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From YouTube: APRIL 19 2023 Question Period
Description
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
4th Session
42nd Parliament
D
Thank
you
all
thank
you,
honorable
speaker
and
I
and
I.
Thank
the
thank
the
member
for
the
for
the
question.
I
just
want
to
go
back
to
the
work
that
was
done
in
fact
to
prepare
for
the
process
of
decriminalization
and
the
exemption
that
we
received
from
Health
Canada,
which
was
an
answer
to
a
call
that
had
been
made
by
municipalities
by
public
health
officials
by
people
on
the
front
lines
by
clinicians
in
order
to
work
towards
destigmatizing
drug
use,
so
that
we
can
better
support
people
in
accessing
care
and
support.
D
I
want
to
remind
all
of
us
that
that
is
the
objective
of
decriminalization.
That
is
what
was
discussed
as
the
objective
by
the
select
standing
committee
on
health,
and
that
is
what
was
supported
by
all
parties
of
this
house,
with
the
exception
of
the
BC
conservative
party
in
in
moving
forward
with
this.
So
I
want
to
to
say
that
we,
as
we
have
committed
to
it
to
do,
have
been
working
with
all
of
our
partners,
who
are
representative
of
on
that
represented
on
the
table.
D
That
advice
that,
if
that
contributed
to
the
development
of
the
application
for
the
exemption
and
that
continues
to
meet
to
assist
in
the
implementation
and
advise
on
the
implementation,
including
the
union,
BC
municipalities
and
we
work
closely
with
municipalities
on
issues
and
challenges
that
they
may
be
experiencing
in
their
communities
and
I've
met
recently
with
many
municipalities
and
am
grateful
for
their
collaboration.
As
we
move
to
find
solutions
for
their
for
their
concerns.
C
C
Just
this
morning,
this
very
morning
we
see
parents
like
Andrea
Miller,
whose
daughter
Everly
found
a
packet
of
fentanyl
at
her
Elementary
School
playground
in
Nanaimo.
No
parent
should
have
to
live
in
fear
for
their
child's
life,
because
they're
going
to
stumble
across
drugs
and
dangerous
drugs
like
fentanyl
in
their
own
playgrounds.
No
wonder
that
communities
like
Penticton,
Kelowna,
New,
Westminster,
Kamloops
and
Campbell
River
are
all
trying
to
at
least
put
some
controls
in
place
and,
despite
again,
the
strict
regulations
that
exist
around
enjoying
a
beer
in
our
beaches
and
Parks.
C
This
Premier
and
ndp's
decriminalization
policy
allows
uncontrolled
use
of
hard
drugs
like
crystal
meth,
crack,
cocaine
and
Fentanyl
in
beaches,
parks
and
playgrounds.
So
my
question
is
a
straightforward
one:
will
the
premier
is
the
Premier
going
to
continue
siding
with
his
own
radical
friends
at
pivot
legal
society
and
continue
to
allow
the
open
use
of
drugs
in
beaches,
parks
and
playgrounds
in
British?
Columbia
foreign.
D
Korean,
really
that
characterization
I
would
suggest
is
just
is,
is
just
simply
wrong,
quite
quite
quite
wrong.
In
fact,
with
respect
to
the
exemption
that
we
received
from
Health
Canada,
our
government
has
been
working
very
hard
to
ensure
that
we
are
working
on
scaling
up
supports
across
the
entire
Continuum
when
it
comes
to
harm
reduction,
to
treatment,
to
prevention,
to
education
and
as
part
of
our
work
leading
up
to
to
to
decriminalization.
We
work
to
expand
treatment
and
Recovery.
We
engage
with
stakeholders
with
indigenous
Partners
conducted
education
and
Outreach
campaigns.
D
We
worked
closely
with
Frontline
police
officers
and
I'll
remind
folks
that
this,
of
course,
has
the
support
of
the
police
Chiefs
of
of
Canada
and
local
police
Chiefs.
We
had
over
9
000
police
officers
in
the
province,
engage
in
the
education,
material
activity
and
modules
to
leading
up
leading
up
to
decrim.
So
you
know
I'm
very
grateful
again
for
the
work
of
for
the
work
of
of
Partners,
like
school
districts
and
municipalities
who
are
responding
to
to
issues
that
may
occur.
D
I've
met
with
municipalities
we'll
continue
to
meet,
to
meet
with
municipalities,
to
to
address
concerns
and
want
to
remind
British
Columbians
that
the
support
that
every
single
party
in
this
house
gave
to
the
suite
of
measures,
including
decriminalization
in
the
standing
committee
report
last
year.
Members.
A
Thank
you,
Mr
Speaker.
Well,
the
the
decriminalization
measures
that
the
minister
speaks
of
that
supposedly
are
doing
such
a
great
job
at
protecting
the
public.
I
can
tell
you
that
this
much
Andrea
Miller,
whose
daughter
found
a
packet
of
fentanyl
at
an
elementary
school
in
Nanaimo.
She
sure
doesn't
think
that
government's
doing
everything
it
can
to
put
the
guardrails
in
place
that
were
promised.
A
Communities,
communities
right
across
this
province
are
trying
to
step
up
and
fill
the
leadership
void
left
by
this
Premier
Campbell
River
tried
to
regulate
consumption
in
their
Community,
only
to
be
forced
to
abandon
after
the
province
through
Island
Health
frustrated
their
efforts,
and
they
faced
a
legal
Challenge
from
the
premier's
pivot.
Legal
Society,
local
governments
in
Penticton,
sycamus,
Kelowna
and
kamloose
are
all
facing
the
exact
same
obstacle:
opposition
from
this
government.
A
Only
this
time,
it's
through
Interior
Health
after
Kamloops,
voted
to
bring
in
bylaw
amendments
that
banned
the
use
of
illicit
drugs
in
all
public
parks
and
Facilities.
Guess
what
they
very
promptly
received
a
letter
from
Interior
Health
telling
them
to
hold
off
hold
off
on
enacting
bylaws
for
six
months
so
and
I
quote
we
we
can
allow
staff
to
monitor
the
situation
to
determine
if
there
is
in
fact,
an
increase
in
public
drug
use.
End
quote
seriously:
Mr
Speaker.
A
We
don't
need
six
more
months
to
see
what's
happening
in
our
communities
due
to
this
government's
policies.
It's
chaos
and
social
disorder
everywhere.
Council
sees
that
the
public
sees
that
it
seems
the
only
people
that
don't
see.
That
is
the
Premier
and
this
government
Mr
Speaker.
The
question
is
this:
why
is
the
Premier
siding
with
his
old
radical
activist,
friends
at
pivot,
legal
instead,
our
end
and,
at
the
same
time,
obstructing
local
communities
from
Banning
the
consumption
of
crystal
meth,
crack
cocaine
or
fentanyl
in
public
spaces,
like
parks
and
playgrounds.
D
We
are
working
with
police
officers,
with
with
municipalities
with
health
authorities,
with
public
health
with
Frontline
service
providers
in
order
to
address
a
public
health
emergency
that,
as
we
know,
results
in
the
death
of
in
excess
of
six
people
a
day
in
this
province.
D
This
is
a
very
serious
issue
and
decriminalization
was
a
very
important
step
that
was
called
for
by
police,
by
municipalities
by
front
by
by
doctors
by
Public
Health
by
Frontline
providers,
in
order
as
one
tool
in
the
toolbox,
one
tool
in
a
very
big
toolbox,
and
it
was
a
measure
that
was
agreed
to
by
all
parties
in
this
house,
with
the
exception
of
the
BC
conservative
party.
In
order
to
try
and
make
progress
here,
we
will.
B
B
D
Understand
that
the
sikamous
municipality
bylaw
has
been
passed,
there
has
been
engagement
with
the
medical
health
officer
and
that's
what
municipalities
are
doing.
They
are
engaging
appropriately
with
their
medical
health
officers
to
determine
what
the
local
conditions
are,
what
the
local
issues
are
and
what
needs
to
be
done,
and
in
second
moose
they
now
have
a
Bible
that
I
understand
all
parties
are
satisfied
with.
D
A
Mr
Speaker,
we
will
set
the
record
straight
once
again.
We
seem
to
have
to
do
this
every
single
day,
the
to
be
very,
very
clear.
We
supported
decriminalization
as
long
as
it
was
done
in
the
context
of
the
letter
of
requirements,
as
provided
by
the
federal
government,
clear,
let's
be
clear,
absent
there,
being
education,
absent,
they're,
being
appropriate
treatment
and
supports
for
people
absent
through
being
public
safety
measures
absent
their
being
those
requirements
in
that
letter.
This
is
a
reckless
policy
that
this
Premier
in
this
government
is
hurling
British
Columbians
into.
A
Kamloops,
counselor,
Sarai,
says,
and
I
quote:
every
solution
they
come
up
with
is
to
keep
letting
them
use
and
we
keep
supplying
them
with
material
to
use,
but
the
aftermath
is
played
out
on
our
city,
streets
and
our
city
parks
and
in
our
playgrounds
that
has
to
change.
We
couldn't
agree
more
with
counselor
Sarai
and
what
kamos
wants
is
the
decrim
guard
rails
that
were
promised
by
this
Premier
and
they
want
leadership
from
this
government
Kamloops
counselor,
Katie
newstater
said,
and
I
quote.
A
What
is
the
government's
plan
tell
us
in
the
absence
of
that
plan,
you
better
believe
that
local
decision
makers
are
going
to
make
decisions
to
hear
the
concerns
of
our
community
end
quote
so.
The
question
is
this:
how
can
the
premier
justify
his
inaction,
his
obstruction,
leaving
our
communities
to
face
the
dangerous
consequences
of
his
Reckless
policy
of
decriminalization
without
the
guard
rails
and
the
public
safety
protections
that
he
promised.
D
B
D
The
select
standing
committee
on
health
reviewed
this
issue
as
part
of
a
number
of
recommendations
with
respect
to
the
to
the
toxic
drug
crisis
in
our
province
that
there
was
unanimity
at
that
table
unit
at
that
table
to
support
moving
Port.
Remember.
B
D
With
this,
with
this,
with
with
decriminalization
and
with
our
application
for
the.
B
Members
we
will
listen
to
the
answer
to
the
question.
You
do
not
have
to
agree
with
it,
just
as
they
will
listen
to
the
question
and
they
don't
always
have
to
agree
with
the
premise
of
the
question.
Please
have
respect
for
this
chamber
and
for
the
public
whose
work
we
are
all
supposed
to
be
undertaking.
Thank
you.
B
D
The
the
health
select
standing
committee
reviewed
this
issue.
All
parties,
all
members
at
that
table
were
unanimous
in
their
support,
with
the
exception
of
the
of
the
BC
conservative
party,
and
when
we
talk
about
the
work
that
we
have
done
in
order
to
prepare,
we
have
invested
in
treatment
and
recovery
programs.
We
have
expanded
the
number
of
beds,
hundreds
of
new
treatment
beds,
open.
We
have
invested
in
Community
Counseling.
We
have
conducted
Outreach
campaigns.
D
We
have
worked
with
our
Frontline
police
officers
to
ensure
that
they
are
that
they
are
that
they
are
informed
and
educated,
and
we
have
had
very
excellent
feedback.
Frankly
from
those
all
of
those
engagements,
including
our
engagements
with
municipalities.
Now
decriminalization
does
not
change
the
ability
of
local
governments
to
pass
or
amend
their
bylaws.
Clearly,
as
we've
seen,
there
is
a
bylaw
been
adopted
in
sycamus,
they.
B
B
Members
members,
we
have
a
way
that
we
conduct
question
period.
You
ask
a
question:
they
answer
the
question:
it's
pretty
basic,
it's
how
it
works,
and
so,
if
you
want
to
respect
the
process
and
have
the
more
opportunity
ask
questions,
I
would
ask
you
to
listen
to
the
response.
Even
if
you
don't
agree
with
it.
Yeah.
D
Thank
you.
Thank
you.
Mr
Speaker,
with
respect
to
our
engagement
with
municipalities,
representatives
of
Municipal
governments,
including
from
Kamloops,
have
part
been
participating
in
our
decriminalization
poor
planning
tables
since
since
Inception
municipalities
have
been
there
since
the
beginning,
we're
committed
to
continuing
to
work
closely
with
Municipal
governments
to
address
issues
as
they
arise,
and,
and
we
can
see
that
this
process
is
working,
as
evidenced
by
the
existence
of
the
bylaw
in
sycamus,
so
that
that
that
is
the
process
that
we
are
undertaking,
and
we
commit
to
continuing
to
do
that.
E
Thank
you,
honorable
speaker,
for
the
last
two
days,
my
colleague
has
raised
issues
related
to
regulation
of
industry
in
this
province.
It's
an
issue
that
has
been
raising
flags
for
a
long
time
in
2016.
In
her
report
on
compliance
and
enforcement
in
BC's
mining
industry,
the
auditor
general
warned
about
regulatory
capture
as
a
risk
in
British
Columbia,
which
is
what
occurs
when
the
regulator
created
to
act
in
the
public
interest
instead
serves
the
interests
of
Industry
at
Mount.
Holly
BC
had
the
largest
mining
disaster
in
Canadian
history.
E
This
has
raised
serious
and
important
questions
about
the
relationship
between
elected
fit
officials
and
Industry
in
this
province.
Through
you,
honorable
speaker
to
the
minister
of
environment,
did
the
former
Premier
have
conversations
with
him
regarding
whether
to
Lobby
the
federal
government
not
to
bring
the
elk
Valley
pollution
issue
to
the
international
Joint
Commission.
F
Thank
you
very
much.
Honorable
speaker,
the
member
makes
I
think
a
very
serious
allegation,
because
the
member
knows
and
was
supportive
of
the
lobbyist
act
that
was
introduced
by
our
government
very
early
upon
taking
office
that
any
elected
official
that
held
a
post
and
executive
Council.
Any
Deputy
minister
is
prohibited
from
lobbying
members
of
the
government
for
a
period
of
two
years.
F
E
E
This
company
has
had
the
largest
environmental
fine
in
Canadian
history,
in
March
of
2022
Tech
wrote
to
the
federal
Minister
of
Foreign
Affairs,
requesting
that
pollution
in
the
elk
Valley
not
be
referred
to
the
ijc,
and
because
of
that
lobbying
legislation
that
was
brought
in
under
the
minority
government.
We
know
the
lobbying
that
happened
in
this
building
over
the
following
days:
Tech
lobbied
this
government
several
times
on
April
12th,
Tech
lobbied,
the
former
premier's
Chief
of
Staff,
the
deputy
Ministers
of
the
ministry
of
environment
and
the
ministry
of
energy
and
Minds.
E
The
subject
of
their
discussion
was
quote:
provincial
U.S
trans
boundary
matters.
Two
days
later.
According
to
FOID
documents,
the
minister
of
environment
and
the
former
minister
of
energy
and
Minds
wrote
to
the
federal
Minister
of
Foreign
Affairs,
requesting
that
pollution
from
tax
operations
in
the
elk
Valley
not
be
referred
to.
The
international
Joint
Commission
Tech's.
Last
meeting
with
the
former
Premier
was
on
October
11
2022.
E
B
F
Thank
you
very
much.
Mr
Speaker
I've
answered
the
question.
I
thought
quite
clearly
to
the
member
members
of
government
regularly
meet
with
lobbyists
from
corporations
with
lobbyists
from
environmental
organizations,
and
surprisingly,
they
don't
always
agree,
but
not
surprisingly,
members
of
government,
whether
they
are
members
of
cabinet
or
Deputy
ministers
or
adms
or
executive
directors,
consider
a
whole
range
of
important
options.
F
Fact
and
policy
considerations
in
making
decisions.
In
the
case
of
tech
and
the
water
quality
issues.
As
a
result
of
selenium,
there
has
been
ongoing
discussion
with
the
Nations
on
either
side
of
the
border
with
the
corporation
with
citizens
in
the
area
with
governments
South
of
the
Border,
as
well
as
with
academics,
South
of
the
Border
about
science
based
water
quality
guidelines.
Those
conversations
continue.
F
We
have
recently
set
up
an
extremely
transparent
website
to
inform
anyone
who
is
interested
on
either
side
of
the
border
of
the
progression
of
efforts
to
effectively
treat
water
quality
for
which,
by
the
near
future,
Tech
will
have
spent
two
billion
dollars
to
address.
It
is
true
that
their
initial
efforts
were
not
adequate
and
that's
why
they
were
escalating
Financial
penalties
from
both
the
federal
government
and
the
provincial
government
that
were
huge.
F
Those
penalties
send
a
message.
Our
actions
to
address
water
quality
send
a
message.
We
will
continue
working
with
people
on
both
sides
of
the
Border,
as
well
as
with
attack
and
now
elk
Valley,
to
address
water
quality
issues,
to
ensure
that
the
rights
of
the
nations
are
protected
and
the
water
quality
in
the
area
comes
up
to
a
standard
that
everybody
expects.
F
B
G
Thank
you
very
much,
honorable
speaker
and
I
stand
to
correct
the
record,
as
the
deputy
chair
of
the
standing
committee
on
health
and
I
want
to
make
it
absolutely
clear
to
this
Minister
and
members
on
that
side
of
the
house.
First
of
all,
she
was
not
in
the
room
during
the
deliberations
and
I
will
be
perfectly
clear.
We
fought
and
made
it
very
clear
that
the
letter
of
requirements
before
moving
ahead
was
absolutely
essential.
We
raised
those
concerns.
G
G
Those
requirements
have
not
been
met,
in
fact,
one
of
those
key
requirements.
One
of
those
key
requirements
is
to
ensure
that
individuals
who
desire
treatment
or
other
supports
can
access
them
when
needed.
She
knows
full
well.
That
is
simply
not
possible
in
the
region
that
I
live
in
or
most
regions
of
this
province.
This
Minister
needs
to
correct
the
record,
and
she
needs
to
answer
once
and
for
all
today.
Will
she
support
municipalities
who
want
to
make
sure
that
there
is
not
open
drug
use
in
parks
and
on
beaches?
Yes
or
no.
D
You
thank
you
Mr,
Speaker
and
and
again
thank
thank
the
member
for
the
concern
and
I'm
grateful
for
the
members
participation
in
the
in
in
the
select
standing
committee
with
respect
to
the
requirements
of
Health
Canada
Health
Canada,
granted
the
exemption
we
we
are
regularly
in
touch
with
health
Canada.
They
approve
the
exemption
they're
aware
of
the
work
that
we
are,
that
we
are
doing
and
and
frankly,
honorable
speaker.
D
We
know
that,
having
inherited
a
a
system,
well,
a
lack
of
a
system,
a
fragmented
collection
of
services
when
we
form
government
the
work
that
we've
been
doing
since
2017
is
to
build
that
system.
An
integrated
system
of
mental
health
and
addictions
care
in
our
health
care
System.
We
in
this
budget
have
allocated
a
billion
dollars
in
unprecedented
amount
of
money
to
work,
to
build
up
services
across
the
entire
Continuum,
from
harm
reduction
to
treatment
and
Recovery
to
Community,
Counseling
Services
to
child
and
youth
mental
health,
75
million
dollars
for
expanding
The
Foundry
system.
B
D
The
context
of
an
unrelated
Public
Health
Emergency,
the
toxic
drug
crisis.
We
have
to
do
all
of
the
things.
At
the
same
time,
we
are
morally
bound
ethically
bound
to
ensure
that
we
work
to
keep
people
alive,
while
we
can
can
connect
them
to
supports
and
services.
That
is
the
critical
task
that
was
that
it
was
explored
by
the
by
by
the
health
standing
committee
that
that
produced
a
very
helpful
set
of
recommendations
that
we
are
are
working
on
that
foreign
part
of
our
plan.
D
That
forms
that
were
part
of
the
plan
that
our
Pathway
to
Hope
a
10-year
mental
health
strategy
was
based
on
in
in
2018..
We
will
continue
to
work
with
municipalities.
We
will
continue
to
do
that
work.
We
will
continue
to
support
municipalities
and
address
any
concerns
that
arise
over
the
course
of
the
implementation
of
our
decriminalization
program.
H
Fishing
chaos
and
municipalities
are
left
to
fend
for
themselves.
Municipalities
like
New,
Westminster
and
Kelowna,
say
there
needs
to
be
provincial
rules
to
avoid
a
patchwork
of
inconsistent
responses
to
decriminalization,
which
creates
confusion
for
the
public
and
challenges
for
Frontline
enforcement.
So
why
won't
the
premier
ban
public
use
of
high-risk
drugs
like
crystal
meth,
crack
cocaine
and
Fentanyl
and
give
the
police
a
tool
to
direct
individuals
to
use
harm
reduction
sites
and
into
treatment.
D
Well,
thanks
thanks
a
very,
very
much
honorable
speaker
and
again,
thank
you
to
the
to
the
member
for
the
question
and,
of
course
the
the
police
are
part
have
been
part
of
this
process
since
the
beginning
and
in
part,
the
application
for
to
help
Canada
for
decriminalization
was
generated
in
part
as
a
response
to
a
call
from
police
Chiefs
across
the
country,
and
we
work
very
closely
with
law
enforcement.
They
are
part
of
the
our
core
planning
table.
They.
D
They
were
part
of
the
development
of
our
application
for
for
the
exemption
to
health
Canada,
and
they
are
part
of
the
work
that
we're
doing
now.
We
are
in
constant
contact
with
with
law
enforcement,
as
we
are
with
municipalities
and
all
of
our
other
partners
in
in
this.
In
this
important
project,
we
had
over
9
000
police
officers.
D
Take
the
engage
in
the
in
in
the
education
training
are
around
decriminalization
and
I'm
very
grateful
for
the
important
work
that
they're
doing
and
working
to
connect
people
that
they
engage
with
to
to
Karen's
support
So
this
this
work
is
ongoing.
It
is
really
kind
of
a
taking
a
whole.
It
takes
a
sort
of
a
whole
village
approach
to
to
to
this
work
and,
and
we're
going
to
continue
to
do
we're
going
to
continue
to
do
this
work
in
partnership
with
with
municipalities.
Thank
you.
I
Thank
you,
Mr
Speaker.
Frankly,
the
answers
today
have
simply
not
been
accurate
from
this
Minister
on
a
wide
range
of
fronts.
The
reality
is,
as
we've
heard,
with
the
letters
requirements.
Much
of
the
work
was
not
done
in
fact
something
as
simple
as
a
basic
data
set.
What
was
supposed
to
be
collected
over
the
year
preceding
decriminalization
has
not
been
done
by
this
government
either.
Yet
you're
telling
communities
to
wait
six
months
to
see
what
the
impact
is,
what
are
they,
comparing
it
to
the
work
on
the
data
set?
I
Wasn't
done
so
when
things
like
that
basic
aren't
done.
It's
no
wonder
the
communities
are
desperately
trying
to
find
a
way
to
pass
bylaws
to
try
to
restrict
the
use
in
parks
and
playgrounds
of
things
like
Fentanyl
and
crack
cocaine
to
the
same
level
that
cigarettes
and
beer
are
banned.
Now
this
Minister
earlier
seemed
to
indicate
that
municipalities
are
free
to
pass
those
bylaws
if
they
choose
yet
our
understanding
is
those
bylaws
actually
have
to
be
signed
off
by
the
provincial
government
by
the
minister
of
Health
by
the
minister
of
mental
health
and
addictions.
I
D
You
thank
you
Mr
Speaker,
and
you
know
as
I've
as
I
think
I've
said
a
number
of
times
over
the
course
of
this
discussion.
The
the
project
of
decriminalization
is
an
important
project
that
came
as
a
response
to
a
call
from
police,
from
municipalities
from
Frontline
Physicians
from
our
health
authorities
from
and
was
supported
by
all
parties
in
this
house,
with
the
exception
of
the
BC
conservative
party,
and
that
is,
we
have
met
the
we
have
met
the
the
requirements
set
out
by
Health
Canada.
D
We
are
in
constant
contact
with
with
health
Canada
with
regard
to
the
the
evolution
of
the
project
and
we
work
closely.
Every
day
with
me,
members
I'm
very
grateful
for
the
constructive
conversations
that
I
have
had
with
many
municipalities
over
the
last
couple
of
months
as
we
work
towards
addressing
any
concerns
that
may
arise.
We'll
continue
to
do
that.
Work.
Honorable
speaker.