifelong addiction plummet.

Prevention saves lives long before harm reduction ever enters the picture. Yet our government keeps pushing safe supply, while our schools shy away from saying: “Don’t start.” That’s backwards. This bill ensures that every student hears the truth before they become another statistic.

Yes, we must restigmatize drug use. Let’s be clear. We’re not shaming people in recovery. We’re protecting those who haven’t gone down that road. We stigmatize drunk driving and smoking because it saves lives. When we destigmatized drug use, deaths skyrocketed. Compassion turned to permissiveness. Some stigma is healthy. It signals danger. Bill M213 restores that necessary social guardrail.

This bill also mandates annual education sessions for both students and parents. Parents want schools to send one message, not two. They want clarity, not ideology. Teachers, too, need clear direction, not fear of offending the latest policy fad. This legislation empowers them to speak with confidence: “Don’t do drugs. You’re worth more than that.”

When government hands out safe supply but suspends students for vaping, we’ve lost the plot. When the curriculum says all choices are valid, we abandon responsibility. Bill M213 restores balance. Drugs are dangerous. Abstinence works. Protecting kids isn’t controversial; it’s our duty.

Critics will say this is a return to the war on drugs. Wrong. It’s a stand against the war on reason. They’ll say you can’t scare kids straight. Maybe not, but you can tell them the truth. We don’t soften the dangers of drunk driving or lung cancer, and we shouldn’t soften the dangers of fentanyl and meth either.

We can’t keep sending mixed messages: “Don’t do drugs, but here’s how to use them safely.” Are you kidding me? You can’t ride both horses in the same parade. Bill M213 is about choosing a side — the side of prevention, parents and kids. Let’s stop normalizing destruction and start teaching protection.

This legislation brings back clarity, courage and common sense. Let’s pass it and give B.C. students a fighting chance at a safer, stronger future.

Ian Paton: Noting the hour, Mr. Speaker, I’d like to adjourn the debate.

Ian Paton moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. Spencer Chandra Herbert moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

The Speaker: This House stands adjourned until 1:30 p.m. today.

The House adjourned at 11:54 a.m.