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From YouTube: FEBRUARY 14 2022 Question Period
Description
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
3rd Session
42nd Parliament
C
C
D
Thank
you.
Thank
you,
honorable
speaker,
and
I
want
to
thank
the
member
for
his
question.
Although
I
do
reject
the
premise
I
do
understand,
and
not
just
in
my
community
but
communities
right
across
british
columbia
and
indeed
across
canada,
people
are
struggling.
Affordability
is
the
number
one
issue
in
poll
after
poll
after
poll
and
that's
not
just
what
we
see
in
the
papers
we're
seeing
this
in
our
constituency
offices
as
well,
but
I
do
reject
the
notion
that
the
member
wanted
to
leave
the
public
with
that
somehow
we
were
taxing
people.
D
D
The
very
same,
the
very
same
form
former
finance
minister
honourable
speaker,
used
to
use
the
insurance
corporation
of
british
columbia
as
his
own
atm
machine,
taking
hundreds
of
millions
of
dollars
out
of
the
corporation.
Therefore,
out
of
people's
pockets.
What
did
we
do?
We're
putting
people
money
back
into
people's
pockets
by
reforming
the
system,
to
make
it
more
effective
to
protect
those
that
are
hurting
an
accident
and
making
sure
they
can
do
it
in
a
cost-effective
way?
D
We
provided
a
child
opportunity
benefit
and
all
of
those
in
in
here
and,
of
course,
back
at
home,
who
have
children
over
the
age
of
six,
when
the
former
government
did
away
with
the
child
benefit
now
we'll
be
able
to
collect
that
benefit.
Some
six
hundred
and
fifty
dollars
for
a
family
of
two
children
till
the
age
of
18,
because
we
all
know
that
kids
get
more
expensive,
not
less
expensive.
D
C
Well,
thank
you,
mr
speaker,
and
the
premier
and
his
gang
of
the
mutual
admiration
society
over.
There
may
think
that
life's
more
affordable
in
this
chamber,
maybe
it's
not
in
the
real
world.
I
hate
to
break
it
to
the
premier.
The
average
family
of
four
is
paying
over
3
600
more
in
rent
under
the
ndp.
C
You
need
to
earn
an
extra
50
000
this
year
just
to
try
to
afford
to
buy
a
house
and
in
fact,
if
you
had
to
fill
up
your
minivan
when
the
premier
took
office,
it
would
take
about
95
dollars
today
to
take
the
kids
to
play
soccer
140
dollars,
45
dollars
more
to
fill
up
your
car
under
this
premier's
watch
and
a
nearly
a
third
of
that
cost
is
taxes
going
up
the
highest
tax
gas
in
north
america.
Grocery
costs
are
skyrocketing.
C
Beef
and
pork
costs
are
up
18
after
six
straight
months
of
high
inflation,
nothing
from
this
premier
and
if
you're
looking
for
a
home
to
start
a
family
premier
has
made
it
impossible.
We
already
know
rents
have
gone
way
up.
It
now
takes
last
year,
under
this
premier's
watch,
34
years
to
try
to
be
able
to
afford
a
down
payment
home.
Now,
it's
36
years
will
the
premier
finally
admit
he
has
failed
to
tax
his
way
to
affordability,
premier.
D
Thank
you,
homer
speaker
and
again
that
what
I
love
about
the
bc
liberals
is
when
they
get
a
narrative.
They
just
stick
with
it.
Forget
the
facts.
Forget
the
reality
on
the
ground.
This
is
our
position,
we're
going
to
stick
with
it.
We
somehow
raised
taxes
honorable
speaker
for
ordinary
british
columbians
when
we
did
the
exact
opposite.
We
reduced
costs.
D
The
member
from
kamloops
wouldn't
have
had
to
pay
an
unfair
toll
to
cross
the
port
man
bridge.
Oh
wait
a
minute.
Yes,
he
would
have,
but
all
of
the
members
in
surrey
on
this
side
of
the
house
are
here,
because
this
government
is
putting
people
first,
reducing
costs
right
across
the
board.
He
mentioned
he
mentioned
rent
increases,
and
I
just
want
to.
D
D
A
Let's
be
clear,
british
colombians
need
and
deserve
better.
They
need
more
help.
They
need
more
support.
The
people
of
british
columbia
have
sat
by
for
five
long
years
watching
this
ndp
premier
make
promises
about
how
life
was
going
to
be
more
affordable
for
them
and
look,
let's
look
at
what
he
said
when
it
came
to
gas
prices.
What
did
the
premier
do?
Well,
here's
what
he
said,
and
I
quote:
if
there's
an
opportunity
to
have
the
province
step
in
and
help
we'll
do
that
end
quote
well:
here
we
are
five
years.
A
What
did
the
premier
do?
He
built
a
website
that
cost
640
000
in
one
year
for
a
website
and
did
absolutely
nothing
to
bring
down
gas
prices,
so
maybe
the
premier
can
get
up
again
and
explain
to
british
columbians
how
he
broke
his
promise
that
he
was
going
to
deal
with
gas
prices
and
instead
did
nothing.
D
Premiere,
thank
you,
humble
speaker
and
again
another
example
of
the
liberals
grabbing
on
to
something.
I
think
that
what
we
discovered
in
2017
and
again
in
2020
is
the
people
that
used
to
raise
costs
for
british
columbians
were
rejected
not
once
but
twice
by
the
people
of
british
columbia,
and
they
will
be
again.
D
We
have
spent
every
single
day
listening
to
british
columbians
and
reducing
the
costs
that
were
imposed
upon
them
by
the
former
government,
whether
it's
medical
services
premiums,
whether
it's
tolls,
whether
it's
putting
in
place
a
speculation
tax
to
get
the
money
laundering
and
the
speculation
out
of
our
housing
market
and
taking
those
revenues
and
driving
it
into
building
more
supply.
We
have
built
honorable
speaker
and
I'm
delighted
to
look
at
the
two
members
from
kamloops.
D
B
A
Well,
we're
used
to
this
that
the
government
side
of
the
house
talking
about
years
back,
but
I
think
if
I'm
correct
those
student
housing
units
were
built
in
1986,
that's
even
further
back.
So
maybe
maybe
it's
time.
Maybe
it's
time.
A
A
It's
time
for
the
premier
to
actually
look
in
the
mirror
when
he
talks
about
who
taxes
this
premier,
I
can't
actually
keep
up
with
the
number
it's
either
23
24
25.
I
think
it
could
be
25
new
or
increased
taxes
on
that
premier's
watch
exactly.
A
And
it's
instead
of
concentrating
on
generating
revenue
in
british
columbia.
This
premier
relies
on
one
thing
and
that's
british
columbians
back
pockets.
He
has
done
absolutely
nothing
about
gas
prices.
Well,
in
fact,
he
has
he's
actually
made
it
worse.
Let's,
let's
be
clear:
this
is
the
premier
that
wasted
millions
of
dollars
on
a
failed
legal
battle
to
do
what
to
actually
protest
the
tmx
project
only
to
find
out
that
that
supply
was
critical
to
gasoline
in
british
columbia
and
boy.
A
Didn't
we
find
that
out
during
this
year's
devastating
floods
in
2018,
the
premier
said
this
and
I
quote
we're
monitoring
gas
prices
and
we
will
take
steps
if
it's
necessary.
End
quote
well
a
question
to
the
premier.
Today,
four
years
later,
people
are
struggling
to
get
by
every
single
day.
He
promised
life
would
be
more
affordable
so
to
the
premier.
Just
when
exactly
is
the
right
time
for
him
to
keep
his
promise
on
gas
prices
in
british
columbia.
D
Premier,
thank
you,
honourable
speaker,
and
I
guess
the
official
opposition
doesn't
get
access
to
the
same
economic
data
that
they
used
to,
but
if
they
had,
they
would
know
that
bc
has
the
strongest
economy
in
the
country,
the
lowest
unemployment
rate
in
the
country,
despite
the
most
challenging
two
years
in
bc,
history,
whether
it
become
because
of
the
global
pandemic
or
natural
crises,
from
from
the
unimaginable
over
the
past
two
years.
But
in
the
past
four
and
a
half
years,
real
wages
have
gone
up
by
24
and
what
did
they
go
up?
D
The
previous
four
and
a
half
years,
five
percent,
so
the
small-minded
thinking
of
the
people
on
that
side
of
the
house,
not
speaker,
was
keeping
wages
down.
We've
seen
the
highest
unemployment
highest
minimum
wage
in
the
country,
as
well
as
the
strongest
economy,
and
I
guess
that
makes
them
uncomfortable
honorable
speaker,
because
the
only
reason
that
they
stepped
onto
a
podium
in
an
election
campaign
was
to
say
we're
better
than
the
other
people.
E
Yeah,
thank
you,
mr
speaker.
As
the
minister
of
health
will
know,
access
to
a
primary
health
care
service
in
saanich,
north
and
the
islands
is
impossible.
In
fact,
the
situation
is
getting
more
challenging,
as
doctors
in
my
riding
are
retiring.
Access
to
a
family
doctor
was
a
top
priority
of
mine
in
2017.
E
This
government
put
some
effort
into
creating
a
primary
care
network
and
urgent
care
clinics,
but
there
are
still
more
than
800
000
british
colombians
and
british
without
a
family
doctor,
that's
nearly
15
000.
In
my
riding
alone.
The
urgent
care
clinics
are
not
meeting
the
needs
of
our
community.
Mr
speaker,
the
minister
knows
that
without
consistent,
reliable
primary
health
care,
the
result
is
negative:
long-term
outcomes
for
my
constituents
and
an
increased
burden
on
the
public
health
systems.
F
The
member
will
know,
because
we've
worked
together
on
some
of
these
issues
in
his
constituency
in
the
south
island,
the
commitment
of
the
government
to
addressing
primary
care
in
our
communities.
It's
meant,
for
example,
an
increase
well
above
the
increase
in
the
population
and
family
practice,
doctors
across
bc.
It's
meant
primary
care
networks
for
in
victoria
primary
care
networks,
two
in
the
south
island,
which
includes
his
constituency,
which
are
significant
investments
in
primary
care
across
the
south
island,
70
million
dollars
just
for
primary
care
just
in
the
south
island.
F
That's
four
pcns
in
victoria,
two
in
the
south
island,
five
urgent
and
primary
care
centers
three
community
health
centers,
which
is
a
model
that
had
not
been
encouraged
for
quite
a
long
time
that
we've
worked
together
to
with
communities
to
do
and
team-based
nurse
practitioner-led
center
in
victoria.
These
are
significant
efforts
that
show
across
the
board
the
effort
that
needs
to
be
made
to
do
exactly
what
the
member's
talking
about
which
to
ensure
people
have
access
to
primary
care.
F
What's
also
important,
as
he
knows,
are
existing
practices
and
it's
important
to
support
them
and
that's
why
primary
care
networks
were
developed
with
family
practitioners
with
divisions
of
family
practice
to
meet
those
needs.
Those
challenges
will
continue
because
as
he
as
he
notes,
there
are
some
challenges,
especially
in
the
south
island,
with
populations
of
professionals
aging,
as
well
as
the
broader
population.
But
it's
something
we
have
to
continue
to
work
together
on
to
ensure
people
have
equitable
access
to
primary
care.
E
Well,
the
minister
finally
got
to
the
point
of
the
question
which
was
to
I,
I
guess,
to
suggest
that
he
believes
in
the
equitable
delivery
of
primary
care
to
all
british
columbians,
which
is
important
because,
despite
all
of
the
numbers
that
the
minister
just
rattled
off,
the
fact
of
the
matter
is,
is
that
the
situation
in
my
constituency
is
not
improving.
In
fact,
it's
getting
worse
and
in
fact,
across
the
province,
there
is
a
growing
inequity
in
the
access
of
primary
care.
E
Last
summer,
dozens
of
desperate
constituents
of
mine,
whose
doctor's
clinic
introduced
a
50
quote
annual
continuity
of
care
allowance,
end
quote,
wrote
me
seeking
my
advocacy.
While
they
reluctantly
paid
the
fee
to
keep
their
service,
they
were
right
to
point
out
that
it
goes
against
the
promise
of
universal
equitable
health
care
for
all
british
colombians.
E
Other
clinics
are
also
looking
at
the
option
of
these
membership
fees.
Mr
speaker,
now
a
multi-billion
dollar
corporation
is
getting
into
the
business
telus
health.
My
care
provides
a
virtual
walk-in
clinic
billed
to
msp
insurance,
but
if
you
want
a
so-called
premium
service
like
annual
screenings,
preventative
health
and
advanced
diagnostics,
services,
which
used
to
be
part
of
a
basic
primary
health
care,
you
would
have
to
pay
for
that
out
of
your
own
pocket.
F
Minister
of
health,
thank
you
very
much.
Honorable
speaker.
First
of
all,
I
would
say
that
we
brought
in
force
in
2018
provisions
of
the
medicare
protection
act
to
protect
people
against
extra
billing,
that
we
did
that
because
we
fundamentally
believe
in
public
health
care,
just
as
just
as
we've
done
in
his
constituency
in
bringing
home
support
into
back
into
the
public
system
in
bringing
workers
back
into
the
public
system
across
the
board.
F
We
have
made
those
changes
with
respect
with
respect
to
the
question
of
of
employee-based
plans,
where
you
see
people
playing
for
non-medically
necessary
services
beyond
the
health
care
system.
No,
the
member
may
listen
to
that.
What
we,
what
we've
done
and
what
we'll
continue
to
do.
We
have
in
mbc
a
medicare
protection
act.
We
have
a
medical
services
commission,
their
job
is
to
enforce
that
and
that
very
question.
I've
referred
to
the
commission
to
ensure
that
the
law
in
british
columbia
applies
to
everyone.
G
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
Well
230
days
ago,
the
village
of
litton
burned
to
the
ground
and
sadly,
to
this
day,
residents
are
still
waiting
to
get
back
to
their
their
home
properties.
Seven
and
a
half
months
later.
They
feel
abandoned
by
this
ndp
government.
G
Now,
as
litten
evacuee
peter
brown
says,
and
I
quote
to
me,
there
seems
a
complete
lack
of
compassion
from
our
government.
It's
been
too
long
to
not
have
a
home.
End
quote
it's
my
question
to
the
premier
is
this:
can
the
premier
tell
the
people
of
lytton
why,
after
seven
and
a
half
months,
they
have
still
not
been
able
to
go
back
to
their
homes.
H
Thank
you,
honorable
speaker,
and
I
thank
the
member
for
the
for
the
question,
and
obviously
it
is
a
very
challenging
time
for
residents
of
litton.
But
what
I
can
tell
you
the
member
is
that
government
is
committed
to
the
rebuilding
of
of
litten
working
with
the
community
so
that
people
can
get
back
into
their
into
their
homes
and
that
they
can
rebuild.
H
H
We
have
insured
with
the
red
cross,
providing
funds
that
those
who
have
been
evacuated
can
be
and
are
able
to
have
the
supports
that
they
need
for
their
community.
H
There
have
been
commitments
made
in
terms
of
the
rebuilding
of
the
civic
infrastructure,
whether
it
is
the
rcmp
station,
the
rest,
restoration
of
canada,
post
services
and
the
the
provision
of
medical
services
through
the
the
the
the
facilities
that
are
on
the
the
first
nations
community.
H
We
are
working
very
closely
and
we
are
absolutely
committed
to
ensuring
the
rebuild
of
linton.
It
is
a
challenging.
It
is
a
challenging
location.
There's
no
doubt
about
that,
but
we
will
be
with
there
there
with
them
to
ensure
that
the
community
is
rebuilt
and
that
people
can
get
back
into
their
homes.
G
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
Well,
if,
if
the
minister
and
the
premier
were
to
take
a
moment
and
think
about
the
residents
of
lydden
people
who
are
are
living
somewhere
other
than
their,
where
their
their
home
used
to
be
in
their
hometown
and
and
and
try
to
imagine
how
it
must
sound
to
hear
the
same
words
over
and
over
and
over
again
we're
committed
to
rebuilding,
we
understand
it's
challenging
we're
going
to
do
everything
that
we
can.
It's
been
seven
and
a
half
months
and
these
residents
of
lynn.
G
They
want
to
go
home
and
there's
no
path.
For
that
to
happen.
There's
been
no
timelines
given
for
that
to
happen.
Now,
mr
speaker,
when
this
government
wanted
to
impose
a
10
foi
fee,
they
did
that
in
an
instant
literally
within
minutes.
G
They
managed
to
to
to
to
instantly
put
put
that
in
put
that
in
place,
but
when
it
comes
to
addressing
the
desire,
the
right
of
people
who
live
in
litton
to
get
back
to
their
properties
in
litten,
seven
and
a
half
months
later
and
they're
still
have.
They
still
have
no
idea
why
they
can't
go
home
resident
britannia
glasgow
says,
and
I
quote
it
seems
everybody
is
defeated
and
feeling
like
they
aren't
being
heard.
G
I
think
I've
heard
six
or
seven
of
my
friends
tell
me
that
they
don't
think
that
anybody
cares
about
the
little
people
in
litten
end
quote:
that's
resident
britannia
glasgow
reflecting
a
sentiment
widespread
amongst
the
residents
of
of
lydon.
Mr
speaker,
people
deserve
action.
They
deserve
detailed
answers.
They
deserve
specific
timelines
so
again
to
the
premier,
our
archaeol
archaeological
assessments
being
required
for
every
person's
property
and,
if
so,
who
has
to
pay
for
it
and
what's
the
timeline
for
getting
them
done.
H
Honourable
speaker,
and
again
thanks
to
the
member
for
the
question,
there
is
no
doubt
that
this
is
a
frustrating
time
if
you're
a
resident
of
litton
and
people
want
to
get
back
home
and
absolutely
we
want
them
to
get
back
home
and,
as
I
said,
it
is
a
challenging.
It
is
a
challenging
situation.
H
Recovery
does
take
time.
It's
an
ongoing
process.
One
of
the
critical
areas
in
terms
of
people
being
able
to
return
to
their
homes
is
the
issue
of
debris.
Removal
now
one
of
the
areas
which
that
was
challenging
around
that
was
the
closure
of
highway
one
and,
as
I
have
said,
that
with
the
opening
of
highway
one,
we
expect
debris
removal
to
move
at
a
much
faster
pace.
It
has
already
been
removed
for
municipal
streets.
H
Now,
tomorrow
evening,
the
city
or
the
community
of
litton,
the
municipality
of
litton,
is
holding
a
council
meeting
at
that
council
meeting
is
my
expectation
that
they
will
be
approving
a
contract
for
debris,
removal
that
contract
is
going
to
be
to
remove
debris
from
residential
property.
H
I
I
I
You
can't
go
to
the
pharmacy.
You
can't
meet
your
friends
and
you
really
worry
about
how
long
it's
going
to
take
to
get
people
back.
Mr
speaker,
I've
heard
what
the
minister
has
said,
but
in
fort
mcmurray
the
government
had
a
phased
re-entry
plan
with
families
returning
just
29
days
after
the
entire
city
was
evacuated.
I
By
the
first
anniversary.
Three
dozen
families
had
already
moved
into
new
homes,
seven
and
a
half
months
later
for
the
people
of
litton,
and
what
are
they
faced
with?
Nothing
is
happening
on
the
ground,
empty,
hollow
words
from
this
government,
mr
speaker.
If
the
government
can't
get
the
job
done,
will
they
at
least
let
the
residents
in
so
that
they
can
start
rebuilding
their
lives?.
H
Thank
you.
Thank
you,
honorable
speaker
and
I
appreciate
the
question
from
the
member,
and
I
understand
the
comparison
that
the
the
member
wants
to
make
with
with
fort
mcmurray,
but
there
are
significant
differences
between
the
two
communities
and
I
would
point
out
to
the
member
that,
while
yes,
there
were
some
initial
people
going
back
very
quickly,
two
years
later,
that
recovery
was
still
ongoing.
Recovery
takes
a
long
time.
There
has
been
a
lot
of
work
done
to
ensure
that
people
can
return
and
that
when
they
return,
it
is
safe
to
return.
H
Many
of
those
properties.
What
had
to
be
done
was
the
assessment
of
the
the
the
toxic
materials
on
site,
the
sifting
that
was
done
so
that
people
could
go
back
and
get
their
personal
possessions
that
was
covered
by
government.
H
The
two
thousand
dollar
payment,
ensuring
that
they
don't
have
to
worry
about
accommodation
and
the
supports-
are
there
in
place
continue
to
be
there.
H
I
see
the
member
shaking
your
head,
but
the
reality
is
this:
the
red
cross
is
providing
those
supports
in
the
com,
the
red
cross,
money
comes
from
the
province
and
the
federal
government
and
donations.
Okay.
They
are
delivering
that
those
supports,
which
is
the
right
thing
to
do,
and
they
will
continue
to
do
that
as
long
as
those
people
need
that
support
at
the
same
time
we're
ensuring
that
that
working
with
the
community
with
the
council
that
they
have
the
capacity
and
the
ability
to
rebuild
that
community.
H
That's
support
by
this
government,
and
we
will
continue
to
be
there
and,
as
I
said
a
moment
ago
with
the
council
meeting
tomorrow
night
the
approval
of
a
contract
to
remove
debris
aligned
with
the
insurance
companies
on
those
properties,
for
example,
that
have
insurance
and
we're
working
on
those
that
don't
have
that
that
debris.
Removal
will
take
place
starting
the
8th
of
march.
H
J
Thanks,
mr
speaker,
ken
matsumoto
is
a
fella
in
his
in
his
60s
he's
a
licensed
mechanic
and
in
the
spring
of
2021
he
bought
a
place
on
main
street
in
lytton.
He
was
living
there.
He
was
operating
his
vehicle
repair
business
and
then
fire
swept
through
the
town,
as
we
all
know,
and
wiped
linton
from
the
mat
from
the
map.
J
In
the
aftermath
ken
was
given
access
to
a
hotel
in
in
langley,
and
just
before
christmas
he
was
told
he
was
going
to
have
to
leave
and
to
the
minister's
credit,
and
I
do
want
to
give
credit
where
credit
is
due,
the
minister
intervened
and
he
was
able
to
to
stay
in
that
hotel.
He
is
grateful
for
that,
and
I
am
grateful
as
well
he's
coming
up
to
another
deadline.
He's
told
that
tomorrow
he
has
to
leave
the
hotel
ken
doesn't
want
to
live
in
a
hotel.
J
J
J
H
Thank
you,
honorable
speaker,
and
I
appreciate
the
the
question
from
the
member.
We
all
want
to
see
residents
of
litton
be
able
to
go
home,
absolutely
there's.
No.
Nobody
in
this
house
that
doesn't
want
to
see
that
happen.
H
That's
why
I
think
it's
critically
important
in
terms
of
that
council
meeting
tomorrow
night
in
the
approval
of
that
of
that
of
that
contract
and
the
debris
removal
starts
on
the
eighth
of
march.
H
That
is,
that
is
going
to
be
the
most
crucial
step
in
terms
of
a
resident
with
a
home
wanting
to
go
back
to
be
able
to
to
start
that
rebuilding
process
and
at
the
same
time,
we
ensure
that
the
community
of
litton
that
community,
which
was
completely
wiped
out
so
no
functioning
civic
offices,
has
the
ability
to
actually
function
as
a
town,
and
that's
why
we've
provided
the
supports.
They
have
that's
why
we've
tabled
that
that
legislation
that
will
ratify
the
bylaws
for
the
for
the
community
of
litton.