►
From YouTube: MARCH 6 2023 Question Period
Description
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
4th Session
42nd Parliament
C
Thank
you,
Mr
Speaker.
Last
week,
British
Columbians
were
shocked
to
learn
that
multiple
publicly
traded
companies
are
positioning
themselves
in
our
Province
to
profit
off
of
the
addiction
crisis
by
manufacturing
and
distributing
hard
drugs.
Adastra
Holdings,
a
cannabis
company
now
has
permission
to
produce
and
distribute
cocaine
in
our
province
and
sunshine.
Earth
Labs
has
a
license
for
cocaine,
heroin
morphine
and
ecstasy.
C
Despite
the
fact
that
British
Columbia
is
the
only
province
in
Canada
where
this
is
happening.
The
premier
admitted
he
was
shocked
and
bewildered
last
week
and
he
promised
answers
so
to
the
premier.
Can
he
tell
British
Columbians
today
how
many
other
companies
have
received
or
are
awaiting
Health
Canada's
approval
to
produce
and
distribute
drugs
like
cocaine,
heroin
and
ecstasy
in
British,
Columbia.
C
We
should
be
very
clear
that
we
have
companies
in
British
Columbia
who,
in
their
own
words,
are
positioning
themselves
to
take
advantage
of
the
fact
that
our
province
is
the
only
one
in
Canada
that
is
moving
ahead
with
decriminalization,
without,
in
fact,
having
met
the
checklist
that
the
federal
government
laid
out
and
without
proper
safeguards
in
place.
So
we
should
also
be
clear
that
last
week,
this
government
didn't
know
that
currently
there
are
two
companies.
C
So
I
can
assure
the
minister
that
we're
going
to
continue
to
raise
this
issue
until
this
government
gets
the
answers
that
British
Columbians
deserve
so
again
to
the
premier.
How
many
companies
have
received
approval,
have
applied
and
are
awaiting
approval
to
possess,
produce,
sell
and
distribute
drugs
like
cocaine,
heroin
and
ecstasy
in
our
Province
and
nowhere
else
in
Canada.
D
B
D
Honorable
speaker
and
again
I
thank
the
the
member
for
her
question.
As
I
said
a
moment
ago.
We're
not
aware
of
any,
but
what
we
are
aware
of
honorable
speaker
is
an
opposition
decided
to
take
a
press
release
and
make
it
appear
to
the
public
of
British
Columbia
that
this
government
is
in
favor
of
the
legalization
of
cocaine
and
other
hard
drugs.
Honors.
D
An
honorable
speaker,
instead
of
checking
on
the
information
they
went
out
to
to
alarm
the
public,
when
what
became
clear
honorable
speaker
was
that
the
the
company
in
question
was
completely
wrong
in
what
they
have
said.
They
do
not
have
a
license
to
distribute
and
sell
and
Retail
illegal
drugs.
They
were
given
a
license
by
Health
Canada
for
research
for
Research
into
into
drugs.
What's
clear,
honorable
speaker
is
that
cocaine
and
heroin
on
all
the
things
the
member
wants
to
talk
about
are
illegal
in
this
country?
A
And
I'm
going
to
quote
here,
we
proactively
pursued
the
amendment
to
our
dealer's
license
to
include
cocaine
back
in
December
2022.
We
will
evaluate
how
the
commercialization
of
this
substance
fits
in
with
our
business
model
at
Astra,
in
an
effort
to
position
ourselves
to
support
the
demand
for
the
safe
supply
of
cocaine,
and
then
it
goes
on
Mr
Speaker
to
talk
about
how
in
British
Columbia
there's
a
three-year
exemption,
and
so
clearly
talking
about
our
decriminalization
and
there
wouldn't
be
a
rush
to
secure
licenses
like
this.
A
B
A
A
Drugs
like
cocaine
are
not
prescribed
today,
but
the
BC
Center
on
substance
use
has
been
leading
efforts
to
expand
the
access
to
cocaine,
including
through
expanded,
safe
Supply,
so-called
compassion
clubs,
opioid
co-ops
and
a
buyer's
club
model.
So
question
through
you,
Mr
Speaker
to
the
premier.
Does
he
support
these
efforts
to
expand
access
and
the
markets
for
cocaine?
The
companies
like
at
Astra
and
sunshine
labs
are
attempting
to
exploit.
D
Thanks
again,
honorable
speak
and
I
thank
the
member
for
the
question
and
after
this
misleading
approach
that
was
taken
last
week,
it's
unfortunate
that
again
they
want
to
choose
the
same
approach
today
in
question
period
when
I
know
honorable
speaker
that
they
know
the
facts
on
this
particular
case
and
in
case
their
members,
don't
know
what
the
facts
are
I'm
more
than
happy
to
read
them.
The
statement
from
Health
Canada,
which
went
out
immediately
after
Health
Canada,
saw
a
copy
of
their
press
release.
D
B
B
D
Continue,
thank
you
honorable
speaker.
It
also
does
not
allow
the
company
to
conduct
activities
with
psilocycin.
Notwithstanding
the
tight
limitations
imposed
on
your
company
on
activities
related
to
the
licensing.
Your
news
release
of
February
22nd
may
make
sweeping
statements,
including
related
to
Safe
Supply
decriminalization
British
Columbia.
That
could
lead
a
reasonable
reader
to
infer
that
your
company
intends
to
sell
cocaine
to
the
general
public.
Honorable
speaker,
Health
Canada
says
they
don't
have
the
ability
to
do
that
and
will
not
approve
it.
D
A
B
A
B
A
B
A
On
Friday
Sunshine
Earth
Labs
released
a
statement
to
the
media
saying
and
I
quote.
While
this
notion
may
be
difficult
for
some
to
accept,
it
represents
the
rational,
Next
Step
end
quote,
and
over
the
weekend
we
heard
of
a
private
Venture
called
the
drugs
store
that
plans
to
sell
cocaine,
heroin
and
meth
from
a
retail
store
in
Vancouver
within
two
weeks.
So
can
the
premier
give
a
clear
answer
on
the
government's
position
towards
the
so-called
safe
supply
of
cocaine.
D
D
Trying
to
make
an
issue
honorable
speaker
out
of
an
issue
out
of
something
that
this
government
does
not
support
and
has
made
it
clear.
It
does
not
support
and
as
health
health
Canada
made
it
clear,
it
does
not
support
and
I
know
the
member
likes
to
quote
the
the
press
release
the
first
press
release
from
the
company
and
I
I've
read
to
her
the
the
response
from
Health
Canada.
Now
perhaps
I
will
read
you
what
adastra
has
also
said
that.
B
D
D
Remember
man
explaining
isn't
saying
we
support
nine,
what
expanded
9-1-1
service
and
then
voting
against
it.
D
You,
honorable
speaker,
I,
didn't
know
pointing
out
a
fact
that,
when
this
side
of
the
house
brought
forward
a
specific
issue
to
fund
150
million
dollar
costs,
that
would
not
be
borne
by
local
government
and
instead
will
be
picked
up
by
the
province.
To
ensure
that
we
have
better
better.
F
D
B
D
Is
only
permitted
to
sell
to
other
licensed
I
think
dealers
who
have
pharmacists,
practitioners,
hospitals
and
it's
for
research
purposes,
only
I
will
repeat
for
them.
Once
again,
we
do
not
support
the
legalization
of
cocaine
and
its
distribution.
It
is
legal
at
the
federal
level
it's
illegal
at
the
provincial
level.
It
will
continue
to
be
that
way.
It's
too
bad.
They
don't
get
that.
E
E
We
have
a
deep
inequality
when
it
comes
to
public
transportation
in
this
province.
If
you
live
in
Cornell,
you
can't
get
a
bus
to
print
storage
if
you
live
in
Merit,
good
luck
getting
to
Hope
pentaged
into
Vancouver,
faster
to
ride
a
bicycle
than
to
catch
a
bus.
My
question
honorable
speaker
is
to
the
minister
of
Transportation:
does
he
believe
that
all
British
Columbians
should
have
access
to
Reliable
public
transportation
in
and
between
their
communities?.
F
Foreign,
the
service
plan
before
government
quadruples
Capital
investments
in
public
transit
in
every
Community,
around
British
Columbia,
that
is
served
by
BC
Transit
Mr
Speaker.
It
builds
upon
record
levels
of
investment
in
expanding
operations
of
public
transit
services
throughout
communities
in
BC.
Make
no
mistake:
we
are
blessed
in
this
province
to
have
a
system
like
BC
Transit
that
other
provinces
do
not
have
where
every
Community
with
over
5000
residents
has
a
service
provider
in
the
BC
Transit
System.
We
are
expanding,
Inter-Community
routes
and
services
across
this
province,
including
in
that
members
constituency.
F
The
context
of
this
budget
is
in
marked
contrast
to
other
provinces
right
now,
Mr
Speaker,
where
the
debate
is
about
how
many
service
hours
they
are
cutting,
how
many
employees
they
are
laying
off.
They
are
moving
backwards
on
Transit.
This
province
is
moving
forwards
in
gigantic
leaps
and
bounds
by
making
record
investments
in
the
expansion
of
public
transit
in
our
Province.
Thank
you.
E
Thank
you,
honorable
speaker,
I'm
I'm
Keen,
to
hear
more
about
these
record
investments
from
what
I
saw
looking
through
the
budget
was
a
six
million
dollar
increase
to
operations
for
BC
Transit?
Maybe
the
minister
can
explain
that
part
and
I'm
also
hearing
that
the
plan
for
my
riding
is
actually
to
reduce
the
number
of
commuter
buses
not
increase.
E
F
Mister,
thank
you
very
much.
Mr
Speaker
and
again
to
the
member
I
appreciate
the
opportunity
to
talk
about
some
of
the
improvements
that
are
happening
first
of
all
between
communities
as
she
mentions,
where
there
has
been
service
gaps
that
have
been
filled
by
this
government
since
Greyhound
pulled
out
of
here
in
2018..
F
We
have
worked
very
hard
to
create
a
new
company
called
BC
bus
North,
which
we
are
funding
through
the
northern
development
initiative,
trust
we
have
also
expanded
the
number
of
communities
connected
by
BC
Transit
Pemberton
Whistler
has
a
commuter
Nelson,
Castlegar
Trail
Castlegar,
the
soyuz
Princeton
Kelowna
is
now
connected
to
Penticton.
There
is
service
from
Vernon
to
Kelowna,
operated
by
BC
Transit
and,
as
the
member
knows,
there
is
service
from
Victoria
to
Cowichan
Valley.
F
That
didn't
exist
a
couple
of
short
years
ago,
as
well
as
between
Victoria
schonig
and
late,
and
the
new
Nanaimo
cowington
Express,
which
we
introduced
in
budget
2022.
I
know
the
member
will
probably
vote
against
this
budget,
even
though
it
represents
the
largest
expansion
of
BC
Transit
funding
in
decades,
Mr
Speaker
for
the
record,
the
members
should
know,
and
perhaps
I
would
direct
their
attention
to
BC
transit's
service
plan,
but
the
service
plan
calls
for
1.35
billion
dollars
in
operating
funding
for
BC
Transit.
F
That
is
the
largest
sum
of
money
for
operations
of
Transit,
allowing
an
expansion
of
service
that
this
province
has
ever
seen,
as
well
as
a
record
investment
of
1.2
billion
dollars
in
capital
and
on
top
of
that
Mr
Speaker.
This
budget,
introduced
by
the
our
finance
minister
for
the
first
time,
introduces
money
to
align,
affordable
housing
with
public
transit
expansion
through
the
introduction
of
a
Transit
oriented,
Development
Fund.
That's
what
progress
looks
like
Mr
Speaker
and
that's
what
this
budget
does.
G
I
think
and
in
helping
people
start
on
and
stay
on,
the
Recovery
Journal
Journey,
immediate
access
to
life-saving
medications
is
critical
for
those
who
are
wanting
to
stop
hard
drugs,
but
under
this
government
the
logistical
and
financial
barriers
are
often
presenting
access
to
drugs
like
naloxone
and
Suboxone.
It's
too
difficult
to
get
it
takes
too
long
to
get
so.
Will
the
premier
eliminate
user
fees
for
non-government,
Methadone
and
Suboxone
clinics.
H
Back
to
the
work
that
our
that
our
health
authorities
are
doing,
that
our
front
line
officials
are
Health,
Frontline
providers
are
doing
with
respect
to,
and
many
Community
Partners
I
must
say:
I
had
a
chance,
in
fact
to
be
visiting
with
some
of
our
Community
Partners
in
in
Victoria.
This
morning.
Those
programs
are
working
working
very
hard
to
provide
access
to
harm
reduction,
supports
and
services.
There
are
many.
H
Many
of
those
services
that
are
fact
are
at
are
provided
at
no
cost
to
to
the
individuals
who
need
them
we're
working
hard
to
work
with
providers
to
make
sure
that
we're
scaling
up
prescribed
safer
Supply
models
so
that
we
can
reach
more
people.
That's
work
we'll
continue
to
do
with
our
partners
so
that
we
can
support
that
that
initial
step
on
a
treatment
and
Recovery
Journey
for
British
Columbians.
G
Thank
you
here
over
and
over
from
people
that
they
are
lacking
access
to
these
important
drugs
or
that
the
fees
are
impairing
their
ability
to
receive
them.
So
eliminating
fees
is
a
practical
step
the
premier
could
commit
to
taking
this
today.
Another
positive
step
would
be
adopting
our
betterest
possible
plan
to
create
a
virtual
opioid
dependency
program
to
ensure
immediate
access
for
those
who
don't
have
a
doctor.
As
we
know,
one
in
five
British
Colombians
don't
have
a
doctor
and
can't
get
into
a
walk-in
clinic
under
the
NDP.
G
H
You,
honorable
speaker
and
I
thank
the
member
for
question
and
for
interest
in
ensuring
that,
indeed,
we
can
work
to
provide
services
and
supports
to
people
to
keep
them
alive
while
we
try
to
connect
them
with
the
care
and
support
that
we
need.
That
is
a
very
fundamental
point.
I
think
that
was
discussed
during
the
during
the
the
the
the
the
all
Party
stand
date:
the
select
standing
committee
on
health.
We
know
from
our
our
Public
Health
officials.
H
We
know
from
evidence
that
that
is
that
that's
an
important
step
and
in
fact
many
of
our
health
authorities
do
provide
access
to
to
Virtual
services
and
we're
certainly
looking
at
ways
that
we
can
support
expanding
those
Services
I.
Thank
the
member
very
much
for
her
interest
in
this
topic.
I
Thank
you,
Mr
Speaker.
Rather
than
taking
practical
measures
to
improve
access
to
life-saving
medications
and
to
facilitate
recovery,
this
NDP
government
is
allowing
taxpayers
supplied
opioids
to
be
sold
to
drug
dealers.
Nanaimo,
prescription
labels
and
discarded
pill
bottles
are
littering
the
streets.
Members
of
this
house
will
know
that
resident
Colin
Middleton
says
taxpayer
Supply
drugs
are
and
I
quote,
being
used
as
a
commodity
to
trade
to
the
street
dealers
for
fentanyl
end
quote:
this
NDP
government
has
failed
to
provide
oversight
of
drugs
that
are
ending
up
in
the
hands
of
high
school
kids.
I
An
increasing
drug
use
and
Drug
addictions
come
on
all
you
want,
but
this
is
what's
happening
on
the
streets
and
members
of
this
house
know
it.
So
my
question
is
to
the
premier:
can
families
trust
this
Premier
when
oversight
and
protections
are
missing?
And
now
we
see
publicly
traded
companies
lining
up
to
profit
from
sold
called
safe,
Supply.
H
You,
honorable
speaker,
well,
if
we're
going
to
go
back
on
the
conversation
about
the
unfortunate
initial
press,
release
seriously
overreaching
press
release
from
Ad
Astra
last
week.
H
What
I
will
note
again,
as
my
colleague
has
already
done
last
week
and
again
today,
there
is
no
option
for
Ad,
Astra
or
any
other
company
to
commercialize
illicit
drugs
that
they
are
not
for
which
they
do
not
hold
a
license
for
that
purpose.
That
was
actually
clear
in
the
first
press
release
honorable
speaker
and
had
had
the
members
in
fact
read
the
entirety
of
the
press
release.
They
would
have
seen
the
qualification
that
expressed
the
the
theoretical
possibility
that
the
company
was
was
was
putting
forward
in
their
initial.
H
Of
course,
honorable
speaker,
we
are
very
concerned
about
the
health
and
well-being
and
safety
of
all
members
in
the
community
and
when
it
comes
to
providing
access
to
harm
reduction,
supports
and
services,
we
work
very
closely
with
health
authorities,
with
public
health
with
our
partners
in
a
very
regulated
and
tight
way
to
provide
access
to
the
care
and
support
and
medications
that
individuals
need
and
to
to
direct
those
supports
and
services
to
that
population.
That's
work
that
we
are
that
we
will
continue
to
do.
Should
the
member
have
a
particular
concern
about
a
particular
case.
I
B
B
I
D
You,
honorable
speaker,
the
desperation
of
this
opposition.
Honorable
speaker,
knows
no
bounds.
D
Mr,
honorable
speaker,
we
asked
British
Columbians
how
they
feel
in
2020.
Looking
at
the
numbers,
they
seem
to
like
us
a
lot
better
than
that
side
of
the
house.
D
On
the
other
side,
honorable
speaker,
this
side
of
the
house
was
made
clear
that
that
press
release
was
wrong,
that
what
they're
wanting
to
do
is
wrong
and
the
the
approach
that
we
have
taken
honorable
speaker
when
it
comes
to
harm
reduction
is
to
go
with
health
experts.
Those
with
lived
experience,
the.
G
D
B
D
J
You
very
much
Mr
Speaker.
Well,
as
we've
been
saying
for
months,
this
Premier
and
his
government
simply
did
not
do
the
work
they
didn't
prepare
and
they
neglected
to
implement
the
federal
letter
of
requirements.
That
would
that
would
that,
if
they
had
been
put
in
place
would
have
ensured
that
there
would
have
been
necessary
guard
rails
due
to
the
consequences
of
decriminalization
and
publicly
supplied
addictive
drugs.
They
didn't
do
their
work
and
the
situation
is
a
complete
and
total
mess.
J
J
What
is
what
is
shocking
is
the
apparent
disconnect
between
the
federal
government
and
the
provincial
government,
but
what's
actually
going
on,
that's
not
reassuring
for
British
Columbians
at
all
and
Mr
Speaker.
At
the
end
of
the
day,
ironically,
the
premier
even
said
we
can't
afford
missteps
end
quote:
that's
exactly
what's
happening:
we've
we've
profiled
this
last
week,
we've
said
it
again
today:
publicly
traded
companies
positioning
themselves
to
commercialize
and
exploit
this
crisis.
J
Opioid
co-ops
and
private
companies
working
to
increase
access
to
hard,
addictive
drugs
lacks
oversight
that
is
enabling
the
diversion
of
hard
drugs
to
teenagers
in
Nanaimo
and
Vancouver,
and
guess
what
Mr
Speaker
this
isn't
happening
in
any
other
part
of
the
country.
It's
happening
here
in
British
Columbia,
because
this
Premier
and
this
NDP
government
rushed
headlong
into
decriminalization
and
publicly
supplied
addictive
drugs.
Without
the
necessary
guard
rules
in
place.
J
B
K
You
know,
honorable
speaker,
all
I
can
say
is
what
a
disappointment,
what
a
disappointment,
not
a
surprise,
not
a
surprise,
but
what
a
disappointment?
You
know
the
issue
of
people
dying
in
the
toxic
drug
crisis.
K
Honorable
speaker,
the
reason
I
was
astonished
is
because
the
press
release
was
false.
It
wasn't
true
and
so
yeah,
but
that
actor
members.
K
Join
together
and
say
unacceptable,
just
as
we've
been
joined
together
on
this
public
health
issue.
From
the
beginning
now,
I'll
say
honorable
speaker,
we've
made
some
important
investments
in
the
budget
to
address
a
shared
concern,
making
sure
that
treatment
is
available
for
people
when
they
need
it.
That's
why
we're
trying
to
keep
people
alive
so
get
into
treatment,
a
billion
dollars
to
open
beds
across
the
province,
but
honorable
speaker,
people
who
want
to
commercialize
hard
drugs.
People
want
to
sell
hard
drugs
and
profit
from
that
in
our
Province.