►
From YouTube: MARCH 31 2022 Question Period
Description
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
3rd Session
42nd Parliament
B
D
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
Well,
the
premier
rose
in
the
legislature
earlier
this
week
and
said,
and
I
quote
I
don't
understand
this
affordability
stuff
end
quote
well.
That
certainly
explains
a
lot.
British
colombians
are
paying
the
highest
gas
taxes
in
north
america
and
they're
going
up
with
the
premier
doing
nothing.
D
E
It's
it's
interesting
to
hear
the
members
on
the
other
side
and
their
newfound
concern
for
the
struggles
of
ordinary
people.
When
they
sat
over
here
they
gave
tax
breaks
to
the
wealthiest
two
percent
and
made
everyone
else
pay
for
it.
E
Msp
premiums
doubled,
icbc,
car
insurance
rates
went
up
over
30
percent
roads
and
tolls
and
bridges
were
told.
Their
government
created
the
housing
crisis
by
putting
speculators
and
developers
ahead
of
people.
Here.
On
this
side,
we've
continued
to
reduce
costs
for
people
as
we
as
we
invest
in
the
services.
E
Order,
the
new
icbc
rebate,
thanks
to
our
work,
to
fix
icbc
the
child
opportunity
benefit
up
to
two
thousand
six
hundred
dollars
a
year
to
for
a
family
with
two
children
reduced
child
care
costs.
Lower
car
insurance
ended
msp
premiums.
There
are
many
more
but
I'll
wait
for
the
supplemental
to
list
those.
C
C
D
D
Wow,
let's
try
it
again
and
let's
hope
this
time
we
get
somebody
who
actually
understands
the
importance
of
the
renter's
rebate
to
get
up.
So
it's
easy
for
the
premier
to
actually
stand
in
the
house
and
say
he
doesn't
understand
the
affordability
stuff
and
it's
even
more
so
after
he
gave
himself
a
forty
thousand
dollar
raise,
but
british
columbians
struggling
with
higher
gas
prices,
higher
transit
costs,
higher
grocery
costs.
You
know
to
the
members
opposite.
British
columbians
do
understand
the
affordability
issue.
D
Jennifer
bradshaw
of
the
volunteer
advocacy
group,
abundant
housing
vancouver,
is
clear
that
help
for
renters
is
needed.
Now,
as
the
market
only
gets
worse,
and
I
quote,
low-income
renters
should
really
have
those
sorts
of
supports
and
they
that
should
have
happened
much
more
quickly.
End
quote,
while
the
premier
may
not
understand
affordability,
and
he
admitted
it
here
in
the
legislature.
D
C
The
honorable
speaker,
I
want
to
thank
the
minister
of
energy,
who
clearly
saw
my
first
reading
speech
and
thought
he
would
step
in
to
assist,
obviously
not
my
best
day
in
the
legislature.
We'll
try
to
turn
around
here.
The
minister
of
finance
is
working
on
the
the
renter's
rebate.
That
policy
work
continues.
C
It's
an
important
issue,
I
think
the
member
for
raising
it,
but
it's
also
important
to
recognize
what
we
have
done
to
keep
rents
down
and
one
of
the
things
we
did
was
we
got
rid
of
the
additional
two
percent
that
got.
C
That's
saving
families,
thousands
of
dollars,
but
it's
important
to
recognize
that
those
are
families
that
are
already
in
rental,
housing
and
there's
a
whole
bunch
of
people
who
are
looking
for
rental,
housing
and
and
the
member
quoted
abundant
housing.
And
I
agree
with
the
the
advocates
in
that
group
that
believe
we
need
more
housing
and
that's
why
I'm
really
proud
that
in
our
first
three
years,
our
government
registered
more
rental
units
for
construction
than
the
old
government
did
in
the
previous
decade.
C
G
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
You
know,
mr
speaker,
despite
the
premier's
elections,
promises
of
no
new
taxes,
there
are
now
three
new
taxes
being
brought
in
by
the
ndp
this
budget.
G
The
premier
is
going
to
tell
you
now
what
your
used
car
is
worth
and
if
you
happen
to
get
a
good
deal
well
too
bad
for
you.
The
premier
is
going
to
tax
you
on
the
higher
amount
that
he
feels
your
car
is
worth
because,
as
some
of
his
members
have
alluded
to
apparently
you're
a
tax
sheet,
if
you
find
a
good
deal
on
a
used
car,
the
budget
document
on
page
91
was
very
clear
that
the
people
hurt
by
this
change
are,
and
I
quote
more
likely
to
be
low
and
middle
income.
H
Thank
you
very
much.
Thank
you
very
much,
mr
speaker.
Well.
Pst
has
always
been
payable
on
privately
purchased
new
and
used
vehicles
that
hasn't
changed.
In
fact,
post
hst
it
was
kevin
faulcon
who
chose
to
apply
pst
to
used
goods
in
this
province.
H
Yes,
yes,
I
have
to
inform
the
house
of
that
of
that
of
that
truth,
mr
speaker,
but
however,
however,
mr
speaker,
I
I
think
it's
important
to
really
understand
and
I'm
really
pleased
to
hear
that
the
member
opposite
actually
read
the
budget
document,
but
if
he
look
turns
to
a
hundred
and
page
to
page
159,
he
will
see
table
a
4.1,
the
net
provincial
taxes
since
budget
2016..
And
what
do
we
find,
mr
speaker?
H
Well,
what
we
find
is
that
if
your
family
net
income
is
thirty
thousand
dollars,
you
are
paying
back
in
2016.
You
were
paying
dollars
in
taxes
and
now
actually
there's
1442
back
in
your
pocket
as
a
result
of
the
decisions
of
this
government.
H
And
mr
speaker,
and
if
your
family
net
income
is
sixty
thousand,
you
used
to
pay
four
thousand
two
hundred
and
thirty
eight
dollars
a
year
in
taxes
in
2016
and
now
you're
paying
fifteen
hundred
and
thirty
nine
dollars.
G
That's
under
this
government's
watch.
If
that's
happened,
mr
speaker,
it
makes
no
sense
that
a
premier
who-
and
I
quote,
doesn't
understand
this
affordability
stuff-
gets
to
decide
what
a
good
deal
on
a
used
car
is.
It's
not
just
used
cars
though
mr
speaker,
the
cost
of
transit
is
scheduled
to
go
up.
The
cost
of
getting
from
surrey
to
vancouver
is
rising
to
185
dollars
a
month,
and
the
cost
of
gas
is
still
the
highest
in
north
america
fact.
G
H
You
very
much,
mr
speaker.
No
doubt
it
continues
to
be
challenging
for
british
columbians
during
these
very
challenging
times
coming
off
of
of
covid
and
certainly
what
we
see
happening
in
in
ukraine.
It's
added
to
increased
pressures
for
sure,
mr
speaker,
but
I
think
it's
really
important
to
recognize
that
if
we
hadn't
taken
the
actions
that
we've
been
taking
over
the
last
five
years,
just
how
much
harder
it
would
be
for
british
columbians.
Mr
speaker
remember
tolls.
H
H
If
I
might
lead
into
the
record
what
that
means,
because
for
a
whole
lot
of
families,
the
family
vehicle
is
the
bus,
it
is
the
bus
and
for
we've
heard
from
bikram
who
lives
in
vancouver
with
two
children,
and
this
is
what
bikram
had
to
say
about
what
it
means
to
them
to
have
free
transit
for
for
for
their
children.
For
a
working
family
like
ours,
free
transit
for
kids
under
12.
Is
such
a
big
help.
This
year
we
would
have
spent
around
1400
on
transit
passes
for
our
two
young
sons.
H
We
can
certainly
put
those
savings
to
good
use.
We
rely
heavily
on
public
transit
in
our
day-to-day
lives.
We
use
public
transit
to
visit
our
families
and
take
the
kids
to
the
various
activities
like
skating,
swimming
soccer
and
kumon.
Both
our
children
will
absolutely
benefit
from
free
transit
and
so
will
our
family.
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
I
Yeah.
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
Yesterday
we
celebrated
the
the
tabling
of
the
declaration
act
action
plan
we've
repeatedly
committed
to
repairing
the
legacies
of
colonialism
to
upholding
indigenous
rights,
including
their
rights
to
their
territories.
Rights
to
fish
hunt
gather
medicines
foods
unencumbered
this
week.
Angelina
hopkins
rose
from
shadow
nation
was
in
the
news.
Hopkins
rose
is
calling
on
the
government
to
pause
a
proposed
land
management
plan
to
spray
a
glyphosate
and
other
poisons
in
the
unseated
territories
of
the
stolo,
the
shattum,
the
clap,
musqueam
squamish
slailtooth.
I
First
nations
hopkins
rose's
activism
has
been
successful.
Mr
speaker,
this
weekend
my
constituency
office,
actually
our
constituency
office,
has
received
over
2
000
emails
on
the
issue.
The
management
plan
in
question
takes
effect
tomorrow
and
we'll
have
these
carcinogenic
chemicals
sprayed
broadly
across
their
land
lands
where
indigenous
peoples
regularly
harvest
berries
and
other
traditional
plants
and
medicines.
I
Hopkins
rose
is
saying
there
was
not
nearly
enough
consultation
with
indigenous
peoples
on
this
on
this
management
plan.
My
question
through
you,
honorable
speakers,
to
the
minister
of
forest
in
keeping
with
our
commitments
under
the
declaration
act.
Will
a
minister
pause
the
spring
of
glyphosate
set
to
begin
tomorrow
and
order
a
consultation
with
indigenous
peoples
that
have
been
affected
by
this
minister.
J
I
thank
the
member
for
the
question.
Thank
you,
mr
speaker,
and,
and
I
I've
done
a
lot
of
research
on
this,
because
we've
also
been
there's.
Questions
about
glyphosate
use
in
in
forestry
and
the
effects
of
glyphosate
on
human
health
has
been
really
extensively
reviewed
by
international
regulatory
agencies,
including
health
canada,
with
the
conclusion
being
that
exposure
to
glycogen
does
not
pose
a
carciogenic
or
genotoxic
risk
to
humans
it
and
it
remains
an
important
tool
for
establishing
conifer
or
conifer
deciduous
mixed
stands
and
ensuring
future
timber
supplies.
J
But
that
said,
the
use
of
this
herbicide
in
bc's
forest
sector
has
declined
significantly
in
recent
years,
as
foresters
use
a
variety
of
approaches
to
manage
competing
vegetation
and
including
manual
mechanical
burning,
biological
and
and
herbicides.
The
glycophage
use
in
forestry.
It
has
to
comply
with
bc's
integrated
pest
management
act
and
steps
have
to
be
taken
to
minimize
impacts
on
environment,
including
in
fish.
Bearing
streams.
I
I
As
an
example
of
of
the
connection
that
I
want
to
make
here,
ocean
spray,
as
my
my
uncle
josington
talked
about
talks
about,
is
the
the
sign
of
saanich
summer
when
the
ocean
spray
starts
to
bloom,
and
we
can
view
smell
that
beautiful
scent
throughout
our
territories.
We
know
it's
time
to
go
out
in
and
and
engage
our
fishing
in
the
summer
in
the
gulf
islands,
and
and
these
are
species
that
are
unwanted,
but
yet
indigenous
people
have
been
using
them.
I
J
J
In
fact,
under
the
bc,
integrated
pest
management
act
and
the
bc
integrated
pest
management
regulations,
the
use
of
herbicide
and
products
of
in
forestry
for
vegetation
and
invasive
plant
control,
it
requires
authorization
by
way
of
registering
a
pest
management
plan
which
which
requires
first
nations
and
and
public
consultation,
but
first
nations
consultation,
and
that
is
something
that
we
take
very
seriously.
J
Every
year
and
notice
of
intent
has
to
be
submitted
to
the
ministry
of
environment
and
climate
change,
with
detailed
treatment
maps
and
again
that
that
consultation
with
first
nation
is
required
and
there's
also
been
new
technique
on
on
losing
superior
orchard
seed,
improved
nursery
techniques
fast
growing,
seedlings
and
well-timed
plantings,
so
that
we
can
improve
plantation
survival
in
areas
of
high
vegetative
competition,
thus
reducing
the
amount
of
herbicide
used
for
plantation
management.
I
just
I
visited
the
plantation
the
center
in
vernon
recently
and
and
saw
the
work
that
was
being
done
on
this.
J
The
considerable
work
being
done
to
try
to
improve
the
seeds
that
we
are
using
right
across
the
province
to
ensure
that
we
can
use
less
herbicide
and
when
it
comes
to
making
sure
that
we
are
investing
in
our
forests.
But
it's
also
it's
very
critical
that
they
also
consult
with
indigenous
nations,
which
is
part
of
what
the
act
is
about.
F
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
Well,
the
premier
says-
and
I
quote
he
just
doesn't
understand
this
affordability.
Stuff
end
quote,
but
I'll
tell
you
this
many
small
businesses
in
this
province
understand
the
affordability
crisis.
The
ndp
have
failed.
They
have
failed
to
act
on
the
skyrocketing
property
taxes
on
unused
airspace
over
the
heads
of
small
businesses,
and
this
is
forcing
many
of
these
small
businesses
to
either
raise
prices
or
to
shut
down
for
good.
F
F
Now
the
minister
could
act,
the
minister
of
finance
could
act
to
protect
local
businesses
and
the
people
who
enjoy
them
by
enacting
split
assessment.
So
the
question
to
the
minister
of
finance
is
this:
how
many
businesses
will
close
down
or
raise
their
prices
before
the
ndp,
take
action
and
throw
a
lifeline
to
these
struggling
small
businesses?
Minister.
H
Thank
you
very
much,
mr
speaker,
and
we've
certainly
sort
of
certainly
through
the
pandemic,
have
witnessed
the
the
challenges
of
of
many
small
businesses
and
that's
why
our
government
has
been
there
right
from
the
beginning,
right
from
the
beginning,
making
sure
that
there
were
supports
available
to
small
businesses,
making
sure
that
they
had
the
the
the
ability
to
keep
their
doors
open
and
they,
and-
and
many
of
them
have
been,
you
know,
certainly
challenged
by
a
whole
range
of
of
challenges.
As
a
result
of
of
of
covid.
H
Everything
from
you
know,
you
know
accessing
labor
making
dealing
with
that
the
changing
requirements
that
were
recommended
by
the
the
provincial
health
health
officer,
but
I
have
to
say,
mr
speaker,
you
know
with
the
supports
that
we've
provided,
that
that
many
businesses
have
been
able
to
keep
their
doors
open.
We
recognize
that
it
continues
to
be
a
challenge
and
that's
why
we're
going
to
keep
being
there
for
business?
That's
why?
Mr
speaker,
we
have.
H
We
continue
to
have
a
pandemic
and
recovery
contingency
available
for
this
this
next,
this
next
budget,
because
we
know
we
know
that
we're
not
through
this
yet
and
that
we
need
to
continue
to
be
there
for
businesses
and
for
people
and
for
communities.
F
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
Well,
this
this
is
is
nothing
new
to
this
minister.
This
issue
was
first
brought
to
her
attention
nearly
five
years
ago,
as
as
the
issue
was,
was
building,
and
it's
gotten
worse
and
worse
and
worse,
we're
talking
about
a
lot
of
small
businesses
that
have
been
struggling
because
of
skyrocketing
property
taxes
on
the
unused
airspace
over
their
heads
and
it's
happening
in
communities
all
over
the
province,
including
in
the
finance
minister's
community
of
of
coquitlam.
F
The
good
news
is
that
the
work
is
already
done.
The
working
group,
consisting
of
of
a
whole
bunch
of
local
governments,
the
ubcm,
the
chamber
of
commerce
cfib,
have
all
come
together
and
they
proposed
this
split
assessment
solution
as
an
optional
tool
that
local
governments
could
use,
and
many
of
them
said
they
would
use
it.
What
did
the
the
finance
minister
do
when
she
was
the
housing
minister
back
in
in
2020?
F
She
brought
in
a
permissive
tax
exemption
tool.
Do
you
know
how
many
local
governments
she
said
this
would
be
the
silver
bullet
that
was
that
would
provide
a
tool
for
local
governments.
Do
you
know
how
many
local
governments
have
used
this
tool
in
the
last
two
years?
Zero:
zero,
zero,
not
a
single
one.
They
continue
to
call
for
the
split
assessment
tool.
I've
introduced
a
private
member's
bill
sitting
on
the
order
paper.
I've
introduced
it
five
times
now.
F
Mr
speaker,
fraser
young
of
lyft
breakfast
bakery
in
north
vancouver
says,
costs
are
forcing
him
to
raise
prices
on
his
customers,
and
I
quote,
everything
is
up.
Nothing
is
down.
End
quote
everyone,
but
the
minister
business
groups,
local
governments,
the
ubcm.
Everyone
agrees
on
this
split
assessment
solution.
It's
all
drafted,
it's
all
ready
to
go.
Businesses
are
being
caught
with
these
massive
increases
in
the
unused
airspace
over
their
heads.
Will
the
minister
either
embrace
the
the
bill?
H
You
very
much,
mr
speaker,
and-
and
we
know
that
many
small
businesses
who
pay
property
taxes
under
the
commercial
lease
are
struggling
with
when
there's
unexpected
spikes
in
their
taxes
and-
and
we
also
certainly
heard
from
ubcm,
which
was
very
divided.
Mr
speaker,
they
were
very
divided
on
on
the
members
proposal.
In
fact,
caribou
regional
district
whistler
lanceville.
They
they
were
against
it.
So.
H
H
If
they're
interested
in
hearing
what
I
have
to
say,
I'm
pleased
to
stand
on
my
feet
and
continue
with
my
response.
We
did.
We
did
take
a
look
at
the
members
of
the
members,
a
private
member's
bill.
It
is
too
broad.
It
does
not
take
into
account
the
significant
consequences
to
the
entire
tax
system
and
it's
not
be
an
and
and
mr
speaker,
it
is
not
going
to
give
the
small
businesses
the
tax
break
that
they
need,
and
so
that
work
is
being
undertaken
as
we
speak.
We
continue.
H
H
Consult
with
local
governments
we've
and
it
actually
is
in
five
years.
Mr
speaker,
it's
actually
two
years,
it's
been
two
years
during
a
pandemic
that
we've
continued
to
do
the
work.
We
have
dedicated
staff,
we
have
dedicated
staff
who
are
continuing
to
work
with
local
governments
with
the
ubcm
to
make
sure
that
we
find
the
right
path
to
make
sure
that
it
works
appropriately.
The
way
it's
intended.
Thank
you
very
much,
mr
speaker.
K
You
so
much
honorable
speaker
well
just
like
renters
commuters
and
small
businesses,
parents,
child
care
providers,
well,
they're,
also
finding
out
that
the
premier
doesn't
understand
the
affordability
stuff.
Jennifer
radcliffe
is
the
owner
of
pebble
lane
early
learning
in
surrey,
and
she
says-
and
I
quote,
promises
and
agreements
are
not
kept.
Most
recently,
the
2022-23
funding
for
many
daycare
owners
has
been
delayed.
K
A
Now
staff
has
not
received
a
response,
so
we
share
the
same
goal
of
ensuring
providers
receiving
the
support
that
they
need
to
pass
on
savings
to
parents.
We
want
to
work
with
providers
to
make
sure
savings
are
passed
on
to
providers
and
if
the
opposition
member
has
any
cases
or
scenarios
again,
I
encourage
opposition
to
work
with
us
to
bring
forward
the
cases.
B
B
Are
they
applauding
the
fact
that
my
wife,
who
relies
on
a
transit
pass,
is
now
going
to
have
to
pay
more
and
that's
going
to
cost
us
hundreds
of
dollars
a
year?
Are
they
applauding
the
fact
that
the
used
car
we
were
hoping
to
buy
is
now
going
to
cost
more
because
of
tax
policies
introduced
by
this
government?
B
B
C
H
I
appreciate
hearing
the
members
commentary
about
the
the
about
the
the
challenges
that
british
some
british
columbians
are
indeed
facing,
and
I
I
think
it's
really
important
to
recognize,
mr
speaker,
that
that
there
have
been
some
significant
changes
that
we
have
made
over
these
last
five
years
and
that
has
made
a
difference
in
people's
lives.
So
when
you
take
a
look
at
the
fact
that
if
you're
a
family
earning
eighty
thousand
dollars
a
family
net
income,
your
taxes
back
in
2016
were
5
637
and
now
they're
3
342..
H
And
finally,
mr
speaker,
I
I
think
it's
it's
interesting
that
you
know
when
we
we
formed
government
and
the
commitment
was
to
fix
icbc
and-
and
there
was
some
a
lot
of
work
to
do
to
fix
that
dumpster
fire.
Mr
falcon,
the
leader
of
the
opposition,
thought
that
the
icbc
rebates
were
stupid.
Little
checks.
Well,
mr
speaker,
those
stupid
little
checks
are
paying
the
bills
for
british
columbians.
Mr
speaker,
we're
going
to
keep
working
every
day
to
address
affordability
for
british
columbians,
because
that's
what
we've
been
doing
since
we
spawned
government
in
2017.