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From YouTube: MAY 1 2023 Question Period
Description
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
4th Session
42nd Parliament
A
A
Instead
of
ending
the
confusion
and
uncertainty,
this
government
only
added
to
the
chaos
by
announcing
some
kind
of
vague
150
million
dollar
grant
for
municipal
policing
costs.
With
absolutely
no
details
under
this
premier's
watch.
There
is
a
massive
police
officer
shortage,
regardless
of
what
badge
they
were.
British
Columbians
are
left
wondering
how
on
Earth
it
is
beneficial
for
Public
Safety
and
not
merely
NDP
politics
to
vaguely
offer
150
million
dollars
for
the
Surrey
Police
Service,
while
providing
zero
for
the
RCMP.
C
Thank
you,
honorable
speaker
and
I.
Thank
the
the
member
for
the
question,
and
I
will
note
that
she
is
a
former
Attorney
General
solicitor
general,
and
she
will
know
that
under
the
police
act,
the
responsibility
I
have
was
to
make
a
decision
on
a
request
by
the
city
of
Surrey
to
transition
back
to
the
Surrey
RCMP.
C
That's
the
authority
that
I
have.
That
is
the
decision
that
I
am
able
to
make,
and
so
the
when
the
city
of
Surrey
said
they
wanted
to
transition
back
after
an
election
in
2018
where
the
unanimous
said
they
wanted
to
go
to
a
Provincial,
Police
Service
and
then
in
the
subsequent
election
said
they
now
want
to
go
back
to
the
to
this.
To
this
to
the
RCMP.
C
They
have
to
provide
my
Ministry
myself,
director
of
police
services,
with
a
plan
on
how
they
propose
to
do
that,
because,
as
solicitor
general,
my
responsibility
is
to
ensure
Public
Safety
Not
Just
in
Surrey,
but
right
across
the
province.
Surrey
is
Far
and
Away.
The
largest
RCMP
Detachment
in
this
province,
but
also
in
this
country,
and
so
the
impacts
of
any
transition,
can
have
a
significant
effect
on
other
communities
such
as
Prince
George,
for
example,
large
and
small,
such
as
my
own
area.
C
We
asked
the
city
of
Surrey
and
the
RCMP
to
provide
the
information
on
how
they
would
do
a
transition.
That
information
was
received
just
prior
to
Christmas.
There
was
additional
information
and
questions
from
that
that
was
received
in
February.
My
Ministry
staff,
director
of
police
services,
worked
and
did
a
thorough,
comprehensive
analysis
in
terms
of
the
plan.
Would
it
ensure
Public,
Safety,
safe
and
effective
policing
for
a
transition
in
Surrey?
The
recommendation
came
back
and
the
answer
was
no.
C
It
would
not
Mike
my
my
my
response
was
to
communicate
that
the
the
the
plan
would
not
be
approved,
but
the
best
way
forward
for
the
City
of
Surrey
was
to
a
path
to
continue
on
that
transition
to
the
Surrey
Police
Service,
acknowledging
that
there
were
costs
associated
with
that
the
city
of
Surrey
had
had
identified
that
Deloitte
had
confirmed
and
because
I
know
it's
not.
A
Well,
I'm
certain
that
answer
isn't
going
to
provide
any
additional
Clarity
or
confidence
to
the
people
of
Surrey.
And
let's
talk
about
transparency,
80
percent
of
a
500
page
report
was
redacted.
That's
the
solicitor
General's
comment
about
transparency.
Here's
the
bottom
line
at
a
time
when
this
province
is
in
the
middle
of
a
crisis
in
violent
crime,
whether
it's
random
attacks
or
social
disorder.
The
premier
steps
in
and
guess
what
happens
more
confusion
than
ever.
A
This
Premier
and
its
government
have
been
all
over
the
map
for
four
and
a
half
years,
leaving
a
giant
cloud
of
uncertainty
over
the
heads
of
the
people
of
Surrey
last
fall,
the
solicitor
general
declared
and
I
quote
I
know
one
thing:
the
province
will
not
be
contributing
any
money,
end
quote
well,
apparently
the
solicitor
General
was
wrong.
It
probably
came
after
heavy
polling
on
the
issue.
The
premier
is
playing
politics
with
150
million
dollars
in
provincial
tax
dollars,
which
has
only
added
to
the
confusion.
A
C
Thank
you,
honorable
speaker
and
again
I
thank
the
member
for
the
question
and
I
find
it
somewhat
ironic
that
a
former
Attorney,
General
and
solicitor
general
would
not
acknowledge
that
the
redactions
are
because
they
are
Arts.
They
are
RCMP
confidential
information
that
relate
to
the
Staffing
strengths
of
various
attachments
around
the
province
and
and
and
asked
and
as
as
solicitor.
General
I
am
not
authorized
to
release
that
information
and,
more
importantly,
honorable
speaker,
I
I,
would
like
to
think.
C
B
D
Thank
you.
Thank
you.
Mr
Speaker,
I
wow,
the
the
people
of
Surrey,
deserved
some
form
of
clarity
from
this
Minister
when
he
founded
a
priority
to
actually
make
an
announcement,
an
announcement
that
was
costing
the
taxpayers
of
Surrey
eight
million
dollars
a
month
by
this
Minister
sitting
on
his
hands
and
waiting
to
play
politics.
D
The
minister
says
he
talks
about.
This
is
apparently
funny
to
to
the
government
side
of
things,
but
it's
not
funny.
Do
they
packed
pairs
of
Surrey
that
are
waiting
for.
D
You
know
what
we
have
a
premier
that
has
failed
and
failed
time
and
again
we
have
a
premier
who
has
authored
a
book
on
how
to
sue
police.
We
have
a
premier
and
a
solicitor
general
who
have
failed
to
give
any
direction
to
the
city
of
Surrey.
My
question
to
the
premier:
is
this
who's
sitting
there
laughing?
When
will
the
premier
find
the
time
to
make
it
a
priority
and
give
some
direction
on
this
matter
today?.
C
General,
thank
you
honorable
speaker,
then
I
would
I
would
say
this
to
The
Honorable
memory.
Thank
you
for
the
question.
Perhaps
you
should
take
time
to
read
the
police
act,
because
if
he
did,
he
would
find
out
what
I
am
authorized
to
do.
Under
the
police
act
when
it
comes
to
a
request
for
a
municipality
that
wants
to
reverse
a
decision
and
I'll
make
this
point.
Honorable
speaker,
it's
not
the
the
provincial
government.
That
said,
oh,
we
want
to
go
back
to
the
RCMP.
It
was
the
city
of
Surrey
halfway
through
a
transition.
C
That
said,
they
want
to
go
back
to
the
RCMP
and
the
reality
is
this
honorable
speaker.
It
is
about
public
safety
and
that's
why
honorable
speaker,
the
director
of
police
services
in
my
Ministry,
the
staff
in
my
Ministry,
have
taken
the
time
necessary
to
do
a
thorough
examination
of
all
the
issues
around
that
to
make
sure
that
a
recommendation
advice
to
me
in
terms
of
the
plan
that
was
put
forward
by
the
city
of
Surrey
and
the
RCMP
on
a
transition.
C
Would
it
provide
provide
safe,
effective,
Public,
Safety
in
the
community
and
indeed
for
the
rest
of
the
province?
As
is
my
responsibility?
Honorable
speaker,
the
recommendation
was
no
honorable
speaker.
The
decision
was
no.
The
plan
cannot
go
forward.
The
best
path
forward,
and
that
was
the
recommendation
I
gave
to
the
city
of
Surrey,
was
to
continue
on
the
path
to
the
Surrey
Police
Service,
as
the
most
effective
way
to
provide
Public
Safety
Not
only
in
the
city
of
Surrey,
but
right
across
the
province.
C
Honorable
speaker
in
communities
like
Prince
George,
in
communities
like
terrorists,
in
communities
like
Kelowna,
where
Council
after
Council
have
said
they
want
to
have
additional
police
resources.
Honorable
speaker,
the
people
engaged
in
our
honorable
speaker,
many
of
them
most
of
them
have
sped
their
entire
careers
in
policing.
I
will
take
their
advice
and
the
on
the
confidence
in
the
work
they
have
done
any
day
over
that
of
the
office.
D
D
You
know,
Mr
Speaker,
a
line
that
wasn't
redacted
from
the
report
says
and
I
quote:
policing,
Effectiveness
and
public
confidence
earn
a
precarious
state
in
BC.
End
quote
that
line
in
there
perhaps
reflects
the
fact
that
we've
got
a
former
Attorney
General,
now
Premier,
who
sits
there
and
who
has
authored
a
book
on
how
to
how
to
actually
sue
the
police.
D
D
C
You,
honorable
speaker
and
once
again
I'm
reminded
how
the
the
opposition,
quite
often
don't
like
to
you,
know
they
like
to
pick
and
choose
lines
and
put
quotation
marks.
The
reality
is,
you
should
read
the
whole
report
because
it
sends
it
out.
B
C
F
Last
week,
the
official
office
last
week,
the
official
opposition
raised
serious
concerns
about
the
ministry
of
Children
and
Family
development,
specifically
the
number
of
children
in
care
experiencing
critical
injuries
and
deaths.
Just
a
few
days
later,
a
report
came
out
showing
that
470
children
per
month
go
missing
from
the
foster
care
system
in
our
province.
That
number
is
probably
higher,
but
the
ministry
of
Children
and
Family
development
doesn't
keep
good
data
to
reflect
it.
F
Mr
Speaker
hundreds
of
kids
are
fleeing
every
month
because
they
feel
isolated,
vulnerable
and
traumatized
separating
children
from
their
families
and
their
communities.
Traumatizes
them-
and
it's
only
made
worse
by
the
so-called
child
welfare
system
in
this
province,
subjecting
children
to
a
revolving
door
of
social
workers,
foster
parents
and
support
the
biggest
risk
to
them,
is
sexualized
violence
and
those
kids
Mr
Speaker
are
disproportionately
indigenous
girls.
My
question
is
through
you
to
the
premier.
These
kids
are
under
his
care.
What
responsibility
does
he
have
for
the
children
that
go
missing
every
month.
G
G
Nothing
is
more
important
than
the
safety
and
the
well-being
of
the
Children
and
Youth
who
are
in
our
care
when
a
child
or
you
think
hair
does
go
missing.
We
want
them
to
receive
the
same
response
that
a
caring
parent
would
give.
Now.
The
representatives
report
contains
some
really
solid,
important
suggestions
about
how
the
ministry
can
strengthen
its
policies
and
procedures
and
we'll
be
acting
on
those
recommendations.
G
At
the
same
time,
work
is
already
underway
within
the
ministry
to
ensure
that
placements
meet
the
needs
of
Children
and
Youth,
who
come
into
care
and
increase
that
sense
of
belonging
and
cultural
connection
and
making
sure
that
children
youth
stay
connected
to
their
family,
to
their
community
and
to
their
culture
and
Mr
Speaker.
Our
goal
is
to
support
Children
and
Youth
to
remain
safely
with
their
families
and
prevent
them
from
entering
the
foster
care
system
in
the
first
place,
where
possible.
B
F
Mr
Speaker
I
would
like
to
be
able
to
take
this
government
at
their
word,
but
the
reality
is
when
they're
talking
about
fulfilling
the
recommendations
from
the
rcy
reports.
They
think
that
10
15
is
something
to
take
a
Victory
lap
about
Mr
Speaker,
but
that
is
not
that's.
Leaving
85
percent
of
the
recommendations
unfulfilled
quote,
report
after
report
has
documented
the
BC
liberals
decisions
to
abandon
our
most
vulnerable
children.
The
representative
has
shown
us
that,
and
after
each
report
the
premier
does
two
things.
F
She
blames
somebody
else
and
then
she
promises
to
do
better,
but
it
doesn't
get
better
end
quote.
You
know
who
that's
who
said
that
Mr
Speaker,
that
was
the
former
member
of
Mount
Pleasant
Melanie
mark
speaking
of
the
former
Premier
Christy
Clark's
government
in
2017.,
the
bcndp
government
uses
essentially
the
same
rhetoric,
we're
making
progress,
but
there's
more
work
to
do
fewest
indigenous
kids
in
care.
It's
true.
This
government
has
made
changes,
but
the
reality
is
is
just
like.
F
Under
the
previous
government
Mr
Speaker,
we've
heard
this
Minister
complain
about
the
hundreds
of
kids
in
care
are
in
danger.
Every
month,
under
this
BC
NDP
government,
mcfd
removes
kids
from
their
families
for
their
safety,
but
what's
been
demonstrated,
Government
after
Government
after
government
in
this
province
is
that
the
province
is
not
a
good
parent
for
those
children,
Mr
Speaker.
My
question
is
to
the
premium.
G
You
very
much
honorable
speak
and
thank
you
to
the
member
for
the
question.
We're
absolutely
committed
to
make
sure
that
all
children
and
youth
in
our
care
are
safe
and
happy
and
healthy,
and
we
will
make
sure
that
they
stay
connected
to
family,
to
community
and
to
culture,
because
we
know
that
that
leads
to
the
best
outcomes
for
them
as
well.
Work
is
underway,
honorable
speaker,
in
response
to
all
of
the
recommendations
that
the
representative
for
Children
and
Youth
has
made
and
we're
also
transforming
the
child
welfare
system.
G
Honorable
speaker,
we've
taken
action
for
youth
transitioning
from
care.
We
take
an
action
with
Bill
38,
implementing
indigenous
jurisdiction
over
child
welfare.
We've
taken
action
in
budget
2023
with
increased
supports
for
Youth
and
care
and
caregiver
rate
increases
and
honorable
speaker
every
single
day.
We
continue
to
care
for
Children
and
Youth
and
to
support
them
to
thrive.
H
You
very
much
Mr
Speaker
well
on
Friday.
It
was
confirmed
that
under
this
NDP
government,
a
massive
shortage
of
police
officers
in
British
Columbia
has
dramatically
risen
over
the
past
five
years
to
the
point
that
Public
Safety
is
now
compromised,
results
matter
and
with
a
nine
percent
hard
vacancy
rate
here
in
British
Columbia.
H
This
province
has
a
vacancy
rate,
that's
more
than
double
that
of
the
rest
of
the
country,
but
instead
of
stepping
up
with
money
for
multiple
cities,
the
premier
chose
to
cynically
find
a
hundred
and
fifty
million
dollars
to
play
politics
in
Surrey
Mr
Speaker.
What
an
insult
to
communities
across
the
province
where
BC
has
the
highest
provincial
vacancy
rate
for
police
officers
anywhere
in
the
country
outraged,
Mayors
and
counselors
from
communities
with
Municipal
police
forces
like
Delta,
Abbotsford
and
New
Westminster
are
rightfully
demand
to
know
what
about
them.
C
General,
thank
you.
Honorable,
speaker
and
I
appreciate
the
question
from
the
member
and
it's
interesting
to
note
that
he
says
we
have
the
most
vacancies
in
the
province
and
the
reality
is
we
have
the
largest
RCMP
Detachment
in
the
entire
country.
Honorable
speaker
and
vacancy
issues
have
been
on
issues
of
hard
vacancies
and
soft
vacancies.
C
Soft
vacancies
are
those
which
are,
for
example,
someone
on
PTSD
or
on
maternity
leave,
for
example,
and
they
occur
in
the
provincial
line
of
what's
called
a
provincial
business
line
and
the
municipal
business
line
which
are
paid
for
by
by
municipalities.
At
the
same
time,
honorable
speaker,
we
have
made
it
clear
to
the
federal
government
that
the
issue
of
vacancies
in
the
RCMP
is
critical
to
Public
Safety
in
this
province.
C
So
for
last
year,
258
recruits
from
Depot
in
Regina
were
received
by
the
province
of
British
Columbia
On
Any
Given
year
about
900
go
through
about
17,
don't
make
it
that
has
to
deal
with
such
things
as
you've
got
to
deal
with
retirements,
the
growth
in
the
population
and
the
demand
from
communities
right
across
this
province
for
increased
policing.
Honorable
speaker,
this
government
has
been
working
extremely
closely
with
the
RCMP
to
deal
with
the
situ
of
hard
vacancies
when
it
comes
to
the
provincial
police
line.
C
That's
why
we
made
the
largest
investment
in
policing
in
RCMP
resources
in
the
history
of
this
province,
indeed
of
this
country
honorable
speaker,
to
fill
the
277
hard
vacancies
that
we'll
go
to
rural
British,
Columbia
small
towns
under
5
000
people
in
communities
right
across
this
province
up
in
the
peace
district,
for
example,
in
the
Okanagan,
for
example,
and
on
the
island
honorable
honorable
speaker.
This
is
the
first
government
to
take
that
issue
seriously.
Honorable
speaker.
H
Mr
Speaker,
the
the
facts,
actually
really
do
matter
here.
In
British
Columbia
we
have
a
nine
percent
hard
vacancy
rate
with
the
RCMP
across
the
rest
of
the
country.
It's
4.3
percent.
The
last
time
I
looked
at
that
Matt,
that's
more
than
double
the
vacancy
rate
here
in
British
Columbia
with
for
RCMP,
then
elsewhere
in
the
country.
That's
the
fact.
H
Now,
let's
be
clear
for
communities
with
Municipal
police
forces
like
Delta
or
Abbotsford,
there
are
zero
new
dollars
for
policing
the
infrastructure
fund
that
the
minister
was
all
over
media
over
the
weekend,
citing
is
actually
isn't
for
policing.
The
fact
the
premier
has
explicitly
stated
that
it
shouldn't
be
used
for
operating
costs,
the
empty
announcement
that
the
solicitor
general
just
referenced
with
respect
to
RCMP
of
policing,
which
was
made
last
fall
well.
H
That
is
only
for
our
rural
RCMP
detachments
in
communities
under
5,
that's
not
for
municipal
police
forces
and
by
the
way
that
program
hasn't
made
any
difference
whatsoever
and,
last
but
not
least,
this
back
of
of
the
napkin
150
million
dollar
announcement
last
Friday
is
for
one
type
of
policing
in
only
one
community
in
British
Columbia.
Now,
despite
repeatedly
claiming
no
provincial
money
would
fund
this
decision.
H
Clearly,
the
premier
has
cynically
found
Millions
to
put
his
thumb
on
the
scale
for
just
one
policing
model
in
Surrey
and
if
that's
not
enough,
the
premier
also
cynically
included
a
provision
that,
if
Suri
chooses
the
RCMP,
they
can't
poach
members
from
other
police
forces.
But
if
Suri
chooses
the
Surrey
police
force,
no
such
rule
exists
so
go
ahead
and
poach
away
from
any
police
force.
You
want
across
British
Columbia
Mr
Speaker.
None
of
this
has
anything
whatsoever
to
do
with
Public
Safety.
H
C
General,
thank
you
honorable
speaker,
all
I
can
say
is
after
listening
to
that
question.
The
number
of
factual
errors
in
that
question
are
unbelievable.
Honorable
speaker,
let's
start
with
the
the
money
that's
for
for
Rural
and
small
communities,
it
does
not
only
go
to
rural
small
communities.
It
goes
to
Specialty
teams
such
as
Traffic
Unit
on
the
highway
which
the
the
the
mayor
of
Merit
has
asked
for
to
be
re-established.
It
goes
for
such
things
as
the
integrated
child
exploitation
teams,
honorable
speaker,
to
deal
with
the
issues
of
child
exploitation.
C
Honorable
speaker,
those
are
areas
where
it
goes
to
in
in
terms
of
this,
the
72
million
dollars
that
the
the
infrastructure
money
that
the
member
just
said
does
not
go
for
policing.
Where
has
he
been
honorable
speaker
because
the
first
thing,
the
city
of
Surrey,
said
we're
going
to
do
when
faced
with
a
19
tax,
increase,
we're
going
to
take
that
money
to
try
and
lower
the
tax
increase,
because
that'll
pay
for
the
severance
pay?
C
C
Let
us
also
be
clear:
let's
also
be
clear
on
this
honorable
speaker
when
it
comes
to
the
city
of
Surrey.
They
are
the
largest
Detachment
in
the
entire
country,
so
a
transition
back
which,
by
the
way,
was
unanimously
supported
by
the
Council
of
Surrey
in
2018
and
then
in
the
22
election.
They
said.
No,
we
want
to
go
back
was
was
a
will,
have
a
huge,
a
significant
impact
on
policing
on
police
resources,
on
the
very
thing
that
the
member
is
complaining
about
honorable
speaker
and
that's
why
the
work?
C
C
The
the
the
the
the
amount
of
the
amount
of
work
done
into
that
report
is
based
on
exactly
what's
required
for
Public
Safety
in
Surrey
and
the
rest
of
the
province.
I
You
you,
honorable
speaker,
and
just
for
the
sake
of
clarity
and
to
have
it
put
on
the
record.
This
really
shouldn't
have
been
a
decision
about
transitioning
back
because
the
police
transition
hasn't
taken
place.
The
RCMP
are
still
the
police
of
jurisdiction
in
Surrey
and
and
with
resourcing
in
this
province.
The
premier
and
his
NDP
government
haven't
funded
the
spaces.
They
didn't
bring
in
the
resources
and
now
they've
created.
Yet
another
crisis
of
Public
Safety.
I
These
Cuts
were
a
direct
result
of
the
ndp's
government's
insufficient
funding
to
the
RCMP
and
his
former
Deputy
Commissioner
Jennifer
Strachan
stated
at
the
time
quote,
simply
put
we
can't
spend
more
than
we're
given
end
quote
so.
My
question
honorable
chair
is:
when
is
the
Premier
going
to
offer
more
than
just
empty
words
and
actually
address
the
issues
caused
by
the
failure
of
his
government
over
the
past
six
years?.
C
Thank
you,
honorable,
speaker
and
I
appreciate
the
the
question
from
the
member
and
I.
Will
I
will
point
out
that
this
this
government
has
given
the
RCMP
significant
resources
and
tools
that
they
have
asked
for,
so
that
they
can
be
far
more
effective
here
in
British
Columbia,
since
we've
taken
since
we
formed
government
then
occurred
under
the
previous
government's
honorable
speaker,
whether
it
was
putting
in
place
the
Firearms
forensic
lab
that
they
wanted.
G
C
It
was
putting
in
place
a
witness
protection
program
if
we
wanted
honorable
speaker
whether
it
was
putting
in
place
surge
team's
honorable
speakers
that
were
placed
in
places
in
communities
such
as
terrorists
and
in
Kamloops
and
in
Kelowna,
honorable
speaker
and
Prince
George,
and
at
the
same
time,
working
with
the
RCMP
to
get
a
full
understanding
of
the
vacancy
patterns
that
occur
in
this
province.
And
one
of
the
challenges,
honorable
speaker,
that
the
opposition
doesn't
seem
to
understand
is
that
it's
the
how
what
comes
out
of
the
Depot
in
Regina.
C
It
is
not
the
province
that
that
trains,
those
those
those
Cadets
it
is
the
Depot
in
Regina
that
is
done
by
the
federal
government
they
have.
We
have.
We
have
seen
a
decline
in
interest
in
in
going
to
be
going
to
the
depot
as
a
Cadet.
C
There
have
been
changes,
of
course,
which
can
help
in
terms
of
the
salary
component,
honorable
speaker,
but
the
reality
is
this:
when
all
British
Columbia
gets
is
258
recruits
honorable
speaker,
that
puts
enormous
pressure
on
the
province
in
terms
of
the
Staffing
levels
right
across
the
province,
and
it
doesn't
matter
whether
it's
the
provincial
business
line
or
the
municipal
business
line,
where
it's
the
municipalities
will
say.
Here's
and
just
a
honorable
speaker
again,
the
planets
in
place,
ensures
that
that
is
not
the
case
and
is
properly
superintended.