►
From YouTube: NOVEMBER 16 2021 Question Period
Description
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
2nd Session
42nd Parliament
C
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
It's
been
almost
two
years
since
the
doors
of
this
legislature
were
swarmed
by
protesters
now,
tensions
at
the
coastal
gaslink
construction
site
in
northern
bc
are
heating
up
again
more
than
500
workers,
including
wet
sweat
and
members,
have
been
cut
off
from
supplies
and
the
outside
world.
As
a
result
of
an
illegal
blockade,
we
wrote
to
the
minister
about
this
deteriorating
situation
nearly
three
weeks
ago
and
yesterday
the
minister
seemed
to
throw
in
the
towel
on
ending
the
blockade.
C
D
Obviously,
an
illegal
blockade
is
not
acceptable
and
we
are
working
very
closely
in
terms
of
dealing
with
cgl
and
the
situation
for
those
workers
behind
those
blockade
lines,
at
the
same
time
being
in
regular
contact
with
the
the
rcmp
in
terms
of
ensuring
that
as
much
as
possible,
we
can
get
this
situation
resolved
and
de-escalated
in
a
way
that
reduces
the
potential
for
conflict,
which
I
don't
think
anybody
wants
to
see.
C
Well,
thank
you
very
much,
mr
speaker.
Of
course,
no
one
wants
to
see
a
conflict,
but
what
we
want
to
make
sure
of
is
that
more
than
500
people
who
are
trapped
behind
an
illegal
blockade
are
actually
cared
for.
Let's
be
clear,
this
is
a
political
standoff
and
there
are
more
than
500
workers
caught
in
the
crosshairs.
C
There
is
no
way
to
get
supplies
in
and
no
way
for
workers
to
leave
supplies
will
run
out
in
the
next
several
days
and
if
there
is
a
medical
emergency,
the
illegal
blockade
puts
health
and
safety
of
more
than
500
workers
at
risk.
These
are
public
roads
that
are
being
blocked.
There
is
significant
concern
about
the
safety
and
well-being
of
more
than
500
workers
trapped
behind
an
illegal
blockade.
C
The
company,
as
the
minister
well
knows,
has
approvals
from
the
province
and
support
from
all
20
elected
councils
along
the
route,
and
he
also
knows
that
there
is
an
enforceable
bc
supreme
court
injunction
in
place
which
allows
work
to
continue.
So
today,
as
we
sit
here,
there
are
more
than
500
workers
trapped.
D
You,
honourable
speaker,
and
I
thank
the
member
for
the
question
and
obviously
we
are
very
concerned
about
the
situation
at
the
the
camp.
We
have
been
in
contact
with
cgl.
We
have
been
in
contact
with
the
rcmp.
D
D
You
immerse,
I
was
asked
a
serious
question,
I'm
giving
a
serious
response
and
if
you
want
to
chuckle
and
laugh,
I
think,
that's,
I
don't
think
that's
appropriate.
What
I'm
telling
the
the
member
who
asks
a
question
is:
we
are
aware
of
the
situation
at
the
camp.
We
have
been
in
contact
with
cgl.
D
We
know
that
there
are
medical
capabilities
in
that
camp
and
we
will
ensuring
that
if
medical
assistance
is
required
that
it
gets
in,
we
know
that
the
the
the
road
is
blocked,
but
there
are
other,
for
example,
by
air
that
can
be
used.
What
we
want
to
see
in
place
is
a
de-escalation.
D
We
have
been
doing
efforts
over
that
over
the
last
number
of
months
to
be
able
to
do
just
that.
It
is
a
challenging
situation,
but
I
also
know
that
that
is
the
the
best
way
at
this
point
to
resolve
it
and
that's
what
we're
working
to
do.
E
B
E
Speaker
53
days
of
this
blockade,
but
this
has
been
building
over
a
lot
longer
and
here's
the
challenge.
The
ndp
government
seems
to
have
different
messages
for
protesters
in
different
regions
of
the
province
in
southern
bc.
The
government
has
supported
the
elected
chiefs
who
seek
employment
through
forestry.
E
F
F
We
I
have
met
on
several
occasions
with
elected
leaders
of
the
witsoweton
nation,
but
of
course,
we're
also
dealing
with
those
people,
the
hereditary
chiefs,
who
brought
the
delgamook
the
stay
away
case
to
the
supreme
court
of
canada
almost
a
generation
ago
that
work
that
ongoing
dialogue
has
never
happened
as
the
court,
commanded
the
governments
of
the
day
to
do,
and
we
are
now
doing
that
we
are
working
with
the
proper
rights
and
title
holders
according
to
the
with
soweton
people.
We
will
continue
to
do
that.
F
As
regards
the
specific
controversy
that
the
member
alludes
to,
we
aren't
treating
protesters
differently
in
one
part
of
the
province
as
against
another.
The
fact
is,
I
have
been
to
me
meeting
with
the
clan
leader
of
the
of
the
gitmunden
clan.
I
have
a
call
today
with
the
cgl
leaders.
I
have
met
with
the
elders
in
the
territory
as
recently
as
a
couple
of
months
ago,
at
the
same
time,
meeting
with
elected
leaders
as
well.
E
E
I
mean,
let's,
let's
be
clear
here:
it's
been
well
documented
that
equipment
is
being
stolen,
equipment
has
been
vandalized,
roads,
of
course,
are
now
blocked,
and
over
500
workers
are
being
not
only
under
siege,
but
they're
being
threatened.
People
are
yelling
in
their
faces
and
the
running
out
of
supplies,
and
what
is
the
government's
response
been
to
this
situation
over
the
years?
E
And
there
is
a
difference
between
how
it's
treated
in
the
north
and
how
street
in
the
south,
in
his
own
riding,
the
premier,
was
clear
to
the
protesters
to
leave
and
listen
to
the
requests
of
the
local
nations.
Move
along
was
the
direction
that
was
given
to
the
protesters
at
ferry
creek,
but
when
it
comes
to
the
20
elected
bans
that
have
given
support
for
coastal
lansing,
some
of
them
who
some
of
the
members
who
are
behind
these
picket
lines
or
these
protest
signs,
I
should
say
the
province-
has
taken
a
very
different
act.
E
They've
ignored
those
elected
chiefs
so
once
again
to
this
government,
and
perhaps
the
the
minister
for
state
for
land
and
natural
resource
operations,
maybe
have
maybe
wants
to
chime
in
because
some
of
these
people
are
chiefs
in
his
writing.
F
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
It
is
absolutely
true
that
we
have
provided
revenue
to
the
with
soweton
leaders
in
order
to
achieve
unity.
The
speech
that
I
give
to
the
elected
leaders
is
the
same
speech
that
I
give
to
the
hereditary
chiefs.
I
did
that
in
late
august
and
september,
when
I
was
in
the
territory,
I
said
that
we
need
to
find
unity
amongst
whitsoeten
if
we're
ever
going
to
solve
this
issue.
After
all,
mr
speaker,
it
was
the
hereditary
chiefs
who
went
to
the
supreme
court
of
canada
in
the
delgamucka
stay
way
case.
F
It
is
they
who
have
the
rights
and
title
the
elected
chiefs
are
very
much
part
of
the
solution.
They
have
pipeline
benefit
agreements,
they
have
other
revenue
sharing
in
the
territory.
That
is
true,
and
we
honor
that
participation,
but
the
truth
is
we
are
trying
to
achieve
unity
in
the
way
I've
described,
there's
no
way
that
we're
treating
them
differently
in
the
north
and
the
south.
It's
simply
not
factual.
We
are
trying
to
very
much
to
solve
this
controversy.
There
is
no
excuse
for
vandalism
or
theft.
This
is
a
project
that
has
the
permit.
F
G
Thank
you,
honorable
speaker
and,
and
honestly,
it's
it's
disorienting
in
the
wake
of
what
will
probably
be
one
of
the
most
costly
storms
in
terms
of
infrastructure
in
bc's
history,
driven
by
climate
change,
that
we
are
in
here
with
two
parties,
the
government
and
the
official
opposition
trying
to
outdo
each
other
about
how
we're
going
to
get
more
fossil
fuel
infrastructure
built
in
this
province.
Fossil
fuel
infrastructure
heavily
subsidized
by
this
government
over
the
last
36
hours
bc,
has
experienced
record-setting
weather
events
complete
with
mudslides,
mass
evacuations,
which
are
underway
today
still
and
collapsed.
G
The
minister
of
public
safety
has
said
that
the
responsibility
for
preparedness
and
emergency
response
largely
falls
on
local
governments.
In
fact,
he
said
it
six
times,
but
this
weather
affected
the
entire
province,
and
this
provincial
government
is
responsible
for
provincial
highways.
The
coquihalla
is
impassable
and
might
be
for
months,
the
malahat
and
highway
7
turned
into
rivers.
There
are
currently
no
access
in
or
out
of,
the
lower
mainland
in
regional
districts,
which
account
for
the
vast
majority
of
land
in
bc.
G
Roads
and
highways
are
under
provincial
jurisdiction
and
when
we
have
climate
events
that
are
going
to
impact
huge
swaths
of
the
province,
the
provincial
government
needs
to
play
a
proactive
role
in
emergency
preparation
and
response.
Through
you,
honorable
speaker
to
the
minister
of
public
safety,
were
we
hurt?
D
Thank
you.
Honourable
speaker.
I
thank
the
member
for
the
question
and
I'd
like
to
start
by
acknowledging
that
she
recognized
the
the
amazing
work
done
at
the
local
government
level
and
and
and
communities
in
different
parts
of
the
province,
but
I
noticed
she
forgot
the
the
amazing
work
done
by
the
members
of
emergency
management
bc,
honorable
speaker,
and
I
think
they
need
to
do
it.
D
On
the
work
done
by
the
contractors
and
the
highway
personnel
in
this
province,
who
work
day
and
night
during
appalling
conditions,
the
work
done
by
search
and
rescue
volunteers
out
of
in
communities
across
our
province
and
out
of
comox
but
I'll
also
tell
the
member.
This
is
that
we
recognize
that
climate
change
is
playing
a
fundamental
role
in
the
challenges
that
we
are
facing
in
the
disasters
and
the
emergencies
that
are
facing
us.
D
D
It's
about
prevention,
mitigation,
response
and
recovery,
the
four
key
pillars,
all
of
those
are
part
and
parcel
of
the
work,
that's
underway
to
recognize
the
role
that
climate
change
is
underway
in
terms
of
how
we
deal
with
emergencies
in
this
province,
and
we
are
going
to
continue
on
that
work.
Honorable
speaker
and
I
look
forward
to
her
support
of
that
incredible
legislation
when
it's
tabled
in
this
house.
G
Thank
you,
honorable
speaker
and
we've
had
a
lot
of
opportunities
this
year
to
test
how
prepared
we
are
for
these
emergencies.
We've
had
a
heat,
dome,
a
record-setting,
wildfire
season,
a
bomb,
cyclone,
a
localized
tornado
and
now
severe
flooding
and
infrastructure
collapse
across
the
province
because
of
record-setting
rainfall.
G
The
alberta
government
told
people
to
stay
home
on
the
weekend.
In
response
to
this
incoming
weather
system.
On
friday,
washington
state
issued
flood
warnings
and
distributed
free,
sandbags
and
counties
forecasted
to
be
heavily
impacted.
They
were
proactive
and
they
minimized
loss.
And,
yes,
I
acknowledge
absolutely
the
incredible
work
of
embc,
of
search
and
rescue
of
road
crews.
G
This
past
year
has
been
a
reckoning
and
we
need
serious,
natural
and
built
infrastructure
plans
to
adapt
to
the
effects
of
climate
change.
The
plan
must
be
led
by
the
province.
It
must
be
proactive
and,
through
you,
honourable
speaker,
to
the
minister,
public
safety
solicitor
general
having
assigned
on
to
the
sendai
is
something.
But
what
we
need
is
for
this
government
to
treat
climate
change
like
the
emergency
that
it
is
and
create
an
action
plan
that
matches
the
scale.
B
D
Thank
you,
honourable
speaker,
and
I
thank
the
the
member
for
the
question
and
an
action
plan
is
exactly
what
we're
doing
by
overhauling
the
emergency
program
act,
which
is
the
first
time
that
it's
been
done
since
the
early
90s
when
it
was
put
in
place,
and
it
means
that
fundamental
principle
of
the
sendai
framework
in
how
you
approach
disaster
management.
As
I
said
on
the
four
key
on
the
four
key
pillars-
that's
the
fundamental
foundation.
D
The
coordination
that
we
have
seen
between
the
province
and
local
government-
I
am
always
amazed
at
how
remarkable
it
is.
I
watched
this
morning
as
in
abbotsford,
the
mayor
and
the
council
of
first
responders
worked
with
embc
to
ensure
that
emergency
centers
were
open,
that
evacuation
orders
were
put
in
place
and
the
people
were
evacuated.
D
I've
watched
as
emergency
centers
were
open
and
put
in
supports
in
place.
It
starts
at
the
local
level,
it
works
with
the
province
and
then
goes
up
to
the
federal
government.
This
province
has
been
working.
This
government's
been
working
on
a
long-term
plan
that
is
being
implemented.
Honorable
speaker
we're
going
to
continue
that
work
to
ensure
that
we've
got
the
most
robust
response
possible
that
recognizes
that
climate
change
is
clearly
a
driving
factor.
H
Thank
you.
Mr
speaker,
documents
obtained
under
freedom
of
information
reveal
that
the
ndp
government
has
made
an
ideological
decision
to
demolish
private
child
care
providers
in
british
columbia,
private
child
care
providers
in
british
columbia
last
fall.
The
priorities
and
accountabilities
cabinet
committee
directed
the
elimination
of
grants
for
private
providers
and
on
may
21st
2021,
the
minister
of
state
for
child
care
approved
a
recommendation
to,
and
I
quote,
discontinue
privately
owned
facility
development
in
the
new
spaces
fund.
Do
not
create
any
additional
incentive
programs.
End
quote
so.
I
And
if
the
member
opposite
has
not
read
our
child
care
plan,
I
can
provide
a
few
examples
of
how
we've
been
supporting
for-profit
child
care
providers,
along
with
many
other
providers,
through
our
increased
funding
to
maintain
their
spaces
through
our
operating
grant,
through
wage
enhancement
and
through
measures
to
lower
parent
fees
for
those
child
care
providers,
including
startup
fundings,
to
create
many
many
more
spaces
that
are
historical
throughout
this
province.
Thank
you,
honorable
speaker,.
H
B
H
H
Believe
the
other
side
of
the
house
is
not
listening
to
what
I
am
saying,
or
they
would
not
be
applauding
this.
Mr
speaker,
I
was
just
we
just
heard
the
minister
say:
investment
in
private
child
care
is
something
that
this
government
is
doing,
and
yet
this
decision.
H
Mr
speaker,
these
documents
make
it
clear
that
this
ndp
government
has
made
an
ideological
choice
to
make
it
cost
prohibitive
for
child
child
private
child
care
providers
to
continue
operating.
We
are
talking
about
half
of
the
child
care
spaces
in
this
province
that
are
largely
run,
mr
speaker
by
women,
entrepreneurs
and
small
independent
businesses.
H
The
minister's
intention
or
the
minister's
decision
intended-
and
I
quote
from
her
from
her
decision-
note
signal
governments
move
away
from
market-based
child
care,
recognizing
it
may
be
cost
prohibitive
for
for-profit
providers
to
remain
in
the
sector.
End
quote
so.
Why
did
the
minister
sign
off
on
a
plan
to
dismantle
60
000
child
care
spaces
that
families
across
the
province
rely
on.
I
I
And
we
know
parents
in
this
province
wants
access
to
child
care,
so
we
have
been
working
really
hard
to
find
every
opportunity
possible
and
we
have
learned
so
much
from
the
past
four
years
of
our
childcare
bc
plan
and
through
the
canada-wide
agreement.
One
thing
that
we've
done
with
the
federal
government
is
to
know
that
we
need
to
focus
on
creating
child
care
spaces
that
could
be
long-term
community
assets
but
at
the
same
time,.
I
A
A
That's
the
only
way
that
we've
been
able
to
learn
of
the
minister's
decision
to
to
to
eliminate
sixty
thousand
spaces
child
care
spaces
across
british
columbia,
and,
let's
be
clear,
these
foi
documents,
these
foi
documents,
this
one's,
it's
called
the
ministry
of
children
and
family
development
decision
note
dated,
may
21st
2021
it's
signed
by
the
minister.
A
For
child
care
this
this
decision
note,
it
clearly
shows
that
the
ndp
the
ndp
made
a
secret
ideological
decision
to
drive
independent
child
care
providers
who
are
responsible
for
almost
50
of
all
child
care
spaces
in
this
province
to
drive
them
out
of
business.
Mr
speaker,
that's
on
page
two
of
this
decision.
Note
these
foi
documents
say
the
ndp's
changes
for
independent
child
care
providers
will
be-
and
I
quote,
making
these
spaces
unavailable
in
the
medium
term
and
quote.
I
I
B
I
Care
providers,
including
non-profit
for-profit,
indigenous
governmental
providers,
start-up
funding,
funding
to
maintain
their
spaces,
and
we
are
continuing
this
work
honorable
speaker
we're
continuing
to
create
healthcare
spaces
that
will
become
long-term
community
assets.
We
know-
and
we've
learned
so
much
since
day,
one
of
our
child
care
bc
plan
that
we're
underway
to
make
sure
we
know
that
public
dollars
needs
to
go
into
high
quality
child
care
spaces
that
can
be
long-term
community
assets,
and
let
me
give
the
member
opposite
an
example.
I
B
A
Well,
well,
thank
you
very
much,
mr
speaker.
I
I'm
holding
the
document
in
my
hands
here,
page
seven
page,
seven
page
seven,
it's
signed
by
the
minister
responsible
for
child
care
and
the
recommendation
says-
and
I
quote,
discontinue
for-profit
eligibility
for
the
new
spaces
fund
do
not
create
any
additional
incentive.
Programs.
End
quote
that's
on
page
7
of
the
minister's
document.
Mr
speaker,
this
this
document
is
crystal
clear
and
I
quote.
A
Over
the
last
three
years,
growth
in
the
child
care
sector
has
been
led
by
for-profit
providers,
with
both
the
number
of
for-profit
providers
and
the
spaces
they
deliver
outstripping
not-for-profit
and
family
providers,
starting
in
2017
2018,
and
quote
that's
on
page
two
of
the
minister's
foi
decision.
Note
according
to
to
this
document,
independently
owned
child
care
spaces
have
been
steadily
increasing.
Since
2003
and
page
three
of
this
foi
decision
note
says
that
83.7
percent
of
operational
spaces
created
since
2017
are
operated
by
private
child
care
providers,
wow
private.
B
I
Grants
to
wage
enhancement
to
startup
funding,
and
we
know
that
now
because
we're
going
into
the
fourth
year
of
our
child
care
plan,
we
need
to
make
sure
that
we
focus
on
child
care
spaces
that
can
become
long-term
community
assets.
That
will
benefit
generations
to
come
and
we're
going
to
continue
to
support
the
creation
of
child
care
spaces.
And
I
know
the
member
opposite
we're
hackling
about
the
work
that
we've
been
doing.
But
we
have
invested
2.3
billion
dollars
into
the
child
care
center.