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From YouTube: APRIL 26 2023 Question Period
Description
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
4th Session
42nd Parliament
C
The
premier
in
this
NDP
government
utterly
failed
on
their
one
signature
promise
they
made
to
the
parents
of
Surrey
the
total
eradication
of
Surrey
School
Portables,
the
NDP
promised
in
2017
and
I'm
going
to
quote
here,
quote
a
total
removal
of
these
Portables
over
the
course
of
the
next
four
years,
end
of
quote.
Well,
here
we
are
six
years
later.
C
How
are
they
doing
well
in
a
truly
remarkable
twist,
instead
of
eradicating
the
Portables,
they
somehow
managed
to
double
the
Portables
in
Surrey
now
British
Columbians
have
become
all
too
familiar
with
grand
promises
that
amount
to
nothing,
but
achieving
the
exact
opposite
of
what
they
promised
is
a
new
level
of
incompetence,
even
for
them.
So
my
question
to
the
premier
is
a
simple
one:
why,
after
promising
to
eliminate
all
School
Portables
in
Surrey,
have
the
NDP
managed
to
double
the
number
of
Portables
inserted.
D
Thank
you,
honorable
speaker,
and
thank
you
to
the
member
for
the
question.
Every
parent
of
every
kid
in
our
Province
needs
to
know
that
their
kid
is
going
to
school
in
a
place.
That's
safe
in
a
place,
that's
modern
and
that's
great,
to
learn
and
that's
our
commitment
to
all
parents
in
British
Columbia
and
we're
continuing
that
important
work.
It's
no
less
true
in
Surrey
than
anywhere
else
in
the
province.
D
D
Specifically
on
the
issue
of
Surrey,
we
have
opened
10
specifically
on
the
issue
of
Syria.
We
have
open
ten
thousand
new
spaces
for
students,
there's
16
new
schools
or
additions
that
are
complete
or
underway
across
Surrey
and
to
the
member.
He
may
remember,
flatlining
the
capital
budget
for
Education
when
he
was
Finance
Minister
and
for
the
four
years
before
the
last
election,
not
building
a
single
School
in
Surrey.
So
we
are
recovering.
C
C
But
you
know
as
much
as
the
premier
will
try
and
duck
and
Dodge
the
bottom
line
is.
He
cannot
ignore
the
fact
they
promise
to
eliminate
Portables
within
four
years
and
they've
somehow
managed
to
double
the
number
of
Portables
in
Surrey,
but
it
gets
even
better
stay
tuned.
It
gets
even
better
because
now
in
a
truly
historic
manner,
they
are
now
going
to
introduce
NDP
double
decker.
Portables,
that's
right
doubles
deck
reportables
right
now
they
are
stacking
Portables
on
top
of
each
other
at
Fleetwood,
Park,
Secondary,
School.
C
Here's
a
letter
from
the
Surrey
Board
of
Education
said
to
the
minister
yesterday
copied
all
the
Surrey
mlas
and
it
reads
and
I
quote:
we
have
tried
to
advocate
for
funding
privately
and
held
meetings
with
you,
the
ministry
and
local
mlas.
Unfortunately,
these
meetings
have
not
resulted
in
sufficient
funding.
End
of
quote
now
just
picture
this
Mr
Speaker,
all
those
NDP
mlas,
including
by
the
way
the
Surrey
MLA
who's.
C
The
minister
of
Education
have
totally
failed
on
the
one
signature
promise
they
made
to
the
parents
and
children
in
Surrey,
and
that
is
to
deal
with
the
issue
of
Portables.
So
again,
a
simple
question
to
the
premier:
it's
actually
about
Portables
and
I,
say
this
on
behalf
of
all
the
parents
of
Surrey.
How
on
Earth
did
the
premier
manage
to
instead
of
eliminating
Portables,
double
them
and
now
double
decker
them.
E
D
Come
here,
thank
you.
Honorable
speaker,
our
province
has
seen
incredible
growth
and
one
of
the
reasons
for
this
growth
is
people
choosing
to
move
here
from
other
provinces
from
other
countries,
because
the
economic
opportunities
here
because
of
remarkable
programs
like
our
Child
Care
Program,
leading
the
way
across
the
nation
and
that's
good
news
for
us-
we're
growing
we're
a
successful
Province,
but
it
brings
challenges.
Our
infrastructure
is
facing
major
strains.
D
D
D
F
G
Thank
you,
Mr
Speaker.
Well,
it's
it's
pretty
clear
from
that
response
that
this
Premier
hasn't
even
taken
the
time
to
read
the
letter
that
was
sent
to
his
Minister
yesterday.
It
is
very
clear
from
that
response.
This
is
how
the
trustee
Terry
Allen
describes
the
letter
and
I
quote
the
letter
is
to
say
Minister
provincial
government.
Please
look
at
serious
request
again
because
you're
actually
failing
the
students
and
parents
in
Surrey.
Exactly
end
quote,
that
is
from
a
trustee.
G
G
H
Thank
you,
Mr
Speaker
and
I
really
want
to
thank
the
member
for
the
question
and
I'm
really
happy
that
you
are
concerned
about
the
education.
While,
while
your
leader
was
the
Finance
Minister,
he
he
froze
the
education
funding
and
for
the
last
four
years
in
the
last
government
there
was
not
a
single
school
that
was
built
in
sunny,
and
there
was
only
one
at
Central.
H
G
Thank
you,
Mr
Speaker.
Let
me
say
it
again.
Here
is
where
we
are
at
now
in
Surrey,
under
this
Premier,
this
Minister,
this
NDP
government
double
decker,
Portables
double
decker
Portables.
That
is
what
we're
that
is
the
vision
for
the
NDP
in
Surrey
members.
You
know
what
here's,
what
this
Premier
is
doing,
he's
emptying
prisons
and
he's
double
bunking
students.
B
G
Premier
finds
this
funny:
I
have
students,
I
have
kids
that
go
to
school
in
Surrey
constituents
that
do
the
premier
should
know
he
campaigned
on
a
promise.
He
has
broken
that
promise.
Not
only
has
he
broken,
it
he's
doubled
down
on
it,
he's
doubled
down
on
it.
Now
we're
getting
double
decker,
Portables
trustee,
Terry,
Allen,
says
again
and
I
quote:
eliminating
Portables
will
never
happen
in
my
lifetime
and
quote
so.
Instead
of
laughing,
can
this
Premier
get
up
in
the
house
and
admit
he
is
absolutely
failed?
H
You
Mr
Speaker
Mr
Speaker.
We
are
creating
10
000
new
seats
in
Surrey
and
that
is
equivalent
to
400
new
classrooms.
We
know
that
study
we
more
than
250
000
people
made
British
Columbia
their
home,
and
many
of
them
chose
study,
and
rightly
so,
as
I
did
more
than
20
years
ago,
is
one
of
the
best
places
to
live
here
in
British,
Columbia
and.
B
H
Speaker
we
had
over
1700
new
students
student
seats
open
compared
to
last
year.
We
will
keep
on
working.
We
have
a
list
of
the
schools
that
have
opened.
I
would
love
to
tell
the
member
all
the
schools
that
have
opened
all
the
seats
that
we
have
created
will
keep
on
working
with
the
with
this
board
of
education
listening
to
their
needs
and
their
priorities.
H
I
You
Mr
Speaker.
Three
weeks
ago,
The
Vancouver,
Police,
Department,
restricted
media
from
covering
the
sweeps
of
the
downtown
east
side.
Traffic
cameras
were
turned
off,
the
media
were
barred
from
entering
the
area.
Police
chief
cited
privacy
and
safety
concerns.
It's
part
of
a
pattern
of
concerning
police
behavior
that
seems
to
be
increasing.
Last
year,
media
was
restricted
from
covering
the
ongoing
demonstrations
on
what
Sultan
territory
and
journalists
were
unlawfully
arrested.
I
I
A
free
press
is
necessary
for
a
healthy
democracy,
but
despite
warnings
from
our
highest
court,
police
forces
continue
to
restrict
media
and
hope
to
get
away
with
it.
My
question
Mr
Speaker,
is
to
the
solicitor
general.
What
has
he
done
to
support
the
freedom
of
the
press
in
incidents
involving
the
police.
J
Solicitor
general.
Thank
you.
Honorable,
honorable
speaker
and
I
appreciate
the
question
for
the
member
and
what
I
can
tell
him
is
that
as
he
well
knows,
there
are
processes
and
procedures
in
place
to
guide
and
to
that
are
often
ruled
on
when
complaints
are
brought.
There's
a
complaint
process
and
individuals
can
bring
those
complaints
forward
and
they
will
be
acted
on.
In
some
cases,
the
determinate
court
of
law
and
a
court
and
a
judge
maker
ruling,
and
my
expectation
is
that
the
police
abide
by
those
rulings.
J
I
note
the
some
of
the
things
that
the
member
noted,
particularly
in
Vancouver.
It
was
out
for
about
10
minutes.
It
was
not
anything
malicious,
it
was
just
an
outage,
but
we
have
rules
in
place.
I
expect
police
to
follow
them
and
when
they
don't,
there
are
complaint
processes
that
are
in
place,
statute-driven
that
are
able
to
deal
with
them.
I
You
Mr
Speaker
public
is
seeing
police
forces
growing,
increasingly
authoritarian
and
out
of
the
reach
of
independent
oversight.
The
RCMP
are
not
directly
accountable
to
the
communities
they
serve.
They're
accountable
to
Ottawa
the
BC
conservation
service
is
a
quasi
police
force,
they're
embedded
within
the
provincial
government,
but
don't
have
any
policing
oversight
body.
The
chief
Constable
of
The
Vancouver,
Police
Department
bragged
about
how
they
don't
answer
to
anybody.
I
To
quote
the
chief
quote:
I,
don't
report
to
any
politician:
I,
don't
report
to
the
city
of
Vancouver
I,
don't
report
to
the
province
of
BC
or
the
federal
government.
End
quote
so,
who
are
they
accountable
to
police
are
meant
to
protect
and
serve
the
communities
they
represent?
Instead,
we've
enabled
the
inflation
of
power
in
the
police
forces
boast
about
not
having
to
report
to
anybody.
Mr
Speaker.
My
question
is
again
to
the
solicitor
general.
I
J
General,
thank
you.
Honorable,
speaker
and
I
appreciate
the
question.
First
off,
the
police
are
accountable:
they're,
accountable
to
the
public
they're
accountable
to
their
communities,
they're
accountable
to
the
province,
they're
accountable
to
the
federal
government,
and
there
are
mechanisms
in
place
to
ensure
that
one
of
the
things-
and
they
have
a
very
difficult
job
as
the
member
well
knows
and
I-
think
all
of
us
in
this
chamber
know.
J
But
what
I
can
also
tell
a
member
is
that
the
work
of
the
all
Party
Committee,
my
Ministry,
has
been
working
very
hard
on
those
recommendations.
There
will
be
a
phased
approach
in
terms
of
dealing
with
the
the
recommendations
in
that
committee.
J
The
first
phase
will
be
dealing
with
the
with
governance
and
oversight
issues,
some
of
them
identified
in
the
the
all
party
report,
others
identified
by
work,
that's
gone
on
within
my
Ministry,
and
it
is
my
expectation
and
my
my
plan
is
Minister
to
have
legislation
dealing
with
those
particular
issues
ready
for
the
fall
session
this
year,
when
we
come
back
in
October.
F
Thank
you,
Mr
Speaker,
since
2017
there's
been
a
staggering
191
percent
increase
in
critical
injuries
and
deaths
of
children
known
to
or
in
the
care
of
this
government.
Bc's
representative
for
Children
and
Youth
has
reported
528
lost
lives
and
7
362
Gravely
injured
children
in
our
committee
for
Children
and
Youth.
We've
had
to
listen
to
the
heartbreaking
stories
of
this
loss
and
the
painful
reality
that
we
hear
on
this
committee,
though,
sharply
contradicts
the
repeated
promises
and
the
comments
made
by
this
Premier
and
his
party
when
they
were
in
opposition.
K
Thank
you
very
much
honorable
speaker
and
thank
you
to
the
member
for
the
question.
We
are
absolutely
committed
to
making
sure
that
every
child
is
safe
and
happy
and
healthy
and
is
brought
up
with
loving
parents.
We
know
that
the
best
outcomes
for
children
youth
are
for
them
to
stay
connected
with
their
family,
where
it's
safe
for
them
to
always
stay
connected
to
their
family,
to
their
community
and
to
their
culture
as
well.
We
are
taking
steps
to
change
how
services
are
delivered
in
British
Columbia.
K
So
we
know
again
that
the
outcomes
for
children,
youth
leaving
government
care
they
are
terrible
outcomes
and
they're
disproportionately
represented
in
so
many
terrible
statistics,
including
the
super
highway
to
homelessness
honorable
speaker.
Well,
we
are
implementing,
for
the
first
time
in
British
Columbia,
a
suite
of
comprehensive
supports
that
support
young
people
to
still
have
a
home
after
the
age
of
19
to
have
access
to
Bent
supplements
if
they're
in
Market
rental
there'll
be
income,
supplements
access
to
more
education
and
more
cultural
supports.
F
The
outcome
of
this
inaction
of
this
government
is
seen
daily
in
the
injuries
the
deaths
and
individual
advocacy
issues
reported
to
the
rcy
from
2017
to
2021.
The
representative
actually
has
provided
63
recommendations
in
10
reports
and
what's
happened
under
this
government
nine
recommendations
14
have
actually
been
looked
at
and
completed.
That
is
not
action,
that
is
failure
and
families
and
children
are
paying
the
price.
So
how
does
the
premier
Square
his
government's
glaring
inaction
on
10
reports,
dozens
of
recommendations
compared
to
the
promises
that
his
government
once
made.
K
You
very
much
honorable
speaker.
It
is
absolutely
vital
and
we're
absolutely
committed
to
making
sure
that
children
across
British
Columbia
have
safe,
happy
and
healthy
lives
with
their
families,
with
families
who
love
and
support
them,
and
we
agree
with
the
representative
that
when
it
comes
to
her
recommendations,
the
impacts
of
those
changes
on
the
ground
need
to
be
felt
faster.
But
honorable
speaker,
work
is
underway
on
all
of
the
recommendations
of
the
representative
for
for
Children
and
Youth,
rather
than
making
cuts
like
under
the
previous
government.
K
Our
government
has
been
investing
every
single
year
in
this
ministry
in
providing
more
services
and
delivering
more
access
to
Services
across
British
Columbia
we're
absolutely
determined
to
keep
taking
action.
We
are
working
on
transforming
the
child
welfare
system,
we're
making
a
difference
in
how
services
are
accessed
and
how
services
are
being
delivered
to
children,
youth,
to
help
them
and
to
help
their
families
to
help
them
stay
together,
because
we
know
that
that
leads
to
the
best
outcomes
for
Children
and
Youth.
We
are
taking
action
on
the
recommendations
of
the
representative
for
Children
and
Youth.
K
We
passed
really
significant
legislation
last
year,
for
the
first
time
ever,
young
people,
transitioning
from
government
care,
are
able
to
access
services
to
help
them
Thrive
and,
at
the
same
time,
honorable
speaker.
Thank
you.
At
the
same
time,
every
single
day
we
are
working
with
Children
and
Youth
and
Families.
A
Thank
you
very
much,
honorable
speaker.
The
truth
is
that
report
clearly
highlights
that
action
has
not
been
taken.
Contrary
to
what
the
minister
just
said,
only
14
percent
of
the
recommendations
of
the
representative
children
and
you
have
actually
been
completed.
So
let
us
be
clear.
This
is
what
the
representative
says
on
page
10
of
the
report
and
I'd
like
to
quote
of
the
10
calls
to
collaborate
with
young
and
young
adults.
Only
one.
A
A
K
We
have
hundreds
of
young
people
transitioning
from
government
care
who
are
now
receiving
a
600
a
month,
rent
supplement
if
they're
in
Market.
If
they're
in
Market
rental,
we
raise
the
rates
for
caregivers.
Honorable
speaker,
we
raise
the
rates
for
foster
carers
and
extended
family
carers
by
47
percent,
because
that
rate
had
been
frozen
for
10
years.
Honorable
speaker
and
we
have
harmonized
the
rates
so
that
there
isn't
an
incentive
to
come
into
foster
care
so
that
young
people
can
stay
connected
to
family
and
they
can
stay
with
extended
family
we're,
making
different
choices.
K
Honorable
speaker
we're
investing
in
Services.
The
budget
for
my
Ministry
has
gone
up
every
single
year
since
2017
and
I
hear
from
young
people
and
I
hear
from
families
that
they
are
feeling
the
difference
on
the
ground
of
our
investments
in
Services.
Thank
you
in
supports
for
families
and
in
helping
them
stay
safely
together
and
stay
connected
to
their
family,
community
and
culture.
Thank
you.
K
Honorable
speaker,
we
know
that
children
are
going
to
thrive
if
we're
able
to
keep
them
connected
to
their
family,
to
their
community
and
to
their
culture,
and
we
have
seen
changes
in
practice.
Changes
in
policy
changes
in
legislation,
young
people,
transitioning
from
government
care
now
for
the
first
time
ever,
have
a
suite
of
supports
and
services
so
that
they
will
be
able
to
thrive
and
they
don't
dread.
Their
19th
birthday.
K
We
are
acting
on
and
work
is
already
underway.
On
all
of
the
recommendations
from
the
representative
for
Children
and
Youth,
the
role
of
that
office
is
very
important
and,
and
together
we
will
continue
to
make
improvements
in
the
system.
At
the
same
time,
we
are
taking
other
measures,
changing
legislation,
changing
Investments,
changing
policy
to
benefit
children,
youth
and
families,
and
every
single
day,
honorable
speaker,
staff
from
my
Ministry
are
working
to
support
children,
youth
and
families
and
help
them
Thrive.
Thank
you.
L
Well,
the
fact
of
the
matter
is
this
government
wasn't
elected
yesterday.
They
are
a
two-term
more
than
six-year
government
and
the
minister
needs
to
haul
out
the
report
and
take
a
look
at
the
chart.
Critical
injuries
have
gone
up
every
single
year
under
this
government's
watch
every
single
year,
and
it
is
not
our
words.
It
is
the
words
of
the
independent
representative,
and
here
are
the
facts
for
the
minister.
It's
not
one
report
report
after
report
after
report
told
this
government
they
needed
to
do
more
to
protect
children
and
here's
the
bottom
line.
L
14
of
the
recommendations,
that's
the
record
of
this
Premier
and
this
government
of
the
110
child
and
youth
deaths
reported
last
year
alone,
a
tragic
23
percent
were
substance,
use
related
and
yet
89
percent
of
the
representatives,
mental
health
recommendations
have
been
ignored
by
this
government.
The
ministries
of
health
and
mental
health
and
addictions
were
identified
by
the
representative
as
the
least
responsive
and
the
excuses
for
delays
were
outright
dismissed
by
the
representative.
Here's
what
she
said
there
was
inaction
both
before
and
after
the
pandemic.
End
quote
not
our
words.
L
The
words
of
the
representative
by
every
single
measure,
this
Premier
and
government,
have
failed
the
vulnerable
children
in
this
province
complete
inaction
over
five
years
on
89
percent
of
the
recommendations.
That's
the
record
of
this
government.
So
will
the
premier
stand
up
today
and
provide
answers
to
families
in
British
Columbia
how
they
could
fail
so
abysmally
and
completely
ignore
the
representatives
recommendations
that
would
protect
the
most
vulnerable
children
in
this
province?.
K
Our
ministry
is
absolutely
committed
to
serving
children,
youth
and
families
here
in
British
Columbia
every
single
day,
our
staff.
We
have
staff
here
today
in
the
gallery
every
single
day.
Our
staff
is
working
hard
to
keep
Children
and
Youth
safely
with
their
families
and
to
make
sure
that
children,
youth
are
connected
to
their
family,
their
community
and
their
culture.
Because,
honorable
speaker,
we
know
that
that
is
going
to
lead
those
children
youth
to
be
able
to
thrive.
K
Work
is
already
underway
on
all
of
the
recommendations
from
the
representative
for
Children
and
Youth,
and
since
2017
honorable
speaker,
we
have
been
making
changes,
we've
been
making
changes
to
the
way
that
services
are
delivered,
that
Services
can
be
accessed
and
rather
than
making
Cuts
honorable
speaker
like
what
happened
under
the
previous
government.
When
the
other
side
was
in
government,
we
have
been
investing
in
services
to
support
children,
youth
and
families
every
single
year
since
2017
honorable
speaker,
we
have
the
lowest
number
of
Youth
in
care,
it's
the
lowest.
K
It
has
been
in
30
years
and
we
have
the
lowest
number
of
indigenous
children,
youth
in
care,
the
lowest
in
over
20
years.
We
have
changed
legislation,
we
have
changed
policy,
I've,
seen
practice
changes,
I,
hear
from
young
people
and
from
families
that
their
experience
is
different
and
that
they
are
able
to
stay
connected
with
their
family
and
keep
connections
with
their
Community
as
well.
K
So
there
is
more
work
to
do
honorable
speaker
and
we
will
continue
to.
We
will
continue
to
act
on
the
recommendations
of
the
representative
of
children,
youth,
we'll
continue
our
work
to
change
the
the
system
serving
children,
children
and
youth
and
their
families,
and
every
single
day,
honorable
speaker,
our
staff
will
continue
delivering
those
services
and
supporting
children,
youth
and
their
families
to
thrive.