►
From YouTube: OCT 19 2022 Question Period
Description
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
3rd Session
42nd Parliament
B
B
So
my
question
to
the
attorney
general
for
over
six
months,
we
have
been
suggesting
specific
actions.
This
NDP
government
can
take
and
British
Colombians
can't
wait
any
longer.
Will
he
issue
a
directive
to
the
crown
prosecutors
that
puts
the
rights
of
the
public
to
feel
safe
in
their
communities
ahead
of
the
rights
of
a
criminal's
right
to
reoffend.
C
Attorney
general,
thank
you.
Mr
Speaker,
these
acts
of
violence
that
The
Honorable
leader
of
the
opposition
has
referred
to
are
totally
unacceptable.
People
who
commit
them
must
face
consequences.
As
I
said
previously.
This
week
we
have
been
examining
the
issue
of
directives
and
have
also
examined
the
proposal
specifically
given
to
us
by
The
Honorable
member
for
Abbotsford
West
I
have
received,
however,
Mr
Speaker
legal
advice
that
the
members
proposal
would
be
inconsistent
with
the
criminal
code
of
Canada.
That
said,
we
continue
to
examine
every
tool
in
the
toolkit.
C
We
cannot
change
the
criminal
law
of
Canada
in
this
place
with
a
provincial
directive,
and
that
is
why
Mr
Speaker.
We
have
secured
a
national
commitment
to
engage
on
concrete
proposals
around
bail
reform
with
our
colleagues
across
the
country.
We
will
continue
to
strengthen
enforcement
and
address
the
root
causes
of
crime
to
end
this
cycle
of
reoffending.
B
B
Just
last
year,
Mr
imagipour
was
recorded
on
videos
stalking,
a
young
woman
through
Chinatown
for
over
a
half
an
hour,
but
harassment
charges
were
stayed
in
a
joint
submission
between
crown
and
his
lawyer,
and
instead
he
pleaded
guilty
to
unrelated
incidents
of
assault
with
a
weapon
assault
uttering.
Sorry
excuse
me
uttering
threats
and
breaking
enters,
and
yet,
just
one
day
later,
he
was
back
on
the
street
and
on
probation,
which
she
promptly
violated
multiple
times
and
this
week
after
viciously
attacking
that
young
woman
with
a
steel
pipe.
B
B
C
Attorney
general,
thank
you,
Mr
Speaker
I'm,
not
able
to
comment
on
the
specifics
of
the
case
to
which
the
member
responds
I
can
say
that
we
are
seized
with
this
issue
as
our
our
colleagues
across
the
country.
As
I've
said
in
this
place,
this
issue
is,
of
course,
a
national
issue
and
scope
it.
It
is
rooted
in
the
bail
reform
legislation
and
we're
working
with
our
federal
colleagues
at
an
urgent
level
to
to
address
that
Mr
Speaker.
C
Our
goal
is
to
show
action
on
the
streets
to
use,
as
I
said
earlier,
every
tool
in
our
toolkit
to
make
constructive
change.
We
recognize
that
frustration.
The
minister,
the
member
opposite,
has
certainly
articulated
the
same
frustration
that
we
feel
we
need
to
take
action.
We're
going
to
do
that.
We
are
doing
that.
D
D
D
A
review
of
the
Court
transcripts
confirms
that
in
the
weeks
leading
up
to
that
rare
public
warning,
the
crown
prosecutor,
not
the
judge,
chose
to
stay
charges
and
waive
conditions
to
avoid
and
I'll
quote
setting
Mr
Collins
up
for
a
breach.
End
quote
this
is
where
we
are
so
afraid
that
someone
will
breach
their
bail
conditions
that
they
won't
actually
be
charged.
D
C
Attorney
general
I
share
the
frustration
of
The
Honorable
member
I'm,
of
course,
aware
of
the
situation
specifically
that
she
refers
to
and
have
spoken,
of
course,
with
members
of
the
municipal
government
in
Kelowna
about
the
that
particular
case.
Many
of
the
issues
as
a
member
is
well
aware,
involve
mental
health
and
drug
issues
that
we
need
to
address
and
we
have
taken
and
will
continue
to
take
action
to
address
those.
We
are
strengthening,
for
example,
enforcement
through
the
prolific
offenders
Management
program.
We
think
that
has
Merit.
C
We
think
that
police
with
whom
I've
spoken,
think
it
would
have
Merit
and
would
address
the
problem
because
they
would
provide
individualized
care
for
those
small
number
of
people
that
are
in
are
plaguing
many
of
our
communities,
Mr
Speaker
across
our
our
Province.
We
also
believe
that
new
peer-assisted
care
teams
with
mental
health
civil-led
response
will
help
make
a
difference.
People
who
know
about
the
issues
I
just
refer
to,
so
they
can
provide
care
and
we're
doing
that
in
Victoria.
C
We're
doing
that
in
New
West
and
we're
rolling
out
a
similar
program
in
the
North
Shore
Mr
Speaker,
complex
care.
Housing
is
another
matter
that
I
know
will
make
a
difference
and
we
have
are
committed
to
at
least
500
people
being
housed
in
those
in
those
facilities.
Finally,
Mr
Speaker
I
think
another
practical
measure
that
we're
taking
is
to
deal
with
those
people
who
once
lead
once
leaving
a
correctional
facilities,
often
fall
back
onto
the
streets.
D
Wants
to
explain
away
the
increase
in
violent
crime
as
a
societal
failure,
but
it
is
this
NDP
government.
That's
done
nothing
to
address
those
failures
over
the
last
five
years
and
they've
allowed
crime
to
get
worse.
In
fact,
the
crime
on
our
streets
is
directly
related
to
the
policy
decisions
of
this
NDP
government
five
and
six
years
ago,
and
now
the
enaction
of
this
NDP
government
and
the
failed
policies
of
these
attorney
generals.
D
This
is
what
the
Kelowna
police
had
to
say
and
I
quote
Justice
sorry,
Justin
Collins
has
demonstrated
no
respect
for
the
courts
or
justice
system
and
he
blatantly
disregards
the
conditions
imposed.
End
quote,
but
actually
they
go
on
to
say
that
Collins
in
a
quote
again
has
no
regard
for
the
safety
and
well-being
of
others.
D
C
I
I
Thank,
The
Honorable
member
for
her
question.
I've
said
in
this
place
and
I
will
say
it
again
that
that
is
a
matter
that
has
been
actively
under
review
for
some
time
and
it's
part
of
the
tools
and
the
toolkit
to
which
I
referred,
but
Mr
Speaker
25
of
the
recommendations
that
have
made
were
made
by
the
Lepard
Butler
report
are
still
under
consideration.
Some
of
them
are,
in
the
very
same
places,
to
address
some
of
the
same
issues
that
the
member
was
referring
to.
C
We
accept
that
reforms
are
are
needed
in
some
areas.
I've
indicated
some
of
the
very
aggressive
programs
that
we
are
implementing
will
continue
to
do
so
on
the
release.
Part
of
this
of
the
of
this
issue,
though,
there
are
federal
laws
and
chartered
rights
to
bail
that
must
be
acknowledged
and
the
Crown
Council
are
subject
to
those
laws,
as
Crown
Council
are
in
every
part
of
this
province.
If
those
laws
are
to
be
changed,
they
will
be
changed
by
the
federal
government.
E
Thank
you,
honorable
speaker.
This
is
the
hottest
October
on
record.
It's
been
almost
three
months
since
it
rained
a
rainforest,
is
on
fire.
Cedar
trees
are
dying
in
helsink
territory.
Tens
of
thousands
of
salmon
died
before
they
could
spawn.
This
government
has
said
they
care
about
climate
change,
but
their
actions
show
otherwise.
E
They
continue
to
approve
old
growth
logging.
They
have
failed
to
meet
the
requirements
of
their
own
climate
accountability
act
and
they
have
subsidized
LNG
Canada's
new
fossil
fuel
infrastructure,
but
it's
not
just
what
the
public
sees
that
should
concern
all
of
us.
It's
what's
happening
behind
closed
doors,
that's
also
alarming.
In
a
climate
emergency,
this
government
meets
with
oil
and
gas
lobbyists,
sometimes
more
than
80
times
per
month.
E
E
F
Leader,
thank
you,
honorable
speaker
and
I
thank
the
member
for
her
question.
As
the
member
knows
in
this
house,
because
when
she
sat
in
the
previous
the
previous
Parliament,
we
worked
very
hard
on
a
climate
action
plan
that
climate
action
plan
is
in
place.
Our
government
takes
its
commitments
under
that
extremely
seriously
in
terms
of
our
oil
and
gas
and
how
they
fit
into
that
and
the
work
that's
being
done
on
those
on
those
areas.
E
Thank
you
honorable
speaker,
a
quick
review
before
coming
in
here,
and
the
lobbyist
registry,
which
exists
because
of
the
agreement
between
our
caucus
and
the
government
in
the
previous
Parliament
now
exists,
and
we
can
see
the
lobbying
activities
11.
Over
1100
times,
oil
and
gas
lobbyists
met
with
this
government
in
one
year.
E
It's
not
just
that
this
NDP
government
meets
with
oil
and
gas
lobbyists.
Oil
and
gas
lobbyists
are
embedded
right
into
their
party
infrastructure.
They
aren't
just
acquaintances,
they
aren't
just
friends.
They
are
family.
This
government's
regular
political
pundit,
MO
sahoda,
is
a
lobbyist
for
wood,
fiber
LNG,
the
minister
of
Health,
former
Chief
of
Staff,
and
the
minister
of
jobs,
former
campaign
manager,
Stephen
Howard,
is
a
fossil
fuel
lobbyist,
their
former
provincial
director
Michael
Gardner
lobbies
for
tourmaline,
Oil,
Corporation
and
Pembina
pipeline
corporation
on
behalf
of
strategies.
360..
E
G
Thank
you
very
much.
Honorable
speaker
I
simply
reject
the
member's
premise,
although
I
thank
her
for
the
the
question
and
I
think
it's
important
to
to
point
out
that
we
meet
from
people
who
are
classified
as
lobbyists
from
many
perspectives.
G
Let
me
talk
about
it
from
the
number
of
people
I
meet
with
I
meet
with
representatives
of
environmental
organizations
who
want
to
protect
particular
areas
of
land
or
conserve
particular
areas
of
land,
some
of
which
we
entertain
and
some
of
which
we
don't
I
meet
with
with
people
who
want
to
talk
about
our
climate
plan
and
how
effective
it
is.
I
also
meet
with
Representatives,
either
from
or
on
behalf
of
the
oil
and
gas
industry.
H
He
will
know
that
the
draft
directive
makes
specific
reference
to
incorporating
the
applicable
provisions
of
the
criminal
code,
so
I'm
curious
to
know
two
things
a:
why
did
it
take
six
months
for
the
attorney
general
and
the
government
to
disclose
the
answer?
He's
just
provided
today,
six
months
of
we're
studying
we're,
considering
we're
reviewing
foreign
the
obligations
in
the
criminal
code
and
the
requirements
of
the
criminal
gold
set
out
the
considerations
that
the
court
must
consider
in
determining
whether
or
not
someone
is
to
be
released.
C
Attorney
general,
thank
you
Mr
Speaker
and
I.
Thank
the
member
for
the
question.
The
criminal
code
Provisions
as
the
member
points
out
in
involved
the
Court's
considerations
of
certain
criteria
that
are
set
out
in
the
criminal
code
to
direct
a
Crown
Council
to
do
something
that
is
inconsistent
with
those
criteria.
Even
in
the
context
of
repeat
offenders,
I'm
advised.
C
Law,
council
is
simply
not
of
acceptable,
would
be
in
contradiction
to
the
specific
sections
of
the
criminal
code.
Mr
Speaker.
That
does
not
mean
that
a
directive
isn't
possible
and
I've
said
that
I'll
say
it
again.
It's
something
that
we
are
have
been
examining
and
will
continue
to
to
examine,
but
I
cannot
and
will
not
direct
Crown
Council
to
do
something
that
is
contrary
to
the
Charter
and
contrary
to
the
criminal
code,
and
that
is
the
advice.
Mr
Speaker
that
I
have
received.
I
C
General,
thank
you
very
much.
Mr
Speaker
and
I
thank
the
member
for
Prince
George
McKenzie.
For
that
question.
In
fact,
it
was
his
suggestion
and
was
incorporated
into
lepart
Butler's
recommendation,
in
other
words,
for
a
dedicated
Crown,
Council
and
I
can
tell
you
that
that
is
under
active
consideration.
J
J
Now
for
six
months,
this
government
has
refused
to
take
any
actions
that
are
directly
under
the
purview
of
the
provincial
government.
Instead,
they
keep
blaming
others.
They
could
be
reviewing
and
changing
charge
assessment
and
full
disclosure
policies.
They
could
Implement
more
Community
courts
across
the
province.
Those
began
under
the
BC
liberals,
but
they
could
be
expanding
them.
J
Six
months,
Mr
Speaker,
that's
been
almost
a
thousand
people
attacked
in
Vancouver
alone
in
that
six
month
time
by
violent
prolific
offenders.
When
is
this
going
to
stop?
When
is
this
delay
going
to
stop
the
blame
game
going
to
stop,
and
this
attorney
general
take
the
proper
steps
to
protect
our
communities
instead
of
the
criminals
Attorney.
A
A
F
You,
honorable
speaker
and
I,
appreciate
the
question
from
the
member,
but
I
I
want
to
lay
out
for
the
member
that
this
side
of
the
house.
This
government
has
been
taking
action
on
a
number
of
fronts
when
it
comes
to
community
safety,
both
in
terms
on
the
enforcement
side
and
on
the
prevention
side
and
on
the
Upstream
side.
As
the
the
mayor
of
the
new
mayor,
elect
of
Vancouver
talked
about
the
Upstream
things
that
need
to
be
dealt
with.
F
At
the
same
time,
we've
also
worked
very
closely
with
local
governments,
who
said
they
were
having
a
problem.
They
asked
us
to
look
in
in
into
those
into
their
concerns
to
come
back
with
the
statistics
as
a
province.
We
did
that
and
agreed
to
do
that,
work
in
a
collaborative
basis
that
resulted
I,
know
in
the
laparte
butler
Report,
with
the
recommendations
in
there
the
28
recommendations,
three
of
those
recommendations
are
being
actively
implemented.
F
F
There's
a
whole
range
of
issues
that
have
to
be
dealt
with
and,
as
the
attorney
general
has
laid
out,
the
criminal
code
is
a
critical
critical
part
of
that
that,
when
changes
were
made
that
have
unintended
consequences,
they
have
an
impact
on
our
communities
and
we
recognize
that,
as
do
other
provinces
that
have
been
working
to
get
those
changes
and
I
understand
the
opposition
when
they
say.
Oh,
it's
just
a
meeting.
No,
it's
not
just
a
meeting.
F
It's
about
the
provinces
and
the
federal
government
getting
together
going
that
there
needs
to
be
urgent
action
taken.
We
are
going
to
continue
to
push
for
that
at
the
federal
level
of
work
at
the
provincial
level
and
at
the
local
level,
because
I
know
that
every
single
member
in
this
house
takes
Public
Safety
and
the
safety
of
the
people
of
this
province
seriously.
F
J
Speaker
well
the
problem
with
the
with
the
solicitor
General's
answer
there
was
that
there's
also
all
the
machete
attacks,
there's
also
the
hammer
attacks
that
people
are
experiencing
on
a
regular
basis,
there's
all
the
other
types
of
forensics
that
are
needed
to
advance
the
electronics
forensics
that
are
backlogged
for
18
months
to
try
to
get
evidence
out
of
a
phone.
It's
not
just
about
the
guns.
It's
the
the
solicitor
general
reference
gangs.
We've
had
shootings
upon
shootings
upon
shootings
and
burned
vehicles
on
a
regular
basis
on
the
same
day
as
violent
prolific
offenders.
J
F
The
member
raises
the
issue
around
weapons.
Again,
we
want
to
see
changes
there
so
that
those
kinds
of
individuals
who
engage
in
those
heinous
crimes
do
go
behind
bars
and
part
of
the
solution
to
that
again
is
making
some
changes.
That
we've
worked
with
our
provincial
counterparts
on
in
the
Halifax
meeting
and
brought
to
the
attention
to
the
federal
government
and
I'll,
give
two
examples,
because
one
they
mentioned
yesterday
the
issue
of
bear
spray,
an
attack
that
took
place.
F
F
The
feds
Now
understand
that
I'd
like
to
see
we'd
like
to
see
reverse
onus
when
it
comes
to
bail,
for
example,
on
those
individuals
who
use
weapons.
There
is
right
now
for
firearms,
but
there
should
be
for
for
knives.
There
should
be
for
those
who
engage
with
with
a
weapon
to
cause
bodily
harm
to
people.
Honorable
speaker,
so
we
have
put
in
place
a
number
of
initiatives.
K
K
K
There
are
many
tools
that
the
provincial
government
has
but
they're
choosing
not
to
use
them
more
resources
for
Crown
prosecutors
and
for
forensics
dedicated
Crown
counsel
for
prolific
offenders,
a
directive
to
prosecutors
to
seek
custody
for
violent
prolific
offenders,
Mr
Speaker.
We
can't
afford
any
more
talk
and
inaction
that
allows
violent
prolific
offenders
to
be
released
to
victimize
someone
else
at
any
time,
let
alone
two
hours
and
18
minutes
later.
K
F
Thank
you,
honorable
speaker
and
I
thank
the
member
for
the
question,
but
I
want
to
correct
something
that
the
member
said.
Nobody,
nobody
on
this
side
of
the
house
or
on
that
side
of
the
house,
thinks
for
one
moment
that
violent
crime,
random
attacks
on
anybody
is
a
fact
of
life.
It
is
something
that
is
completely
unacceptable.
F
What
we
recognize
on
this
side
of
the
house
is
that
there
are
a
lot
of
complex
issues
and
I
am
not
pointing
and
saying
that
this
is
at
the
federal
government's
doorstep.
What
I
am
saying
is
that
all
three
levels
of
government
have
a
role
to
play
and
have
a
responsibility
of
areas
under
their
jurisdiction
in
the
province.
We
are
doing
what
we
can
in
terms
of
areas
where
we
have
control
over
and
will
continue
to
do
that
and
we'll
continue
to
look
at
and
work
on,
implementing
good
ideas
at
the
local
level.
F
Communities
have
programs
in
place,
but
I
will
repeat
once
again.
The
criminal
code
of
Canada
is
the
jurisdiction
of
the
federal
government.
We
know
that
and
we
are
committed
and
want
to
get
things
changed
and
that's
what
we're
working
to
do
as
I
said
earlier
at
the
provincial
level,
whether
it's
concrete
investments
in
forensics
in
intelligence,
in
terms
of
combating
crime
that
police
themselves
specifically
ask
for.
We
have
put
those
Investments
and
those
programs
in
place.
F
We've
also
worked
with
local
governments
and
local
communities
to
deal
with
what's
happening
in
their
specific
communities,
on
prevention
programs
that
reflect
the
makeup
of
those
communities
and
that's
the
approach
that
we
are
going
to
take.
We
know
the
importance
of
mental
health
that
was
recognized
by
the
all
Party
Committee
in
their
unanimous
report.