►
From YouTube: APRIL 29 2021 Question Period
Description
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
2nd Session
42nd Parliament
B
B
Yesterday
the
premier
finally
promised
that
a
sick
pay
program
will
be
introduced,
but
this
comes
14
months
into
the
pandemic
and
in
fact,
a
year
after
the
premier
promised
a
provincial
program
and
in
fact
told
everyone,
we've
got
a
plan,
we're
ready
to
go.
Can
the
premier
today
provide
some
details?
D
Thank
you
on
my
chair,
mr
speaker,
I'm
happy
to
answer
this
question
and
I
thank
the
the
leader
of
the
opposition
for
asking
this
question
and
one
thing
it
is
clear.
We
all
agree
that
the
workers
are
sick.
D
D
If
they
decide
to
stay
home
when
they're
sick,
then
mr
speaker
we're
the
only
jurisdiction
in
canada
that
provide
benefits
if
the
workers
become
sick
at
workplace
with
covid
from
day
one
as
long
as
they're
sick,
mr
speaker,
and
now
recently
we
have
passed
legislation
so
that
the
workers
will
have
time
to
go,
get
vaccinated
without
loss
of
pay.
We've
been
working
with
the
federal
government,
I'm
proud
of
the
work
that
the
premier
has
done,
working
with
the
federal
government
to
ensure
there's
a
national
solution
to
this
program.
D
Mr
speaker,
we
have
the
indication
they
will
fix
the
gaps
that
were
brought
to
their
attention
by
me
by
premier,
but
others
they
failed
to
do
that.
Now,
it's
up
to
us.
We
will
have
a
made
in
bc
thick
benefit
program
so
that
all
workers
will
be
brought
up
and
I'm
happy
that
the
opposition
will
be
supporting
us
with
that.
B
Well,
thank
you
very
much
to
the
minister
of
labor
and
and
the
way
that
he
wandered
his
way
through
the
answer.
He
studiously
avoided
the
specific
question
and,
let's
be
clear,
while
we
do
believe
that
a
national
program
is
important.
What
matters
today
and
what
mattered
14
months
ago
is
making
sure
that
british
columbians
are
taken
care
of
and
that
there
is
a
paid
sick
leave
program
in
place.
B
So,
let's,
let's
just
remind
the
members,
opposite
the
premier
delayed
and
then
what
did
he
do?
He
blamed
the
federal
government
for
their
broken
promise.
Well
welcome
to
how
british
colombians
feel
about
the
growing
list
of
broken
promises
from
this
premier.
The
time
for
trust
me
has
passed.
That's
what
the
premier
said,
I'm
going
to
put
a
sick
pay
program
in
place
and
by
the
way
I've
got
a
plan
to
do
it.
Here
we
sit
14
months
later,
no
sign
of
anything
workers
and,
more
importantly,
employees,
need
to
know
how
the
program
would
work.
B
The
premier
said
he
had
a
program.
So
let's
hear
about
the
details,
I
also
want
to
remember.
I
want
to
remind
the
members
opposite
of
what
the
premier
said
about
who
should
pay
for
it,
because
that's
going
to
be
a
very
critical
point
of
discussion
when
we
finally
see
legislation,
here's
what
the
premier
said-
and
I
quote
we'll-
do
it
in
a
seamless
way
without
putting
more
burden
on
businesses
at
a
time
when
businesses
can
least
afford
it.
So
we
can.
We
can
set
that
worry
aside
today
with
one
answer
from
the
premier.
D
Thank
you
honorable
chair,
mr
speaker.
I
really
wanna
wanna
emphasize
here
that
the
workers
of
british
columbia
are
proud
of
the
work
that
their
government
has
done
to
support
them
pre-pandemic
during
pandemic.
Mr
speaker,
we
brought
changes
to
support
them.
D
Mr
speaker,
at
the
same
time
we
weren't
sitting
idly
by
premier
myself,
other
colleagues
of
our
government
were
working
with
the
federal
government
to
fix
the
gaps
that
they
left
behind,
and
we
had
the
indication
that
they
would
do
it
that
was
about
a
week
ago,
mr
speaker,
and
now
it
is
up
to
us.
We
will
have
a
median
bc
program
as
a
sick
leap
program
details
the
member
can
debate
and
other
members
can
debate
when
they
are
before
the
house.
Mr
speaker,
a
lot
have
changed
during
the
spend
time.
D
English
speaker,
I
hope
that
the
bc
liberty
attitudes
toward
the
bc
workers
is
one
of
them.
I
have
not
seen
one
yet.
Mr
speaker,
hypocrisy,
oozes
out
of
these
members,
mr
speaker,
when
you
look
at
their
track
record
british
columbia
member
workers
know
that
members
government
pass
their
back.
We
will
continue
to
work
to
support
them.
Mr
speaker,
details
will
be
coming
in
coming
days
and
I'm
looking
forward
for
this
member
and
her
caucus
to
support
us.
Thank
you.
E
Well,
mr
speaker,
let's
be
clear
that
this
government
and
this
minister
stalled
on
the
implementation
of
the
paid
leave
program
for
vaccinations
for
over
14
months,
and
here
we
are
today
in
the
legislature
and
again
we're
not
getting
clear
answers
from
this
minister,
with
over
three
billion
dollars
currently
sitting
in
the
pandemic.
Contingency
fund
there's
no
reason
why
the
premier
cannot
commit
today
to
providing
the
money
to
help
sick
workers
in
british
columbia
there's
a
public.
D
Our
speaker,
as
I
said
before,
since
the
outset
of
this
pandemic,
we
have
led
the
way
in
pushing
for
and
developing
increased
support
for
workers
so
that
they
don't
have
to
go
to
work
when
they're
sick
so
that
they
don't
have
to
choose
between
paycheck
and
staying
homesick.
Mr
speaker,
they
deserve
nothing
less.
D
We
have
been
working
hard
for
14
months
now,
working
with
the
federal
government
bringing
our
own
programs
in
place.
I
have
listed
a
number
of
them,
mr
speaker,
and
we
are
working
with
the
federal
government.
Federal
government
failed
to
deliver
to
fill
the
gaps
that
we
identified
for
them,
because
there
are
gaps
in
there
and
they
do
not
help
when
people
workers
have
to
stay
home
when
they
are
sick
because
they
will
be
losing
money.
E
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
It's
been
a
year
since
the
premier
promised
that
he
had
plans
for
a
provincial
program,
and
british
columbians
need
to
hear
the
details
of
what
specific
those
government
plans
are
today
in
ontario
20
to
39
year
olds
are
waking
up,
knowing
that
they
don't
have
to
choose
between
rent
or
going
to
work
sick
in
bc.
E
D
Mr
speaker,
let's
be
clear,
this
member
and
all
bc
liberals
never
missed
an
opportunity
to
trample
on
workers
right
when
they
had
the
opportunity.
Mr
speaker,
we
are
going
to
support
workers,
we
supporter
them
pre-pandemic.
We
are
supporting
them
now
and
they
know
that
their
government
will
continue
to
support
past
pandemic.
Mr
speaker,
our
track
record
is
clear
that
we're
on
the
side
of
the
workers.
We
understand
it's
the
workers
and
employer
working
together
that
move
the
economy.
Unlike
the
previous
government,
they
took
sides
they.
They
showed
nothing
but
contempt
towards
the
working
people.
D
Mr
speaker,
the
history
is
full
of
their
track
record
and
you
know
what
mr
speaker
workers
know.
These
are
crocodile
tears
that
these
are
they're
they're
watching
they
know
when
it
is.
Mr
speaker,
they
worry
actually,
mr
speaker,
when
bc
liberals,
any
member
of
them
stand
up
in
the
house
or
outside
talk
about
workers
rights.
They
worry
that
they
are.
They
are
coming
after
their
rights,
mr
speaker,
they
know
these
governments
on
their
side.
We
will
protect
them
because
they
deserve
nothing
less
from
their
girl.
F
F
There
are
many
questions
still
to
be
answered
for
the
last
month.
The
fear
and
anxiety
in
the
community
has
been
increasing
and
where
information
lacks
people
are
filling
the
gaps
on
their
own.
Every
day,
this
government
is
losing
ground
not
just
in
the
neighborhood,
but
also
for
the
potential
future
residents
of
this
project.
F
F
Thank
you
to
the
minister
of
social
development
and
poverty
reductions,
appreciate
it.
Yeah
you're,
a
minister
we're
not
just
in
the
business
of
building
housing
units,
but
rather
we
should
be
committed
to
nurturing
community.
Our
effort
must
be
more
than
just
buying
hotels
and
dropping
units
in
the
ground.
The
government
must
do
the
difficult
work
of
building
neighborhoods.
G
Thank
you
very
much.
Honorable
speaker,
I
look
to
all
members
in
this
house
when
government
is
opening
new
housing
for
vulnerable
people
to
work
with
us
to
address
misconceptions
to
address
myths
and
concerns,
but
also
when
there
are
real
problems
to
bring
them
to
our
attention
so
that
we
can
address
them.
I
don't
pretend
for
a
second
that
this
is
not
incredibly
challenging
work
and
that
there
will
not
be
problems.
Sure
there
will
be
problems,
but
all
of
us
have
to
work
together
to
address
them.
G
The
data
shows
really
clearly
when
you
look
at
the
most
obvious
metric
about
what
an
impact
of
a
supportive
housing
unit
would
be
the
impact
on
the
value
of
housing
around
it.
The
price
people
are
willing
to
pay
to
move
next
door
to
one
of
these
units.
The
values
are
not
impacted
when
people
are
voting
with
their
dollars
where
they
want
to
live.
They're.
Happy
to
live
beside
supportive
housing
because
it
works.
G
It
doesn't
mean
that
there
are
never
problems,
it
doesn't
mean
we
don't
have
to
work
together
to
address
them,
but
even
before
a
single
person
is
identified
to
talk
about
the
impact,
that's
not
helpful,
so
I'm
asking
the
member
to
work
with
me.
I'm
glad
to
work
with
him.
He
had
his
briefing
to
get
people
inside
to
get
them
good,
high
quality,
housing
out
of
tents.
This
is
our
priority,
we're
in
reactive
mode
right
now
we're
moving
into
proactive
mode
with
a
homelessness
strategy.
I
will
need
his
support
and
I'm
counting
on
it.
F
Thank
you,
mr
speaker,
and
I
appreciate
the
minister's
response.
However,
I
think
it
needs
to
be
pointed
out
that,
had
the
minister
truly
wanted
to
have
my
support
on
this
project,
he
would
have
offered
me
an
opportunity
to
learn
about
the
project
that
they
were
proposing
in
advance
of
making
the
announcement.
F
If
this
minister
has
his
arms
truly
open,
he
would
have
had
that
conversation
with
us
in
advance
so
that
we
could
have
learned
about
exactly
what
is
going
to
be
built
in
the
neighborhood.
I
am,
and
this
government
knows,
and
there
need
not
be
any
suggestion,
otherwise
that
I'm
anything
less
than
supportive
of
supported
housing.
F
F
You
raise
questions
about
this
and
you
get
called
you
get
you
get
suggested
that
you're
opposed
to
it.
The
reality
of
it
is
is
that
the
neighborhood
is
filling
in
the
gaps
on
their
own,
because
the
information
is
not
forthcoming.
We
know
that
when
we're
building
communities,
information
flow
is
critically
important.
My
question
you
can
continue
to
chirp
me
all
you
want,
minister.
F
What
is
the
minister
going
to
do
to
accommodate
the
needs
of
the
neighborhood,
regain
the
confidence
of
the
community
that
he's
proposing
a
project
in
and,
of
course,
these
projects
need
to
go
in
communities,
and
I
support
that
and
I
support
diversity.
I
support
inclusion,
the
suggestion
otherwise
is
ridiculous.
F
G
Attorney
general,
thank
you
very
much,
mr
chair
and
the
member
should
note
who's
who's.
Cheering
along
with
him,
the
the
members
of
the
opposition
who
built
this
crisis,
who
said
that
addressing
homelessness
through
units
that
they
were
providing
the
units
they
were
providing
were
mats
on
the
floor.
G
So
just
the
member
should
be
aware
of
who's
cheering
along
with
him
in
his
questions
today.
This
housing
is
supportive.
Housing
there's
a
challenge.
It's
a
new
project.
There
needs
to
be
community
engagement.
Bc.
Housing
is
doing
that
community
engagement,
service
providers
haven't
been
chosen.
Residents
haven't
been
chosen.
The
engagement
is
a
legitimate
engagement
with
the
community,
so
you
have
to
announce
that
the
project
is
coming
before
you
can
engage
on
it
and
to
suggest
that
we
would
just
show
up
and
say.
Oh
here,
here's
exactly
what's
going
to
happen.
G
Sorry,
you
know
we're
we're
going
to
engage,
but
we've
already
made
the
decisions
would
be
problematic.
The
member
wants
all
the
information
in
advance.
The
information
doesn't
exist
yet
pc
housing
is
still
building
it.
We're
moving
as
quickly
as
we
can
to
get
people
into
real
supportive
housing,
and
I
I
know
that
the
member
and
I
agree
on
this-
that's
why
I'm
frustrated
in
in
some
respects
with
the
tone
of
his
question
and
some
of
his
suggestions
because
we're
on
the
same
page.
G
H
Thank
you,
honourable
speaker.
The
premier's
pop-up
clinics
are
somewhat
out
of
hunger
games.
H
I
Oh
thank
you
very
much
honorable
speaker
and
thank
you
to
the
member
for
her
question.
The
member
will
know
that
we
identified
the
community
health
service
areas
around
bc
in
the
last
two
weeks
where
there
was
a
high
level
of
transmission
of
covet
19
and
a
low
level
of
immunization.
Those
communities
included.
I
Communities
such
as
in
the
columbia
valley
in
dawson,
creek
and,
of
course,
in
the
community
of
surrey
and
different
health
authorities,
have
tried
different
strategies
to
address
the
situation
over
the
last
couple
of
days
in
surrey
and
in
coquitlam
fraser
health
worked
with
pop-up
clinics.
Now
they
immunized
a
lot
of
people
in
those
clinics,
but
I
think
it's
fair
to
say
that
they
were
not
a
success,
certainly
from
a
communications
or
a
confidence
perspective.
I
So
fraser
health
is
taking
the
lessons
from
that,
but
I
just
remind
everybody
that
more
than
one
thousand
one
million
seven
hundred
thousand
immunizations
have
taken
place.
Very
precisely.
People
who
are
clinically
vulnerable
have
been
immunized
that
we're
working
through,
especially
in
high
transmission
areas,
front
line
workers
who
are
getting
immunized
as
well.
I
think
our
program
overall
has
been
very
successful.
I
H
Well,
I
do
appreciate
that
the
minister
of
health
suggested
that
the
vaccinations
that
we
did
yesterday
were
a
success,
but
taking
a
hot
spot
with
the
highest
levels
of
virus,
gathering
thousands
of
people
and
then
weighting
them
in
lineups
and
congregating
for
hours,
but
not
getting
their
vaccines
is
somehow
less
than
a
success,
and
this
morning
hundreds
of
people
lined
up
again
for
a
pop-up
clinic
that
wasn't
actually
in
existence
at
newton
athletic
park.
H
H
One
person
in
line
said-
and
I
quote,
my
cousin
knew
someone
in
fraser
health
and
they
said
they
might
be
here
today.
So
we
just
showed
up,
there's
still
no
information
around
whether
you're
getting
a
vaccine-
and
I
end
quote
so
why?
Why
is
the
premier,
not
using
the
vaccine
registry,
that
people
were
told
to
use.
I
Well,
the
honourable
member,
the
answer
is,
we
are-
and
we
did
in
this
case,
but
that
the
communications,
obviously
the
pop-up
clinics,
led
to
long
lineups
yesterday
that
everybody
saw
and
so
fraser
health
is
learning
the
lessons
from
that
and
making
changes
in
their
approach
to
that.
And
that
seems
fair
enough.
The
registry
has
been
profoundly
successful.
I
Two
million
people
registered
more
than
nine
hundred
thousand
appointments
booked,
and
we
are
going
to
continue
to
use
that
system,
and
I
want
to
encourage
everyone,
because
there
will
be
more
vaccine
next
week
and
more
vaccine
the
week
after
1.1
million
doses
of
pfizer
over
pfizer
vaccine
for
four
weeks
to
get
registered.
Now
it
is
essential
that
people
get
themselves
registered
so
that
the
first
possible
moment
they
can
book
their
appointments.
I
Last
night,
people
who
are
58
born
in
1963
or
before
were
able
to
book
their
appointments
and
those
age
groups
are
going
to
move
down
through
the
age-based
program
quickly
over
the
next
two
to
three
weeks.
So
I
want
to
encourage
all
mlas
to
encourage
their
constituents
to
get
registered
for
the
covet
19
vaccine.
This
is
a
crucial
moment
in
the
pandemic.
30
percent
of
people
have
been
vaccinated
up
to
now
and
we're
good
significantly
more
in
the
month
of
may.
Thank
you.
A
Thank
you,
mr
speaker,
mr
speaker,
seniors,
and
people
with
english
as
a
second
language
are
being
left
behind
by
this
premier's
pop-up
vaccine
clinics.
One
person
in
surrey
said,
and
I
quote,
we
just
registered
an
auntie
and
uncle
who
don't
have
cell
phones
and
who
didn't
know
how
to
register.
So
we
hand
wrote
down
all
the
information
for
them.
End
quote
the
hunger
games
approach
is
unacceptable.
I
I
45
of
people
have
been
immunized
in
this
period
when
we've
had
a
relatively
little
limited
supply
of
vaccine,
and
I
think
that
reflects
in
her
community
and
other
communities
around
bc,
the
extraordinary
work
of
doctors
and
nurses
and
everyone
else
in
immunizing
british
columbia.
Our
registration
system
has
been
very
effective.
So
far,
more
than
80
percent
of
people
over
70
have
been
immunized
so
far
in
bc.
I
More
than
60
percent
of
people
over
60
on
a
program
that
was
fundamentally
aged
aimed
at
people
who
were
older
and
more
vulnerable
to
clovid
19
people
who
are
clinically
vulnerable,
180,
000
of
them
and
more
and
indigenous
people
and
those
programs
have
continued
to
be
successful
and
encourage
the
member
to
encourage
her
constituents
to
get
registered
and
they
will
be
given
the
opportunity
to
book
it.
The
soonest
possible
moment.
A
I
Thank
you
very
much
honorable
speaker
and
I
thank
the
member
for
her
ideas
and
suggestions.
It's
important
that
we
deliver
services
so
that
people
understand
them,
and
it's
why
translation
services
are
available
and
materials
are
available
in
multiple
languages.
With
respect
to
surrey,
we've
given
surrey
priority
in
some
important
ways:
all
education
workers
in
surrey,
immunized,
front-line
workers
in
surrey,
immunize
and
we're
moving
on
to
other
groups
of
workers
such
as
child
care
workers
and
others
to
support
our
effort
in
surrey.
I
We've
worked
with
members
of
this
house
with
respect
to
the
columbia
valley
and
revelstoke
to
see
the
same
thing
happen
in
prince
rupert
and
other
communities.
So
I
think
on
the
immunization
effort
is
in
british
columbia
overall
going
very
well.
Sometimes
we
try
things
and
they're
not
successful,
and
we
may
learn
the
lessons
and
move
on,
and
that
is
the
case
with
respect
to
pop-up
clinics.
In
in
fraser
hill.
J
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
Well,
it's
now
day
11
since
the
premier
bungled
his
announcement
about
travel
restrictions
and
there's
still
no
clarity
for
people
trying
to
travel
across
the
boundaries
what
they
will
or
will
not
be
needed
to
provide
to
continue
on
their
travels.
And
yesterday
the
solicitor
general
and
the
premier
had
a
good
laugh
after
our
last
question
around
this.
But
it's
a
serious
matter.
J
K
Honorable
speaker
and
I'd
like
to
make
it
clear
to
the
honorable
member
that
when
the
announcement
was
made
on
last
friday
and
the
details
I
said
were
about
enforcement
coming
out
later
this
week.
I
know
that
his
caucus
was
briefed
on
that.
We
also
made
it
clear
that
essential
travel
is
absolutely
included,
and
if
the
member
would
let
me
finish,
it
was
made
clear
then
that
when
you're
going
to
a
medical
appointment,
it
is
essential
travel
and
you
do
not
have.
L
L
L
It
took
three
days
of
phone
calls
by
the
mom
before
her
son
was
finally
put
on
methadone
quote
when
we
finally
got
there,
they
did
not
take
the
intake,
but
we
were
told
to
come
back
another
day
to
get
his
prescription.
It's
not
interior,
hell's
fault.
They're
stretched
thin
too
thin,
but
where
else
do
they
go
for
help?
L
L
In
the
last
seven
days,
we've
seen
seven
deaths.
These
cut
and
paced
news
releases
are
not
good
enough
from
this
government.
My
question
is
to
the
premier:
what
is
this
government's
plan
to
ensure
that
this
mother
and
other
mothers
don't
have
to
see
their
sons
or
daughters
in
next
month's
news
release.
M
Thank
you,
mr
speaker,
to
have
lost
another
158
british
columbians
to
the
toxic
increasingly
toxic
drug
supply.
This
past
month
is
tragic.
I
express,
on
behalf
of
the
government
my
condolences
to
the
family,
the
friends,
the
peers
and
everybody
working
on
the
front
line.
Who's
worked
so
hard
to
keep
people
alive.
This
is
a
tragic
spike.
That's
resulted
from
the
pandemic
measures.
This
has
been
felt
across
the
country
felt
very
hard
in
british
columbia.
M
Let
me
remind
the
member
we're
the
only
province
who
has
scaled
up
our
response
to
the
crisis
across
the
full
continuum
of
care.
We
have
doubled
the
number
of
supervised
consumption
sites,
we're
the
only
province,
that's
offering
prescribed
safe
supply
as
a
way
to
separate
people
from
the
toxic
drug
supply
and
further
expanding
that
that
we
have
built
more
treatment
beds,
double
the
number
of
youth
treatment
beds
that
that
we
are
supporting
in
every
way
that
we
can
to
try
to
overcome
this
tragic
loss
of
life.
M
But
honestly,
I'm
surprised
and
with
great
support,
respect
to
those
families,
who've
lost
loved
ones
and
integrate
with
great
respect
to
those
working
hard
to
save
lives
that
the
member
would
raise.
This
question
questioning
our
commitment
to
addictions,
treatment
and
response
to
the
overdose
crisis
in
this
week
that
the
media
is
alleging
that
the
bc
liberals
used
a
publicly
funded
addictions.
Recovery
center
for
partisan
purposes
is
troubling
and
questionable,
and
I
hope
the
member
does
not
question
it.
Remember.
M
I've
finished
my
answer,
minister.
Thank
you.