►
From YouTube: FEBRUARY 15 2022 Question Period
Description
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
3rd Session
42nd Parliament
A
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
Well
yesterday
the
premier
was
clearly
more
concerned
about
opinion
polls
than
he
was
with
the
skyrocketing
cost
of
rent.
The
premier's
comments
were
out
of
touch
with
the
experience
of
the
majority
of
renters
in
our
province.
A
A
Well,
perhaps
it's
because
the
ndp
mlas
for
representing
that
region
are
silent
and
not
standing
up
for
the
renters
in
their
constituencies.
B
C
It's
a
very
important
question
and
I'm
glad
the
member's
asking
it
when
our
government
came
into
power.
One
of
the
first
things
we
changed
was
to
remove
the
additional
two
percent
annual
surcharge
to
every
tenant's
monthly
rent
that
the
previous
government
had
in
place.
So
tenants
every
year
would
see
a
two
percent
rent
increase,
plus
the
cost
of
inflation,
and
we
changed
that
to
just
inflation
and
then,
when
covet
hit,
we
said
no
rent
increases
during
the
pandemic,
and
so
when
the
member
stands
up
and
says
she's
concerned
about
renter
affordability.
C
When
she
was
on
this
side
of
the
house,
she
added
two
percent
for
no
reason
just
an
extra
two
percent
every
year
it
would
have
buried
families
if
we
allowed
that
to
continue
and
we
stopped
it.
She
raises
an
important
point
about
new
tenancies
new
tenants
are
struggling
to
find
a
place
to
live.
It's
a
big
problem
and
that's
why
we've
really
emphasized
the
construction
of
new
rental
housing.
In
fact,
in
the
last
five
years
of
our
government,
we've
had
more
rental
housing
registered
than
in
the
15
years
that
they
were
in
power.
A
A
The
minister
knows
that
young
people
can't
afford
to
buy
in
this
in
the
lower
mainland
anymore
and
now,
under
this
government,
they're
also
being
priced
out
of
the
rental
market,
the
premier
not
once
but
twice
promised
a
renter's
rebate
of
400.
A
C
Minister,
thank
you
honorable
speaker.
Yes,
we're
working
on
it.
D
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
You
know
this
government
wants
to
continue
trying
to,
and
this
and
the
premier
in
the
minister
want
to
continue
trying
to
pat
themselves
on
the
back,
which
shows
just
how
out
of
touch
they
are
with,
what's
really
happening
on
the
ground
right
now
for
people
for
families.
After
five
years
it
has
never
ever
been
less
affordable
to
live
in
this
province.
D
D
All
all
of
our
monthly
expenses
have
gone
up.
End
quote
so
members
can
chuckle.
Members
can
laugh
at
this
issue,
but
it's
an
important
issue
facing
people
like
allison,
who
can
no
longer
afford
an
ndp
government,
even
in
places
like
courtney,
comox
rent's
gone
up
almost
thirty
three
hundred
dollars
a
year.
But
what
do
we
hear
from
the
mla
representing
that
area?
Nothing?
D
Life
is
not
affordable
anymore,
for
so
many
people
and
people
are
silent
on
the
ndp
side.
So
if
housing
affordability
is
it,
you
know
it's
interesting
to
hear
what
the
minister
said
I'll
give
them
another
opportunity,
because
we
have
the
sixth
budget
coming
up
five
years
of
an
ndp
government,
multiple
multiple
times
for
five
years,
where
they
could
have
solved
this
issue
and
promised
a
400
renters
rebate.
Do
we
expect
to
see
it
next
week,
then,
in
the
budget
minister.
C
C
Give
me
give
me
a
break.
Give
me
a
break
honorable
speaker,
but
I
mean
we.
We
do
face
a
really
serious
issue.
We
had
19
567
people
moved
to
british
columbia
from
other
countries.
In
the
last
three
months
of
last
year,
5717
people
moved
to
bc
from
other
provinces.
It's
25
000
people
in
the
last
three
months
of
the
year,
they're
all
looking
for
housing,
they're
all
looking
for
a
place
to
live,
and
so
we
need
to
bring
more
rental
housing
stock
online
to
help
press
those
rents
down.
C
People
are
trying
to
find
housing
and
they
want
to
come
to
british
columbia
because
we
have
an
economy
that
works
for
everyone,
but
that
brings
challenges.
It's
a
good
challenge
for
us
to
work
on
to
get
more
rental
housing
on
to
make
renting
more
affordable
for
people.
I
I'm
glad
the
members
are
raising
this
issue.
It's
not
something
to
be
taken
lightly
and
we're
working
very
hard
on
it.
Two
billion
dollars
honorable
speaker
in
the
housing
hub
to
build
affordable
housing,
34
000,
affordable
rental
housing
units
across
the
province.
D
Well,
thank
you,
mr
speaker.
You
know
they
definitely
have
a
lot
more
work
to
do
and
that
would
be
starting
by
actually
coming
good
on
any
of
their
election
promises
that
they've
promised
to
the
people
of
british
columbia.
I
I
thought
I
heard
something
about
gas
prices.
Weren't
going
to
go
up,
the
premier
was
going
to
fix
that
silence
failed
promise.
I
heard
sell
bills
weren't
going
to
go
up
that
that
was
going
to
be
fixed
under
this
government
silence.
Nothing
happened,
failed
promise,
400
rebate,
failed
promise.
One
failed
election
promise
after
another.
D
You
know,
I'm
glad
that
the
minister
acknowledged
that
we're
caring
about
people,
because
we
are
this-
is
an
important
issue
and
they
can
chuckle
all
they
want,
but
we're
raising
it
because
we're
hearing
from
people
in
our
communities
and
we're
bringing
it
forward
to
this
house,
unlike
the
ndp
mlas
on
the
back
bench,
who
are
silent
on
this
issue,
absolutely
silent.
Fifteen
hundred
dollars
rent's
gone
up
a
year
in
richmond
2600
a
year
in
north
vancouver
rent's
gone
up
crickets.
C
E
C
C
F
Thank
you,
honourable
speaker,
when
asked
yesterday
about
growing
inequality
in
accessing
primary
health
care
services
in
this
province.
The
minister
of
health
says
that
he
has
referred
the
matter
to
the
medical
services.
Commission.
F
F
So,
on
the
one
hand,
the
minister
says
that
he
is
concerned
with
inequality
in
our
health
care
system,
but
in
the
same
response
he
indicates
that
his
government
is
comfortable
with
british
columbians,
paying
extra
fees
for
access
to
health
care.
My
question
for
you,
honourable
speaker,
is
to
the
minister
of
health.
Does
a
minister
see
these
additional
fees
as
creating
two-tiered
health
care
based
on
the
ability
to
pay
in
british
columbia.
G
G
An
honorable
speaker
that
work
was
done
by
health
professionals
and
it
made
a
real
difference
when
you,
as
we
had
in
the
north
underserved
mris,
has
happened
less
than
half
of
the
national
average
of
mris
in
those
communities
when
you
underserved
them
in
a
place.
People
have
no
option
but
to
for
medically
necessary
care,
often
to
get
that
and
we
changed
that.
How
do
we
do
it?
G
By
going
in
there
was
one
mri
machine
going:
24
7
the
public
system
they're
now
12.,
we
obtained
we
bought
from
the
private
sector
additional
mri
capacity
and
we
added
mris
all
over
the
province,
including
here
on
vancouver
island.
This
improves
public
health
care,
it
improves
public
health
care
for
everyone
and
that's
what
we're
going
to
continue
to
do.
F
Thank
you,
honorable
speaker,
I
wasn't
speaking
specifically
about
diagnostics.
I
was
speaking
about
the
reality
and
the
question
was
very
clear
and
was
following
on
the
question
from
my
colleague
yesterday.
There
are
clinics
in
british
columbia
that
are
charging
additional
fees
so
that
patients
can
access
diagnostic
and
preventable
preventive
health
care
services.
F
G
Honorable,
honourable
speaker,
the
members
did
ask
questions
yesterday
with
respect
to
a
clinic
in
the
member
first
in
the
islands
constituency
he'll
know-
and
I
think
he
knows
this-
that
last
year
the
medical
services
commission
did
take
action.
They
got
a
response
from
the
clinic.
The
clinic
worked
its
way
back
into
compliance
and,
of
course,
we're
still
working
with
that
clinic.
H
Thank
you
very
much,
mr
speaker.
Well,
small
businesses
that
make
up
the
wedding
and
events
industry
in
british
columbia
have
lost
between
70
and
90
percent
of
their
revenue
over
the
past
two
years.
H
Paige
petru
of
spotlight
event
says,
and
I
quote,
the
impact
on
our
industry
extends
six
to
12
months,
minimum
beyond
any
lockdown
period.
We
cannot
open
and
close
overnight
and
quote
mr
speaker.
The
damage
has
been
done
to
these
businesses
and
they
feel
like
they
have
been
abandoned
by
this
government
for
the
past
couple
of
years.
What
they
need
now,
however,
is
financial
support
in
order
to
be
able
to
reopen.
H
So
my
question
to
the
premier
is
this:
why
has
the
premier
allowed
these
small
businesses
to
completely
fall
through
the
cracks
when
it
comes
to
needed
supports,
and
will
the
premier
commit
to
actually
flowing
the
supports
to
businesses
in
the
events
sector
so
that
they
can
do
what
they
need
to
do
to
call
their
employees
back
and
and
get
back
open
in
communities
across
this
province
as
quickly
as
possible?.
I
Thank
you,
honorable
speaker
and
I'll
start
by
acknowledging
and
thanking
bc
chambers
across
the
province.
This
is
bc
chamber
week
and
I
know
it's
been
acknowledged
in
this
house.
We've
been
engaging
with
the
chambers.
We've
been
engaging
with
businesses
throughout
this
pandemic,
honorable
speaker
over
half
a
billion
dollars
of
grants
directly
going
to
the
pockets
of
businesses.
In
fact,
the
types
of
businesses
the
member
mentioned
also
had
access
to
those
grants
and
those
dollars
were
there
to
be
able
to
support
businesses
to
pivot
and
adapt
to
this
pandemic
and
the
results
on
our
speaker.
I
We
have
the
lowest
unemployment
rate
in
the
entire
country.
We
have
30
000
people
net,
moving
to
british
columbia
this
year
alone,
this
last
year
alone,
that's
the
highest
in
over
28
years.
People
are
coming
to
british
columbia
because
they
see
opportunities
and
a
report
was
laid
out
last
week
that
lays
out
that
we
have
one
million
new
job
openings
coming
to
british
columbia
over
the
next
10
years.
Honorable
speaker,
lots
of
opportunities.
The
economy
is
humming
along,
very
well
we're
the
envy
of
the
country
and
honorable
speaker.
I
The
wages
are
also
going
up,
and
I
know
there's
been
lots
of
discussions
today
about
affordability.
I
know
that
the
new
ish
I'll
say
I'll,
be
I'll,
say
newish,
leader
of
the
opposition,
kevin
falcon
said
wages
going
up.
It's
not
good.
He
said
the
minimum
wage
going
up
is
a
bad
decision,
and
I
know
that
it
was
their
economic
policy
for
many
years.
In
fact,
10
years
not
raising
minimum
wage,
their
policy
was
to
keep
people
down,
keep
their
wages
down.
Honourable
speaker,
and
so
we're
going
in
a
different
directional
speaker.
I
H
You
very
much
well,
you
know
the
the
the
minister's
rambling.
I
can
only
assume
leadership
speech
it
might
might
be,
he
might
be.
He
might
be
warming
up
and
and
testing
out
some
lines,
but
it
falls
flat
and.
H
With
the
businesses
across
the
province
like
judy's,
like
pages
like
all
of
the
other
small
businesses
in
the
events
sector,
that
that
aren't
sure
that
they're
going
to
be
able
to
actually
turn
their
lights
back
on
when
they're
allowed
to
reopen.
He
didn't.
He
didn't
mention
anything.
In
response
to
to
the
question
about
the
business
that
I
mentioned,
the
specific
example-
and
you
know
to
the
minister-
you
can
you
can
say
it
over
and
over
and
over
again
it
doesn't
make
it
right.
H
So,
let's,
let's,
let's
try,
let's
try
this
again.
As
I
said
in
my
first
question,
the
events
sector
has
been
completely
forgotten
by
this
government
when
it
comes
to
supports
and
and
everything
the
government
has
put
out
there.
It's
been
bungled.
It
certainly
hasn't
made
its
way
to
to
businesses
in
in
sectors
like
the
live
event,
sector
and
the
event
sector
generally,
judy
reeves,
here's
another
real
example:
a
real
person.
I
want
the
minister
to
to
hear
this
and
respond
to
this
specific
situation.
H
Judy
reeves
owns
edge
catering,
it's
a
vancouver
based
catering
company
and
she
says-
and
I
quote,
my
business
has
been
financially
and
operationally
decimated
since
the
start
of
the
pandemic.
I
have
I
I
I
seriously.
You
know
if,
if
judy
reeves
was
in
here
and
could
see
the
the
members
opposite
laughing
at
her
very
real
crisis
with
her
business,
I
I
don't
think
she'd
be
very
impressed.
H
It's
appalling
judy,
reeves,
judy
reeves
says,
and
I
quote,
my
business
has
been
financially
and
operationally
decimated
since
the
start
of
the
pandemic.
I
have
laid
off
50
staff
and
lost
three
and
a
half
million
in
revenue.
Last
year
alone,
I
have
significant
overhead
that
I
must
maintain
daily
and
I'm
trying
to
retain
my
key
staff
that
I've
invested
in
over
the
years.
I
continue
to
barely
keep
my
business
afloat,
but
this
government
has
completely
shut
us
out
of
financial
supports
and
quote
so.
H
The
question
to
to
the
to
the
premier
would
be
this:
what
does
the
premier
have
to
say
to
judy
reeves
who,
despite
consistently
doing
the
right
thing
through
this
pandemic,
respecting
all
health
measures
always
trying
to
do
good
by
by
her
employees
all
the
while
losing
90
percent
of
her
revenue?
Over
the
past
year
a
year
is
ineligible
she's
ineligible
to
receive
a
single
penny
from
the
the
government's
most
recent
grant
to
support
small
business.
I
Thank
you,
honorable
speaker
and
I'll
start
by
saying
to
judy
and
others.
I
know
that
some
businesses
have
had
a
challenging
time.
Over
the
last
two
years
of
the
pandemic,
we
have
been
there
to
support
businesses.
Member
knows
we
canvassed
this
at
great
length
in
estimates
last
year
about
the
supports
that
were
available.
In
fact,
we
shared,
I
think
in
writing,
also
with
the
member
on
the
supports
that
were
available,
so
supports
have
been
there.
B
I
His
heckling
is
not
helping
judy
get
any
answers.
The
message
to
judy
would
be
that
there
are
right
now
programs
available,
because
from
the
beginning
of
the
pandemic,
we've
worked
with
the
federal
government
to
make
sure
that
our
programs
are
fully
aligned.
So
we
are
supporting
businesses
that
are
directly
shut
down
by
the
pandemic,
and
the
federal
government
is
coming
up
to
75,
rent
and
wage
subsidies
for
any
business
impacted
by
the
pandemic,
and
if
judy
needs
help
to
be
able
to
access
those
dollars,
we're
certainly
willing
to
help.
E
Well,
thank
you,
mr
speaker,
gym
motors
are
also
frustrated.
Gym
owners
were
shocked
when
they
found
out
that
they
had
to
be
a
mega
corporation
and
employ
more
than
99
people
to
qualify
for
the
full
amount
of
the
closure
relief
grant.
Only
the
ndp
could
come
up
with
a
plan
like
this
chantelle.
A
fit
city.
Atletico
says
that
to
make
matters
worse,
they
were
told
that,
because
some
of
their
employees
were
part-time,
their
grant
amount
may
be
reduced
by
80
percent
to
a
thousand
dollars.
Well,
the
jobs
minister.
I
I
The
member
will
also
know
that
gyms
have
access
to
the
financial
supports.
We
have
provided
the
supports
of
businesses
and,
in
particular
gyms
that
are
impacted.
In
fact,
many
gyms
in
his
community
have
already
been
approved,
and
many
have
started
to
receive
the
money
already
honorable
speaker
and
I'll
just
share
with
the
member
that
this
we
heard
from
businesses
some
that
were
providing
youth
programs
that
that
they
weren't
fully
closed,
but
they
still
were
not
getting
the
revenues
anywhere
close
to
where
they
were
prior
to
being
shut
down.
I
We
changed
the
program
requirements
so
that
they
could
get
access
to
the
financial
supports
as
well
enrolled
speaker,
so
the
supports
are
there.
Gyms
are
accessing
it.
I
met
with
the
fitness
council
last
week,
they're,
very
pleased
that
these
supports
are
getting
to
businesses
that
desperately
need
the
help,
and
our
main
message
to
the
public
is
now
that
you
are
able
to
get
active
and
be
fit
again.
Go
back
to
the
gyms,
take
care
of
your
mental
and
physical
health.
E
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
Frankly,
that
is
offensive
and
insulting
reform.
Fitness
in
williams
lake
is
now
permanently
closed.
Under
your
funding
models,
chantel
says,
and
I
quote,
funding
was
simply
not
enough
and
could
not
be
delivered
fast
enough
to
be
much
help
to
our
gym.
Heating
bills
alone
were
more
than
a
thousand
dollars
and
rent.
Much
more
than
that
end
quote.
I
would
suggest
that
very
few
gyms
in
this
province
actually
employ
99
plus
people
needed
to
get
the
full
grant
to
the
minister.
I
Thank
you,
honorable
speaker.
I
think
that
there's
certainly,
I
hope,
there's
no
disagreement
in
this
house
that
we
need
to
continue
to
follow
health
guidelines
and
some
measures
were
needed
by
pho
to
ensure
that
we
can
keep
our
communities
safe.
I
know
that
those
additional
measures
have
been
a
challenging
for
gyms,
in
particular,
because
they've
been
closed,
but
honorable
speaker,
we
have
continued
from
the
beginning
of
the
pandemic
to
provide
the
highest
supports
per
capita
for
people
and
businesses
in
the
entire
country.
I
Businesses
have
access
to
support,
as
I
shared
with
the
member
from
kamloops,
who
wasn't
aware
that
it's
in
partnership
with
the
federal
government,
so
it's
our
grants
our
direct
grants.
They
don't
need
to
pay
them
back
on
our
speaker,
because
that's
what
we
heard
from
the
sector
and
the
federal
government
is
providing
up
to
75
percent
for
wage
and
rent
subsidies
for
businesses
that
are
impacted.
So,
honorable
speaker,
these
measures,
I
know
are,
are
supporting
a
lot
of
businesses
through
british
columbia.
J
Thank
you,
mr
speaker.
The
minister
just
isn't
being
forthright
with
the
public.
We're
number
eight
in
support,
66
percent
of
provincial
supports
is
actually
debt
being
put
onto
businesses
and
the
minister
every
time
repeatedly
seems
to
refer
back
to
say
basically
he'll
help.
You
fill
out
forms
for
federal
programs
because
he
has
no
way
to
actually
help
the
business
with
his
own
bungled
programs.
J
Here's
here's
another
example
of
a
bungled
program
in
kamloops.
We
have
a
cafe
and
lounge.
In
december
it
was
shut
down
with
the
latest
restrictions
shut
down
by
the
local
liquor
inspector,
because
the
appetizers
on
the
menu
were
deemed
to
not
be
full
meal
service.
But
now
the
job
ministry
disagrees
and
says:
no,
actually,
the
menu
did
qualify.
J
I
Thank
you,
honourable
speaker,
and
I
think
I
want
to
take
this
opportunity
to
thank
both
dr
henry
and
and
the
minister
of
health
and
the
entire
team.
That's
been
working
around
the
clock
to
ensure
the
public.
I
I've
had
I've
had
the
opportunity
to
talk
to
colleagues
across
the
country,
business
owners
from
across
the
country.
They
all
point
to
british
columbia
as
the
province
that
did
it
right.
Honorable
speaker,
we
had
the
least
amount
of
disruptions.
We
continue
to
see
the
economy
open
in
a
very
safe
way.
It
was
always
measured
with
safety.
I
First,
how
do
we
ensure
that
we
can
continue
to
operate
businesses
in
a
safe
way
and
that
honorable
speaker
means
that
we
had
the
least
amount
of
disruption
to
businesses
from
any
province
in
this
country
we
had
the
least
amount
of
disruption
to
manufacturing
construction
continued
to
operate
and
overwhelmingly
every
stakeholder
and
they'll
know
this
too.
If
they've
had
a
chance
to
talk
to
stakeholders,
they
will
tell
them
that
the
handling
of
health
here
in
province
and
the
measures
and
the
financial
supports
have
been
welcomed
by
businesses
across
country.
I
11
million
dollars
to
small
businesses,
so
they
can
continue
to
operate
in
a
very
safe
way.
Honorable
speaker
and
the
results
speak
for
themselves
fastest
job
recovery
rate,
lowest
unemployment
rate.
People
are
moving
to
british
columbia
to
seek
better
opportunities
because
they
know
this
is
the
place
to
be
for
to
better
their
lives
and
better
their
opportunities
for
their
families.
We're
proud
of
that.
We're
going
to
continue
to
work
with
businesses,
impacted.