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From YouTube: JUNE 23 2020 Question Period
Description
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
5th Session
41st Parliament
C
No
one
and
I'll
say
that
again,
no
one
least
of
all
the
hard-working
women
and
men
that
operate
small
businesses
in
british
columbia
is
attempting
to
avoid
legal
responsibility
to
employees.
Quite
the
opposite.
The
operators
of
those
small
businesses
want
to
stick
around
so
that
they
can
continue
to
employ
those
people
and
to
suggest
or
impugn.
Their
motives
was,
I
think,
terribly
unfair.
The
premier,
the
organizations
representing
small
business,
wrote
to
the
premier
on
june
the
5th
they
laid
out
the
challenge
and
they
proposed
a
solution.
C
They
also
acknowledged
that
the
government
had
granted
a
three-week
extension
previously,
but
they
said
with
the
continuation
of
the
state
of
emergency.
A
further
extension
is
going
to
be
required
if
they
don't
get
it
they're
going
to
have
what
they
called
regulated
insolvency.
That's
a
polite
term
for
government-imposed
bankruptcy.
C
The
mechanism
for
providing
relief
relief
exists.
Other
governments
have
used
it.
The
federal
government
apparently
used
a
similar
mechanism.
Today
the
labor
minister
has
said
no.
Yesterday
the
premier
seemed
to
say:
well.
Maybe
this
is
not
a
great
time
to
be
imposing
additional
uncertainty
on
small
businesses
that
are
struggling
to
survive.
Will
the
premier
end
that
uncertainty
today
and
direct
his
labor
minister
to
grant
the
extension
that's
been
requested
and
while
he's
doing
so,
will
he
apologize
to
the
hard-working
men,
women,
families
that
feel
very
badly
for
having
heard
the
premier
impugn
their
motives
yesterday.
D
You,
honorable
speaker,
and
I
appreciate
the
question
from
the
member
opposite
and
I
certainly
do
understand
the
challenges
british
columbians
are
facing,
perhaps
more
than
most
others
in
this
place.
I
feel
it
every
day.
Every
day
when
challenges
come
my
way
when,
over
the
past
100
days,
we
had
been
working
cooperatively
every
day.
Another
challenge,
so
forgive
me
if
I
don't
take
the
sincerity
of
the
minister
as
genuine
at
this
point
in
time.
What
I
will
say
is
that
we
felt
there
was
a
mechanism
within
the
act
that
was
appropriate.
D
We,
the
minister
and
I,
and
we
sent
that
message
to
the
community.
The
community
responded.
You
helped
me
read
the
letter,
I'd
already
read
by
reading
bits
of
it
that
were
salacious
and
in
your
interest
as
opposition
members.
I
thanked
you,
for
I
thanked
you
for
that
and
said
I
would
deal
with
it
this
week.
D
I
don't
know
what
more
honorable
member
you
want
me
to
do
other
than
to
agree
that
more
discussion
is
required,
but
I
want
to
take
us
back
to
the
beginning
here,
because
this
is
uncharted
territory
for
all
of
us:
government,
opposition
businesses,
workers,
people
and
yesterday,
if
we
want
to
talk
about
people
who
made
statements
that
were
unreasonable,
the
the
leader
of
the
opposition
said
this
wasn't
about
public
health
measures.
D
Well,
for
goodness,
sakes,
of
course,
it
is
if
we're
going
to
build
confidence
in
the
community,
not
just
for
going
out
for
a
walk
or
expanding
our
bubble,
but
engaging
in
economic
activity
again,
they
need
to
be
confident
that
the
public
health
measures
are
genuine
and
we're
all
adhering
to
them.
That's
the
approach
that
we've
been
taking.
That's
the
approach
we'll
continue
to
take
and
when
we
come
up
to
an
obstacle
where
people
disagree,
we
will
sit
down
and
try
and
work
it
out.
D
That's
what
we're
going
to
do
this
week
and
I
thank
the
minister
for
bringing
it
up,
but
I
really
think
that
there's
other
issues
that
we
could
talk
about.
We
talked
about
it
yesterday.
I
agreed
with
you
that
we
will
talk
to
the
business
community
about
this.
I
don't
know
what
more
we
can
do
beyond
that.
C
Thanks
honorable
speaker,
at
a
time
when
unemployment
in
the
province
is
rapidly
escalating,
I
can
hardly
think
of
a
more
critical
issue.
I
can
hardly
think
of
another
issue
that
wouldn't
be
a
priority
or
the
priority
for
the
the
government.
C
The
government
has
been
aware
of
this
for
several
months
to
describe
what
was
in
the
letter
as
salacious
is
puzzling,
I'll
use
that
word
where
an
agency
has
written
to
the
premier
outlined
an
issue.
A
challenge
proposed
a
solution,
received
a
reply
from
the
minister
that
shuts
the
door
completely
on
what
seems
to
be
for
other
jurisdictions
a
reasonable
response.
C
Four
of
the
signatories
to
that
letter
for
by
my
count,
are
members
of
the
premier's
own
economic
recovery
task
force
so
to
today
stand
and
describe
the
letter
and
its
contents
as
salacious
is
an
interesting
character.
Characterization
the
assistance
they
are
seeking
from
the
government
doesn't
cost
the
provincial
government
a
dime.
C
It
is
a
mechanism
that
has
been
used
elsewhere.
The
minister's
lame
reply
is
one.
The
premier
has
now
repeated
on
two
occasions
will
apply
for
a
variance
well
that
could
take
months.
This
is
not
a
time
to
impose
additional
uncertainty
on
small
businesses.
These
are
family-owned
businesses
that
are
struggling
to
survive.
C
Mr
speaker,
will
the
premier
I'll
ask
him
again-
and
I
suspect
he'll
say
again
well
I'll
get
to
it
when
I
talk
to
some
of
these
people
later
in
the
week,
despite
the
fact
that
the
issue
has
been
before
us
for
several
months
now,
take
the
entirely
reasonable
step
and
grant
the
extension
that
other
governments
have
granted
that
the
federal
government
is
granted
and
throw
a
lifeline
to
small
businesses
who
don't
want
to
permanently
terminate
employees.
They
want
to
survive
so
that
they
can
continue
to
employ
those
employees.
D
Speaker
well
I'll
remind
the
the
member
how
we
responded
to
the
challenges
of
covet
19..
We
took
advice
and
counsel
from
public
health
officials.
We
worked
with
the
business
community,
we
worked
with
organized
labor,
we
worked
with
not-for-profits.
We
worked
with
indigenous
communities
to
find
a
way
we
could
all
work
together
to
address
issues
as
they
emerged.
We
extended
the
period
previous
to
today
extended
the
period
for
businesses
to
apply
and
giving
an
opportunity
to
have
a
discussion.
D
We
said
you
could
seek
a
variance,
we're
going
to
be
moving
to
phase
three
of
a
four-phase
restart
we're
seeing
more
and
more
economic
activity
every
day.
That's
all
good
news
fundamental
to
that
is
public
confidence
in
our
system
of
regulation
pub.
In
fact,
the
very
businesses
that
the
member
speaks
to
have
been
saying
repeatedly.
They
want
to
ensure
that
public
health
officials
work
safe
officials
are
certifying
their
businesses
as
safe
for
consumers.
D
That's
the
essence
of
a
public
health
response
to
a
public
health
crisis,
and
how
do
we
grow
the
economy
back
to
where
we
want
it
to
be
by
working
together?
When
issues
come
up,
we
discuss
them.
We
put
forward
solutions,
we
thought
we
had
a
viable
solution.
You
disagree.
Members
of
the
business
community
disagree
the
appropriate
response
to
that
honourable
member
is
to
have
a
discussion
and
that's
exactly
what
I
propose
to
do
come
thursday
when
we
have
a
scheduled
meeting
to
discuss
these
issues.
C
Thanks,
mr
speaker,
well
that
does
not
appear
to
be
the
approach
taken
by
the
government
by
the
labor
minister,
who
simply
said
no,
he
simply
said
no
small
businesses,
those
family-owned
businesses,
are
in
any
way
shape
or
form
quarreling,
with
the
adoption
of
the
public
health
protective
measures
that
have
been
advocated
by
dr
henry
by
the
the
government.
C
C
It
is
an
amazingly
straightforward
request
and
a
logical
one
in
these
uncertain
times,
and
I'm
disappointed
quite
frankly,
mr
speaker,
that
the
premier's
response
seems
to
be
let
the
uncertainty
continue,
we'll
talk
and
we'll
see
what
we
can
come
up
with
right
now.
All
those
businesses
know
is
what
the
labor
minister
has
said
on
behalf
of
the
government,
which
is
no
make
a
variance
application
and
we'll
get
back
to
you
when
we
get
back
to
you.
B
D
Speaker
what
those
businesses
know,
or
at
least
the
umbrella
organizations
know,
is,
as
we
reached
out
to
them
yesterday
and
said,
we'll
put
this
on
the
agenda
for
thursday
and
we'll
talk
it
through
and
come
up
with
a
solution
that
meets
the
needs
of
everyone.
That's
what
they
know
now.
What
they
also
know
now,
honourable
speaker,
is
the
official
opposition
rather
than
identifying
a
problem
bringing
it
forward
getting
an
appropriate
response
to.
D
I
appreciate
that
the
member
is
no
longer
in
government,
but
he
seems
to
have
forgotten
the
complexities
of
the
challenges
that
we
face,
not
just
in
normal
times,
but
in
a
time
of
a
global
pandemic.
We
have
been
working
tirelessly.
All
of
us
in
this
place
to
make
sure
we're
meeting
the
needs
of
the
people
in
our
communities.
D
The
economy
is
all
about
people.
Without
people
we
have
no
economy
without
businesses,
people
don't
have
a
place
to
go
to
work
without
workers,
businesses
don't
have
a
business
to
operate.
Working
together
is
what
we've
been
doing.
Working
together
is
what
we'll
continue
to
do
to
get
resolution
to
this
issue.
E
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
The
premier
just
said
that
they
reached
out
to
the
business
community.
Yesterday
his
minister
has
known
about
this
issue
for
weeks
and
they
just
reached
out
yesterday.
The
premier
then
says
referring
to
the
letters
calling
them
salacious.
As
my
colleague
has
said,
of
the
15
that
signed
the
letter.
Four
of
them
are
on
the
premier's
economic
recovery
task
force,
including
the
business
council
of
bc,
vancouver
board
of
trade,
the
surrey
border
trade
and
the
bc
chamber
of
commerce.
E
The
labor
minister
was
clear
last
thursday,
mr
speaker,
when
he
said
he
has
no
intention
of
extending
the
temporary
layoff
time
limits
yesterday,
while
the
minister
sat
in
silence
as
he
is
doing
today,
the
premier
gave
a
very
different
answer,
which
sounded
like
a
maybe
saying,
maybe
provides
no
certainty
to
small
businesses
or
workers.
The
request
is
simple.
Mr
speaker
extend
layoff
time
limits
to
the
end
of
august
plus
an
additional
six
weeks
once
emergency
orders
are
lifted
and,
as
our
leader
has
said,
many
other
governments
across
the
country
have
done
so.
E
D
Rama
speaker
and
I
speak
for
the
government,
and
it
is
a
cross-government
approach
that
we
brought
to
this
issue
and
a
host
of
other
issues
that
have
emerged
over
the
past
hundred
days.
In
fact,
over
the
past
three
years,
it's
always
been
my
approach
to
make
sure
that
we're
cooperating
on
this
side
of
the
house
we
reach
out
to
those
who
want
to
work
with
us
on
the
other
side
of
the
house
and,
most
importantly,
we
connect
with
people
in
communities
and
in
sectors
to
make
sure
we're
on
the
right
track.
D
That's
what
no
it
is
this
time
remember
it
is
this
time
we
raised,
they
raised
the
issue.
We
responded
to
it
initially
by
extending
the
period
they
raised
the
issue
again,
we
said:
there's
an
opportunity
for
variance.
They
don't
like
that,
so
we're
going
to
have
more
discussion
later
in
the
week
I
reached
out
to
them
yesterday
as
I've
reached
up
from
the
day
before
that
and
the
day
before
that
and
the
day
before
that.
D
E
Mr
speaker,
the
fact
that
15
different
organizations
have
together
and
send
a
letter
to
this
government
clearly
tells
you
the
process
isn't
working.
They
weren't
being
listened
to
by
that
minister.
He
has
said,
and
you
are
saying
that
the
process
within
government
at
the
moment
can
deal
with
some
of
these
issues.
The
minister's
suggestion
was
that
variance
applications
are
the
solution
that
that
comment
is
absurd
and
the
bc
in
the
the
business
community
has
said
it's
insulting.
E
There
is
currently
a
3
000
application
backlog,
and
the
current
situation
creates
the
potential
for
up
to
30
000
businesses
filing
it
once
in
early
july.
Mr
speaker,
this
is
a
bureaucratic
nightmare
nightmare
in
regards
to
paperwork
for
stressed
out
small
business
owners
who
are
on
the
brink
of
bankruptcy.
Yet
the
minister
continues
to
pretend
it's
a
viable
option
to
the
minister.
How
long
will
it
take
a
small
business
to
get
a
variance
application
approved.
F
F
Thank
you
and
mr
speaker,
as
we
have
have
canvassed
over
a
number
of
days,
that
we
do
understand
the
the
the
challenges
that
the
workers
and
employers
are
facing
due
to
cover
19
pandemic.
F
F
Mr
speaker,
tax
cuts
and
tax
deferrals
property
tax
cut
by
25
percent
represents
700
million
dollars
to
support
the
the
the
work,
the
businesses
that
are
going
through
these
tough
times.
Mr
speaker,
we
I
just
want
to
make
make
it
clear.
Our
employment
standard
is
distinctly
different
than
other
jurisdictions
that
they
have
mentioned.
Mr
speaker,
other
jurisdictions
don't
have
that
provision
where
employer
and
employee
working
together
can
go
to
employment
standard
and
ask
for
extension.
F
F
Very
clear
that,
right
now,
when
we
extended
from
13
to
16
weeks
over
a
month
ago,
we
also
made
it
clear
to
the
businesses
and
to
the
workers
that
that
provision
is
available
to
them
if
they
choose
to
go
to
the
employment
standard
for
extension
beyond
16
weeks.
Mr
speaker,
so
far
very
few
has
applied.
The
member
talked
about
3
000.
Remember
talk
about
3
000
backlog.
That
is
a
backlog
for
other
complaints
by
members.
F
Mr
speaker,
that
is,
that
is
by
the
workers
against
their
employee.
You
know
what
you
want
to
talk
about.
You
want
to
talk
about
backlog.
You
know
where
we
got
to
the
backlog,
mr
speaker,
because
that
side,
when
they
were
in
government,
they
cut
employment
standard
in
half
they
laid
off
half
the
workers
in
the
employment
standpoint.
That's
how
we
are
trying
to
clean
up
the
mess
that
they
have
created
in
the
employment
standard,
mr
speaker,
but
but
we
have
said
the
other
day.
Premier
is
very
clear.
F
We
are
willing
to
talk
to
the
businesses.
We
will
work
with
them.
If
extension
is
needed,
we'll
talk
to
them.
In
the
meantime,
section
72
is
available
to
workers
and
and
to
the
with
mr
speaker.
One
thing
is
clear:
we
will
not
compromise
workers,
hard,
earned,
benefits
and
rights
that
they
have
earned
over
the
years,
but
we
will
support
the
businesses
at
the
same
time
so
that
they
can
restart
their
businesses.
B
A
Speaker,
thank
you,
mr
speaker.
As
we
noted
yesterday,
the
government
spends
1.3
billion
dollars,
contracting
long-term
care
to
for-profit
companies
and
not-for-profit
societies.
A
A
These
statements
are
available
to
the
public
if
the
care
home
is
operated
by
a
not-for-profit
society,
but
for
profit,
but
for-profit
operators
are
not
obliged
to
make
their
audited
financial
statements
available
to
the
public,
considering
that
for-profit
companies
are
already
not
delivering
hundreds
of
thousands
of
hours
of
care
that
they
are
publicly
funded
to
provide.
My
question
through
you,
honorable
speaker,
is
to
the
minister
of
health.
G
Well,
thank
you
very
much.
Honorable
speaker.
The
member
will
know
that,
historically,
in
the
past
the
health
care
system,
the
long-term
care
system
was
a
more
direct
system.
It
was
there
were
independent,
long-term
care
contractors,
but
everyone
operated
under
the
same
collective
agreement
and
there
weren't
any
subcontractors
over
the
past
a
couple
of
decades
that
changed.
We
mostly
have
a
system,
a
contracted
system
that
includes
a
very
significant,
a
for-profit
private
sector,
non-profit
private
sector
and
importantly
subcontractors.
G
This
was
a
situation
in
2017-18,
reflected
in
the
report
that
that
he
refers
to
from
israel
mckenzie
the
seniors
advocate
in
bc.
So
what
have
we
done?
We've
increased
the
standard
of
care
for
everybody
in
the
system
by
increasing
the
care
hours
for
all
residents,
and
this
is
important
and
put
behind
that
auditing
measures
that
support
it
and
those
are
very
significant
changes
because
they
improved
the
quality
of
care.
G
Currently,
the
accountability,
the
member
talks
to
comes
in
through
data
spreadsheets
and
that
old-fashioned
methodology
makes
the
accountability
he
wishes
more
difficult.
I
agree
and
that's
why
we're
moving
to
a
web-based
tool
that
allows
broader
information,
so
we
can
find
the
very
information
required
to
ensure
that
the
money
taxpayers
spend
goes
for
the
care
that
residents
deserve
and
that's
what
we're
doing.
In
addition,
in
the
coming
year,
we'll
be
reviewing
contracting
and
the
contracting
system
with
our
partners
in
the
sector
with
the
goal
of
making
things
better
for
residents.
G
So
there
needs
to
be
more
accountability.
I
agree,
and
there
will
be
the
the
seniors
advocate
report,
reflects
the
situation
2017-18
and
we're
working
together
with
all
of
the
partners
in
long-term
care
to
improve
accountability
for
residents,
to
remove
the
improve
the
accountability
of
care,
but
also
increase
care
standards,
and
that's
what
we've
done
and
that
has
served
us
well
in
british
columbia
as
compared
to
other
jurisdictions
in
north
america.
In
the
last
few
weeks,.
A
Yeah,
thank
you,
mr
speaker,
and
I'd
like
to
thank
the
minister
of
health
for
the
detailed
answer.
Straightforward
answer
we've
seen
through
the
as
he
noted
the
cbc
seniors
advocate
isabel
mckenzie
has
a
detailed
report
and
in
that
report
it
highlights
how
the
the
accounting
accountability,
mechanisms
and
transparency
mechanisms
are
different
by
contract
by
operator
by
health
authority.
A
It
seems
like
there
is,
as
I
think,
as
the
minister
acknowledged,
a
wide
variety
of
of
different
mechanisms
in
place,
making
it
very
very
difficult
to
be
able
to
get
a
really
good
understanding
of
how
1.3
billion
dollars
is
being
spent.
1.3
billion
dollars
of
taxpayers
money
is
being
spent,
and
so
I
appreciate
the
minister
acknowledging
that
that
there
will
be
greater
accountability
measures
being
put
in
place.
G
Thank
you
very
much
honorable
speaker,
and
I
think
you
see
it
now.
You
see
it
in
the
application
of
the
3.36
monies
which
have
been
supported
by
all
parties
in
the
legislature.
You
see
it
in
the
restoration
of
the
rights
of
workers
in
bill
47,
you
see
it
in
the
change
in
accountability
models.
You
see
it
in
the
money,
that's
being
provided
to
ensure
that
workers
wages
are
leveled
up
during
this
period.
G
H
Thank
you
very
much,
mr
speaker,
and
the
premier
continues
to
attempt
to
make
this
sound
like
a
complicated
decision
that
he
needs
to
keep
waiting
for
some
phone
call
on
thursday.
Let's
be
clear,
it's
as
simple
as
saying
yes
today
and
you
know
it's
interesting,
because
obviously
it
wasn't
just
the
labor
minister,
who
was
the
only
one
on
the
government
side
who
would
be
aware
of
the
devastating
impacts
of
the
lack
of
action
on
the
temporary
layoff
period.
H
As
a
matter
of
fact,
on
april
the
28th,
the
jobs
minister
told
the
vancouver
board
of
trade,
and
I
quote,
one
of
our
big
concerns
is
mass
displacement
of
employer
and
employees.
Employees
don't
want
to
be
suddenly
severed
and
the
same
thing
goes
for
employers.
They
want
to
keep
their
employees
end
quote
so
perhaps
the
minister
of
jobs
can
stand
up
for
the
very
people
who
employ
british
colombians.
F
Mr
speaker,
I
thank
the
member
for
the
question.
Obviously
we
as
a
government,
we
want
to
support
workers
and
businesses
to
ensure
that
their
businesses
survive
and
they
restart
the
economy.
Everyone,
mr
speaker,
want
to
be
a
part
of
a
strong
recovery.
As
we
continue
through
our
restart
plan,
we
will
continue
to
defend
the
rights
of
the
workers,
as
many
are
struggling
from
the
impact
recover
19.
Mr
speaker,
we
will
also
continue
to
work
with
employers
and
businesses
through
the
restart
into
our
recovery.
F
That's
why,
as
I
mentioned,
1.8
billion
dollars
that
was
immediately
provided
to
our
businesses,
we
worked
with
the
federal
government
in
order
to
help
the
businesses
and
and
and
workers
during
this
tough
time.
The
support
for
businesses
include,
as
I
mentioned,
cutting
property
taxes
by
25
deferral
of
many
business
taxes,
including
carbon
tax,
employer
health,
tax,
pst,
75
percent,
waste,
subsidy
deferral,
wcb
premiums
and
waiver
of
premiums
of
a
certain
employers.
Mr
speaker,
commercial
rent
assistance
program
with
a
provincial
ban
on
commercial
eviction.
H
Well,
that's
an
interesting
answer
from
the
minister
of
labor
and
what
businesses
in
british
columbia
want
to
hear
from
this
minister.
Is
him
change
his
decision
to
say
no
to
an
absolutely
critical
request
that
they
have
made?
This
is
not
business
as
usual,
and
here's
what
the
bc
chamber
of
commerce
had
to
say,
and
I
quote
by
not
extending
the
temporary
layoff
period.
This
government
is
knowingly
hampering
the
business
community's
earnest
attempts
at
restart
end
quote
so,
apparently
the
minister
of
jobs
understood
how
devastating
it
would
be
if
there
were
mass
displacement
of
employees.
H
F
Thank
you,
anna
speaker
and
mr
speaker.
We
are
fully
understand.
We
fully
understand
the
difficulty
that
the
businesses
and
the
workers
are
going
through
this
pandemic.
Mr
speaker
are
many
workers
and
employers
alike.
They
feel
this
temporary
layoff
could
become
permanent
they're
worried
about
their
loved
ones.
They're
worried
about
the
jobs,
mr
speaker.
We
we
want
to
support
them.
That's
why
we
extended
the
temporary
layout
provisions
to
16
weeks.
F
That's
why
we
put
together
relief
program,
mr
speaker,
at
the
same
time,
at
the
same
time,
mr
speaker,
we
said
that
we
will
continue
to
listen.
We
are
even
premier
have
mentioned
very
clearly
that
we
will
talk
to
the
business
community.
We
believe
that
the
provision
in
the
employment
standard
exists
right
now
to
help
those
employers
who
leak,
who
needs
to
extend
past
16
weeks,
mr
speaker,
but
in
the
meantime
they
could
go
to
the
employment
standard
branch
and
ask
for
extension,
like
I
said,
very
few
have
gone
to
the
employment
standard.
F
Ask
for
extension-
very
few,
mr
speaker,
maybe
less
than
a
dozen.
So,
mr
speaker,
that
avenue
is
available
today,
but
we
are
going
to
continue
to
work
with
those
businesses
to
ensure,
if
extension
is
needed,
that
that
system
doesn't
work
for
them.
We
are
open
to
discussions
and
make
sure,
mr
speaker,
if
that,
if
that
extension
is
awarded,
I
want
to
make
sure
that
the
workers
right
and
workers
benefits
are
not
compromised.
At
the
same
time,
we
are
supporting
businesses
to
restart.
I
Thank
you
very
much,
mr
speaker.
Last
week
the
federal
government
extended
the
canada
emergency
response
benefit
to
august
29th
for
a
total
of
24
weeks.
Today
they
extended
the
time
period
for
temporary
layoffs
for
up
to
six
months,
giving
employers
more
time
to
recall
employees
who
were
laid
off
due
to
coven
19..
This
is
what
the
federal
minister
said
today.
I
We
know
that
many
employers
who've
had
to
temporarily
lay
off
employees,
intend
to
bring
them
back
to
work.
However,
there
is
still
a
great
deal
of
uncertainty
regarding
exactly
when
that
will
be
possible.
That's
why
we
are
taking
action.
The
federal
government
is
taking
action
to
protect
the
jobs
of
those
employees
and
to
support
those
employers
by
giving
them
more
time
to
recall
their
employees.
The
federal
government
is
protecting
and
supporting.
F
Mr
speaker,
I
have
said
before
that
our
employment
standard
is
distinctly
different
than
federal
government
federal
act
and
the
other
jurisdictions
our
act
allows
employer
to
work
with
their
employees,
the
impacted
employees
to
go
to
the
employment
standard
and
ask
for
extension.
Mr
speaker
very
few
have
taken
the
opportunity
to
ask
for
that
extension.
Mr
speaker,
having
said
that,
having
said
that,
mr
speaker,
no,
we
well
the
member
we
actually
have.
F
We
have
actually
communicated
with
the
businesses
and
workers
over
a
month
ago
when
we
extended
minimum
temper
temporary
layoff
to
two
to
16
weeks,
mr
speaker
they're
new
over
a
month,
but
very
few
have
taken
the
opportunity
to
go
to
the
improvement
center.
Mr
speaker,
having
said
that,
members.
F
Mr
speaker,
I
am
so
proud
to
belong
at
government
for
the
last
year.
We
have
the
lowest
unemployment
in
the
country,
mr
speaker,
as
a
result
of
our
policies
and
the
highest
economic
growth
in
the
country,
mr
speaker,
and
we
improve
services
that
the
people
depend
on
mr
speaker
at
the
same
time
balanced
budget,
mr
speaker,
we
know
what
it
takes
to
put
people
in
the
center
to
develop
policies
around
people
of
the
province.
Appreciate
that
mr
speaker
they're
happy
that
they're
sitting
on
that
side
that
they're
not
governing
at
this
time
during
the
pandemic.