►
From YouTube: OCTOBER 27 2021 Question Period
Description
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
2nd Session
42nd Parliament
A
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
Well,
we
know
the
premier
likes
to
hide
from
making
tough
decisions,
which
is
why
there
is
a
17-step
process
for
61
school
boards
that
will
end
with
a
patchwork
of
vaccination
policies
across
the
province,
but
the
government's
habit
of
hiding
information
has
meant
that
parents
staff
teachers
have
been
kept
in
the
dark
when
it
comes
to
knowing
the
health
risks
in
our
schools.
A
This
quote
from
the
president
of
the
bctf:
it's
unacceptable
that
over
a
year
and
a
half
into
this
pandemic,
there
is
still
no
province-wide
consistency
in
how
exposures
and
clusters
in
schools
are
defined
and
reported.
End
quote.
So.
Will
the
premier
finally
step
up
and
provide
the
up-to-date
notifications
in
schools
that
parents
and
teachers
deserve
and
have
been
calling
for.
C
Thank
you,
honourable
speaker,
and
thank
you
to
the
member
for
the
question.
I
think,
as
we
all
understand
and
agree,
the
health
and
safety
of
everyone
in
our
school
system
is
of
primary
importance
during
this
third
third
school
year,
where,
where
we
are
dealing
with
covet
in
our
schools,
I
I
want
to
assure
parents
that,
as
has
been
the
case
throughout
the
pandemic,
should
their
child
be
at
risk
of
an
exposure
to
coven
in
schools.
They
will
be
notified
by
public
health.
Parents
have
to
understand
that.
That
is
what
is
happening
today.
C
That's
what's
been
happening
last
month
is
what
happened
all
last
year
in
our
school
system,
exposures
are
defined
by
the
cdc
as
a
situation
when
a
person
with
covet
19
has
had
close
contact
with
others
during
their
infectious
period
and
exposure
importantly,
does
not
mean
you
are
infected
with
covid.
C
A
cluster
is
when
public
health
determines
there's
a
link
between
two
or
more
individuals
with
covenant.
Schools,
those
incidents,
those
potential
exposure.
Events
are
recorded
by
public
health.
They
are
recorded,
in
fact,
on
the
the
health
authority
websites.
They
are
accessible
students
or
or
staff
who
have
been
at
risk
of
an
exposure,
are
directly
contacted
by
public
health.
That
is
what's
happening
today
across
our
school
system.
A
Well,
thank
you
very
much
to
the
minister,
but
let's
be
clear,
we
continue
to
hear
from
across
british
columbia
that
parents
don't
feel
that
sense
of
assurance
that
the
minister
keeps
talking
about,
and
it's
not
just
parents.
It
is
staff,
it
is
teachers.
In
fact,
let's
look
at
some
statistics,
not
mine,
but
the
bc
teachers,
federation
and
here's
what
they
report.
A
71
percent
feel
that
they
have
not
received
enough
information
regarding
covet.
19
exposures
and
the
cases
in
schools
and
districts
doesn't
sound.
Like
the
answer.
The
minister
gave
62
percent
feel
they
haven't,
received
enough
information
about
the
quality
of
ventilation
in
schools.
Something
we've
been
asking
about
since
before
school
actually
started.
53
of
teachers
feel
that
the
cleaning
and
sanitation
in
schools
is
inadequate.
A
Those
are
the
those
are
statistics
based
on
comments
from
teachers
across
british
columbia,
hardly
a
sense
of
assurance.
Let's
listen
to
what
terry
mooring
from
the
bc
teachers
federation
actually
said,
and
I
quote
it
has
become
very
clear
that
the
information
provided
and
the
communication
to
school
communities
is
not
painting
an
accurate
picture.
A
C
Thank
you.
Thank
you
very
much,
honorable
speaker
and
I
I
thank
the
member
for
pointing
to
for
pointing
to
concerns
raised
by
by
teachers.
I
have
to
say
it
is
it's
an
interesting
it's
an
interesting
change
in
in
perspective
on
members
of
the
bctf.
I
think
it's
quite.
I
think
it's
been
quite
some
time
since
the
the
members
on
the
other
side
of
the
house
have
actually
stood
up
and
advocated
for
us
something
the
pct
office
actually
said.
C
I
might
just
add,
since
a
losing
a
case
in
the
supreme
court,
in
what
I
think
was
the
most
remarkably
quick
verbal
opinion
issued
by
the
court.
But
at
any
rate
I
I
understand
and
have.
C
Recently,
in
the
in
the
past
few
days,
met
with
members
of
the
bctf
heard
their
concerns
that
that
were
illuminated
in
their
in
their
survey.
I
know
that
school
boards
that
district
staff,
the
principals
are
working
with
their
community
are
working
with
families
are
working
with
their
members
are
working
with
their
occupational
health
and
safety
committees
in
schools
in
school
districts
throughout
the
province.
C
To
address
the
very
issues
that
have
been
raised,
we
are
going
to
continue
to
work
in
collaboration
at
a
provincial
level
and
at
a
district
level
as
we
work
through
this
this
challenging
time
in
the
pandemic,
and
I
thank
the
member
for
for
their
for
her
concern.
D
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
On
monday,
the
minister
of
advanced
education's
excuse
for
not
enforcing
vaccine
guidelines
at
universities
was
that
professors
are
happy
well.
That
response
got
a
failing
grade.
Dr
isabella
laba
from
ubc
says,
and
I
quote:
I'm
not
excited
I'm
exhausted
and
burned
out
thanks
in
part
to
you
and
your
abdication
of
responsibility.
D
E
E
E
We
have
masks
in
classrooms
in
public
indoor
spaces,
proof
of
vaccination
in
student
housing
and
many
parts
of
campus
life
such
as
restaurants,
pubs
and
ticketed
events
and
as
well.
We
do
have
protocols
to
monitor
and
respond
to
outbreaks.
Honourable
speaker,
as
I
have
said
before,
that
there
is
mechanisms
for
post-secondary
institutions
or
colleges
and
universities
to
be
able
to
put
in
above
and
beyond,
guidelines
of
what
the
pho
would
like
and
they
are
able
to
work
with
the
public
health
as
well.
Thank
you.
D
Well,
thank
you.
Perhaps
the
minister
hasn't
been
to
the
campuses,
but
there's
no
checking
of
vaccine
passports.
There's
no
there's
no
checking
of
any
kind
of
of
safety
at
the
at
the
universities.
So
let's
do
some
math
for
the
minister
of
advanced
education,
10
of
a
300
person
in
her
in-person
lecture
hall
is
30
unvaccinated
students
all
crammed
into
close
quarters
for
three
hours.
D
E
Thank
you,
honorable
speaker,
and
I
take
my
job
very
seriously,
and
I
know
that
the
presidents
of
our
colleges
and
universities
take
their
job
very
seriously.
Health
and
safety
of
our
students,
our
staff
and
faculty.
Everyone
who
is
on
our
post-secondary
campuses
are
very
important
and
we
have
mechanisms
in
place.
Honourable
speaker,
as
I
have
previously
said,
post-secondary
institutions,
those
that
I
have
been
talking
to
have
reported
that
they
have
over
90
percent
vaccination
on
campus,
and
this
is
something
that
we
should
celebrate
but
as
well.
E
We
know
that
there
is
more
work
to
do.
We
need
to
encourage
people
to
get
vaccinated
and
we
have
vaccine
clinics
on
campus
to
enable
staff
and
students
who
are
not
vaccinated
to
get
vaccinated.
We
have
a
strong
and
public,
thriving
post-secondary
institution
and
we
will
continue
to
keep
our
students
and
staff
and
faculty
safe.
F
Thank
you,
honorable
speaker,
salton
leyland
means
helping
house
salton
leyland
is
an
addictions
recovery
center
for
residential
school
survivors
and
their
families.
Currently
based
in
the
news
bay,
they
offer
a
40-day
residential
program
grounded
in
culture
and
tradition
for
indigenous
participants,
who
are
in
long-term
recovery.
F
F
G
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
We
are
funding
the
salton
leyland
rebuild
in
duncan
it's
one
of
the
many
projects.
The
province
of
british
columbia
is
very
proud
to
be
a
partner
with
first
nations
health
authority,
the
disproportionate
impact
of
of
drug
overdose
and
addiction
on
first
nations.
People
on
all
indigenous
people
is
a
front
of
mind
for
our
government.
G
To
that
end,
we've
committed
20
million
dollars
to
the
rebuild
of
of
first
nations
healing
and
treatment
recovery,
centers
that
were
initially
built
by
the
federal
government
which
has
neglected
them.
I
have
been
working
along
with
the
minister
of
indigenous
reconciliation
here
in
this
chamber
to
encourage
the
federal
government
to
also
partner
along
with
province
of
british
columbia
and
for
station's
health
authority,
so
that
each
three,
each
of
the
three
of
us
would
all
be
committing
20
million
dollars.
G
Absolutely
money
has
been
committed
to
the
salton
leyland
rebuild
and-
and
I
will
undertake
to
let
the
member
know
the
exact
figure,
but
it's
certainly
in
the
several
million
dollars.
It
is
the
first
nations
health
authority,
because
our
government's
commitment
is
to
focus
on
indigenous
led
solutions
that
actually
administers
the
funding.
But
something
has
absolutely
been
assured
that
the
province
and
fnha
are
funding
it
to
the
order
of
many
millions
of
dollars.
And
we
are
encouraging
our
federal
partners
to
do
the
same.
F
Thank
you,
honorable,
thank
you,
honorable
speaker
and
I'm
delighted
to
hear
this
and
I'm
sure
that
the
executive
director,
nola
jeffrey,
will
also
be
delighted
to
hear
this.
I
guess
my
follow-up
question
will
be.
Can
the
minister
commit
in
writing
to
miss
jeffrey
what
the
exact
funding
from
the
province
will
be.
G
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
I've
met
several
times
with
sutton
leyland
leads,
I
don't
think,
there's
any
question
that
their
funding
is
assured
and
I'll
certainly
get
back
to
the
member
with
them,
with
the
documentation
of
that.
This
is
a
commitment
that
was
made
by
my
predecessor,
judy
darcy,
the
first
minister
of
mental
health
and
addiction.
G
So
this
is
a
commitment
of
some
time
standing,
but
while
I
have
the
opportunity,
I'm
all
indicate
also
in
addition
to
the
20
million
dollars
that
our
budget
has
committed
to
the
rebuild
of
first
nations,
treatment
and
recovery,
centers.
H
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
As
a
relatively
new
house
leader
still
in
this
place,
I
often
find
myself
looking
through
hansard
and
and
trying
to
reflect
on
what
previous
host
leaders
did,
either
in
opposition
or
in
government,
and
it
was
surprising
to
me-
and
I
was
thankful
to
find
that
on
october,
7th
2015,
the
now
house
leader
for
government,
who
was
the
house
leader
for
opposition
at
the
time,
reaffirmed
rules
around
question
period
for
this
house
around
how
questions
can
be
asked
and-
and
I'll
quote.
Very
briefly.
H
H
So,
mr
speaker,
on
june,
16
2021
this
assembly
agreed
that
a
statutory
special
committee
be
appointed
to
review
the
freedom
of
information
and
protection
of
privacy
act.
My
question
is
for
the
chair
of
that
committee
on
august
23rd.
The
chair
of
that
committee
said,
and
I
quote
at
their
meeting,
we
will
reconvene
at
some
point
likely
in
the
fall
end
quote
so
to
the
chair
of
the
committee,
the
member
for
port
moody
coquitlam.
B
I
I
The
the
committee
will
will
meet
at
the
current
plan.
As
I
understand
it
is
we
we
will
meet
within
the
next
few
weeks,
and
the
committee
is
dedicated
to
reviewing
the
the
the
funeral
of
information
and
privacy
act
and,
and
we
will,
we
will
look
forward
to
doing
that
work.
Thank
you.
B
H
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
It's
unfortunate.
The
government
finds
this
a
laughing
matter,
but
it
is
a
very
important
statutory
committee
that
the
member
chairs
doing
very
important
work
or
trying
to
do
very
important
work,
and
one
would
hope
I
mean
we
saw
the
the
attempts
at
ministers
to
get
the
member
to
not
answer
the
question.
One
would
hope:
they're
not
trying
to
direct
a
statutory
committee's
work.
At
the
same
time,.
H
J
My
question
is
also
for
the
member
for
port
moody,
the
chair
of
the
committee,
and
follows
on
the
authority
to
oppose
questions
about
the
the
agenda
for
that
committee.
Can
the
can
the
chair
the
member
for
port
moody,
indicate?
Has
the
the
special
committee
placed
on
its
agenda?
I
Thank
you
for
the
question.
We
have
only
met
one
time.
We
will
meet
again
as
a
committee
to
discuss
our
agenda
and
we
will
at
that
point
determine
what
our
work
plan
will
be.
Thank
you.
J
I
Thank
you.
As
I
said
earlier,
we
will
be
meeting
in
the
next
few
weeks.
I
cannot
give
you
a
exact
answer
on
the
date
we're
going
to
meet
yet,
but
I
will
take
your
question
under
advisement.
Thank
you.
K
Thank
you,
mr
chair,
mr
chair,
mr
speaker,
steelhead
are
close
to
extinction
in
the
interior,
british
columbia.
Only
58
fish
are
expected
to
spawn
in
the
thompson
watershed
and
27
fish
in
the
chilcotin,
but
there's
no
provincial
species
a
risk
act,
no
federal,
sarah
designation
and
government.
Ironically
enough,
is
still
advertising.
Steelhead
fishing
on
the
tourism
website
question
to
the
premier.
Does
the
premier
intend
to
take
strong
action
on
steelhead,
or
is
he
happy
enough
to
let
fraser
river
steelhead
go
extinct.
L
Thank
you
very
much,
mr
speaker,
and
I
really
appreciate
the
question.
Thank
you
very
much.
Our
province
is
committed
to
the
goal
of
reversing
the
decline
of
the
steelhead
and
ensure
the
recovery
of
the
wild
steelhead
populations.
L
L
Our
province
has
invested
in
increased
enforcement
of
steelhead
regulation,
as
well
as
investing
in
habitat
related
projects
such
as
removing
blockages
and
improving
fists
fish
passage
and
steelhead
watersheds.
I
know
this
is
a
significant
interest
to
many
of
the
members
in
this
house
and
we
are
continuing
to
work
on
this
issue.
K
You,
mr
speaker,
well,
mr
speaker,
it's
not
just
the
opposition,
which
is
sounding
the
alarm.
Just
last
month
the
minister
of
state
for
lands
and
natural
resource
operations
said
government
was
failing
on
september
20th.
He
said
quote
it's
in
a
crisis
state
from
my
perspective,
and
we
are
not
doing
enough.
End
quote
so.
I
I,
the
the
interior,
steelhead
action
plan
and
activities
report
from
august
of
this
year
describes
the
plan.
K
Here's
the
plan
priorities
include
updating
strategic
plans,
so
they're
going
to
update
some
plans,
policies
for
steelhead
monitoring,
continuing
to
monitor
steelhead
returns
continuing
to
support
the
transformation
of
non-selective
fisheries
to
selective,
although
we
don't
see
a
lot
of
that
happening,
assessing
management
interventions,
including
fish
culture,
and
improving
transparency,
communication
and
information
available
regarding
interior
phrase
or
steelhead,
which
is
a
bit
ironic,
given
the
freedom
of
information
situation
that
we're
facing
these
days.
But
I
ask
you,
mr
speaker:
does
that
sound
like
action?
K
No,
actually,
I
don't
believe
it
does.
It
sounds
like
waiting
watching
and
hoping
when
to
through
you,
mr
speaker,
to
the
to
the
to
the
premier.
When
does
the
premier
intend
to
take
real
action
to
save
this
iconic
bc,
fish.
L
L
Are
appropriate
and
also
having
those
really
important
discussions
with
first
nations,
who
are
also
looking
into
these
issues.
In
the
longer
term,
we
are
working
to
increase
these
populations
back
to
their
previous
rent
sizes,
increasing
their
resiliency
and
ability
to
support
fisheries
all
with
the
goal
of
reversing
the
decline
of
the
steelhead.
N
N
On
november
21st
2019,
the
minister
of
environment,
stood
in
this
house
and
said
quote:
it
is
in
my
mandate
and
has
been
since
day
one
to
develop
bc.
Species
at
risk
legislation
end
quote,
but
I
have
here
the
minister's
current
mandate
letter.
There
is
no
mention
of
legislation
to
protect
steelhead
zero.
It's
gone
extinct
to
the
premier.
Why
did
he
break
his
promise
to
protect
an
iconic
species
like
steelhead.
O
Thank
you
very
much,
honorable
speaker.
Thank
you
to
the
members
for
the
question.
I
know
that
the
issue
of
steelhead
and
all
endangered
species
is
of
critical
importance
to
british
columbians,
we're
taking
a
number
of
measures
in
this
government
to
look
at
the
variety
of
ways
in
which
we
can
protect
and
enhance
biodiversity.
O
O
We've
established,
the
canada
bc
nature
agreement,
and
we
are
looking
forward
to
working
on
that
with
the
new
federal
minister
and
and
completing
that
to
put
in
place
a
framework
through
which
we
can
work
with
indigenous
people
and
all
british
columbians
to
put
in
place
the
measures
that
are
required
to
protect
biodiversity
and
species
at
risk.
N
N
The
premier
likes
to
make
big
promises.
He
just
never
delivers
ubc
conservation,
scientist,
tara,
martin
had
this
to
say,
and
I
quote
nothing
came
of
it.
Essentially,
the
province
walked
away
from
their
commitment,
with
no
statement
as
to
why
I've
said
in
this
house
before
steelhead
are
being
managed
into
extinction.
O
Thank
you
very
much,
mr
speaker.
It's
been
an
honor
to
be
in
this
position
for
four
years
and
a
couple
of
months,
I'd
like
to
note
that
the
member
opposite
and
many
of
her
colleagues
were
part
of
a
government
that
had
four
terms
16
years.
O
Whether
it's
through
various
actions
that
we've
taken
to
restore
habitat
and
watersheds,
we
will
continue
to
work
with
indigenous
people
and
people
around
british
columbia
and
the
federal
government
to
create
a
workable
framework
that
protects
species
at
risk
in
british
columbia,
steelhead
caribou,
marble,
marbled,
murlet,
northern
goshawk
and
others.
Thank
you.
M
M
E
Thank
you,
honorable
speaker,
and
thank
you
so
much
to
the
member
across
for
asking
this
very
important
question.
We
are
my.
I
am
working
with
my
partner
ministry.
Sorry,
minister
of
agriculture,
in
in
this
very
important
issue.
We
understand
that
there's
a
shortage
of
vets
in
british
columbia
and
it's
very
important
that
pets
and
as
livestock
owners
want
this
service
that
they
have
quickly
the
western
college
of
western
medicine.
E
Every
year
in
british
columbia,
we
have
80
80
students
there
and
to
answer
the
members
question,
we
have
increased
the
capacity
to
10
additional
british
columbian
students
in
the
college.
Thank
you.