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From YouTube: NOVEMBER 15 2021 Question Period
Description
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
2nd Session
42nd Parliament
A
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
For
weeks
we've
been
raising
legitimate
questions
on
behalf
of
parents
about
this
government's
clawback
of
autism
funding.
We've
heard
a
minister
of
the
crown
call
the
comments
sanctimonious
and
just
today
we
heard
dismissive
comments
from
the
member
by
the
member
from
chilliwack
kent.
A
Well,
you
know
what
mr
speaker,
a
constituent
of
that
member
donna.
Hemmings,
listened
to
her
words
today.
This
is
what
she
had
to
say
to
her
mla
and
I
quote:
we're
not
scared
of
change.
What
we're
scared
of
is
how
the
ndp
government
decided
for
us
not
to
be
part
of
the
decision-making
process
for
our
children.
A
A
This
is
squarely
on
the
shoulder
of
this
minister
and
government
so
today,
on
behalf
of
parents
across
british
columbia,
17
000
of
whom,
who
have
signed
a
petition.
Will
the
minister
and
her
colleagues
stop
being
dismissive
of
the
concerns
that
parents
are
expressing?
Will
she
end
the
claw
back
and
do
the
right
thing
today.
C
You,
honourable
speaker,
it
is
really
important
to
be
listening
to
families
and
to
be
hearing
of
the
expertise
and
experiences
of
families
caring
for
children
and
youth
with
neurodiverse
needs,
including
families
with
children
with
diagnosis
of
autism.
Honourable
speaker,
we
started
this
work
nearly
three
years
ago
now
and
we're
continuing
this
transition
through
to
2025.
A
A
We
know
that
mlas
on
that
side
of
the
house
have
had
dozens,
if
not
hundreds
of
letters
from
parents,
in
fact,
will
the
mla
for
richmond
queensborough
listen
to
his
constituent,
mike
sachs,
who
says-
and
I
quote
I
question
the
need
to
destroy
a
service
that
has
helped
thousands
of
families
over
20
years
and
replace
it
with
government-run
hubs.
I
call
on
the
minister
to
immediately
stop
this
plan.
End
quote:
will
the
mla
for
vancouver
fraser
view,
listen
to
a
constituent,
sabrina
sandu,
who
is
heartbroken
and
scared
for
her
son
dominic?
A
She
writes,
and
I
quote,
we
need
you
to
care.
We
need
you
to
put
a
stop
to
this.
Please
don't
turn
our
world
upside
down.
End
quote
not
my
words,
not
the
words
of
the
opposition,
the
words
of
desperate
frightened
and
upset
parents
who
are
writing
to
their
mlas,
who
were
sent
to
victoria
to
be
their
voice
in
this
legislature.
And
what
do
they
hear?
A
C
You,
honorable
speaker,
we
will
continue
to
listen
to
families
and
we
will
continue
to
listen
to
service
providers
and
indigenous
communities
as
well
as
we
move
forward
now,
starting
at
the
end
of
this
month.
We're
engaging
in
those
meaningful
conversations
and
those
that
dialogue
and
those
conversations
will
continue
in
the
weeks
and
months
ahead.
Honorable
speaker
we're
delivering
on
early
implementation
areas
that
we
can
evaluate
the
process
of
delivering
on
the
new
framework.
I
absolutely
understand
that
some
families
have
concerns
and
have
anxieties,
and
we
will
be
working
with
them.
C
We
have
the
time
to
be
able
to
create
really
positive
transitions
with
families
putting
their
child
and
youth
at
the
center
working
in
partnership
with
parents,
understanding
that
for
a
long
time,
they've
had
to
create
that
package
of
services
for
their
children
and
youth,
more
children,
youth
will
receive
services
under
the
new
framework.
Children,
youth
who
get
left
behind
today,
sapir
chima
executive
director
of
progressive
intercultural
community
services.
C
Society
says
it
can
be
extremely
challenging
for
parents
to
have
to
shop
around
for
the
best
supports
for
their
child,
especially
for
families
for
whom
english
may
not
be
their
first.
Language
services
that
are
culturally
safe,
inclusive,
easy
to
navigate
and
offered
in
one
convenient
location
are
critical
to
ensuring
all
children
and
youth
with
support
needs
are
getting
the
help
they
need.
D
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
We
continue
to
ask
questions
and
we
continue
to
get
the
same
platitudes
back
from
this
government
in
this
minister
last
week,
this
minister
falsely
claimed
that
families
and
again
just
now
with
english
as
a
second
language
support.
This
clawback
rosa
gonzalez,
responds
that
she
is
a
service
provider
to
over
90
families,
most
of
whom
are
filipinos
and
immigrants,
and
that
she
is
acutely
aware
of
the
specific
needs
of
underrepresented
groups.
D
She
says,
and
I
quote,
to
believe
that
immigrant
families
are
unable
to
select
or
manage
their
service
teams
is
naive
and
culturally
insensitive
to
take
away
this
individualized
funding
and
the
family's
freedom
to
choose
will
effectively
disenfranchise
these
families.
End
quote,
mr
speaker:
will
the
minister
respect
parents
choice
and
stop
this
claw
back.
C
Thank
you,
honourable
speaker.
I
I
do
understand
that
there
are
many
parents
out
there
who
are
concerned
and
who
are
worried.
There
are
families
for
whom
they
have
been
able,
eventually,
after
struggling
we've
heard
for
a
long
time,
been
able
to
create
a
package
of
services,
but
for
many
other
children
with
support
needs,
they
have
been
left
behind
and
it
hasn't
been
possible
for
them
to
receive
the
services
that
they
need.
C
Under
the
new
framework,
children
with
autism
will
still
receive
the
services
that
they
need
not
only
that
children
whose
parents
are
concerned
that
they
might
have
an
autism
diagnosis
will
receive
services
earlier
and
while
they
might
be
waiting
for
a
diagnosis
and
honourable
speaker,
in
addition
to
that
children,
youth,
where
there
are
other
concerns,
brain
injury,
for
example,
fetal
alcohol
spectrum
disorder
down
syndrome
will
also
be
able
to
access
services
that
meet
their
needs.
And,
honourable
speaker,
what
that
means
is
that
they
will
be
able
to
thrive.
They
will
meet
their
developmental
milestones.
D
D
Alicia
has
passed
experience
with
the
hub
model,
but
with
individualized
funding
she
is
now
working
to
set
up
a
team
to
help
lyla
thrive.
Alicia
writes
quote:
we
are
her
parents
and
we
know
best
how
to
do
that.
The
thought
of
these
choices
being
taken
away
is
just
not
acceptable.
End
quote
so,
mr
speaker,
we
will
ask
again:
will
the
minister
listen
to
alicia
and
countless
other
families
and
end
this
claw
back.
B
C
As
dr
chao
president
of
doctors
of
bc
has
said,
I
am
very
pleased
to
see
the
provincial
government
move
towards
a
needs-based
system
of
supports
for
these
children
and
their
families
as
a
specialist
in
child
and
youth
mental
health.
I
know
that
neurodiversity
and
disability
does
not
always
fit
nicely
into
diagnostic
categories.
E
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
For
weeks,
we've
heard
the
minister
of
children
and
families
repeat
the
same
rhetoric
and
unfortunately
it's
failed
to
provide
the
comfort
that
she's
been
hoping
that
it
would.
Mr
speaker,
darwin
dinesh,
had
down
syndrome
autism
and
other
conditions
for
his
entire
life.
Like
thousands
of
children
in
british
columbia,
he
fought
for
basic
access
to
services
which
he
never
got,
including
when
he
was
dying.
E
Mr
dennis
dr
denash
said
these
changes
will
lead
to
each
child
not
being
treated
as
an
individual
with
integrity
and
dignity.
He
warned
the
changes
are
unscientific
and
will
lead
to
a
system
that
is
even
more
discriminatory.
My
question,
mr
speaker,
is
through
you
to
the
minister
of
children
and
family
development.
Will
the
minister
listen
to
people
who
have
lived
experience
and
professional
experience
like
dr
dinesh
and
put
their
plans
to
change
the
system
on
hold,
so
the
proper
engagement
with
parents,
experts
and
organizations
can
take
place.
C
You,
honourable
speaker,
and
and
I
thank
the
family
for
sharing
their
story
with
us,
what
a
difficult
story
to
tell,
and
I
thank
all
the
families
who
have
shared
their
stories
with
us
on
our
journey
as
we
try
and
make
improvements
to
services
for
children,
youth
with
support
needs
here
in
british
columbia.
I
have
been
hearing
concerns
from
families
and
we
will
continue
to
listen
to
families.
In
fact,
listening
to
feedback
from
families
has
been
at
the
heart
of
the
work
that
we've
been
doing
in
this
ministry.
C
For
example,
during
the
pandemic
we
heard
from
families
who
told
us
that
they
wanted
to
be
able
to
use
the
respite
funding
that
they
get
in
a
more
flexible
way,
so
that
they
would
actually
feel
better
supported
in
taking
care
of
their
children,
youth.
Honorable
speaker,
we
implemented
that
as
an
emergency
measure,
and
we
have
now
turned
that
into
a
permanent
measure
as
well,
because
we
were
listening
to
our
families
and
what
they
need
from
us.
As
a
government,
we
are
continuing
to
listen
to
families.
C
E
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
You
know.
The
only
people
that
are
nodding
to
this
rhetoric
are
the
people
that
are
sitting
in
this
room
for
weeks.
We
have
heard
story
after
story
of
british
columbians
coming
and
imploring
this
government
to
stop
to
take
a
step
back
and
to
start
a
process
at
the
beginning,
not
in
the
middle.
E
E
E
C
We
are
continuing
our
work,
making
sure
that
we
put
children
and
youth
at
the
center
and
we
will
continue
to
listen
to
the
experiences
of
families
as
we
go
through
this
process,
and
we
will
continue
to
adapt
the
process
as
well.
Honourable
speaker,
I'd
like
to
take
this
opportunity
to
say
thank
you
to
all
of
the
staff
in
my
ministry,
who
also
put
the
welfare
and
the
well-being
and
the
health
and
happiness
of
the
children
of
this
province
as
the
number
one
priority
in
their
daily
work.
Thank
you.
Members.
F
Autism
bc
says-
and
I
quote,
the
government
has
failed
to
provide
any
information
about
how
the
sweeping
changes
impact
many
other
programs
in
the
ministry
of
education,
the
ministry
of
health
and
the
ministry
of
social
development
and
poverty
reduction.
The
fear
and
stress
this
is
causing
families
is
unacceptable.
C
Thank
you
very
much,
honourable
speaker,
and
I
thank
the
member
for
the
question.
We
are
putting
children
and
youth
at
the
heart
of
the
of
the
framework
that
we're
developing
an
honourable
speaker.
B
C
So
having
a
diagnosis
can
also
be
a
helpful
tool
for
children
and
youth
and
for
individuals
to
create
a
service
package,
and
so
we're
not
saying
that
it's
not
helpful
for
children,
youth
to
have
a
diagnosis,
and
so
families
will
make
their
decisions
about
what's
helpful
for
people
in
their
family,
and
so
we
will
be
working.
C
The
ministry
of
children,
family
development
be
working
closely
with
other
ministers
to
make
sure
that
there
are
seamless
wrap-around
services
for
children,
youth
wherever
they
are.
As
we
know,
you
know
they
live,
multi-faceted
lives
and
we'll
make
sure
that
we
work
in
partnership
across
government
to
support
them.
F
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
Well,
without
sounding
sanctimonious
the
parents
and
advocates
don't
believe
the
government
on
a
whim.
The
system
is
being
thrown
out
without
consultation
or
detailed
answers,
and
this
has
added
stress
and
fear
for
parents
and
the
entire
community
as
autism
bc.
President
kay
ben
says-
and
I
quote,
there
is
no
faith
that
this
new
framework
is
actually
going
to
work
because
there
has
been
no
transparency
and
no
consultation,
and
we
don't
see
it
happening
now.
C
Thank
you,
honourable
speaker,
and
it
is
really
important
to
make
sure
that
we
listen
to
families
and
also
other
people
with
experience
and
with
experts
as
well.
So
for
nearly
three
years
now,
we've
been
engaging
with
and
listening
to,
families
and
service
providers,
people
with
expertise,
indigenous
communities
as
well
and
over
the
next
few
years,
as
we
continue
this
work,
honourable
speaker
will
continue
those
conversations
indeed,
just
last
week.
G
G
First
nations
are
saying:
no,
you
can't
have
a
decision
in
30
days,
chief
willie
sellers
says,
and
I
quote:
what
is
the
expectation
out
of
the
government
that
we're
going
to
turn
this
thing
around
in
30
days
and
actually
give
them
a
meaningful
response?
End
quote
the
union
of
bc.
Indian
chiefs
refers
to
it
as
a
political
souffle.
G
H
Thank
you,
mr
speaker,
and
I
really
appreciate
the
question,
because
this
is
such
a
critical
issue
for
the
people
of
bc,
and
so
I'm
really
happy
to
go
to
question
and
question
period
about
it.
And
I'd
like
to
point
out
to
the
member
that,
in
fact,
there
has
been
considerable
consultation
for
since
2017
when
we
first
formed
government,
because
we
recognized
that
there
was
outdated
policies
in
this
province
that
needed
to
change.
H
We
needed
to
ensure
that
we
were
that
the
forests
of
this
province
were
being
shared
with
the
first
nations
people
and
that
what
I've
been
hearing
critically
important,
very
critically
important
is
that
we
have
to
consult
with
the
rights
and
title
holders.
I
hear
that
every
time
we
reach
out
to
indigenous
nations.
H
And
they
are
saying
to
us
that
we
need
to
consult
with
the
rights
and
title
holders
we
have.
Let
nations
know
that
we
are
looking
at
a
30-day
pro
30-day
time
period
to
hear
whether
they
want
to
engage
further
to
hear
whether
they
want
to
defer
or
not.
And
it's
really
interesting
that
the
members
laugh
at
that,
because
we
think
this
is
a
critically
important
one.
H
We
think
it's
critically
important
because
we
have
to
find
out
if
they
do
want
to
defer,
if
in
fact,
they
feel
that
there
has
been
enough
deferral
on
their
right
on
their
traditional
territory
if
they
want
to
talk
about
further
harvesting
other
deferrals
conservation.
We
want
to
have
those
conversations
and
it
is
critically
important,
and
we
will
continue
to
do
that.
G
Thank
you,
mr
speaker,
so
let
me
just
get
it
right
in
terms
of
what
the
minister
said,
they
spent
four
years
out,
apparently
doing
some
sort
of
consultation.
Then
they
come
out
with
an
announcement
and
blindside
everybody.
How
is
that
consultation?
I
just
I
have
a
trouble
understanding.
What
the
minister's
trying
to
say.
First
nations
have
been
very
clear
and
what
they've
been
told
is
they
have
30
days
to
decide
whether
these
deferrals
go
together,
go
forward
or
not?
G
How
is
that
proper
consultation?
That's
not
proper
engagement,
but
you
know
what
it's
not
just:
first
nations
that
were
blindsided,
mr
speaker,
the
government's
announcement,
of
course
around.
This
also
took
the
steel
workers
by
surprise
and
jeff
bromley
from
the
united
steelworker
says,
the
ndp
announcement
was-
and
I
quote,
a
gut
punch-
end
quote:
the
biggest
punch
is,
quite
frankly
the
complete
uncertainty.
This
has
now
created
for
eighteen
thousand
force
workers
whose
jobs
are
now
at
risk.
G
G
H
Thank
you,
mr
speaker,
and
I
think
again
again.
I
want
to
thank
the
member
for
the
question
because
I
I
do
want
to
clarify
that
there
have
been
discussions.
I
mean
we
introduced
our
intentions
paper
this
spring
and
and
before
we
introduced
the
intentions
paper,
we
had
those
consultations
and
we
also
introduced
last
fall.
The
government
introduced
the
strategic
review
on
old
growth
and
everyone.
We
talked
to
agreed
with
the
recommendations
in
the
old
growth,
strategic
or
group.
Everybody.
H
We
talked
to
industry,
we
talked
to
labor,
we
talked
to
communities
and
everybody
agreed
border.
Everybody
agreed
that
we
needed
to
move
forward
with
new
legislation.
We
needed
to
move
forward
with
deferrals
of
old
growth
because
we
needed
to
recognize
that
it's
not
either
or
it's
not
about
jobs
or
the
environment,
it's
not
about
the
economy
or
the
environment.
It's
about
doing
both
and
it's
something
we
can
do
but
ask
your
own
colleague
about
that.
I
mean
the
member
for
up
in
prince
george
mckenzie
said
that
something
should
have
been
done
decades
ago.
H
I
I
Speaker
not
only
has
there
been
surprise,
but
there's
been
confusion
as
well.
The
minister
might
want
to
focus
on
what
she's
doing
to
the
thousands
of
families
who
count
on
the
forest
sector.
The
people
on
the
front
line
estimate,
eighteen
thousand
jobs
could
be
lost.
We
have
the
minister
of
force
saying
it
won't
be
that
bad
there
will
be
just
forty
five
hundred
jobs
lost
and
the
minister
of
jobs
has
said,
and
I
quote
it's
impossible
to
guess
the
exact
number
I
think
it's
a
little
premature
to
throw
numbers
out.
I
H
H
B
B
H
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
There
was
absolutely
no
support
for
communities.
We
are
doing
things
differently
because
we
respect
workers,
we
respect
communities.
We
understand,
I
know
what
it
was
like
to
go
through
living
in
a
forest
or
a
dependent
community
under
that
jurisdiction.
I
know
how
many
people
lost
their
jobs
with
no
support.
I.
I
B
I
All
of
which
mr
speaker
have
been
lost
under
the
ndp
and
the
minister
seems
to
be
just
warming
up
more
than
eighteen
000
people
are
being
threatened
by
the
government's
decision,
and
the
minister
hasn't
even
bothered
to
do
a
socio-economic
study.
The
forest
minister
claimed
there
would
be
4,
500
jobs
lost
the
jobs
minister
contradicted
her,
saying
quote:
the
numbers
are
premature
and
it's
jumping
the
gun.
End
quote
what
this
government
has
done
is
caused
confusion.
I
It's
caused
chaos
and
anxiety
rate
across
the
province.
Mr
speaker,
the
minister
has
let
down
first
nations,
labor
leaders
and
forced
communities
and
created
a
patchwork
plan
that
raises
more
questions
than
answers.
Will
the
minister
today
table
a
socio-economic
study
that
outlines
what
workers
can
expect?
H
Thank
you,
mr
speaker,
you
know
it's
just
so
such
hypocrisy.
I
mean
jobs
were
shipped
away,
30
000
jobs
were
lost,
dozens
of
mills
were
closed
and
at
the
same
time
there
was
no
support
so
and-
and
you
know,
don't
take
it
from
me-
take
it
from
your
own
colleague,
you
know
from
prince
george
mckenzie,
who.
H
H
H
H
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
It's
really
hard
to
conclude
when
they're
yelling
at
me,
but
so
so
that
so
the
members
opposite
know
the
entire
socio-economic
analysis
was
done
on
the
entire
province.
If
every
area
was
deferred,
we
are
going
to
be
doing
an
individual
socio-economic
analysis
when
areas
are
deferred,
because
that
is
what
is
critically
ill.
Thank
you
to
communities
to
workers
and
to
the.