official report of debates

Second Session, 42nd Parliament

OFFICIAL REPORTOF DEBATES

(HANSARD)

Monday, October 4, 2021Morning Sitting

Issue No. 99

THE HONOURABLE RAJ CHOUHAN, SPEAKER

ISSN 1499-2175

PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA(Entered Confederation July 20, 1871)

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORHer Honour the Honourable Janet Austin, OBC

Second Session, 42nd Parliament

SPEAKER OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLYHonourable Raj Chouhan

EXECUTIVE COUNCILPremier and President of the Executive Council ............................................................................................................... Hon. John HorganMinister of Advanced Education and Skills Training...........................................................................................................Hon. Anne KangMinister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries......................................................................................................................Hon. Lana PophamAttorney General and Minister Responsible for Housing .............................................................................................Hon. David Eby, QCMinister of Children and Family Development ....................................................................................................................Hon. Mitzi Dean

Minister of State for Child Care......................................................................................................................................Hon. Katrina ChenMinister of Citizens’ Services.....................................................................................................................................................Hon. Lisa BeareMinister of Education ..................................................................................................................................................Hon. Jennifer WhitesideMinister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation ........................................................................................Hon. Bruce Ralston, QCMinister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy.............................................................................................Hon. George HeymanMinister of Finance .......................................................................................................................................................... Hon. Selina RobinsonMinister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development ................................................ Hon. Katrine Conroy

Minister of State for Lands and Natural Resource Operations................................................................................. Hon. Nathan CullenMinister of Health and Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs.............................................................................Hon. Adrian DixMinister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation .......................................................................................... Hon. Murray Rankin, QCMinister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation.......................................................................................................Hon. Ravi Kahlon

Minister of State for Trade...............................................................................................................................................Hon. George ChowMinister of Labour ...................................................................................................................................................................Hon. Harry BainsMinister of Mental Health and Addictions.............................................................................................................. Hon. Sheila MalcolmsonMinister of Municipal Affairs ............................................................................................................................................. Hon. Josie OsborneMinister of Public Safety and Solicitor General ........................................................................................................... Hon. Mike FarnworthMinister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction........................................................................................... Hon. Nicholas SimonsMinister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport .................................................................................................................. Hon. Melanie MarkMinister of Transportation and Infrastructure................................................................................................................... Hon. Rob Fleming

Minister of State for Infrastructure ................................................................................................................................... Hon. Bowinn Ma

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLYLeader of the Official Opposition...................................................................................................................................................Shirley BondLeader of the Third Party .......................................................................................................................................................... Sonia FurstenauDeputy Speaker.......................................................................................................................................................... Spencer Chandra HerbertAssistant Deputy Speaker..............................................................................................................................................................Norm LetnickDeputy Chair, Committee of the Whole .......................................................................................................................... Ronna-Rae LeonardClerk of the Legislative Assembly ........................................................................................................................................... Kate Ryan-LloydLaw Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel.............................................................................................................................. Seunghee Suzie SeoClerk Assistant, Parliamentary Services........................................................................................................................... Artour SogomonianClerk of Committees....................................................................................................................................................................... Jennifer ArrilClerk Assistant, Committees and Interparliamentary Relations ..............................................................................................Susan SourialSenior Research Analyst ................................................................................................................................................................... Karan RiarhActing Sergeant-at-Arms..................................................................................................................................................................Greg Nelson

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF MEMBERSAlexis, Pam (BC NDP) ............................................................Abbotsford-MissionAnderson, Brittny (BC NDP) .........................................................Nelson-CrestonAshton, Dan (BC Liberal Party) ............................................................... PentictonBabchuk, Michele (BC NDP)...............................................................North IslandBailey, Brenda (BC NDP) .................................................. Vancouver–False CreekBains, Hon. Harry (BC NDP)......................................................... Surrey-NewtonBanman, Bruce (BC Liberal Party) ............................................ Abbotsford SouthBeare, Hon. Lisa (BC NDP) ....................................... Maple Ridge–Pitt MeadowsBegg, Garry (BC NDP).................................................................Surrey-GuildfordBernier, Mike (BC Liberal Party) ...............................................Peace River SouthBond, Shirley (BC Liberal Party).................................Prince George–ValemountBrar, Jagrup (BC NDP) ................................................................Surrey-FleetwoodCadieux, Stephanie (BC Liberal Party) ............................................. Surrey SouthChandra Herbert, Spencer (BC NDP).................................Vancouver–West EndChant, Susie (BC NDP) ..............................................North Vancouver–SeymourChen, Hon. Katrina (BC NDP) ............................................... Burnaby-LougheedChouhan, Hon. Raj (BC NDP) .................................................Burnaby-EdmondsChow, Hon. George (BC NDP) ..........................................Vancouver-FraserviewClovechok, Doug (BC Liberal Party)........................Columbia River–RevelstokeConroy, Hon. Katrine (BC NDP) ....................................................Kootenay WestCoulter, Dan (BC NDP) .......................................................................... ChilliwackCullen, Hon. Nathan (BC NDP) ................................................................... StikineDavies, Dan (BC Liberal Party) ................................................. Peace River Northde Jong, Michael, QC (BC Liberal Party)....................................Abbotsford WestDean, Hon. Mitzi (BC NDP) ............................................... Esquimalt-MetchosinD’Eith, Bob (BC NDP) .........................................................Maple Ridge–MissionDix, Hon. Adrian (BC NDP) ................................................ Vancouver-KingswayDoerkson, Lorne (BC Liberal Party) ........................................Cariboo-ChilcotinDonnelly, Fin (BC NDP) .......................................... Coquitlam–Burke MountainDykeman, Megan (BC NDP)............................................................... Langley EastEby, Hon. David, QC (BC NDP) ....................................... Vancouver–Point GreyElmore, Mable (BC NDP) ..................................................Vancouver-KensingtonFarnworth, Hon. Mike (BC NDP) .................................................Port CoquitlamFleming, Hon. Rob (BC NDP) ............................................... Victoria–Swan LakeFurstenau, Sonia (BC Green Party) .............................................Cowichan ValleyGlumac, Rick (BC NDP) ..................................................Port Moody–CoquitlamGreene, Kelly (BC NDP) ........................................................Richmond-StevestonHalford, Trevor (BC Liberal Party) .........................................Surrey–White RockHeyman, Hon. George (BC NDP) .........................................Vancouver-FairviewHorgan, Hon. John (BC NDP) ......................................... Langford–Juan de FucaKahlon, Hon. Ravi (BC NDP) .............................................................. Delta NorthKang, Hon. Anne (BC NDP) ..................................................Burnaby–Deer LakeKirkpatrick, Karin (BC Liberal Party) ........................West Vancouver–CapilanoKyllo, Greg (BC Liberal Party)....................................................................ShuswapLee, Michael (BC Liberal Party) ..............................................Vancouver-LangaraLeonard, Ronna-Rae (BC NDP)............................................... Courtenay-ComoxLetnick, Norm (BC Liberal Party) .................................. Kelowna–Lake CountryLore, Grace (BC NDP)........................................................... Victoria–Beacon HillMa, Hon. Bowinn (BC NDP).....................................North Vancouver–LonsdaleMalcolmson, Hon. Sheila (BC NDP)........................................................NanaimoMark, Hon. Melanie (BC NDP).................................Vancouver–Mount PleasantMercier, Andrew (BC NDP) ........................................................................ LangleyMerrifield, Renee (BC Liberal Party)......................................... Kelowna-MissionMilobar, Peter (BC Liberal Party) .......................... Kamloops–North ThompsonMorris, Mike (BC Liberal Party) ................................. Prince George–MackenzieOakes, Coralee (BC Liberal Party).................................................. Cariboo NorthOlsen, Adam (BC Green Party)............................ Saanich North and the IslandsOsborne, Hon. Josie (BC NDP)........................................Mid Island–Pacific RimPaddon, Kelli (BC NDP) ................................................................Chilliwack-KentPaton, Ian (BC Liberal Party) ............................................................... Delta SouthPopham, Hon. Lana (BC NDP)........................................................ Saanich SouthRalston, Hon. Bruce, QC (BC NDP) .............................................Surrey-WhalleyRankin, Hon. Murray, QC (BC NDP) .............................Oak Bay–Gordon HeadRice, Jennifer (BC NDP) ...................................................................... North CoastRobinson, Hon. Selina (BC NDP)...................................Coquitlam-MaillardvilleRoss, Ellis (BC Liberal Party)......................................................................... SkeenaRoutledge, Janet (BC NDP) .............................................................Burnaby NorthRoutley, Doug (BC NDP)........................................... Nanaimo–North CowichanRussell, Roly (BC NDP).................................................... Boundary-SimilkameenRustad, John (BC Liberal Party)......................................................Nechako LakesSandhu, Harwinder (BC NDP) .................................................Vernon-MonasheeSharma, Niki (BC NDP)..........................................................Vancouver-HastingsShypitka, Tom (BC Liberal Party) .................................................... Kootenay EastSimons, Hon. Nicholas (BC NDP)......................... Powell River–Sunshine CoastSims, Jinny (BC NDP) ................................................................. Surrey-PanoramaSingh, Aman (BC NDP) .............................................Richmond-QueensboroughSingh, Rachna (BC NDP)................................................... Surrey–Green TimbersStarchuk, Mike (BC NDP) ......................................................... Surrey-CloverdaleStewart, Ben (BC Liberal Party) ....................................................... Kelowna WestStone, Todd (BC Liberal Party) ...............................Kamloops–South ThompsonSturdy, Jordan (BC Liberal Party) .............................West Vancouver–Sea to SkyTegart, Jackie (BC Liberal Party)....................................................... Fraser-NicolaWalker, Adam (BC NDP) ....................................................... Parksville-QualicumWat, Teresa (BC Liberal Party) ....................................... Richmond North CentreWhiteside, Hon. Jennifer (BC NDP) ......................................... New WestminsterWilkinson, Andrew, QC (BC Liberal Party)......................Vancouver-QuilchenaYao, Henry (BC NDP) ..................................................... Richmond South Centre

LIST OF MEMBERS BY RIDINGAbbotsford-Mission................................................................................. Pam AlexisAbbotsford South...............................................................................Bruce BanmanAbbotsford West...................................................................... Michael de Jong, QCBoundary-Similkameen........................................................................ Roly RussellBurnaby–Deer Lake....................................................................... Hon. Anne KangBurnaby-Edmonds......................................................................Hon. Raj ChouhanBurnaby-Lougheed .................................................................... Hon. Katrina ChenBurnaby North ................................................................................. Janet RoutledgeCariboo-Chilcotin ..........................................................................Lorne DoerksonCariboo North.................................................................................... Coralee OakesChilliwack ...............................................................................................Dan CoulterChilliwack-Kent .................................................................................... Kelli PaddonColumbia River–Revelstoke ......................................................... Doug ClovechokCoquitlam–Burke Mountain...............................................................Fin DonnellyCoquitlam-Maillardville ...................................................... Hon. Selina RobinsonCourtenay-Comox................................................................... Ronna-Rae LeonardCowichan Valley ............................................................................. Sonia FurstenauDelta North................................................................................... Hon. Ravi KahlonDelta South .................................................................................................. Ian PatonEsquimalt-Metchosin .................................................................... Hon. Mitzi DeanFraser-Nicola ......................................................................................... Jackie TegartKamloops–North Thompson .............................................................Peter MilobarKamloops–South Thompson..................................................................Todd StoneKelowna–Lake Country .....................................................................Norm LetnickKelowna-Mission ........................................................................... Renee MerrifieldKelowna West ..........................................................................................Ben StewartKootenay East .......................................................................................Tom ShypitkaKootenay West........................................................................ Hon. Katrine ConroyLangford–Juan de Fuca .............................................................. Hon. John HorganLangley .............................................................................................Andrew MercierLangley East....................................................................................Megan DykemanMaple Ridge–Mission.............................................................................. Bob D’EithMaple Ridge–Pitt Meadows............................................................Hon. Lisa BeareMid Island–Pacific Rim............................................................ Hon. Josie OsborneNanaimo.............................................................................Hon. Sheila MalcolmsonNanaimo–North Cowichan............................................................... Doug RoutleyNechako Lakes........................................................................................ John RustadNelson-Creston ............................................................................. Brittny AndersonNew Westminster.............................................................. Hon. Jennifer WhitesideNorth Coast ........................................................................................... Jennifer RiceNorth Island................................................................................... Michele BabchukNorth Vancouver–Lonsdale......................................................... Hon. Bowinn MaNorth Vancouver–Seymour...................................................................Susie ChantOak Bay–Gordon Head..................................................Hon. Murray Rankin, QCParksville-Qualicum........................................................................... Adam WalkerPeace River North ................................................................................... Dan DaviesPeace River South ................................................................................ Mike BernierPenticton ................................................................................................. Dan AshtonPort Coquitlam...................................................................... Hon. Mike FarnworthPort Moody–Coquitlam.......................................................................Rick GlumacPowell River–Sunshine Coast..............................................Hon. Nicholas SimonsPrince George–Mackenzie....................................................................Mike MorrisPrince George–Valemount .................................................................. Shirley BondRichmond North Centre..........................................................................Teresa WatRichmond-Queensborough..................................................................Aman SinghRichmond South Centre .......................................................................... Henry YaoRichmond-Steveston ............................................................................ Kelly GreeneSaanich North and the Islands .............................................................Adam OlsenSaanich South .............................................................................Hon. Lana PophamShuswap...................................................................................................... Greg KylloSkeena........................................................................................................... Ellis RossStikine........................................................................................ Hon. Nathan CullenSurrey-Cloverdale .............................................................................. Mike StarchukSurrey-Fleetwood.....................................................................................Jagrup BrarSurrey–Green Timbers........................................................................Rachna SinghSurrey-Guildford......................................................................................Garry BeggSurrey-Newton ..............................................................................Hon. Harry BainsSurrey-Panorama ...................................................................................... Jinny SimsSurrey South ................................................................................ Stephanie CadieuxSurrey-Whalley ................................................................. Hon. Bruce Ralston, QCSurrey–White Rock .......................................................................... Trevor HalfordVancouver-Fairview.............................................................. Hon. George HeymanVancouver–False Creek...................................................................... Brenda BaileyVancouver-Fraserview...............................................................Hon. George ChowVancouver-Hastings ..............................................................................Niki SharmaVancouver-Kensington....................................................................... Mable ElmoreVancouver-Kingsway..................................................................... Hon. Adrian DixVancouver-Langara................................................................................ Michael LeeVancouver–Mount Pleasant..................................................... Hon. Melanie MarkVancouver–Point Grey ............................................................Hon. David Eby, QCVancouver-Quilchena........................................................Andrew Wilkinson, QCVancouver–West End .....................................................Spencer Chandra HerbertVernon-Monashee ..................................................................... Harwinder SandhuVictoria–Beacon Hill ............................................................................... Grace LoreVictoria–Swan Lake.................................................................... Hon. Rob FlemingWest Vancouver–Capilano...........................................................Karin KirkpatrickWest Vancouver–Sea to Sky................................................................Jordan Sturdy

Party Standings: BC NDP 57; BC Liberal Party 28; BC Green Party 2

CONTENTS

Monday, October 4, 2021Morning Sitting

Page

Routine Business

Motions Without Notice......................................................................................................................................................... 3257Special procedures for proceedings of Legislative Assembly during COVID-19 pandemicAmendment to standing orders for Thursday sitting hours

Hon. M. Farnworth

Orders of the Day

Private Members’ Statements................................................................................................................................................. 3258Orange Shirt Day

P. MilobarJ. Rice

Workers and the new economyA. WalkerG. Kyllo

World Mental Health DayS. CadieuxK. Paddon

Economic resilienceR. GlumacM. Bernier

Private Members’ Motions ..................................................................................................................................................... 3266Motion 15 — Response to opioid crisis and mental health and addiction issues

T. HalfordJ. SimsC. OakesB. AndersonD. DaviesR. LeonardT. ShypitkaM. DykemanJ. TegartS. ChantK. Kirkpatrick

MONDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2021

The House met at 10:02 a.m.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Routine Business

Mr. Speaker: I invite Elder Shirley Alphonse of theT’Sou-ke Nation to offer a blessing.

S. Alphonse: Good morning, everyone.As I welcome you this morning, I would like to acknow-

ledge the traditional ancestral lands of the Lək̓ʷəŋin̓əŋXwsepsum Nations.

I will begin with my prayer.Creator, Great Spirit, as we gather here today, we say

thank you. Thank you for our breath of life. Thank you forthe air we breathe, the water we drink. Thank you for ourfamilies, our friends, our mentors, our Elders, our leadersin each of our communities of British Columbia.

Creator, Great Spirit, thank you for the blessings of eachday; the blessing of Mother Earth, of her beauty andbounty; the blessing of life-giving waters, of oceans andrivers; the blessings of the standing people, the trees, andthe stone people, the mountains; the blessings of the anim-al kingdom — the sky creatures, the water-dwellers, theplant kingdom we all share on this earth that we are grate-ful and thankful for.

[10:05 a.m.]Creator, Great Spirit, we ask you to help us each day to

walk with beauty and love in our hearts, to be there foreach other, to help each other, to care for each other.

Creator, Great Spirit, may we always walk the good roadof kindness and respect toward one another, toward Moth-er Earth, to live always in harmony and peace.HÍSW̱ḴE SIÁM.

Mr. Speaker: Thank you so much. We are so grateful forthe blessings.

Thank you. HÍSW̱ḴE.

Motions Without Notice

SPECIAL PROCEDURES FOR PROCEEDINGSOF LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Hon. M. Farnworth: By leave, I move the adoption ofthe sessional order establishing special proceduresrespecting the regulation of the conduct of proceedingsof the Legislative Assembly in exceptional circumstances,COVID-19 pandemic, a copy of which has been distrib-uted to the House Leaders of the recognized caucuses.

[GENERAL1. That, as an exercise of the Legislative Assembly’s exclusive right

to regulate its own internal affairs as they relate to its legislative anddeliberative functions, including control over the conduct of itsproceedings, the use of videoconferencing technology be author-ized to enable all Members to be present in the proceedings of theLegislative Assembly through remote participation, counting to-ward quorum, while other Members continue to be present physic-ally in the Legislative Chamber, thereby enabling hybrid proceed-ings of the House.2. That Zoom be approved as the videoconferencing technologyplatform for the purposes of supporting hybrid proceedings of theHouse.QUORUM AND ATTENDANCE3. That Members who are participating in the House’s proceedingsby the approved videoconferencing technology be counted as pres-ent for the purposes of the quorum of ten Members, as set out insection 42 of the Constitution Act (R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 66) and Stand-ing Order 6, and for the purposes of determining a majority ofvotes as set out in section 43 of the Constitution Act.4. That Members who are participating in the House’s proceedingsby the approved videoconferencing technology must have the au-dio and video functions enabled with their face clearly visible inorder to be counted towards quorum, to participate in debate, andto vote.DIVISIONS5. That Standing Order 16 (2) be amended by adding the under-lined text: When a division has been called, the division bells shallbe rung forthwith. Not sooner than 2, nor longer than 5 minutesthereafter, the Speaker shall again state the question. No Membershall enter or leave the House or Committee of the Whole afterthe final statement of the question until the division has been fullytaken, and every Member present shall vote. No Member particip-ating remotely shall connect to or disconnect from the approvedvideoconferencing technology after the final statement of the ques-tion until the division has been fully taken.DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT6. That any Standing Order requiring that a document be “handedin” or “laid upon the Table” or transmitted by other similar physicalmeans be interpreted to include the transmission of a document byapproved electronic means.7. That the transmission of a document by the Office of the Clerkto all Members by electronic means constitute for all purposes thedistribution and delivery of that document, regardless of whethera Member has received the document.8. That, notwithstanding the usual practices of the House, pe-titions presented to the House may include signatures collectedthrough electronic means, and that the Clerk of the Legislative As-sembly or her designate be authorized to exercise reasonable dis-cretion in the interpretation of admissibility of an electronic peti-tion and its compliance with Standing Order 73 and Appendix Aof the Standing Orders.SPEAKER’S DISCRETION9. That, for greater certainty, the Speaker be empowered to exer-cise discretion on the applicability of Standing Order 17A as it mayrelate to the facilitation of participation of Members in proceedingsof the House.10. That, for greater certainty and further to Standing Order 19and Standing Order 20, the Speaker be empowered to intervene onany matter of decorum on the Speaker’s own initiative or on a pointof order raised by a Member, including by muting a Member’s mi-crophone and excluding Members from the sitting in cases of seri-ous misconduct.11. That the Speaker be empowered to exercise discretion in theinterpretation of the provisions of any Standing Order requiringMembers to stand or speak in their assigned place as this require-ment may relate to Members participating via the approved video-conferencing technology and to Members participating in personin the Legislative Chamber.12. That the Speaker be empowered to exercise discretion, in con-

3257

sultation with the House Leaders or the Whips, in the interpreta-tion of any provision of the Standing Orders or this order that mayrequire leniency or alteration in order to allow all Members to beable to fully exercise their duties and rights in the proceedings ofthis House conducted in a hybrid manner.OTHER13. That, should any provision contained in this order be incon-sistent with the Standing Orders, the provision in this orderprevails to the extent of the inconsistency.14. That this order expire on November 30, 2021.]

Leave granted.

Motion approved.

AMENDMENT TO STANDING ORDERSFOR THURSDAY SITTING HOURS

Hon. M. Farnworth: By leave, I move the adoption ofthe sessional order amending the Thursday afternoon sit-ting time to 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., a copy of which has beenshared with the House Leaders of the recognized caucuses.

[That, for the remainder of the current Session:1. Standing Order 2(1) be amended to provide for the Thursdayafternoon sitting to be from 1:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. instead of 1:30p.m. to 6:00 p.m.2. Standing Order 3 be amended by striking the words “6:00 p.m.on Thursday” and replacing them with “5:30 p.m. on Thursday”.]

Leave granted.

Motion approved.

Orders of the Day

Private Members’ Statements

ORANGE SHIRT DAY

P. Milobar: I rise today to acknowledge the recentOrange Shirt Day held on the inaugural National Day forTruth and Reconciliation on September 30 but, morebroadly, to speak about reconciliation with Indigenouspeoples and the individual and collective efforts we mustmake to achieve it.

[S. Chandra Herbert in the chair.]

Last Thursday many of us in this chamber and manymore across British Columbia attended local events tomark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Wewore orange shirts as a visible symbol of our commitmentto reconciliation.

Orange Shirt Day started in the Cariboo region and is alegacy of the St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School com-memoration project and reunion events that took place inWilliams Lake in 2013. Former student Phyllis Webstadshared a story of how she had excitedly picked out her new

orange shirt to wear to her new school, not knowing itwould be taken from her, amongst the other injustices sheexperienced there.

Beyond wearing a shirt or attending an observance,what else can we do to advance the process of reconcili-ation in our communities? We must listen to the voices ofIndigenous people, who have too often been silenced byinstitutions and individuals.

As I listened to the various Indigenous leadership speakin Kamloops on Thursday, it struck me…. As speaker afterspeaker spoke about how there must be truth before truereconciliation, it occurred to me that Indigenous voicesacross this country had been speaking the truth for gener-ations. What had been lacking is a believing of the truth.For us to actually truly embrace reconciliation in a mean-ingful way with those Indigenous communities and Indi-genous leaders, we must be willing to finally, with openarms, believe what we had been hearing all this time.

It took the tragic events and discovery of 215 unmarkedgraves in Kamloops to shine a national spotlight on thatand make us collectively, as a society, take a look and startto truly listen and, more importantly, believe what we’dbeen hearing all these decades.

As a father of three Indigenous children myself, it wasmoving for me to sit there and think that the last schoolshut down in 1996. Two of my children would have beenborn while these schools were still open — or the lastschool, anyways. I can’t fathom what it would have beenlike to have a knock on the door and your own kid is gone.

[10:10 a.m.]For us to truly engage with reconciliation, we have to

believe what we’ve been hearing. We have to believe theintergenerational trauma is real. Just think for a momentwhat it must have been like for parents who had to attendthose schools themselves to knowingly send their children,knowing what they were sending their children to. Tothink that that did not cause real and irreparable genera-tional trauma is simply unfathomable.

To me, it’s important that we combat stereotypes. It’simportant that we listen. It’s important the truth be told.But it is very important that the truth is believed. Thatis a path forward that we can see for true reconciliation.The strength of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc and Kúkpi7Chief Roseanne Casimir and in fact the whole of theSecwépemc’ulucw residents has been phenomenalthrough this. They’re not the only ones, though.

We’re seeing it from community by community by com-munity — the number of schools in B.C. was incredible —when you start to look at the overall national picture. Tosee that type of leadership step forward, to see those com-munities step forward, to see those communities still, withopen arms, accept people into their community to try tohave those conversations, it’s incumbent on not just every-one in this chamber but everyone in British Columbia totruly start to meaningfully engage in reconciliation efforts.

The leadership of First Nations communities, the overall

3258 British Columbia Debates Monday, October 4, 2021

population of Indigenous communities, had been there forquite some time, wanting to engage, wanting to move for-ward in a meaningful way and wanting to do things ina good way with everyone in British Columbia. As FirstNations leadership says regularly, they’re not going any-where. We’re not going anywhere

We need to find that path forward. We need to find thatway to make sure that their voices are believed. As I say,there truly can’t be reconciliation without the truth, butthe truth has been out there for quite some time. As Kam-loops continues to be the focal point at this juncture, weknow, sadly, other communities will start to advance aswell with their discoveries.

People are listening. Now is the time, more than ever, forus to take meaningful action in this chamber to make surethat the words in the UNDRIP document, which we allunanimously passed in that legislation, are meaningfullyactioned, to make sure that as we move forward, recon-ciliation is not just a buzzword. As, again, many leaderson that stage said on Thursday, the time for empty wordsand empty promises is long over. The time for meaningfulaction and meaningful reconciliation is now.

I know all of the members in this House feel that way.Now we collectively have to make sure our actions demon-strate that commitment to those words.

J. Rice: When she had just turned six years old, PhyllisWebstad’s granny gave her a shiny, new, orange shirt forher first day of school at St. Joseph’s residential school nearWilliams Lake. When Phyllis arrived at school, she wasstripped and her clothing taken away, including her shiny,new, orange shirt. She never saw it again. No longer excitedto be going to school, she wanted to go home to granny,but she had to stay there for 300 sleeps.

No matter how much the little kids cried, it didn’t mat-ter. No one cared. This is how Orange Shirt Day was born.Phyllis is the third generation in her family to attend res-idential school. Both her grandmother and her motherattended, ten years each.

Many residential school survivors and supportersadvocated to the federal government for this national dayof commemoration, and it was a call to action from theTruth and Reconciliation Commission. The province pro-claimed September 30, 2021, as Orange Shirt Day, as ithas since 2017. Canada’s first National Day for Truth andReconciliation was also held on September 30.

Orange Shirt Day is a grassroots event to raise aware-ness of the history and legacy of the residential school sys-tem. It’s a day to honour the children who were impactedand to remind all Canadians that every child matters.Recent findings of unmarked graves at the sites of formerresidential schools in B.C. and across Canada havebrought into sharp focus this year the atrocities of the res-idential school system and the continued intergeneration-al trauma experienced by Indigenous peoples.

[10:15 a.m.]

I had the honour to witness some of the testimony at theTruth and Reconciliation Commission hearings. I recall astory of a survivor who had been dropped off by her moth-er to a residential school. The little girl did not want to go,but her mother insisted she had to.

She was brought inside the school, where she was linedup with other children who were getting their hair cut off.Not wanting to be away from her mother and not wantingto get her hair chopped off, she decided to get out of thatlineup and run away, back outside to her mother.

The nuns tried to catch her, but she was able to dodgethem, break free and get outside. There she saw her mothersitting in the car with her head tilted back on the seat,laughing. She was devastated to see her mother laughing atbringing her to such a horrific place.

This was a lasting memory for this residential schoolsurvivor — to see her mother laughing. Their relationshipwas strained ever since that moment. She never forgaveher mother, and they spent their entire adult lives in ten-sion and turmoil. The effects impacted her own ability toparent.

It wasn’t until her mother was on her deathbed that theymade an attempt to reconcile the years of their tumultuousrelationship. The daughter confronted her mother abouthow hurt she felt as a little girl, seeing her mother laughingat the prospect of dropping her off at residential school.Unfortunately, it wasn’t until her mother was near the endof life that she learned that her mother wasn’t sitting in thecar with her head tilted back laughing. In fact, she was sit-ting there with her head tilted back in tears. She was cry-ing, not laughing.

This sad story is an example of the intergenerationaltrauma residential schools have caused. The harms are stillbeing felt today. Orange Shirt Day is a day to acknowledgethe history and dark legacy of the residential school systemand a day to honour the children and families affected.

On this day, we encourage every British Columbian towear an orange shirt to show that every child does matterand to show our commitment to working together withIndigenous people to create a better future for all of ourchildren.

P. Milobar: Thank you to the previous speaker for thosethoughtful comments.

Although we do have a national day for truth and recon-ciliation in place to observe, we know that our efforts toachieve meaningful reconciliation cannot be limited toone day. Truly, every child does matter. That was a themethat we heard over and over again on Thursday, speakerafter speaker, and I think we heard that across the nation.

It’s an important statement to remember, every singleday, because it was how we treated children, at its core, thathas created all this intergenerational trauma. Intergenera-tional trauma like this will not be solved quickly. It will notbe solved easily, but it certainly will not be solved by stay-ing silent and not taking action at all.

Monday, October 4, 2021 British Columbia Debates 3259

That is why, in my previous comments, when I refer-enced…. It’s important for us to hear the truth and, mostimportantly, believe the truth so that we can take thoseactions as a collective, that we can work in partnershipwith Indigenous nations to make sure that we provide thesupports that they need, within their own nations, to tryto provide the supports for their members that they needto try to break the intergenerational trauma that has beenexperienced by so many families across British Columbiaand, indeed, the nation.

As someone who grew up in Kamloops, someone whosehouse actually had a…. You could see the residentialschool from the house I grew up in. It wasn’t talked aboutin Kamloops. It was seen as a school. We all know full wellit wasn’t, now. But it shows you that if it was hidden with-in a city, with a school at the geographic centre of a city,so visibly, imagine what was going on in those schools inmuch farther-flung places that were not so visible and inthe public eye.

So it’s good to hear people in this chamber, members inthis chamber, all speak together with one voice and sim-ilar voices around reconciliation and moving things for-ward. It was good to see UNDRIP pass, unanimously, inthis chamber.

[10:20 a.m.]I say again that now is the time for meaningful, cross-

party-line engagement to make sure that true reconcili-ation happens, not based on political stripe but based onwhat is right for everyone in this province and for Indi-genous communities in this province, so that everyone canbe a part of healing the intergenerational trauma that somany had a part in and that so many of us have a part tocorrect, moving forward.

Deputy Speaker: Just a quick reminder to all members.In order to follow the public health orders, can I remindyou to please wear your mask over your nose and yourmouth unless you have the floor.

WORKERS AND THE NEW ECONOMY

A. Walker: The nature of work is changing rapidly. Itused to be that more work was full-time and based inan employer’s brick-and-mortar establishment. We’vewatched the economy and workforce shift dramaticallyover the past few decades as the so-called gig economy hasbecome more and more common.

This economy consists of flexible and temporary jobs,often administered through a digital platform. Those whowork in this economy may not have set hours or a setworkplace, other than perhaps their car or home office,and may not even have a set employer.

A report from Statistics Canada released last year estim-ated that about one in ten Canadians in the workforce,about 1.7 million people, are workers in the gig economy.About half of those workers do work to supplement wages

from other work. Growth areas in the gig economy includefood delivery, ride-sharing drivers, cleaners and domesticworkers, just to name a few.

Gig work can be an innovative option for workers whovalue flexibility, supplemental income and independence,but it also brings with it some challenges. Even thoughthe economy is changing, workers still depend on fair payand benefits to support them and their families, and theystill depend on systems like the Workers CompensationBoard when they become injured on the job. B.C. labourand employment laws need to reflect the needs of modernworkplaces, both for workers and for employers.

Here in British Columbia, most workers are eligible foremployment benefits and protections offered by theEmployment Standards Act, such as overtime pay, stat-utory holidays and vacation. However, some gig workersmay be classified by their employers as independent con-tractors, which may make them ineligible for the benefitsand protections under the act. Some of these workers maywell and truly be self-employed, but for many who arenot, there is a real concern about whether such workersare being denied access to the benefits and protections forwhich they are eligible.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it crystal-clear thatgig workers need greater support and additional coverage,as many lack the protections provided by the EmploymentStandards Act. The pandemic has revealed how many gigand precarious workers are also front-line workers whointeract directly with the public, such as those in fooddelivery and ride-hailing.

This lack of legal protections for gig and precariousworkers constitutes a large gap in the working population.We need to ensure that precarious workers receive theappropriate legal protections, in the same way that workersin more traditional employment relationships have appro-priate protections.

As the dedicated Parliamentary Secretary for the NewEconomy, I will stand up for the protection of workers asour employment landscape, while also making sure thatthese new types of businesses are viable in British Colum-bia. I’ve been asked to develop a strategy to address thechallenges facing gig and precarious workers while alsoencouraging innovative businesses in the new economy,especially where they differ from the traditional employ-ment working relationships.

Together with the member for Surrey-Newton, I willbe working with business and labour groups to develop astrategy to propose employment standards targeted to pre-carious workers and gig economy workers and to explorethe feasibility of benefits and pensions for workers who donot otherwise have coverage.

In 2019, our government brought in ride-hailing. Brit-ish Columbians had been asking for the innovative ride-hailing service since 2012, but previous governmentsfailed to get it done. Our government did the hard work,and we delivered.


Over the last two years, a framework was developedthat puts passenger safety first. We also made significantimprovements to the Employment Standards Act to betterprotect working people, including those in precariousemployment. For example, we removed the self-help kit,which was a barrier for accessing services from theEmployment Standards Branch, so that vulnerable andprecarious workers can get the help that they need.

[10:25 a.m.]Last December I led consultations on behalf of the Min-

istry of Public Safety and Solicitor General on the fee capfor food delivery services, meeting with food deliverycompanies, worker representatives and stakeholders fromthe restaurant and licensed-premises sectors. The memberfor Port Coquitlam considered this feedback in establish-ing the delivery fee cap that is now in place to support Brit-ish Columbians during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A critical part of this regulation was to protect fooddelivery couriers by prohibiting companies from reducingcouriers’ compensation to adjust for the fee cap. Duringthe conversations I’ve had, I’ve heard from employers ofmany gig workers, and they are open to the conversationsthat we’re having. They know, just as well as I do, that theyneed a workforce to operate, and their workers need fairwages and benefits in return.

Now, and beyond the pandemic, our priorities are thehealth and safety of workers, employment standards, pro-tections for gig and precarious workers and doing our partto support economic recovery and business innovation.I look forward to continuing this important work in themonths ahead.

Deputy Speaker: A reminder that this is private mem-bers’ statements.

G. Kyllo: It’s great to be back in the Legislature onceagain. I’m honoured to be able to rise and respond to thestatement put forward by my colleague from across theway.

I’m glad to see the topic of workers in the new economyas one of the focal points of our first private members’ dis-cussion of this fall session. While the changes of COV-ID are still very much with us, the need for us to prepareour province’s economic recovery is urgent. The healing ofour province must happen not only in our hospitals, long-term-care facilities and gathering places; it needs to hap-pen in our places of work, in our small businesses and inour households, so that British Columbians are confidentthey can put their skills to work to provide for their fam-ilies.

While the initiatives to build a skilled workforce to meetB.C.’s future labour needs are a welcome start, there areconcerning warning signs that the current conditions inour province are inhibiting both our workforce particip-ation and our overall economic recovery. Job numbersreleased by Statistics Canada in September show that full-

time jobs continued to lag behind pre-pandemic levels,with 12,600 fewer jobs than in February of 2020 and17,400 fewer private sector jobs.

Additionally, recovery remains slow in the tourismindustry, as the sector is still down nearly 22,000 jobs,compared to pre-pandemic levels. Just think about that.That’s 22,000 families that are no longer participating inthe workforce.

The hidden unemployment rate remains high, at 9.6percent. That’s one out of every ten workers in theprovince, showing that more and more British Columbi-ans are giving up looking for work or face fewer hoursand shifts. The reality is that workers in many industriesfeel that they don’t have access to the basic supports andnecessities that will allow them to enter or to re-enterthe workforce.

During the recent Union of B.C. Municipalities conven-tion, our caucus hosted a number of round tables, wherewe discussed how to build a strong post-pandemic eco-nomy. We heard loud and clear from British Columbiansthat there needs to be a focus on housing, child care andaccess to education and skills training to get British Col-umbians back into the workforce and to lay the foundationfor a strong economic recovery.

British Columbians have yet to see promised supportslike the $400 renters rebate or universal $10-a-day daycare.Our province is struggling to provide affordable housingto accommodate B.C.’s families and communities.

These challenges are impacting not only our labourforce but our small and medium-sized businesses, whichwill form the backbone of our recovery. You only have towalk down the streets of Victoria to see the number of“help wanted” signs. Businesses are indicating that they’refinding it increasingly difficult to find employees. Manyof our small businesses, most notably in our tourism andhospitality sector, are facing a concerning labour shortage.

On top of this, businesses are struggling to access basicrecovery grants intended to support their recovery. Lessthan half of the money allocated for the small and medi-um-sized business recovery grant and circuit breaker granthas actually made it into the hands of businesses. Justthink about that for a moment. Only half of the funds thatwere allocated and identified to help struggling small busi-nesses has actually gone out the door.

[10:30 a.m.]Less than 3 percent of the money that was allocated for

the PST rebate on machinery and equipment has madeit out to businesses. Facing the growing burden of addi-tional taxes, businesses are finding it harder than ever torecruit workers, recover their losses incurred during thepandemic and remain competitive against other Canadianand international businesses.

I thank the member for bringing this issue forwardtoday. We cannot afford to drag our feet any longer. Weneed to see real action today. It is not enough for us to relyon the job numbers artificially inflated by growth in the


public sector. We need a private sector–focused jobs planthat will truly prepare our workforce for the future. Weneed an economic recovery plan that will offer B.C. busi-nesses and families the supports they need to generate jobsand move our province’s economy forward. Only then willwe see our province make a full recovery and transition tothe new economy.

A. Walker: I want to thank the member for Shuswap forspending so much time representing the workers of ourprovince and the challenges we’ve had with rental afford-ability. I will continue speaking of the new economy in myrole as parliamentary secretary.

The economy and the workforce have changed dramat-ically over the past few decades. We’ve seen exponentialgrowth in the gig economy, even over the past year. Thisgig economy continues to grow, providing innovative ser-vices to the people of British Columbia. As these servicesappear, it’s clear that non-standard employment, includingpart-time, casual, web-based and contract work, is becom-ing increasingly common.

Unfortunately, gig work is often associated with jobinsecurity, irregular earnings and few, if any, employmentprotections. This could potentially lead these workers togoing into debt or falling below the poverty line. Povertyshould not be a feature of the new economy.

I believe there is a way forward where both workers andcompanies cannot just survive but also thrive. I feel for-tunate to work with the member for Surrey-Newton andwith business and labour representatives to develop a pre-carious work strategy for British Columbia. Early work onthe development of a gig economy strategy has includedsubstantial policy research to scope the issues and framekey questions for further investigation.

In addition, we have engaged with numerous stakehold-ers, who have been supportive and who have providedvaluable feedback. We need to continue to do all that wecan to support vulnerable workers. B.C. labour laws areresponsible to the changing economy. It’s vital that we facethese issues and ensure that all workers in B.C. are suppor-ted and protected. I’m honoured to be taking the lead onmaking that happen.

WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY

S. Cadieux: For many of us, the past 18 months havebeen amongst the most challenging we’ve ever experi-enced. Front-line workers are coping with burnout, chil-dren and youth struggling with isolation, seniors feelingever so lonely. And far too many British Columbians aresuffering mental health issues in silence.

However, the pandemic has also helped many morepeople be comfortable in opening up about their mentalwell-being and the emotions they may be struggling with.At one point or another, I think we can all relate to feelingisolated, anxious and even depressed. And we must be

open in naming, expressing and discussing our emotionsand our mental health challenges, even those that areuncomfortable.

This coming Sunday is World Mental Health Day. Ithink it’s important that we continue the momentum tobreak the stigma around mental health. This year’s themeencourages everyone not only to reach out if they needhelp, but it’s also calling on government and governmentsto make sure that help is available to everyone.

I think of working moms who have been disproportion-ately affected by the pandemic and who are disproportion-ately shouldering much of the caregiving responsibilities.I think of students or people with disabilities and those inpoverty because of the high cost of getting help for mentalhealth supports. I think of rural British Columbians whohave to potentially travel for many, many hours to get crit-ical, in-person care.

[10:35 a.m.]Services need to be where people need them, when they

need them, so that no one falls through the cracks. Reflect-ing on our current mental health system, it’s abundantlyclear that British Columbians need more than just supple-mentary programs or a reactionary system. Governmentneeds to take proactive action to help people right nowby investing in seamless mental health and addictions sys-tems that eliminate barriers and ensure people get the helpwhere they need it.

Mental wellness starts with prevention and instillingtools at a young age for children to not only be able tobetter recognize emotions but to cope with them as well.There’s never been a more important time to invest ingreater mental health resources for children and youth,when research has shown that they have experiencedgreater mental health challenges during the pandemic,including increased anxiety, post-traumatic stress, depres-sion and behavioural problems.

British Columbians’ mental health system was alreadystretched and disjointed. It’s continuing to struggle withthe extra demand resulting from the stresses of COV-ID-19. Many clinics, like the Foundry clinics, whichoffered walk-in supports prior to the pandemic, nowrequire appointments. These necessary pandemic safetymeasures are causing longer wait-lists and more gaps inimmediate care for youth.

In May of 2020, only three months into the pandemic,B.C.’s Representative for Children and Youth confirmedthere were more than 2,500 youth in B.C. on wait-lists. Thenumbers only continued to grow. Any child who is at riskof self-harm or other mental health challenges can’t affordto wait for months.

It’s not only children who are significantly impacted butwomen as well. I’ve been especially concerned for womenwho have had to self-isolate at home in a situation that’sunsafe, where they may face physical or mental abuse froma partner. Violence against women is not only a women’sissue, as this House well knows. It’s everyone’s issue. It


affects entire communities, and the trauma ripplesthrough families, schools and workplaces.

We must, as legislators, continue to push for actionsthat will prevent violence against women, such as ensuringemployer supports, helping those fleeing violent situationsand securing access to health care resources for coun-selling and mental health services.

In 2014, I helped table a report addressing violenceagainst women in British Columbia. The report detailedsteps that needed to be taken to prevent violence againstwomen. We need to continue to build on that work toensure that the right supports are available in communitiesright across B.C.

Part of taking action is ensuring that most at-riskgroups — like Indigenous women, women of colour andwomen with disabilities — have the right supports theyneed that are culturally relevant and available where theyneed them, in an accessible way. And we all have a roleto prevent violence before it starts and responding toviolence when it happens. Rebuilding from its devastatingeffects is the last part we play.

The impacts of violence can have serious long-termconsequences, including mental health struggles, isola-tion, social exclusion and substance use, not just for thewomen or adults affected but also for children who witnessviolence. This involves addressing not just the violenceitself but ensuring that those wraparound supports includecounselling, housing and employment supports, incomeassistance to assist in recovery from violence for the familybut also with the long-lasting effects on children.

Let’s work together to ensure that everyone in BritishColumbia that needs help with their mental health, wheth-er it’s a child facing loneliness or bullying or a woman flee-ing violence — that there’s a system of care in place to helpthem.

K. Paddon: Thank you for your comments.October 10 is World Mental Health Day. The 2021

World Mental Health Day campaign provides an oppor-tunity for us to come together and to be partners and to beadvocates.

As I prepared to speak about mental health this morn-ing, I did what we probably all do as we’re preparing ourremarks. I thought of the work and the facts. I thought ofthe message I wanted to share. The points that kept com-ing to mind were not the facts. It was the people.

[10:40 a.m.]I thought of my friend who is so worried about her teen-

ager and is at a loss of how to help with crippling anxiety. Ithought of how hard it was when I was a teenager, a youngadult struggling with depression, and how impossible it allseemed.

I thought of my friend who just wants to be a greatdad and struggles with substance use. I thought of thegrandparents I spoke with in my community, who didn’tknow where to turn to help their grandchild. I thought

of the nurse that I’ve spoken with who feels like she isso close to the edge, so close to being too tired to keepgoing, yet she does.

I thought of so many friends and family members whohave struggled or who are struggling with anxiety, depres-sion and conditions or disorders that impact their livesand thoughts every single day; how, for many, this last yearand a half has been so much harder; and how, for many,this last year and a half has made it so much easier tohide. I thought of the person who I loved so much whoI lost to suicide in March of 2001. I’m not going to lie. Ithought of Dear Evan Hansen and the opening that thisstory provided me in talking to my teenagers about mentalhealth.

I also thought of the work that has been done over thepast few years — work that would have helped me, workthat would have helped the person I lost and work thatis already helping people in my community and people Ilove.

Our government is making a historic $500 millioninvestment in Budget 2021 that is focused on building acomprehensive system of mental health and addictionscare that people in British Columbia need and deserve.This includes major investments across the lifespan inmental health for children, youth and young adults, inaddition to funding for the overdose response and sub-stance use treatment and recovery. This funding is crit-ically important to turn the tide on the overdose crisis;improve wellness for children, youth and young adults;and address the gaps in mental health and addiction ser-vices.

The investments further advance a plan, a Pathway toHope, developed in consultation with stakeholders acrossthe mental health and addictions sector. These invest-ments reflect a continued commitment to work acrossgovernment on real, lasting solutions and on upstreaminvestments that will make a difference in the lives of manyBritish Columbians for years to come, including BritishColumbians I know and love and serve.

I also thought about how much work is being done inmy community to support mental health. One example isthe Chilliwack Youth Health Centre. They provide drop-in counselling, among other services, to youth aged 12 to26, in a safe and supportive environment. If you go to theirwebpage or social media, you can see that the ChilliwackYouth Health Centre has two sites, Neighbourhood Learn-ing Centre and Stó:lō, with dedicated teams of service pro-viders offering medical and mental health services, andtwo sites offering counselling at this time, at Tzeachten andUniversity of the Fraser Valley.

You can go see them for anything from acne to sexualhealth to counselling for issues related to anxiety, depres-sion, substance use, gender issues, family conflict, peerconflict and school and life planning. You don’t need areferral. It’s free and confidential, and you can drop in.

I don’t want to talk about one day, because I know, from


experience and from what the people I love tell me, thatthis is not about one day. It’s about one day at a time.There’s more to do, and we won’t stop working until webuild a comprehensive system.

So how do we help as individuals? What can we do asindividuals? When you’re standing in the storm, you can’talways reach out, so it’s up to all of us to reach out. Wereach out. We talk about it. We reduce the stigma. We sayand show and prove to each other each and every day thatwe are not alone. You’re not alone. You are not alone.

S. Cadieux: I’ll thank the member for Chilliwack-Kentfor her comments.

We can all agree that prioritizing mental health is vital,and there are small steps we can all take. We can reach outto friends and family to check in, and we should never feelashamed to speak up about our own mental health or evenjust to do a simple act of kindness for a stranger. You neverknow when one action can help someone else.

[10:45 a.m.]As we all come together again after the pandemic, I

hope that as a society, we do reflect on what it means totruly be there for one another. Let’s take the momentuminto our mental health system. Let’s continue to advocatetogether for better mental health resources, because as weknow, when crisis hits, so many people will need support.Throughout British Columbia, people need support today.

Not only did the latest illicit drug toxicity report fromthe B.C. coroner show that, but this year, we know we’reon track to have the deadliest year on record. The overdosecrisis is continuing to worsen month after month. Toomany continue to lose their lives, and we know that thereis a deep connection between addiction and mental health.It’s clear we must do more. We must invest more in preven-tion, harm reduction and recovery. They are all keys tosuccess. These services are needed more than ever.

Access to naloxone or a treatment bed could save alife in a public health emergency that is taking too manyfathers, aunts, brothers and so many more. We might notknow the mental health struggles that our loved onescould be facing. We can, though, do our part to reach out,support our friends and family, and speak up when we’rein need of help or when someone we know needs a helpinghand. There is no shame in saying: “I am not okay.”

This coming Sunday, October 10, World Mental HealthDay, let’s commit to supporting one another, to reducingthe stigma around mental health and continuing to advoc-ate for comprehensive, accessible services across ourprovince. Everyone needs it at some point in time. Let’smake sure it’s there when we do.

ECONOMIC RESILIENCE

R. Glumac: COVID-19 has changed our lives — howwe work, how we learn, how we socialize, how we dobusiness. All around the world, we know that economic

activity has been significantly impacted. Global supplychains have been disrupted, and millions of people havelost their jobs.

When we take a look at what kind of people wereaffected the most, we see Indigenous people. We see newCanadians. We see women. We see young adults. We seepeople earning less than $30 an hour. We see service sec-tor workers.

Early on in this pandemic — I’d like to take a bit of a stepback to see how our government responded when thingswere looking the most dire — the B.C. government tookswift action and put a $5 billion COVID-19 action plan inplace to help those most affected.

We offered a $1,000 one-time emergency benefit to helpthose that were unable to work because of the outbreak,which supplemented the federal CERB benefit. About 85percent of British Columbians also received enhanced B.C.climate action tax credits, totalling an average of over$500. Renters received a temporary rent reduction. Therewas a moratorium on most rental evictions and a freeze onannual rent increases.

ICBC customers who were facing financial challengeswere allowed to defer insurance payments for up to threemonths. Of course, insurance rates later were reduced byan average of 20 percent. Because ICBC is publicly owned,and claims dropped during the period of COVID, the sav-ings were passed on to customers in the form of tworebates, totalling an average of over $300.

B.C. Hydro customers who lost income were eligible toreceive a three-month credit as well, averaging over $500.The B.C. government was there to help people get throughthe most challenging early days of this pandemic.

We also supported small businesses by reducing prop-erty tax bills for commercial businesses by an average of25 percent and extending tax collection due dates by sev-eral months. Businesses were also permitted to defer theiremployer health tax payments, and deferrals were alsoextended to PST payments, hotel tax, carbon tax andmotor vehicle fuel tax. We set up a B.C. business COV-ID-19 support service as a single point of contact for busi-nesses looking for information.

[10:50 a.m.]There we were, early in the pandemic, taking quick

action to help the most vulnerable people and businesses.But at that time, if you remember, no one knew how longthis was going to last. We still don’t know. We didn’t knowwhen the vaccines were coming. There was a lot of uncer-tainty, and it was at that time that the governmentembarked on a comprehensive engagement process abouteconomic recovery.

The Premier and the Finance Minister led round-tablediscussions with businesses, Indigenous people, academ-ics, economists, student groups, social service providers,environmental groups and many more to gather ideas onthe path forward. This conversation was framed around


restoring consumer confidence, accelerating job creationand supporting job security.

In the end, tens of thousands of people engaged in thisprocess. What emerged from this engagement is a roadmap for economic resiliency. When people were askedhow they can ensure that we come out of COVID-19stronger, the top answer is a greener, more innovative eco-nomy. Even in the short term, when asked about the yearahead, climate change was chosen as one of the mostimportant issues, higher than even health care and theprice of real estate. Climate change was rated even higherby those 29 and younger.

This quote from the online questionnaire summarizesthe sentiment. “This is our time to create an inclusive, justand sustainable society. Please consider taking this oppor-tunity, and be remembered as the government who tookaction. I’m terrified of the future due to climate changerisks, and I want to feel like my government is respondingadequately. I’m tired of writing letters, attending protestsjust to ask for a future I can depend on and feel goodabout, feel good about bringing my kids into. Let’s comeout of COVID-19 better.”

Regardless of whether input came from round tablesor online surveys or written submissions, a strong themeemerged around taking strong action on climate changeand that being a central bedrock of economic resiliency.

As important as it is to engage with people, it’s equallyimportant to look at where we’re at. We can do this withthe labour force survey. The latest one in August showsthat B.C. had the lowest unemployment rate in the countryand was the only province in the entire country that hasemployment rates above pre-pandemic levels for the thirdstraight month. The job recovery rate was the highest inPrince George at 108 percent, followed by the Cariboo andThompson-Okanagan at over 105 percent.

B.C. made more investments per capita for people andbusinesses than any other province in the country. The res-ults showed in this labour survey. In order to have a resi-lient economy, you need to have a government that listensto people, a government that takes decisive action to helppeople and businesses when times are at their worst, a gov-ernment that embraces innovation and clean technologyand understands that the future is something we can all beexcited about.

M. Bernier: I want to thank the member for PortMoody–Coquitlam.

Obviously, we’re in the first hour. Welcome back toeverybody. Of course, this is supposed to be the non-polit-ical time.

The member for Port Moody–Coquitlam did give melots of ammunition to be able to go after him with a polit-ical rebuttal to argue most of the things that he put for-ward. But since this is the non-political time, I tried not topay attention to a lot of what he was saying since he wastaking it to that level.

I think it’s important to go to the topic that the memberbrought up, which is really about economic resilience. Tome, economic resilience is really about confidence. It’sabout certainty. It’s about all of us in this House instillingin the people and the employers of the people that theprovince of B.C. is the best place for them to invest.

I think we need to go back to the comment I was sayingabout employers. This is not about large business, smallbusiness per se. It’s about people who are taking risk. It’sabout groups of people who take risk. They are the onesthat are employing the people in British Columbia. Butthey will only take that risk in a province if they feel con-fident to come to that province.

It’s one thing to say the words. It’s another thing forgovernments to show action. Action means: what do wesay and what do we do to have an investor, an employer,choose British Columbia?

[10:55 a.m.]As the member talked about, we’ve gone through the

last year and a half, almost two years, of some of the mosttroubling times economically or even personally that Ithink many of us have seen in our lifetime. So it is fittingto use the word “resilient,” as the member put forward,because we have seen many employers, many people,many families who have really and truly shown resiliencein the last couple of years. But we need to know how we’regoing to continue. What’s the next plan?

Over the last four years, we haven’t really seen an eco-nomic plan from this government, to show that certainty,to show that optimism, to show the employers that this isthe right place to be. We need to do that.

We’ve heard stories from countless employers over thelast two years — those that have been very resilient andlucky to stay afloat — who say that they wish they hadmore support and help. But they managed to do what busi-nesses and employers do well — that is, use their entre-preneurial spirit to figure out how to get through this pan-demic. I think everybody in this House will agree that,hopefully, we’re starting to get close to the end of that.

But it’s not just about resilience. It’s about showing thehope that we need for people to come to British Columbia,to be able to invest. We can’t do that by having some ofthe highest taxes in Canada. We can’t do that by paddinga budget, mostly on property transfer tax, which seems tobe helping us lower the deficit. We actually need to be giv-ing confidence to the people and the employers in BritishColumbia.

As a former employer myself, that certainty is para-mount. We need to ensure that that’s happening with prop-er legislation, with a proper taxation regime, with properdirection from government that not only are we going toget through this pandemic collectively but that we have aplan to make sure that British Columbia is the best place.

We have to remember that Canada is a very easy coun-try to move your company around in. We’ve seen that hap-pen. If we want to have the movie industry, the resource


sector, the environmental sector, the tech sector…. If theywant to be here in British Columbia, we need to show thatwe are the best place. Not by increasing taxes, as if com-panies are the evil part of our province. We need to bedoing it to show that we welcome employers.

Most people in British Columbia work for somebodywho took risk. They work for somebody who is resilient.They put food on the table for their family because of thoseemployers. We just need to make sure that we have a sol-id direction to support them to get through this pandemicbut also have a long-term vision to make sure they chooseBritish Columbia to move to.

R. Glumac: Building on what we’ve learned from ourprevious engagement and through COVID-19, our gov-ernment is setting a path for the next ten to 15 years toguide the development of our province’s economy with anew economic plan. We have three overarching object-ives that we know are key ingredients to a resilient eco-nomy. These are innovation-led growth, inclusion andsustainability.

With this in mind, the economic plan will ensure thatour province places the biggest societal changes that weface at the heart of policy and regulatory instruments.With such a bold and forward-looking economic vision,we once again went to the public with a series of focusedengagements across the province. Many MLAs, includingmyself, held economic recovery round tables.

The local constituents that I invited came from a varietyof backgrounds but mainly from the tech sector. They wereexcited about the future, and the ideas that they sharedcovered a broad spectrum, from the importance of broad-band connection across the province facilitating remotework into the future, working on improving governmentprocurement to make it easier for smaller companies, andideas around placing more economic value on our envir-onmental assets to help preserve them into the future.

[11:00 a.m.]At the same time we’re engaging with the public, our

government has also teamed up with Mariana Mazzucato,a world-renowned economist and professor from the Uni-versity College London who has advised policy-makersaround the world on innovation-led, inclusive and sustain-able growth. What she says I think is very poignant:

“Governments have a critical role to play in shaping markets,not just fixing market failures. Responding after a failure has oc-curred is, by definition, too late and often carries a high financialand human cost, as we have seen with COVID-19 and the 2008 fin-ancial crisis.

“As the province of B.C. advances its economic recovery agenda,it has the opportunity to shape a different kind of economy — onethat is sustainable, inclusive, resilient and oriented around solvingproblems that matter to the people of B.C. and the planet.”

That economic plan will be completed in the new year.I’m excited to see it for the future of our province.

Deputy Speaker: Thank you to members for working to

try to keep this non-partisan, even though, of course, weare all political. Thank you for trying to understand thatdifference. I appreciate it.

Hon. J. Whiteside: I ask that the House consider pro-ceeding with Motion 15, standing in the name of the mem-ber for Surrey–White Rock.

Deputy Speaker: Members, unanimous consent ofthe House is required to proceed to Motion 15 withoutdisturbing the priorities of the motions preceding it onthe order paper.

Leave granted.

Private Members’ Motions

MOTION 15 — RESPONSE TOOPIOID CRISIS AND MENTAL HEALTH

AND ADDICTION ISSUES

T. Halford: I move:[Be it resolved that this House agree that the current measures havenot adequately addressed the opioid epidemic and commit to mak-ing mental health and addictions a priority in British Columbia.]

As we stand here today for the first time since the springsession, I think it’s important to recognize the tragic opioidcrisis that continues to plague our province.

[N. Letnick in the chair.]

Since we last sat in this chamber, the death toll of peoplewho have died of an overdose — fathers, aunts, sons,brothers, sisters, mothers — has risen to over 1,200 thisyear. Tragically, this year is on trend to be the deadliestsince the crisis was first declared five years ago.

It’s incredibly disheartening that five years into this pub-lic health emergency we are still witnessing so manydeaths. More troubling is that we continue to see a brokensystem that is not addressing and helping end the cycle ofaddiction. We need urgency from this government on thisfile, and we need it now.

I’ve mentioned many times before in this House howincredibly disappointing it is that we have a ministrywhose budget is actually smaller than the Office of thePremier’s. Worse still, many British Columbians wereshocked to learn that funding for critical, life-savingnaloxone kits had been cut for front-line responders bythis government. The very people who are often first onthe scene of an overdose are seeing their supply of thesekits disappear and the funding for it end. The cost ofthese kits is much less than the cost of the lives that weare losing. It is simply unacceptable.

In attempting to justify these shocking cuts for fundingpolice departments, the Premier claimed that there was asupply issue in our province. This was an alarming thing


for all of us to hear, but hours later the B.C. Centre forDisease Control publicly contradicted these comments bythe Premier. They reassured British Columbians that therewere no supply issues for this life-saving tool in B.C.

Today we’re in a position where it remains unclear whenor how the funding will be restored to the police depart-ments for these kits.

Last week I wrote to the Premier asking for clarity onthis critical issue. I still have not gotten a response. In fact,that’s not the first time that we’ve had a lack of responsefrom this government on these critical issues.

Earlier this year our caucus asked for the governmentto activate the all-party Select Standing Committee onHealth, where all parties can work together and take apublic approach to tackle the mental health and addictionissues that are faced by countless British Columbians. Ithink all of us in this House can agree on that.

[11:05 a.m.]What we got back was an offer for a briefing from the

Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. Not to worktogether. An offer of a briefing.

This issue should not be about what side of the aisle theidea came from. It should be about taking immediate stepsto save lives. Too many people continue to lose their livesto this crisis. We need this Premier to respond directly tothis issue today.

British Columbia’s mental health and addiction serviceswere already stretched and underfunded before the pan-demic. This system is continuing to struggle under theextra demand resulting from COVID-19. People in needof immediate help are now not only facing the toxic drugsupply but are also facing month-long wait-lists, a lack ofwithdrawal management, bed availability and unaffordab-ility of privately run services.

It is unacceptable that a person living and having mentalhealth issues or addiction issues has to wait to receive life-saving treatment. We need to do better. We all need to dobetter.

It is clear more action is needed to be taken to mean-ingfully address this issue and urgently commit to a planfor a comprehensive mental health and addictions system.We cannot be reactionary. Too little is often too late. Weneed to do better. People facing addiction in our provincecan’t afford this Premier or this minister waiting beforethis crisis continues to worsen.

J. Sims: First of all, let me start off by saying how goodit feels to be back in the House. Seeing the kids doing thetour and then seeing their faces up in the gallery gave mea sense of normalcy that many of us have been yearningfor.

It is not a surprise to any one of us that we are in themiddle of a pandemic, a health pandemic caused by COV-ID. But really we have two health pandemics in BritishColumbia and, I would say, across the country. We have a

COVID pandemic, but we also have a health crisis aroundmental illness and the opioid crisis.

I really do believe that this is a non-partisan issue.Every one of us, whether we’re a rural or an urban MLA,whether we are in the heart of Vancouver or we’re wayout in Peace River — waving to my colleagues from there— knows that this pandemic, just like the COVID pan-demic, is right across this province. Whether it’s in ourIndigenous communities where we’re seeing the impactor whether it’s in downtown Vancouver, in Surrey, inKelowna, in Charlottetown…. Wherever you go, weknow that this is very, very real.

As with any pandemic, as we have had strategiestowards COVID…. We learn more about COVID as we goalong. Each time we learn, we have to adjust and adapt ourpolicies. With this health pandemic, I’m proud of the workthat we collectively did and the fact that we have a ministryand a minister that is dedicated to doing that work.

We know that the two pandemics do not work in isola-tion. We know that the progress we were making in tack-ling mental illness and the opioid crisis was working. Ourstrategies were working. Then along came COVID.

Whether I talk to young people or people my age orpeople in between…. What I’m hearing from more andmore people, whether they’re professional or whetherthey’re stay at home, is that the COVID pandemic has hada profound impact on our mental illness and then, sub-sequently, I would say, on the opioid crisis as well. I thinkit’s very superficial if we try to isolate the two and say weneed to deal with them separately. There is an interconnec-tion here that we cannot avoid.

Once again, as I said, we do have a minister dedicated.We’ve taken a lot of steps. My colleague across the way,from his briefings — whether recent or old or from theHouse — knows the work that has been done.

[11:10 a.m.]Is anybody on either side of the House saying that is

enough? No. We all know there is more to do.Mr. Speaker, you may know of my background, besides

being elected. I was a teacher before that. As a teacher, Ihad the privilege of being a counsellor in a high school andalso providing support and counselling for K to 12 at onestage in my life.

I can tell you that things have fundamentally changedwhen it comes to mental illness and the opioid crisis thatour teachers face today compared to when I was a coun-sellor. We don’t have that many counsellors left in ourschools, never mind the additional supports that used tobe there, because of what happened in the year 2000.

What I want to say today and, really, keep wanting tofocus on is that there are many things that have led into orfed into the increase of the deaths due to the opioid crisis.One, the increase of mental pressure. Two, the drug supplyhas been corrupted, because when you interfere with thesupply chain, of course, we begin to see what we are seeingright now.


Do we need to do more to address that? Absolutely. I’mreally proud of the work we’re doing collectively arounddecriminalization. I would say that collectively what wehave to focus on is that this is not a drug crisis. This is ahealth crisis. Together let’s move forward and provide sup-port that is much needed.

C. Oakes: Our communities, our families and ourprovince are currently being torn apart. We all need tocommit to making mental health, and supporting indi-viduals with addictions, a priority.

I’m deeply concerned that the types of resources, thepolicies and the direction that are currently being under-taken by this government to address mental health andaddictions are just simply not meeting the needs in theprovince in areas such as Cariboo North. Supports arebecoming narrower in scope and failing to take on the per-spective, the complexity, of the problem in communitiessuch as mine — the significant gap in resources in so manyof our communities and the significant impacts of trauma.

First, I feel there needs to be far more done on thepreventative side. This includes an investment and signi-ficant ongoing campaigns with youth in our education sys-tem. We need to be investing in training and resourcingmental health support in our advanced education andpost-secondary sectors that could include incentives toattract people to go into these important sectors. One ofthe ways could be looking at how to provide ways to for-give student loans if you come to an under-resourced areasuch as the north.

I’ve talked to so many parents who’ve tried to accesssupport for their children for mental health, and it justsimply doesn’t exist in our smaller rural communities. Thefact is that parents are waiting months and often have to goand travel long distances to get the adequate supports thatthey need. We need to change this. We need to be invest-ing in far more treatment options, recognizing that famil-ies deserve dignity and hope.

I want to specifically talk about the need for increasedresidential treatment options. Currently, for so many ofus who talk to constituents, the reality is that individualscan wait months to get access to these critically importantbeds, and so often there is a significant financial barrier.

I’ve talked to many families that have mortgaged theirhome and had to take on significant debt in order to sup-port their loved ones in treatment. This should not be thecase in British Columbia today. Critical in these effortsof recovery is the need for housing, which provides thegreatest level for long-term success.

[11:15 a.m.]I want to bring to this Legislature the views and con-

cerns of my community. When I talk to First Nations Eld-ers and our community members, it is critical that theresources we need also include other substance addictionssuch as alcohol and crystal meth.

In Cariboo North, our First Nations Elders and com-

munity members have been working hard for years to haveaccess to detox beds locally. I want to thank everyone inthe Cariboo who has worked so hard to make this a real-ity. I know this is an important project, and I will continueto raise it here in this House and ensure that they get theresources that are needed.

We also have this incredible housing project put for-ward by the Quesnel Tillicum Society. At the requestof government, the society invested significant fundsto develop a proposal, work with architects and getthrough the approval stages of our local government. Itis a worthy and important project in our community.I hope this government will recognize that the urgentneed for housing reaches beyond the Lower Mainlandand into our small rural communities as well. This isa project that I know the government can be proud ofand would have significant impact in our community inaddressing mental health and addictions.

I believe that we need to be providing far more trainingin medical school and other health care training programsin the support of treatment for both mental health andaddictions. Further, we need to recognize the importantrole that physicians, nurses and other health care special-ists provide in the support of people. You cannot go inwith a mental health challenge and expect, in a ten-minuteappointment with a physician, it be addressed.

We need to be looking at how we change the system. Weneed to ensure that our health care systems and our insti-tutions are better designed to include and address men-tal health and addictions as we continue for the full con-tinuum of care. At the end of the day, it is clear we must domore, we can do more and I challenge everyone to acceptthat challenge.

B. Anderson: Another community member died fromthe poisoned drug supply last week. He was 21.

My brother told me a few weeks earlier that a guy wewent to high school with had died from the poisoneddrug supply. I asked my brother if he had any kids. Hewasn’t sure.

Just as students were celebrating their graduation thissummer, a young 17-year-old woman with a bright smileand a kind soul died from the poisoned drug supply.

These are members from our community gone forever.It’s heartbreaking for many of us but life-shatteringly tragicfor their family and closest friends.

To all the family members and friends who have lost aloved one to the opioid crisis or the toxic drug supply: I amso sorry for your loss.

The mental health crisis is exacerbating the opioid crisisand the opioid crisis is exacerbating the mental healthcrisis. The crisis is hitting Indigenous communities atmuch higher rates, a legacy of the genocide they facedthrough colonialism.

I would like to quote the Nelson Fentanyl Task Force’sPeer Equity and Health Care Equity in the West Kootenays,


a report from September of this year. This was a collabor-ative project by Amber Streukens and Amanda Erickson.“While stigma is a barrier for people who use substanceseverywhere, the lack of anonymity characteristic of ruralcommunities may compound the issue and further impedea person’s access to treatment. In the current fentanylenvironment, this results in a situation where a personwho uses drugs in a rural setting is at higher risk of over-dose than their urban counterpart.”

To all the responsive, creative and compassionate com-munity members and professionals leading the charge incommunity response to the overdose crisis and its inter-section with COVID-19: thank you.

[11:20 a.m.]I spoke with a medical professional in our community

who had lost a very close friend. This woman was notfrom our local area but lived elsewhere in British Colum-bia. This woman’s friend was a medical professional whowas loved by her family and was successfully hiding heraddiction to opiates. She became addicted to opiates whilerecovering from an injury she sustained. She was founddead at the hospital after her shift. She was on her way tobabysit her niece.

This could happen to any one of us sitting in this room,to any person in British Columbia. If you’re given opiatesafter a medical trauma, you could become addicted. Youmight have other pathways that lead to your addiction. Ifyou become addicted, you might try to hide it.

Please get help. We don’t want to lose you too. You areloved.

Our government is working hard to ensure that mentalhealth and addictions, harm reduction and recovery sup-port is available to all those who need it. Nice people takedrugs, and drugs take nice people.

D. Davies: I’m proud to be able to stand here today andspeak on the motion to make mental health and addictionsa priority.

I’m glad to see that this issue is one of the first issuesto be discussed in this new session because we must allremember that COVID is not the only public health emer-gency in B.C. The overdose crisis is truly one of thegreatest challenges that our province currently faces, andthe time for action has never been more needed.

Addiction continues to take a horrific toll on the livesof people in cities and towns throughout the province, andit’s made worse by the toxic drugs currently circulatingthroughout our communities. The latest illicit drug over-dose report by the Coroners Service reveals that this crisisshows no signs of improving, as July 2021 was B.C.’ssecond-deadliest month of illicit toxicity deaths everrecorded.

People of the Peace region have continually experiencedthe fails of this government. We know the tragic toll all toowell, as Fort St. John and the northeast continues to havethe highest per-capita overdose rate in the province. It is

absolutely heartbreaking that month after month, we seethis trend continuing, with little being done by this gov-ernment. British Columbians are desperate for action fromthis government.

There are crucial steps that this province could take.We’ve continued to leave these options on the table. Formonths, the official opposition has called for the NDPgovernment to activate the Select Standing Committee onHealth so that we can take an all-party public approachto tackle the mental health and addictions issues faced bycountless British Columbians. This committee is alreadythere, but this government has not called it together. Why?Sadly, this continues to be ignored. Why? I encourageeveryone to ask the government why and to demand more.

Government could restore the funding that was cutfrom police services for life-saving naloxone kits, whichare essential for front-line emergency workers respondingto the overdose crisis. Just as naloxone kits save lives, hav-ing a health care system — with the capacity to help thosesuffering — also saves lives.

For months, we have called on this government to domore to address the crisis in the North and in the healthauthorities across British Columbia that is now reachinga critical point. The ICU in Fort St. John has been closedsince June of 2020 because of continuing staff shortages,and patients are being transferred to Prince George. Infact, Northern Health says that there are just five perman-ent nursing positions, in an emergency department thatneeds 20.

The Fort St. John Hospital is not the only hospital that isin a dire situation. Elkford hospital in Cranbrook recentlyannounced its ER will be closed until further notice. RoyalInland Hospital in Kamloops is so understaffed that theworkload of more than a dozen nurses is sometimes beinghandled by three. My colleague from Peace River Southhas continually had his hospitals on diversion. These arejust a few examples of the situations that have only gottenworse in this pandemic.

COVID has not only worsened the overdose crisis inour communities; it has put an immeasurable amount ofstrain on all of our health care workers across the province.Hospitals — the entire health care system, in some areas, Iwould say — are on the verge of collapse. Nurses, doctorsand health care workers are being pushed to the point ofexhaustion, while vital hospital beds are being occupiedby a growing number of COVID patients. When people incrisis can’t find a hospital bed or an ICU unit ready to takethem, it is a matter of life and death.

[11:25 a.m.]We can no longer accept just words of empty promises.

We need action today. British Columbians demand it; Brit-ish Columbians expect it. We must commit to a plan fora comprehensive mental health and addictions system andthe complete review and overhaul of our health care sys-tem — one that will include a complete audit of NorthernHealth, to identify and address the staffing shortages that


are plaguing our hospitals and entire health care centres.Only then can we bring the services and the supports thatour communities need and must have to address this over-dose crisis.

R. Leonard: I rise today to address the motion, fromthe member for Surrey–White Rock, on overcoming theopioid epidemic.

I’d like to begin by acknowledging the personal heart-break of each of those left behind after a toxic drug supplyhas taken a son or daughter, a brother or sister, a spouse orparent, a friend or neighbour. Every community is hometo lives cut short, and Courtenay-Comox is not shieldedfrom these tragedies.

In the midst of this public health emergency, it’s import-ant to acknowledge, in appreciation, all the front-lineworkers who carry on in the helping professions to providesubstance use supports and services and all those whorespond to these traumatizing life-and-death emergencies.

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has magnified theimpact of the toxic drug supply, as the supply chain hasbeen interrupted, introducing more toxic street drugs tofirst-time users as well as those who have been hookedlong-term. There are also the impacts of isolation. We’reliving in a time no one has ever experienced before, andCOVID-19 is causing more stress, pain and loneliness,leading some to seek a potentially poisonous road to relief.One of the most risky things people can do is use alone,but COVID-19 has kept people apart. Most of the toxicopioid deaths occur alone at home.

The growing opioid crisis was declared a public healthemergency by B.C.’s provincial health officer in thespring of 2016, before we formed government. Meetingpeople’s needs has been and continues to be our priority,leading our Premier to appoint a Minister of MentalHealth and Addictions to his first cabinet in 2017. It’sthe first in any jurisdiction in Canada — one leader whowould focus on tackling the opioid crisis and building asystem of mental health and substance use supports thatworks for everyone.

We were going in the right direction before COV-ID-19 hit us. The number of deaths were going down.So in response, in another historic first, Budget 2021provides a half-billion-dollar investment for this min-istry over the next three years. The minister is mandatedto work toward decriminalization of small amounts ofpersonal-use illicit drugs.

In the absence of the federal government acting todevelop a made-in-B.C. solution that will help save lives,the minister is mandated to accelerate B.C.’s responseto the opioid crisis across the full continuum of care— prevention, harm reduction, safe prescription med-ications, treatment and recovery — and to explore newways to help prescribers separate more people from thetoxic drug supply through safe prescription alternatives.These measures are also reflective of the calls to action

that are sounding from health care providers; peoplewith lived and living experience; police chiefs; and com-munities alike.

A Pathway to Hope is our ten-year road map for makingmental health and substance use care better for people.We’ve completed two years of the first three-year plan. Lastmonth a progress report was issued, indicating that prior-ity services and supports are rolling out. More than halfof the three-year priority actions identified in the Pathwayto Hope are now implemented, with the remaining actionswell underway.

[11:30 a.m.]I appreciate the opportunity to share the extent of our

government’s commitment to meet people’s needs when itcomes to mental health and substance use. The compre-hensive work our government has undertaken is far fromover. Mental health services and rapid response teamswere part of the $225 million pandemic response meas-ures. More than a quarter of the $500 million currentthree-year budget is dedicated to substance use, for bettercare and saving lives; more than 40 percent for overdoseresponse; a further 18 percent for children and youth andyoung adults.

The drug poisoning crisis did not appear overnight.There is no magic bullet to end the crisis, and govern-ment cannot do it alone. As we have learned from theearliest days of COVID-19, our best way forward is toact together. We’re motivated by what we’ve heard frompeople with lived and living experience. In addressingthe opioid crisis, we have prioritized the three sides thatcreate the strong triangle of a strong response for every-one throughout British Columbia — safe supply, strongsupports and ending stigma.

T. Shypitka: I rise today in support of my colleague’smotion: “Be it resolved that this House agree that the cur-rent measures have not adequately addressed the opioidepidemic and commit to making mental health and addic-tions a priority in British Columbia.”

I want to begin my remarks today by expressing mycondolences to every family member, every friend, everycolleague and every neighbour who grieves the loss ofsomeone they loved to addiction.

Day by day that number, sadly, continues to rise. Eachmonth the B.C. Coroners Service releases its illicit drugoverdose report, and we all brace ourselves for more tragicnews. The latest report, released last week, showed thatJuly was the second-deadliest month ever recorded in Brit-ish Columbia. Our province lost 184 more people; thatis six people per day. It’s staggering, and it’s clear thatwhatever we’re doing, it’s not working.

With these statistics as a backdrop, one has to wonderwhy on earth the Premier has recently cut funding for life-saving naloxone kits. These are essential tools for front-line emergency responders during this crisis.

The official opposition has written to the Premier asking


for the funding for these kits to be restored to policedepartments that are sounding the alarm. We have alsoasked him to activate the Select Standing Committee onHealth to enable all parties to collaborate on actions toprevent further tragedy and loss in our province, but sofar, these requests have been met with silence, which isastounding, given the importance and the urgency of thisissue.

People’s lives are at stake. They need access to life-savingnaloxone. Just as important, they also need timely accessto treatment options and mental health support, butthey’re not getting it. This is an issue across B.C., not just inthe major centres but also in rural communities like mine.When a person suffering from addiction is ready and will-ing to seek out help, we can’t go and tell them that it’s notavailable and that they’ll have to sit on a wait-list for weeksor, perhaps, months. When they make that call, they needto be supported immediately.

We need a comprehensive and seamless mental healthand addictions system, one that isn’t just reactionary oroffering services that are too little, too late. We must putthem on a path to healing before it’s too late. But that’snot what we’re seeing. Instead, the government continuesto tout the significance of a dedicated Ministry of MentalHealth and Addictions.

I remember the announcement in July 2017 when thePremier glowed on how this dedicated ministry wouldgreatly change the trajectory of mental health and addic-tions. At the time, provincial health officer Dr. PerryKendall questioned whether a new ministry dedicated tomental health and addictions would help, saying that itcould just add another layer of bureaucracy to the issuethat is already drowning in red tape. Is that what we’re see-ing here, some 4½ years later?

Some in the media have pointed out that the Ministryof Mental Health and Addictions has the smallest budgetin government and spends most of it on staff — anotherlayer of bureaucracy indeed. It doesn’t fund any programs,and it can’t control mental health or addictions servicesin other ministries. Although the Foundry program, foun-ded during the time the B.C. Liberals were in power, is agodsend to many — and one such facility is coming to mycommunity in Kootenay East — this ministry has no handin the decision-making around where the Foundry centresfor youth services are located.

[11:35 a.m.]It appears to be totally hands off on all fronts. To sum

up, it’s useless. What a damning indictment. What havethis Premier and his government done to prove the mediareports wrong or to change the trajectory of this ever-worsening situation? Absolutely nothing. They continue toplod along and insist that they’re working hard on this fileand that it’s a top priority.

Four and a half years ago the Premier stated his firstorder of business was to go to Ottawa to meet the PrimeMinister and talk about wildfires, talk about softwood

lumber and talk about the fentanyl crisis. Well, none of usneed to be reminded that since then, B.C. has had two ofthe worst forest fire seasons ever in this province, softwoodlumber is killing our cost of production and making ourmills uncompetitive, and our opioid crisis has spiralled outof control.

Our overdose numbers continue to climb. Families con-tinue to lose loved ones, and the government decides tocut funding for naloxone kits for police departments.

This Premier has made many priorities and promises:114,000 affordable homes, renters rebates, $10-a-day day-care, forest mitigation, saving our softwood lumber andresolving our opioid epidemic. I’m finally realizing thewords that make up the initialism NDP. They’re simply“never delivering promises.”

My challenge to the next member opposite to speak isto tell us what this government is going to do differently tofinally get people the help they need.

M. Dykeman: Thank you to the member for Surrey–White Rock for their motion. It’s an honour to rise in theHouse today to speak on such an important topic.

Too many people in our province are grieving the lossof someone that they love. Highly toxic street drugs areeverywhere, and unfortunately, far too many people areat risk of a fatal overdose. The drug poisoning crisis doesrequire urgent action. People’s lives depend on it. Afterdecades of neglect, we’re working as quickly as possible topatch holes in the system and build something better.

We’re taking real, measurable steps. For the memberopposite that just spoke, I’m going to take a few minutes tooutline the steps that our government has taken. As I men-tioned, after decades of neglect, we’re building up treat-ment and recovery services in B.C. to make sure that helpis available when somebody is ready to take that step.

This has been a tragic year. With the pandemic and allthe other factors that have come into play, this has madethis year one of the most challenging ones. But there’s reas-on for hope, because as we’re innovating and building themental health and addictions care that British Columbiansneed, more people are able to benefit.

We’re working across the entire addictions care sys-tem to stem the tide of B.C.’s drug poisoning crisis,including Indigenous-led solutions. We’re working toexpand access to prescribed safer supply in order tosave lives. As a chief of police asked for, we’re workingto decriminalize controlled substances for personal use,combating stigma and reducing barriers that stand inthe way of people getting help.

We’re also tackling the overdose crisis from every angle,because it requires a multifaceted approach, building B.C.a system of care to meet everyone’s needs no matter wherethey are in their journey with substance use. This includesnew beds for treatment and recovery; doubling the num-ber of youth treatment beds; 100-plus new adult treatmentand recovery beds being added through the province, and


more to come through this year; and expanding overdoseprevention and supervised consumption sites.

The number of supervised consumption sites has nowdoubled since 2017. We’re currently opening 17 more, 12with inhalation services, in every health authority in B.C.There are currently 38 overdose prevention supervisedconsumption sites operating in B.C. under health author-ity direction. Of these, 12 offer observed inhalation. Theselocations have played a critical role in connecting peopleto services. They have had more than two million visitsand more than 11,000 overdoses responded to and sur-vived, with zero deaths.

There’s been an expanded scope of nursing practice,with over 90 registered nurses who have enrolled or com-pleted their first round of training. They are able to pre-scribe medication for opioid use disorder. This is followingprovincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry’s order to allowregistered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses to pre-scribe controlled drugs.

There’s been expanded opioid treatment, and the num-ber of people on opioid agonist treatment has grown tomore than 24,300 as of March 2021. There’s been the intro-duction of the Lifeguard App.

[11:40 a.m.]There was a 475 percent increase, 677 to 3,898, in the

number of people receiving hydromorphone. This increaseis due to B.C.’s enactment of the interim clinical guidancefor health care providers to help people at risk of contract-ing COVID-19 and overdose death access a prescribedsafe supply to stay safe.

Far too many people continue to lose their lives topoisoned drugs, and we’re working to make these large,systemic changes to B.C.’s system of care. We have beendeveloping the first-in-Canada solutions, as I mentionedbefore — the nurse prescribing and safer supply.

I’d like to take a moment, too, to talk about some of thelocal initiatives. My community of Langley, Langley town-ship, received a $2.5 million grant, funding to implementsolutions. Part of that has led to a community action roundtable which my office was able to assist in starting, bring-ing people to the table who are on the ground. It’s import-ant to understand that if you don’t have people in a com-munity, in a location working on the ground to bring thesesolutions forward, they’ll never get properly instituted intoa community.

These are measurable things from funding that haveallowed a specific community to come together to benefitthose vulnerable people. We also have a community over-dose action table which is led by Daniel Snyder in my com-munity. He works hard to bring all the partners together toget made-in-Langley solutions to address the challenges ofthis opioid crisis.

As I see my time is running out, I’d like to thank all ofthose in my community who have come to the table tohelp address this crisis and to say that I’m proud of the

initiatives that our government has undertaken to tacklesomething that has suffered years of neglect.

J. Tegart: I rise today to speak on the motion, andit’s a motion that we need to listen to: “Be it resolvedthat this House agree that the current measures have notadequately addressed the opioid epidemic and committo making mental health and addictions a priority inBritish Columbia.”

As hospitals across the province continue to experiencestaffing shortages and a lack of available beds, with theoverwhelming number of COVID patients, the mentalhealth strain it is having on our front-line workers isunimaginable. COVID has shed light on many gaps in ourhealth care system. My heart goes out to all health care andemergency workers currently working on the front lines inour fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ongoing pandemic, along with B.C.’s second publichealth emergency, the opioid crisis, is not only impactingthe mental health of our health care workers, but it’s im-pacting the mental health of all British Columbians. Manypeople living with addiction struggle with their mentalhealth as well, which is why the ministry today is taskedwith supporting both.

I firmly believe that we cannot tackle the ongoing over-dose crisis without also tackling our inadequate mentalhealth supports. As a former school board trustee and asa parent myself, I also believe that this needs to start withour children — in our homes and in our schools. I wouldlike to use my remaining time today to talk about the men-tal health challenges in our education system that desper-ately need to be addressed.

Our school years are some of the most formative yearsof our lives for our minds and our mental well-being.The mental health challenges our children develop inthese crucial years can persist long into adulthood. If wetruly want to change how we approach mental health,it starts with teaching our children that it’s okay to talkabout their struggles.

We also need to ensure that they have the resourcesthey need to identify and address their personal mentalhealth challenges. While regular school responsibilities arestrenuous enough for a student, our children are continu-ing their learning and growth amidst the constant threat ofthe COVID pandemic.

[11:45 a.m.]These last two years of school have undoubtedly been

the most challenging that students, staff and families haveever faced. Government has a responsibility to give BritishColumbians the tools and resources they need to ensureour children feel safe and supported at all times. Whenfighting an invisible enemy, knowledge is the greatest toolwe can give students and parents for them to have confid-ence in their decisions.

When the province eliminated COVID notifications,this created an incredible amount of anxiety and safety


concerns for students and parents. Even now, by creatinglengthy pathways for parents to gather the informationthey are looking for, we are putting unnecessary strain onpeople’s mental health. British Columbians want an in-depth update on the progress of ventilation upgrades inschools, more remote learning options for students andfamilies, enhanced contact tracing in classrooms to identi-fy clusters and outbreaks and for government to enactgreater use of rapid testing as an additional layer of identi-fication and protection against COVID in classrooms.

We rewrite the narrative and show our children thatthey have places and people they can talk to when they arefeeling anxious, insecure or unsafe, a place where they arefree to share the challenges they are experiencing both inschool and at home.

Now is the time to review and improve the mentalhealth resources available in schools and ramp up the dis-cussion of how better to address mental health in ourclassrooms. No teacher, staff or child should ever entertheir classrooms feeling unsafe. The time for action istoday.

S. Chant: I appreciate the opportunity to speak in theHouse on this topic today.

I find it interesting that already in the House I’ve heardthat $500 million over three years is nothing. Five hundredmillion dollars over three years is what our current gov-ernment has invested in mental health care and in workingwith the opioid crisis. It makes my heart sore and painfulto hear that that is regarded as nothing.

The opioid epidemic is something that has universalimpact in so many ways; something that has victims whoselives are cut short without any notice; mothers, fathers, sis-ters, brothers and extended family members, friends andcolleagues who suffer a loss that will never be fully healed.In North Vancouver–Seymour, 49 people have lost theirlives, ranging in age from 16 to 50.

I’ve spoken to the grandfather of Ty. This grandfatherwas on the plaza outside my office drawing a corpse sil-houette for Ty, putting inside: “Ty was 21 when he wastaken from us.” The family tried to help Ty, and Ty triedto help himself. He went through at least two rehab ses-sions — one public pay, one private pay — and he andhis family were so proud. He stayed clean for six months.However, something changed, and Ty was found dead. Wedon’t know what changed.

Grandparents and parents are not supposed to outlivetheir grandchildren and their children. They have spent alltheir lives building hopes, dreams and memories, whichare shared across generations. These are now replaced bygrief, guilt, sadness and anger at the loss of their preciousfamily member. Now their life is on a new path, one that isunexpected and uncharted.

[11:50 a.m.]Help for Ty is no longer an option. However, help for

others is out there in a whole myriad of ways. The public

health system has strengthened better access, moreresources, improved and enhanced education for clini-cians and care providers.

Nurses never used to be able to prescribe, certainly notsomething as critical as an opiate agonist and an opiatemedication. Now they can do that. There are 90 nurses outthere doing it, and there will be a lot more. That allowsgreater access.

There are in-patient and out-patient opportunities inmany of our communities. There are really amazing peopleand programs that offer support and help to those whouse, their families and others who want to learn what theycan do to make a difference.

Mental health topics are part of curriculum in primary,secondary and tertiary education settings. Specializedcourses are being offered in professional developmentareas across a vast spectrum of work environments, notjust in health.

Overdose death rates are a terrible report on the lossof people, people who leave a hole in so many hearts andminds, people who haunt us all, pushing us to move for-ward and do better. I ask all of us: are we doing better? Yes,we are. Can we do better? Yes, we can. Will we do better?Yes, we will.

Each of us has something to offer to combat the opioidcrisis in all walks of life. We have mobilized, and there ismomentum building. There is, however, so much more todo, and there will always be more to do. We are all here todo it. I thank you for this opportunity.

K. Kirkpatrick: Thank you for the opportunity to rise inthe House today and speak to the critical need to do moreand do better to address the opioid crisis.

The issue of opioid addiction today continues to spiralout of control. How much money this government hasspent is irrelevant if it hasn’t made the proper changes.

Addiction doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t care about ageor socioeconomic circumstance, and it doesn’t care aboutpolitics and party lines. Government needs to commit tosolutions that are above and beyond politics. Each daymothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, young people and oldare dying in this province, and it cannot continue to hap-pen. Each party in this House agrees, I’m sure, that work-ing together is the best way forward, yet that hasn’thappened.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

People who use drugs are suffering from not only addic-tion but discrimination and structural stigma. They’reoften mistakenly projected with negative images, but inreality, many may lead normal lives by most measures.They come from all walks of life. The opioid crisis is havinga devastating impact not just on families and individualsbut communities across British Columbia.

One of the reasons I believe that not enough is being


done to address the opioid crisis is the stigma surroundingpeople who are challenged with addiction. Addiction isnot a choice. Overcoming addiction takes more thansimple determination. Addiction is a complex disease ofthe brain and body.

Stereotypes get in the way, particularly among margin-alized populations, of seeking help and treatment. Stereo-types dehumanize people. Assumptions and judgments aremade, so a person may avoid getting help because of this.Because they’re afraid of that judgment, they may chooseto use drugs alone, further escalating the crisis.

People who experience a mental illness are far morelikely than others to also experience a substance abuseproblem. Similarly, people who experience alcohol anddrug use are much more likely to be diagnosed with amental illness.

This has escalated to such a crisis that we are con-stantly in reaction mode, and we’ve lost the focus on theability to put in preventative supports, such as affordableand accessible access to counselling and mental healthsupports.

[11:55 a.m.]Taking mental health seriously and providing afford-

able and accessible counselling to British Columbians —accessible means real-time; it doesn’t mean a six-monthwaiting list — will help break the cycle of addictionand escalating mental health issues. Now, it’s not always,but it’s sometimes, and isn’t sometimes better than whatwe’ve got today?

There’s a great economic divide between treatment andsupport. There are counsellors and recovery programs thathave a cost associated with them, as they should. But ifyou are unable to pay, if you have not extended medical,you don’t have a choice of getting that support. What aboutthe rest of us? What about the victims of trauma, thosewho are unable to work or are precariously housed and

our youth aging out of care? What access do they have topreventative mental health and addictions support?

When someone chooses to seek help, whether it’s fordepression or addiction, they need to have access to low-cost counselling professionals right away. Someone cannotpause their crisis to go on a wait-list. Another person’smoment of clarity for seeking addiction supports may befleeting, and the chance to help will have passed if there’s awaiting list. The counsellors that I know who provide sub-sidized counselling say that a three-month wait-list is thesame as no service at all.

In my previous work, I saw many gaps in supportsprovided to those detoxing. Most detox programs, forexample, have a short time limit as to how long a personcan remain. It can be as short as seven days, where theycycle back out, they don’t have supportive housing andcontinued supports, and they go right back into detox.

This is a crisis that is not slowing down anytime soon,and it will take everyone to address it. It takes compassionand understanding. Let’s help people feel empowered, notfilled with shame. There’s no overnight solution, but thereare solutions. This needs commitment and more invest-ment in preventative supports.

K. Kirkpatrick moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. J. Whiteside moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

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

The House adjourned at 11:57 a.m.


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