►
From YouTube: MARCH 9 2021 Question Period
Description
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
1st Session
42nd Parliament
C
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
Yesterday
british
columbians
demonstrated
how
concerned
they
were
about
getting
their
vaccination
and
whether
it
was
for
themselves
or
they
were
calling
for
a
frail
elderly
loved
one.
They
were
concerned,
but
it
quickly
became
clear
that
the
province
was
not
prepared
to
handle
the
demand,
as
thousands
of
british
columbians
spent
hours
waiting
on
the
phone,
many
simply
gave
up.
C
C
This
is
the
most
important
public
health
effort
in
our
lifetime
and
it's
clear
that
the
government
was
not
prepared
for
it
despite
having
a
year
to
get
ready.
Instead,
it
descended
into
chaos.
Can
the
premier
explain
why
his
government
was
so
unprepared
for
a
vaccination
rollout
when
they
had
over
a
year
to
prepare
for
it.
D
Thank
you
to
the
member
for
her
question
and
I
want
to
thank
everyone
in
bc
for
their
commitment
to
our
immunization
program,
which
was
demonstrated
as
the
leader
of
the
opposition
says
by
the
response.
Yesterday,
yesterday,
we
opened
up
bookings
for
those
over
90
mbc
and
indigenous
people
over
65.
D
D
D
Vancouver
coastal
health
was
fully
was
fully
dependent
on
our
call
center
provider
to
provide
and
to
provide
services
based
on
the
contract
they
had
signed
with
us
and
the
promises
they
repeatedly
made
about
being
prepared
that
that
contractor
the
provider
telus
failed
us
yesterday
and
for
that
failure
a
lot
of
people
wasted
time
and,
I
think,
lost
some
confidence
in
the
system.
Confidence
that
we'll
have
to
work
hard
to
to
rebuild
at
every
level
in
terms
of
both
technical
issues
that
affected
all
health
authorities
and
and
staffing
issues.
D
The
contractor
the
provider
telus
did
not
did
not
meet
its
contractual
obligations
and
let
down
people
over
90
and
let
down
indigenous
people
over
65,
and
it
is
unacceptable.
We
are
taking
steps,
of
course,
to
build
to
beef
up
our
ability
to
to
work
and
to
support
independently
of
telus
and
telus
has
made
commitments.
These
questions
will
be
resolved,
the
technical
questions
and
the
staffing
questions
asap,
but
we
are
not
simply
counting
on
that
and
if
they
are
not
resolved,
other
actions
will
have
to
be
taken.
C
Well,
thank
you
very
much,
mr
speaker,
and
I
appreciate
the
minister's
answer,
but
let's
be
clear:
the
premier,
the
minister
and
anyone
on
the
other
side
can
blame
everyone.
They
want.
They
can
blame
the
provider
they
can
provide.
C
They
can
blame
the
health
authorities,
but
ultimately
this
government
had
oversight
over
the
preparation
of
a
vaccination
rollout
program
for
more
than
a
year
and
yesterday,
even
in
the
in
the
minister's
own
words,
it
failed,
but
the
premier
and
the
minister
need
to
look
in
the
mirror,
because
this
was
not
unexpected
and
in
fact
this
is
the
beginning
of
the
process.
This
is
a
small
number
of
registrants
and,
and
the
minister
is
right.
British
columbians
have
lost
confidence
in
this
process.
C
Let's
talk
about
gail
helmkin
and
her
93
year
old
parents,
who
spent
much
of
yesterday
trying
to
register
starting
at
7,
am
just
like
they
were
told
to
do.
They
eventually
gave
up
gail
says,
and
I
quote
sometimes
the
message
is
thank
you
for
calling.
Please
call
back.
Sometimes
you
get
a
busy
signal,
sometimes
there's
no
connection
at
all.
It
is
frustration.
C
I
am
very
envious
of
fraser
health,
which
has
an
online
booking
system.
I
was
disappointed
that
coastal
health
hasn't
implemented
that
so
what
does
the
premier
or
the
minister
have
to
say
to
the
helmkins
today?
It
should
certainly
start
with
an
apology
and
a
recognition
that
this
government
has
had
over
a
year
to
put
this
process
in
place.
What
steps
have
been
taken
overnight
to
ensure
that
people
like
the
helmkins
can
register
successfully
today.
D
I
appreciate
the
frustration
that
people
feel,
including
the
helpkins.
It
was
obviously
a
frustrating
situation
for
everyone,
including
the
health
authorities,
including
our
staff,
which
has
worked.
I
think
everyone
would
agree
in
an
extraordinarily
dedicated
way
to
address
the
covet
19
pandemic.
This
is
particularly
true,
I
think,
of
the
staff
of
vancouver
cultural
coastal
health,
who
have
been
courageous
and
dedicated
and
had
some
extraordinary
successes
in
this
pandemic
in
very
difficult
times,
and
provided
support
and
comfort
for
people.
D
You
bet
I'm
disappointed
and
you
bet
I
understand
the
disappointment
of
the
helmkins
and
lots
of
people
around
bc
that
that
the
phone
system
that
our
that
our
system
did
not
work
adequately.
Yesterday,
15
000
people
got
appointments.
It
was
okay
and
not
great
in
in
several
health
authorities,
it
was,
it
was
not.
D
It
was
a
total
disappointment
in
vancouver
coastal
health
overnight
we're
training
people
to
supplement
the
provider,
because
that's
necessary
overnight,
we're
reaching
out
to
doctors
in
vancouver
coastal
health
to
ensure
and
to
work
to
make
sure
that
people
over
90
get
registered
this
week
and,
of
course,
we
have
expectations
that
the
provider
will
fill
fulfill
their
contractual
obligations
they're
in
the
call
center
business.
They
have
a
responsibility
to
deliver
on
contracts.
They
signed
to
deliver
adequate
staff
to
make
appointments.
C
The
fact
of
the
matter
is
that
we
have
been
in
a
pandemic
for
more
than
a
year
and
the
hope
that
this
government
held
out
for
british
columbians
was
that
the
vaccine
was
coming.
So
the
minister
can
continue
to
talk
about
being
disappointed
and
now
we're
going
to
take
some
action.
The
time
for
that
action
was
long
before
yesterday,
we've
seen
these
same
kinds
of
challenges:
the
same
kind
of
botched
technology
response
with
the
covid
relief
payments.
It's
deja
vu
all
over
again.
C
People
want
and
need
to
have
confidence
in
the
system,
and
yesterday
this
government
failed
british
columbians
miserably
so
to
the
premier.
Can
he
explain
why,
despite
the
fact
that
other
jurisdictions
in
this
country
have
put
in
place
an
online
booking
system,
can
the
premier
explain
why
there
is
not
a
province
wide
online
booking
system
that
was
ready
to
go
on
day
one,
and
will
he
commit
today
to
expediting
the
process
to
ensure
that
there
are
adequate
resources
in
place
to
put
an
online
booking
system
in
place?
That
will
work
for
british
columbians.
D
Thank
you
very
much
and
thank
you
to
the
member
for
her
question.
I
agree
with
her
that
an
online
booking
system
will
help
and,
as
noted
in
our
immunization
plan,
one
will
be
in
place
province-wide
for
april
12th.
When
we
go
wider
with
with
this
effort
and
and
that's
that
online
booking
system
will
be
helpful,
there
will
still
be
the
requirement
for
call
centers
for
those
people
who
either
do
not
wish
to
book
online
or
have
difficulty
booking
online.
So
we
will
continue
to
need
call
center
capacity.
D
So
we
are
taking
steps,
of
course,
to
beef
up
resources
so
that
we
can
get
through
the
appointment
bookings
this
week,
15
000
out
of
the
roughly
50
000
people
we
need
to
book.
On
the
first
day
we
have
four
more
days
to
do
it
and
I
again
acknowledge
and
apologize
to
people
who
were
so
frustrated
yesterday.
I
can
I
tell
them,
having
spoken
to
a
number
of
them,
that
I
share
their
frustration
and
we're
going
to
be
taking
steps
to
improve
the
situation
in
the
coming
days.
E
Well,
the
the
minister
has
gone
to
great
lengths
today
and
in
days
leading
up
to
the
fiasco
that
happened
yesterday
to
blame
everyone
around
the
the
situation
here,
as
opposed
to
simply
looking
in
the
mirror
and
acknowledging
that
the
ultimate
responsibility,
the
ultimate
responsibility,
to
ensure
that
there's
a
an
appointment
booking
system
that
works
for
british
columbians
that
that's
the
responsibility
of
of
his
government.
That's
the
responsibility
of
the
minister
of
health,
it's
the
responsibility
of
the
premier
and
on
that
responsibility,
mr
speaker,
they
failed
miserably.
E
Yesterday,
the
the
minister
has
has
also
gone
out
of
his
way
to
specifically
highlight
failings
on
the
part
of
the
service
provider
telus.
E
Mr
speaker,
I
I
would
like
to
ask
the
premier
today,
if,
in
light
of
those
those
comments,
if
he
would
be
willing
to
table
the
telus
contract
in
the
house
and
tell
us
specifically
what
services
the
government
required
tell
us
to
provide
were
online
services,
a
part
of
that
contract
and
how
much
is
was
telus
contracted
to
provide
these
services
to
british
columbians
yesterday.
D
Of
health,
the
contract
in
question
was
for
call
center
services
with
telus,
that
is
their
business.
It's
not
the
primary
business
of
vancouver
coastal
health,
for
example.
D
They
were
contracted
to
provide
specific
numbers
of
agents
and
to
ensure
that
the
system
worked
well.
We
did
have
an
overwhelming
response
from
people,
not
unexpectedly,
but
an
overwhelming
response,
and
in
many
health
authorities
they
were
able
to
adapt,
in
spite
of
the
challenges
for
of
our
providers
in
in
booking
a
significant
number
of
appointments.
Fifteen
thousand
province
wide
out
out
of
the
fifty,
the
group
of
fifty
thousand
who
are
eligible
for
appointments,
so
that
was
not
the
case,
of
course,
in
vancouver
coast
self-help.
D
So
the
contract
that
the
member
refers
to
is
for
call
center
services
and
simply
put
the
responsibility
for
that.
The
problem
there
was
a
responsibility
of
the
provider,
they
signed
a
contract,
they
made
commitments,
they
made
promises
and
they
did
not
deliver
yesterday.
They
have
committed
to
me
and
to
the
people
of
bc
that
they
will
be
do
better,
but
we
are
not
waiting
for
that.
D
We
are
going
to
be
adding
staffing
to
ensure
that
that
seniors
over
90
and
that
indigenous
seniors
over
65
get
the
services
they
deserve
this
week,
get
the
appointments
books
so
that
we
can
get
those
immunizations
done
next
week.
We
have
a
few
more
days.
I
appreciate
that
the
patience
of
people
in
bc
was
tried.
Yesterday,
people
seeking
appointments,
I
share
their
frustration
and
we
will
be
taking
steps
to
improve
the
situation.
E
Thank
you
very
much,
mr
speaker.
E
Well,
the
the
government's
lack
of
preparedness
frankly
betrays
a
level
of
incompetence
which
is
shocking
the
to
to
to
suggest
that
that
it's
acceptable
to
in
today's
day
and
age
in
british
columbia
that
fraser
health
was
able
to
arrange
for
over
8700
bookings
yesterday,
but
vancouver
coastal
was
only
able
to
arrange
for
369
bookings
is
beyond
the
the
total
disappointment
that
the
minister
has
cited
in
his
previous
answers
today,
it's
completely
and
totally
unacceptable.
E
Now,
mr
speaker,
it
drives
the
question
what
what
accounts
for
for
such
a
wide
disparity
in
different
parts
of
the
province.
The
answer
is
that
fraser
health
was
the
one
health
authority
that
provided
for
both
phone
bookings
and
online
bookings,
because
apparently
that
was
left
up
to
health
authorities
to
determine
there
wasn't.
There
was
no
province
wide
standard.
It's
the
minister's
responsibility.
E
Mr
speaker
question
to
the
premier
again:
will:
will
he
commit
to
tabling
this
telus
contract
in
the
house
today,
and
can
he
explain
why
his
government
to
this
point,
has
allowed
for
a
process
of
different
different
service
levels
to
be
provided
in
different
parts
of
the
province
instead
of
ensuring
all
british
columbians
are
treated?
Equally,
all
british
columbians
have
access
to
both
online
and
phone
appointments,
so
they
can
arrange
for
their
important
vaccinations.
D
Thank
you,
honorable
speaker.
All
british
columbians
will
have
access
to
an
online
platform
starting
april
12th.
As
we
said
last
week
as
the
member
will
be
aware-
and
this
is
not
new
in
bc-
it
certainly
was
the
case
when
I
became
minister
of
health,
all
health.
Many
of
the
health
authorities
have
different
platforms,
online
platforms
and
health
records
systems
in
our
province.
That's
the
reality
of
the
situation
and
and
improvements
have
been
made,
but
this
question
today
was
not
a
question
of
that.
It's
a
question
of
a
call
center
process.
D
I
think
it's
fair
to
say
that
using
a
leading
call
center
provider
to
assist
in
this
effort
was
a
would
is,
is
a
good
decision
and
that
they
did
not
follow
through
on
their
contractual
obligation
yesterday,
and
if
the
member
thinks
that
I
think
that's
acceptable
he's
incorrect.
I
think
it
is
completely
unacceptable
in
four
of
the
five
health
authorities,
including
fraser,
but
also
interior
health,
where
the
member
lives,
for
example,
they
were
able
to,
because
we
had
a
backup
health
authority
call
center
to
support
our
provider.
D
We
were
able
to
complete
six
times
as
many
appointments
in
vancouver
coastal
health,
so
in
interior
health
and
in
northern
health
and
in
vancouver,
island
health
and
appraiser
health,
where
there
were
also
problems.
Some
of
the
technical
problems
that
existed
partly
because
of
the
overwhelming
response,
but
partly
because
there
were
technical
issues
which
are
again
the
responsibility
of
the
provider.
F
Thank
you.
Honorable
speaker,
we
lost
1716
people
to
drug
toxicity
in
2020.,
we've
already
lost
165
people
in
the
first
month
of
2021..
People
are
dying
every
single
day.
We
are
in
the
middle
of
two
health
crises
and
we
need
to
start
acting
like
it.
We
must
prioritize
the
development
of
systemic
policy
responses
that
are
immediate,
evidence-based
and
accessible.
This
is
not
about
drugs.
People
are
dying
from
drug
policy.
F
F
F
We
can
take
direct
action
here
in
british
columbia
and
we
need
to
do
it
now
to
save
lives.
My
question
for
you,
honourable
speaker,
is
to
the
premier:
can
he
outline
exactly
what
his
what
powers
his
government
has
available
in
order
to
move
forward
with
decriminalization
of
simple
possession
of
drugs
in
bc?.
A
Tragically,
they
die
alone.
Last
year,
the
solicitor
general
asked
the
police
force
to
address
possession
small
amounts
of
personal
possession
of
illicit
drugs
as
a
health
care
matter,
not
as
a
criminal
priority.
Last
summer,
the
premier
wrote
to
the
prime
minister
asking
the
prime
minister,
because
this
is
a
federal
matter
to
adopt
a
nationwide
approach.
Decriminalization,
the
premier
put
it
in
my
mandate
letter
asking
me
to
fast
track,
decriminalization
as
a
way
to
combat
the
overdose
crisis
and
further
separate
people
from
the
toxic
drug
supply.
A
I'm
in
active
conversations
with
the
federal
health
minister
now
and
as
one
of
many
approaches
our
government
is
bringing
to
combat
the
overdose
crisis.
We
are
we're
optimistic
that
that
can
remove
a
barrier
to
people
accessing
the
treatment
they
need.
F
Thank
you,
honorable
speaker,
and
thank
you
to
the
minister
for
that
response.
Decriminalization
decriminalization
is
regularly
painted
as
a
federal
issue,
something
this
government
likes
to
deflect.
The
responsibility
from
the
federal
government
is
an
important
leader
in
moving
towards
decriminalization
of
simple
possession,
but
they
are
not
the
only
ones
responsible.
F
It
is
a
move
that
we
can
make
as
a
province.
Instead
of
always
going
back
to
the
federal
government,
dr
henry
outlined
in
2019
how
the
province
can
decriminalize
people
who
use
drugs,
not
drugs
themselves
on
our
own
options,
have
been
on
the
table
for
years
and
government
has
decided
not
to
pursue
them
with
the
urgency
that
this
health
emergency
requires.
F
Since
then,
we
have
seen
hundreds
of
lives
lost
at
an
increasing
rate.
We
can
take
measures
to
decriminalize
drug
users
in
this
province
on
our
own,
and
we
have
not
done
so.
My
question
again
is
to
the
premier.
There
are
options
here
in-house
to
stop
decriminalizing
to
stop
criminalizing
drug
users.
Why
has
he
not
used
these
powers
to
save
lives
since
2019.
A
A
We
have
seen
a
tragic
increase
in
drugs
due
to
drug
due
to
increased
tragic
loss
of
life
due
to
increases
in
drug
toxicity.
We
have
taken
action
in
advance.
The
solicitor
general
has
sent
letters
to
police
departments
asking
them
to
not
pursue
matters
of
personal
possession
as
a
matter
of
criminal
priority.
I'm
asking
police
instead
to
focus
on
true
crime.
We
have
pilot
projects
with
three
police
forces
where
people
are
being
connected
with
health
care.
A
Instead
of
with
the
criminal
justice
system,
the
premier
wrote
to
the
prime
minister
did
not
receive
a
reply
last
summer,
but
nevertheless
conversations
with
the
federal
health
minister,
because
this
is
a
federal
matter
that
is
this
is
where
the
responsibility
sits.
We
are
asking
the
federal
government
to
take
up
its
priority
and
responsibility
and,
as
my
mandate
letter
spells
out,
if
we
do
not
have
prompt
act,
action
from
the
federal
government,
then
I
am
along
with
some
of
my
colleagues
in
government
to
pursue
a
made
in
bc
solution.
That
will
be
our
fallback.
A
If
the
federal
government
fails
to
take
its
its
place
and
its
power
to
lead.
G
G
G
G
We
are
asking
for
transparency,
mr
speaker,
we're
asking
for
accountability,
we're
asking
for
this
government
to
step
up
and
show
the
leadership
that
this
province
needs
at
this
critical
time,
not
to
blame
others
not
to
continue
to
bungle.
What
is
the
most
critical
vaccination
rollout
for
all
british
colombians.
G
So,
mr
speaker,
the
reason
why
we're
asking
for
the
contract,
of
course,
if
they're
deflecting
to
the
contract
service
provider,
tell
us
it
raises
questions.
Has
the
premier
talked
to
and
communicated
his
concerns
to
the
leadership
team
and
tell
us
what
expectations
did
the
government
have
about
these
call
centers
what
penalties,
what
measures
can
be
taken
by
this
government
if
the
service
provider
is
not
meeting
those
requirements?
D
Honorable
speaker,
the
reason
I'm
holding
the
service
provider
accountable
is
because
they
represent
the
people
of
vancouver,
kingsway
and
the
people
of
bc,
and
in
this
case
they
need
to
be
held
accountable.
They
need
to
deliver
on
what
they
promised
to
deliver
and
yesterday
did
not
deliver
in
any
acceptable
way.
We
did
book
15
000
appointments
yesterday,
often
because
of
the
very
dedicated
work
of
people
working
in
health
authorities
themselves
and
their
efforts.
D
I
of
course
very
much
appreciate
15
000
of
a
group
of
50
000
means
that
we
can
that
we
can
succeed
in
booking
the
appointments
for
this
week
that
we
need
to
book.
That
said,
we
have
a.
We
have
a
contract
for
telus
to
provide
call
center
services
and
those
call
center
services
were
inadequate
yesterday,
in
spite
of
repeated
com,
promises
to
us
and
a
contract.
That
said,
they
would
be
in
place,
and
so
honorable
speaker
we're
taking
the
two
steps.
D
We
need
to
take
hold
the
service
provider
accountable
and
demand
that
staffing
levels
be
increased,
commensurate
with
the
challenge
one
and
commensurate
to
their
contractual
commitments
and
two
we
are
actively
adding
our
own
resources
so
that
people
will
not
continue
to
have
to
face
delays,
especially
in
vancouver
coastal
health,
where
the
situation
was
unacceptable.
Yesterday,
I
do
ask
people
for
patience
this
week.
It's
going
to
be
people
over
90
and
indigenous
people
over
65
who
are
able
to
book
appointments.
D
We
believe
that
through
the
week
that
we're
going
to
be
able
to
succeed
in
that
that
doesn't
mean
that
we
think
yesterday
was
in
any
way
acceptable.
It
was
not
and
we're
gonna
we're
taking
the
steps
now
to
ensure
that
the
situation
is
improved
today
and
in
the
coming
days.
Thank
you.
G
So
we
need
to
know
what
those
expectations
the
requirements
are,
because
otherwise
the
government
can
just
continue
to
deflect
to
say
well,
the
server
provider
didn't
perform,
so
we
need
clearly
transparency.
We
need
to
see
the
contract
as
well
for
the
online
service
provider,
because
we
need
to
have
confidence
that
this
government
can
actually
meet
the
requirements
to
get
the
vaccination
rollout
done
in
terms
of
the
scheduling
and
the
actual
procedures
themselves.
G
G
D
Yesterday,
honorable
speaker,
eight
thousand
seven
hundred
forty
nine
people
booked
or
eight
thousand
seven
hundred
and
twenty
two
people
booked
appointments
in
the
fraser
health
authority,
2456
in
the
interior
health
authority,
2345
in
vancouver
island
health
authority
1007
in
the
northern
health
authority,
all
of
which
had
issues
parts
in
part
related
to
the
extraordinary
response
we
saw
in
vancouver
coastal
health,
which
was
solely
dependent
on
our
service
provider.
Who
is
tell
us
they
book
369..
D
Seen
so
far,
that's
that's
one
and
two
hold
the
service
provider
accountable.
We
need
them
to
deliver
what
they
said
they
would
deliver
to
us
and
to
the
people
of
bc,
and
the
members
have
said
it
themselves.
369
doesn't
cut
it
when
other
health
authorities
did
more
only
because
really
they
had
backup
call
centers
in
those
health
authorities.
So
that's
the
steps
we're
taking
now
action
to
make
sure
things
get
better
accountability
for
our
service
provider.
I
think
those
are
the
two
steps
that
we
all
need
to
take.