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From YouTube: FEB 27 2023 Question Period
Description
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
4th Session
42nd Parliament
A
Thank
you,
Mr
Speaker
in
28
2018,
the
BC
Center
on
substance,
use,
released
a
report
called
strategies
to
strengthen
recovery
in
British
Columbia.
It
offered
a
plan
for
recovery-oriented
system
of
care,
but
the
NDP
government
rejected
this
work
led
by
Dr,
Evan
wood
even
scrubbing
the
report
from
the
Center's
website.
A
C
Thank
you,
honorable
speaker
and
I
thank
the
member
for
for
her
question
on
a
topic
that
I
know
is
a
great
concern
to
everyone
in
this
house
to
all
British
Columbians
to
everyone
in
our
communities,
and
indeed
our
government
since
2017,
through
our
10-year
road
map
articulated
in
the
pathway
to
Hope,
has
been
building
out
a
an
integrated
system
of
care
for
people
who
are
struggling
with
substance,
use
that
it
has
involved
a
ramping
up
of
treatment
beds.
We've
we
have
built
over
360
treatment
beds.
C
We
have
now
in
the
province,
have
over
3
200
treatment
beds
for
people
struggling
with
with
substance
use
in
every
respect
across
the
entire
Continuum
of
Care.
We
are
building
out
Community
Counseling
Services.
We
are
investing
in
child
and
youth
mental
health.
We
are
investing
in
in
treatment
and
Recovery.
We
know
how
important
it
is
and
we
are
going
to
stand
with
British
Columbians
on
their
individual,
a
pads
to
recovery.
A
It
is
unfortunate
that
over
11
000
people
have
died
and
that
the
rollout
of
beds
really
equates
to
in
the
nearly
six
years
that
this
government
has
been
operating,
that
it's
really
only
added
three
treatment
beds.
A
month
in
British,
Columbia
Alberta,
successfully
implemented
a
recovery,
oriented
system
of
care
and
drastically
reduced
the
number
of
deaths,
based
on
the
same
report
that
this
NDP
government
rejected.
A
The
premier
could
look
to
Alberta
to
see
what
BC
could
have
achieved
if
this
government
had
acted
on
the
2018
report,
but
when
I
attended
the
recovery
conference
in
Calgary
last
week
with
experts
and
ministers
from
across
the
country,
nobody
from
this
government
was
there
again
to
the
premier.
Why
has
this
NDP
government
failed
to
prioritize
critical
treatment
and
Recovery
Services
for
nearly
six
years.
C
Thank
you,
honorable
speaker,
I
I,
think
there's.
There
is
no
question
the
British,
the
question
that
British
Columbians
understand
that
when
we
talk
about
the
the
the
dramatic
toll
that
the
toxic
drug
poisoning
crisis
in
this
province
has
taken,
that
the
work
that
we
are
doing
with
respect
to
harm
reduction
is
absolutely
critical
in
in
addressing
that,
because
we
know
we
have
to
keep
people
alive
in
order
to
connect
them
to
treatment.
I
have
heard
that
time
and
time
again
from
people
with
lived
experiences.
C
We
have
heard
that
from
the
families
who
have
had
loved
ones
who
have
died
with
respect
to
to
our
achievements,
I
do
want
to
talk
about
I
want
to
talk
about
the
work
that
we
did
from
2017
to
2019.,
ramping,
up
harm
reduction
interventions,
ramping
up
treatment,
supports
ramping
up
an
anti-stigma
campaign
that
all
contributed
to
dramatically
reduce
the
mortality
rate
dramatically
in
2019
we
saw
a
dramatic
reduction.
C
C
To
do,
we
are
going
to
continue
to
work
hard
with
Frontline
providers
with
our
partners
and
health
authorities
with
Physicians,
with
Community
Partners,
to
regain
the
ground
that
we
lost
due
to
the
covet
pandemic,
and
I
will
say
that
when
it
comes
to
where
good
ideas
come
from,
there
are
good
ideas.
Coming
from
all
over
the
place
and
I
was
very
pleased
that
staff
from
the
ministry
of
mental
health
and
addictions.
C
Was
very
pleased
that
staff
from
the
ministry
of
mental
health
and
addictions
were
able
to
take
part
in
the
conference
of
in
the
conference
that
occurred
in
Alberta
so
that
we
can
take
those
learnings
as
well.
Thank
you
very
much
honorable
speaker.
E
Who
have
loved
ones
who
want
and
need
access
to
treatment
and
here's
the
reality?
They
simply
cannot
get
it.
That's
the
reality
and
I'm
relieved
to
hear
the
minister
say
that
they're
willing
to
look
at
good
ideas,
because
that
is
exactly
what
we
and
the
leader
of
the
opposition
are
suggesting.
We
need
to
see
a
dramatic
shift
in
this
province
that
will
prioritize
treatment
and
recovery,
and
what
did
this
Minister
say
when
we
outlined
a
plan
that
would
do
just
that?
E
It's
nothing
but
a
distraction
even
more
concerning
is
the
ndp's
Ally
press
progress
which
is
financed
as
I
know.
The
premier
Knows
by
The
Broadbent
Institute,
is
spreading
harmful
and
offensive
claims
that
addictions
treatment
is
and
I
quote,
not
really
medicine.
End
quote:
press
progress
in
the
Broadbent
Institute
are
even
attacking
recovery
experts
and
pushing
theories
and
again
I
quote
that
addiction
treatment
represents
a
tip
of
the
spear
on
privatized
medicine.
End
quote,
that
is
harmful,
it
is
offensive
and
it
needs
to
stop
so.
C
You
thank
you
very
much,
honorable
speaker
and
I
and
I
thank
the
member
for
a
question.
I
do
want
to
also
thank
the
member
for
her
work
on
the
select
standing
committee.
I
think
that
was
an
important
example
of
what
British
Columbians
expect
from
all
of
us
in
this
space,
given
the
unprecedented
nature
of
the
public
health
emergency.
That
is
the
toxic
drug
poisoning
crisis
in
in
our
Province,
and
you
know
I.
C
C
The
addiction
Medicine
Specialists,
the
the
the
folks
in
public
health
who
are
supporting
the
harm
reduction
strategies
to
try
to
keep
people
alive,
to
try
to
keep
people
alive,
who
are
struggling
with
a
condition
that
is
a
chronic
and
relapsing
condition,
as
we
all
know
know,
as
we
all
know,
a
chronic
and
relapsing
condition
that
may
require
many.
Many
many
many
tries
at
treatment
before
they
that
they
are
successful.
We
have
to
be
there
for
people
all
the
way
through
the
Continuum
all
the
way
through
their
path,
and
it
it
is.
C
Our
path
is
absolutely
supported
by
a
55
million
dollar
investment
in
integrated
child
and
youth
teams,
which
are
going
to
help
pull
together.
Mental
health
supports
Health,
Care,
Health,
Care,
Health
Authority
supports
mental
health,
and
addition
addiction
supports
to
support
kids
in
in
in
in
in
schools.
That
is
the
work
that
we
are
absolutely
laser
focused
on
honorable
speaker,.
E
It
is
so
upsetting
to
see
someone
who
is
basically
running
the
premier's
office,
doing
nothing
about
the
attacks
on
treatment
and
Recovery
providers.
Today
the
premier
has
the
opportunity
to
do
the
right
thing.
First
of
all,
adopt
the
better
is
possible
plan
and
take
a
stand
against
the
attacks
that
are
being
made
on
treatment
and
Recovery
providers.
B
C
Thank
you.
Thank
you.
Honorable
speaker
and
I
I.
Just
I
I
have
to
say
that
we
we
do.
We
do
have
a
plan
and
we've
been
executing
that
plan
we've
been
taking
action
on
that
plan.
Since
2017.
we
have
been
making
substantial
Investments
of
hundreds
of
millions
of
dollars
in
treatment.
We
all
agree.
We
all
agree
in
this
house
on
the
importance
of
connecting
people
to
the
services
that
they
need
down
here.
C
Is
why
we
have
opened
last
year
alone,
105
treatment
beds
that
have
already
helped
624
people?
We
have
new
outpatient
withdrawal.
B
C
We
have
thank
you,
honorable
speaker.
We
have
new
outpatient
withdrawal,
Management
Services
across
the
Interior
Health
Authority,
new
treatment
and
stabilization
beds
in
places
like
Kamloops,
Kelowna
and
lilliwot.
We
have
new
sobering
beds
in
Port
Hardy.
We
are
making
strides
every
day
to
ramp
up
services,
including
Upstream
for
Children
and
Youth
for
adults
accessing
counseling
programs.
We
know
we
have
to
act
across
the
entire
Continuum.
There
is
no
dispute
on
this
side
of
the
house,
honorable
speaker
about
the
importance
of
treatment
and
recovery
on
that
on
that
Spectrum.
C
It
is
not
helpful
to
try
and
create
divisions
where,
in
fact,
there
are
none.
We
have
a
plan
which
we
will
continue
to
work
with,
and
we
are
very
very
grateful
to
work
with
all
parties
to
to
to
make
progress
on
this
very
pressing
issue
for
British
Columbians.
F
The
spotted
owl
population,
a
species
dependent
on
oil
growth,
forests
is
down
to
just
one
bird
left
in
the
wild
one
bird.
Yet
logging
continues
in
spotted
owl
habitat
448
cut
blocks
were
recently
approved
or
await
approval
by
this
government
in
spotted
owl
habitat.
This
government
approves
logging,
while
breeding
spotted
owls
in
captivity
to
prevent
them
from
going
extinct.
F
It's
not
unlike
shooting
wolves
to
save
Caribou
while
continuing
to
destroy
Caribou
habitat,
the
federal
minister
of
environment
and
climate
change.
Stephen
Gilbo
is
now
recommending
an
emergency
order
to
protect
spotted
owls,
because
BC
is
not
stepping
up
if
approved.
This
will
be
the
third
time
in
Canadian
history,
where
an
emergency
order
has
been
issued
to
protect
an
endangered
species.
This
isn't
the
first
time
the
federal
government
has
had
to
step
up
to
correct
this
government's
failures.
G
We've
protected
more
than
20
to
281
000
hectares
of
spotted
owl
habitat
an
area
equivalent
to
700
Stanley
Parks.
This
is
enough
to
support
a
future
population
of
125
breeding
pairs.
In
addition,
we
have
put
in
place
additional
deferrals
in
two
Fraser
Canyon
watersheds
the
Ute,
Celeste
and
spasm
watersheds
to
help
protect
spotted
owl
habitat
and
ensure
no
logging
takes
place
in
these
old
growth.
Forests.
F
Honorable
speaker,
thank
you
very
much
wow.
We
are
down
to
one
bird
in
the
wild
and
this
government
thinks
that
that's
something
to
celebrate
as
a
success
story.
That
is
astonishing,
honorable
speaker
and
it
wasn't.
The
question
I
asked
I
asked
the
question
to
the
premier
whether
there
would
be
biodiversity
legislation
or
species
at
risk
protection
legislation.
F
In
fact,
work
on
that
legislation
started
in
2017
because
it
was
promised
by
this
party
in
the
2017
election
that
they
would
introduce
species
at
this
risk
legislation
and
the
work
started,
but
the
people
that
were
working
on
that
legislation
were
told
to
stop
working
and
I'm
very
curious
to
know
who
told
those
people
to
stop
working
on
the
legislation
that
was
promised
by
this
government
to
the
people
of
British
Columbia.
My
question
again
for
you,
honorable
speaker,
is
to
the
premier.
H
Thank
you
very
much,
honorable
speaker,
thank
you
to
the
member
for
the
question
as
I'm
pretty
sure
the
member
knows
when
we
began
working
on
at
that
time,
species
at
risk
legislation
for
BC.
The
first
thing
we
did
was
begin
a
series
of
consultations
with
First
Nations,
who
very
quickly
made
it
clear
to
us
that
they
needed
to
be
involved
in
the
development
discussion
of
the
legislation
at
every
stage
of
the
way.
H
My
colleague,
the
the
minister
of
forests,
has
talked
about
the
the
work
that
we've
done
in
partnership
with
the
federal
government
and
First
Nations
with
respect
to
deferring
logging
in
in
the
old
growth
habitat.
While
we
await
the
results
of
a
captive
breeding
program
and
ensure
that
we
can
protect
spotted
Alice,
but
of
course
there
are
many
species,
and
that
is
why
we
entered
into.
H
At
the
same
time,
we
made
the
agreement
with
the
federal
government,
the
negotiation
of
a
nature
agreement,
a
comprehensive
nature
agreement
with
the
federal
government
by
which
we
could
take
steps
to
deal
with
ecosystem
Integrity
again.
Honorable
speaker,
we
are
working
with
that,
as
we
should,
with
First
Nations
around
the
province,
to
ensure
that
it
is
government
to
government
to
government,
and
we
get
it
right.
I
Thank
you,
Mr
Speaker.
Well,
the
couch
and
Hospital
replacement
project
is
already
well
over
three
years
behind
schedule
and
it's
a
shocking
850
million
dollars
over
budget,
but
Mr
Speaker.
If
you
thought
that
this
boondoggle
was
bad
enough.
Last
week
we
heard
the
NDP
Express
only
a
half
truth
with
respect
to
the
current
proposed
cost
on
the
Royal
BC's
Museum's
warehousing
facility
in
Colwood.
I
Instead
of
that
facility
being
46
billion
dollars
over
the
the
initial
budget
estimate,
which
the
NDP
would
have
British
Columbia's
believed
the
actual
budget
is
now
nearly
double
that
costs
have
ballooned
to
a
staggering
93
million
dollars
over
budget
and
it's
two
years
behind
schedule
and
Mr
Speaker.
They
haven't
even
broken
around
and
started
construction
on
this
project.
Yet
headlines
are
already
proclaiming
the
return
of
NDP
budget
budgets
and
we
haven't
even
made
it
to
the
budget
tomorrow.
I
D
So
in
July
2020,
the
original
budget
came
out
and
I
will
admit
that
there
was
an
increase,
and
that
was
also
revealed
in
an
announcement
that
came
out
so
I
don't
expect
the
member
to
follow
along
on
budget
announcements,
but
I
can
say
that
two
and
a
half
years
ago,
two
and
a
half
years
ago
we
were
asked
to
go
back
and
find
energy
efficiencies
use
the
lens
of
clean
BC
to
come
back
with
a
very
sustainable
plan.
D
We
did
that
and
then
the
announcement
last
week
was
a
reflection
of
the
cost
of
doing
business.
These
days,
which
I
am
sure
the
members
understand.
So
we
have
now
landed
on
a
fixed
price
contract
with
two
excellent
companies,
one
Canadian
firm
that
is
known
for
its
sustainability
design
and
an
architect
from
a
architect
firm
from
Vancouver.
That
is
also
well
known
for
its
sustainability.
D
So
from
this
project
we
will
not
only
protect
our
shared
interests
in
seven
million
artifacts,
but
we're
also
going
to
find
that
about
a
thousand
direct
and
indirect
jobs
will
come
of
this
and
we
have
room
for
25
years
of
growth
on
this
side
of
the
house.
We
believe
that
protecting
our
shared
history
is
important
and
I
would
hope
that
the
other
side
would
as
well.
I
I
A
sustainable
plan
for
a
project
that
nobody
asked
for:
nobody
wants
a
hundred
million
dollars
more
than
the
original
budget.
The
collections
building
was
supposed
to
cost
177
million
and
it
was
supposed
to
be
completed
by
next
year
2024.
But,
as
I
said
a
moment
ago,
it's
already
nearly
a
hundred
million
dollars
or
52
percent
over
budget
and
construction
hasn't
started.
I
Meanwhile
downtown
here
in
Victoria,
the
the
museum
has
been
half
gutted
for
15
months,
since
the
government
abruptly
closed
down
Old
Town
in
the
entire
third
floor,
British
Columbians
deserve
better
than
a
half
empty
Museum
in
Victoria
and
an
empty
field
in
Colwood
Mr
Speaker.
My
question
to
the
premier
is
this:
when
will
the
premier
admit
that
the
collections
facility
is
a
complete
and
utter
boondoggle?
When
will
he
scrap
this
project
and
instead
do
a
modest
upgrade
of
the
museum
across
the
street,
including
the
reopening
of
Old
Town
and
the
entire
third
floor?.
D
Thank
you,
Mr
Speaker,
well,
I
I
do
have
a
different
opinion
than
the
member
I.
Think
people
do
want
us
to
be
able
to
house
our
seven
million
artifacts
of
shared
history.
D
I
think
British
Columbians
understand
that
for
the
past
many
years,
there's
been
great
concern
about
the
archives
and
the
fact
that
a
lot
of
our
really
important
documents
are
stored
under
sea
level.
That
is
not
ideal
and
we
risk
losing
this.
These
important
documents
of
our
history,
I'm,
not
sure
the
member
also
understands
the
scope
of
what
we're
talking
about
this.
This
building
out
on
the
West
Shore
will
be
an
amazing
place
not
just
for
storing
our
seven
million
artifacts,
but
there's
opportunities
for
Education
K
through
K
through
12.
D
there's
a
post-secondary
educational
activities,
and
there
will
also
be
incredible
research
opportunities.
This
will
be
something
that
we
will
see.
International
visitors
come
for
these
seven
million
artifacts
are
very
diverse.
They
go
from
an
11
000
artifact
collection
from
Emily
Carr,
but
we
also
have
an
incredible
amount
of
other.
Are
types
of
artifacts.
The
member
might
not
know
this,
but
we
do
have
an
artifact
called
Buster.
This
is
a
ferrosaurus
otherwise
known
as
the
iron
lizard
of
the
sustat
river.
It
is
the
first
unique
species
of
dinosaur
found
and
identified
in
British
Columbia.
J
When
the
premier
made
changes
to
his
office,
Lori
Wanamaker,
the
deputy
Ministry
of
the
Premier,
was
paid
a
600
000
severance.
On
the
same
day,
she
was
appointed
to
BC
Hydro.
That
now
pays
ninety
three
thousand
dollars.
This
isn't
Severance,
it's
double
dipping.
Will
the
premier
personally
take
responsibility
for
his
decision
to
hand
out
an
obscene
Severance
to
have
that
person
employed
in
the
government
on
the
same
day.
K
K
Will
continue?
Thank
you.
Honorable
speaker,
I
just
crossed
the
100-day
threshold
as
premier
of
this
province,
and
it's
been
a
great
honor
every
single
day,
I
see
as
a
privilege
and
opportunity
to
deliver
from
British
Colombians
on
Health
Care,
on
housing,
on
Public
Safety
in
a
clean
economy
that
works
for
everybody,
making
sure
that
we
have
a
strong
team
at
BC
Hydro,
it's
hard
to
think
of
a
more
important
time
for
BC
Hydro.
K
Frankly,
when
we're
facing
a
climate
crisis,
a
need
to
Electrify
our
economy
when
we're
looking
at
the
economic
advantages
that
BC
has
around
the
ability
to
deliver
firm
power
and
reduce
emissions
by
electrifying
people's
homes,
switching
from
fuels
that
contribute
to
climate
change,
but
also
industry
and
driving
industry
by
delivering
affordable,
reliable
power.
Having
Lori
as
chair
of
the
board
is
going
to
be
critically
important.
She
served
under
both
sides
of
this
house.
She
started
in
the
office,
the
auditor
general.
She
was
a
deputy
at
the
Minister
of
Finance
for
many
years.
K
J
And
thank
you
thank
you.
Mr
Speaker
and
you
know
for
the
premier
to
get
up
and
and
speak
about
us
hundred
days.
It's
been
a
hundred
days
of
hot
air
for
British
Columbians.
B
J
It's
a
bit
sensitive
to
the
premier.
There
is
a
difference
between
Severance
and
double
dipping.
Lori
Wanamaker
collected
the
massive
Severance,
but
continued
in
a
job
paid
for
by
taxpayers.
The
premier
handed
out
six
hundred
thousand
dollars
of
severance
with
one
hand,
while
giving
a
job
with
the
other.
All
on
the
same
day.
K
Thanks
honorable
speaker
and
and
I
think
the
member
for
the
opportunity
to
run
through
a
few
of
our
accomplishments
as
a
government.
In
the
first
time.
B
K
Thanks
honorable
speaker,
the
I'm
sure
the
member
was
watching
as
we
announced
400
million
dollars
for
the
first
phase
of
a
10-year
cancer
plan,
faster
treatment
for
British
Columbians
across
the
province,
including
Regional
cancer,
centers.
K
Is
watching
when
we
well?
In
fact
he
was
here
when
we
passed
legislation
setting
targets
for
local
government
and
we
announced
a
half
a
billion
dollar
plan
to
protect
tenants
in
low
cost
rental,
housing,
I'm
sure
the
member
I'm
sure
the
member
is
well
aware
on
Public
Safety,
when
we
established
peer
response
teams
to
take
the
pressure
off
police
to
respond
to
people
in
Mental,
Health,
crisis
teams
of
prosecutors,
police
and
probation
officers
around
repeat
violent
offenders.
K
K
K
I
know
the
member
knows:
I
know
the
member
knows.
We
have
legal
obligations
around
Severance
that
we
have
to
meet
when
people
leave
government
I
know
he
knows
that
BC
Hydro
is
independent
of
government
and
it's
good
that
it
works
that
way,
but
we
have
those
obligations
I'm
so
glad
that
Lori
agreed
to
take
on
this
vital
job
as
chair
at
BC
Hydro,
because
to
deliver
on
things
like
this
to
continue
to
deliver.
We
need
leaders
like
her
chairing
that
board.
Not
political
appointments
like
they
did
every
single
time
they
had
the
chance.
L
Well
well,
thank
you
Mr
Speaker!
Well,
let's
be
clear.
The
the
cancer
announcement
was
actually
part
of
the
2020
election
Promise
by
the
former
Premier.
It
was
actually
supposed
to
be
fully
implemented
by
now,
so
in
the
NDP
land,
I
guess
taking
three
years
to
start,
a
10-year
plan
is
considered
a
success,
as
people
are
waiting
for
cancer
treatment
of
all
things.
L
Our
couch
and
hospital
that's
been
delayed
and
now
is
over
twice
as
expensive
as
when
it
was
first
announced.
It's
considered
its
success
by
this
government.
Our
collections
facility,
that's
100,
million
over
budget
and
delayed,
is
considered
a
success,
and
now
we
have
the
premier
trying
to
deflect
away
it's
questions
about
Severance.
It
seems
money's,
never
an
object.
When
it
comes
to
this
premier's
office,
we
have
the
six
hundred
thousand
dollars
of
severance,
which
also
triggered
a
new
government
job.
L
On
the
very
same
day,
we
have
the
former
Chief
of
Staff
Jeff
Biggs,
walking
away
with
three
hundred
and
forty
thousand
dollars,
and
then
we
have
Amber
Hawkins,
an
NDP
Insider
who
accepted
the
job
as
the
premier's
Deputy
Chief
of
Staff,
this
premier's
Deputy
Chief
of
Staff,
but
resigned
very
shortly
afterwards
and
unexplicated
and
explained
a
payout
of
a
hundred
and
ninety
thousand
dollars.
What
now
she
resigned
and
in
her
resignation
letter,
she
stated
that
she
wanted
to
quote
move
on
to
another
chapter
in
my
life,
one
that
is
filled
with
grandkids
and
hobbies.