The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.
Ten o’clock a.m.
Prayers and Reflections by Ms. Reid.
The Hon. D. Plecas (Speaker) tabled Parliamentary Practice in British Columbia, Fifth Edition, 2020.
The House proceeded to “Orders of the Day.”
Order called for Committee of Supply.
Pursuant to Sessional Order, order called for Section B of Committee of Supply.
(In Committee — Section B)
Section B of Committee of Supply reported progress of the estimates of the Office of the Premier.
Report to be considered at the next sitting.
Committee to sit again at the next sitting.
And then the House adjourned at 11.58 a.m.
One-thirty o’clock p.m.
The House proceeded to “Orders of the Day.”
Order called for Committee of Supply.
Pursuant to Sessional Order, order called for Section B of Committee of Supply.
(In Committee — Section B)
11. Resolved, That a sum not exceeding $11,334,000 be granted to Her Majesty to defray the expenses of Office of the Premier, Office of the Premier, to 31st March, 2021.
Section B of Committee of Supply reported the Resolution and completion of the estimates of the Office of the Premier.
Report to be considered later today.
Committee to sit again later today.
Order called for Committee of Supply.
Pursuant to Sessional Order, order called for Section B of Committee of Supply.
(In Committee — Section B)
1. Resolved, That a sum not exceeding $85,014,000 be granted to Her Majesty to defray the expenses of Legislative Assembly, to 31st March, 2021.
2. Resolved, That a sum not exceeding $18,575,000 be granted to Her Majesty to defray the expenses of Officers of the Legislature, Auditor General, to 31st March, 2021.
3. Resolved, That a sum not exceeding $734,000 be granted to Her Majesty to defray the expenses of Officers of the Legislature, Conflict of Interest Commissioner, to 31st March, 2021.
4. Resolved, That a sum not exceeding $18,801,000 be granted to Her Majesty to defray the expenses of Officers of the Legislature, Elections BC, to 31st March, 2021.
5. Resolved, That a sum not exceeding $5,500,000 be granted to Her Majesty to defray the expenses of Officers of the Legislature, Human Rights Commissioner, to 31st March, 2021.
6. Resolved, That a sum not exceeding $6,942,000 be granted to Her Majesty to defray the expenses of Officers of the Legislature, Information and Privacy Commissioner, to 31st March, 2021.
7. Resolved, That a sum not exceeding $1,365,000 be granted to Her Majesty to defray the expenses of Officers of the Legislature, Merit Commissioner, to 31st March, 2021.
8. Resolved, That a sum not exceeding $9,366,000 be granted to Her Majesty to defray the expenses of Officers of the Legislature, Ombudsperson, to 31st March, 2021.
9. Resolved, That a sum not exceeding $4,092,000 be granted to Her Majesty to defray the expenses of Officers of the Legislature, Police Complaint Commissioner, to 31st March, 2021.
10. Resolved, That a sum not exceeding $10,471,000 be granted to Her Majesty to defray the expenses of Officers of the Legislature, Representative for Children and Youth, to 31st March, 2021.
Section B of Committee of Supply reported the Resolutions and completion of the estimates of the Legislative Assembly and Officers of the Legislature.
Report to be considered forthwith.
Order called for consideration of reports of Resolutions from Committee of Supply.
The Hon. C. James (Minister of Finance and Deputy Premier) moved —
That the reports of resolutions from the Committees of Supply on March 5; June 25, 26; July 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, 30; and August 11, 13 and 14 be now received, taken as read and agreed to.
Motion agreed to.
The Hon. C. James (Minister of Finance and Deputy Premier) moved —
That there be granted to Her Majesty, from and out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, the sum of 55 billion, 220 million, 431 thousand dollars towards defraying the charges and expenses of the public service of the province for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021. This sum includes that authorized to be paid under section 1 of the Supply Act (No. 2), 2020.
Motion agreed to.
The Hon. C. James (Minister of Finance and Deputy Premier) presented to the Speaker a Message from Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor, which read as follows:
Janet Austin
Lieutenant Governor
The Lieutenant Governor transmits herewith Bill (No. 25) intituled Supply Act, 2020–2021 and recommends the same to the Legislative Assembly.
Government House,
August 7, 2020.
Bill introduced and read a first time.
The Speaker declared a short recess for distribution of the Bill.
Bill permitted to be advanced all stages this day.
Bill (No. 25) was read a second time.
On the motion of the Hon. C. James (Minister of Finance and Deputy Premier), Bill (No. 25) was referred to a Committee of the Whole House to be considered forthwith.
Bill (No. 25) was committed, reported complete without amendment, read a third time and passed.
The Speaker declared a short recess.
Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor having entered the House, and being seated in the Chair —
Kate Ryan-Lloyd, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, read the titles to the following Acts:
Bill (No. 2) Motor Vehicle Amendment Act, 2020.
Bill (No. 4) Budget Measures Implementation Act, 2020.
Bill (No. 5) Employment Standards Amendment Act, 2020.
Bill (No. 6) Mines Amendment Act, 2020.
Bill (No. 11) Attorney General Statutes (Vehicle Insurance) Amendment Act, 2020.
Bill (No. 13) Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2020.
Bill (No. 14) Municipal Affairs and Housing Statutes Amendment Act (No. 2), 2020.
Bill (No. 18) Economic Stabilization (COVID-19) Act.
Bill (No. 20) Motor Vehicle Amendment Act (No. 2), 2020.
Bill (No. 21) Wills, Estates and Succession Amendment Act, 2020.
Bill (No. 23) Workers Compensation Amendment Act, 2020.
Bill (No. 24) Municipalities Enabling and Validating (No. 4) Amendment Act, 2020.
Her Honour was pleased in Her Majesty’s name to give assent to the said Acts.
The said assent was announced by Kate Ryan-Lloyd, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, in the following words:
“In Her Majesty’s name, Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor doth assent to these Acts.”
Kate Ryan-Lloyd, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, read the title to the following Act:
Bill (No. 25) Supply Act, 2020-2021.
Her Honour was pleased in Her Majesty’s name to give assent to the said Act.
The said assent was announced by Kate Ryan-Lloyd, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, in the following words:
“In Her Majesty’s name, Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor doth thank Her Majesty’s loyal subjects, accepts their benevolence, and assents to this Act.”
Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor was then pleased to retire.
The Hon. M. Farnworth moved —
1. That the House, at its rising, do stand adjourned until it appears to the satisfaction of the Speaker, after consultation with the government, that the public interest requires that the House shall meet, or until the Speaker may be advised by the government that it is desired to prorogue the Fifth Session of the Forty-first Parliament of the Province of British Columbia. The Speaker shall give notice to all Members that he is so satisfied or has been so advised, and thereupon the House shall meet at the time stated in such notice, and, as the case may be, may transact its business as if it has been duly adjourned to that time and date.
2. That, by agreement of the Speaker and the House Leaders of each recognized caucus, the location of sittings and means of conducting sittings of this House may be altered if required due to an emergency situation or public health measures, and that such agreement constitute the authorization of the House to proceed in the manner agreed to. The Speaker shall give notice to all Members of the agreement.
3. That, in the event of the Speaker being unable to act owing to illness or other cause, the Deputy Speaker shall act in his stead for the purpose of this order; in the event that the Deputy Speaker being unable to act owing to illness or other cause, the Deputy Chair of the Committee of the Whole shall act in his stead for the purpose of this order; and in the event that the Deputy Chair of the Committee of the Whole being unable to act owing to illness or other cause, another Member designated collectively by the House Leaders of each recognized caucus shall act in his stead for the purpose of this order.
Motion agreed to.
And then the House adjourned at 5.11 p.m.
HON. DARRYL PLECAS, Speaker
Monday, October 5
16 Mr. Stone to move —
Be it resolved that this House acknowledge that economic recovery must include affordable housing options for British Columbians.
Monday, October 5
4 Mr. Kyllo to ask the Hon. Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources the following questions: —
1. Is the Site C project budget and schedule still the same as reported in Budget 2020?
2. Why hasn’t the BCUC received the December 2019 project status report from B.C. Hydro, and when will the report be submitted?
3. Given that river diversion must be completed in 2020, is Site C still on track to be completed in 2024?
4. With nearly 2 billion in projected cost overruns since that time, is Site C vulnerable to further overruns under this government?
5. As Site C dam contractors have reported delays in payment from the general contractor, will the Minister take action and ensure invoices are paid, and what powers will the Minister use to ensure that cash flows smoothly to local businesses?
6. What is being done to counteract rising B.C. Hydro rates due to declining industrial load within the scope of the Energy, Mines, and Petroleum Resources Ministry?
7. Will the Minister advocate deeper forestry assistance as a means to benefit B.C. Hydro ratepayers?
8. If BCH is able to attract new industrial load, how would eliminating the self-sufficiency requirement impact service reliability for customers with large loads that cannot withstand service interruptions? How is BCH mitigating this risk?
9. Is B.C. Hydro planning to add new charges to homeowners looking to install solar panels? Why does the Interim Report take such a negative view of customers generating their own renewable electricity?
10. Given reports from solar panel installation companies in the Okanagan that net metering application times have increased and are damaging to business, is the government intentionally slowing down net metering, or will it fix these application issues?
11. What would be the impact of B.C. Hydro adopting an internal carbon price on ratepayers?
12. In 2011, the Premier said that time of use billing had the “sole purpose to increase bills for regular families” ( Globe and Mail, Sept 27, 2011). Does the Minister share that view today?
13. In the Phase II Interim Report, potential elimination of the two-tier system is discussed for industrial customers; is the Minster considering the same for residential customers?
14. As some people in colder parts of B.C. complain that the two-tier rate system is unfair to their region compared to the lower mainland, can the Minister comment on what geographic considerations are being considered for future rate design?
15. Are the clean energy requirements cited in the B.C. Hydro Phase II Review (“CleanBC’s actions will get British Columbia approximately 75% of the way to legislated 2030 greenhouse gas reduction targets. Achieving the remaining 25%, and ultimately the 2040 and 2050 targets, will require additional clean energy”) consistent with B.C. Hydro’s reported energy surplus?
16. Will CleanBC energy requirements be considered in B.C. Hydro’s forthcoming IRP, and will the IRP provide a pathway to the 25% of the emissions reductions required for the Province to meet its targets?
17. Is B.C. Hydro involved in the design of the CleanBC program for industry? If so, what has been B.C. Hydro’s input regarding CleanBC Industrial Incentive Program benchmarks and thresholds?
18. Will the B.C. Hydro IRP consider the trade-offs between EITE incentives, electrification, and carbon leakage?
19. What Ministry policies are being undertaken to minimize carbon leakage generally?
20. Does EMPR have a quantifiable measure or heuristic for estimating carbon leakage from B.C. that it can provide?
21. Regarding the B.C. Hydro COVID-19 Relief Fund, why was the 2500 kWh threshold chosen for the residential relief program?
22. How many B.C. Hydro customers are estimated to be ineligible for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, and is this cut off threshold fair to northern communities with colder climates?
23. Regarding the B.C. Hydro COVID-19 Relief Fund, why was the decision made to exclude large and medium general service (LGS and MGS) categories from the COVID-19 relief programs at B.C. Hydro?
24. Given that dividing B.C. Hydro COVID-19 Relief Fund along the service categories was a choice; why not categorize relief in a more flexible manner?
25. In choosing to exclude LGS customers from the B.C. Hydro COVID-19 Relief Fund, why did B.C. Hydro also maintain minimum service charges for businesses and non-profits such as curling rinks, which were subjected to these charges despite not being able to operate?
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