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From YouTube: APRIL 17 2023 Question Period
Description
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
4th Session
42nd Parliament
C
You
Mr
Speaker
Mr
Speaker,
the
shocking
stabbing
and
senseless
death
of
young
Ethan
on
a
bus
in
Surrey.
This
week
has
increasingly
left
people
fearing
for
their
safety
and
that
of
their
loved
ones.
We
have
all
heard
the
heart-wrenching
words
of
Ethan's
mother
Holly,
who
tracked
her
son's
final
movements
through
GPS
waiting
to
pick
him
up
at
the
bus,
stop
only
to
watch
as
he
suddenly
was
being
moved
to
the
hospital
Ethan's
last
text
to
her
was
full
of
fear.
As
a
father
and
his
parents.
C
We
all
share
the
heartache
and
the
outrage
that
no
parent
should
ever
have
to
endure
such
a
devastating
loss.
Ethan's
family,
like
so
many
others,
is
calling
for
change.
Increased
insecurity
on
public
transit
and
in
our
own
communities,
and
the
question
Ethan's
family
is
asking
the
question.
British
Columbians
are
asking
the
question.
This
opposition
has
repeatedly
repeatedly
been
asking:
when
is
this
Premier
and
government
finally
going
to
take
some
concrete
steps,
so
people
can
feel
safe
in
their
communities
again.
D
You,
honorable
speaker
and
you
know,
I,
think
all
British
Columbians
were
absolutely
heartbroken
to
see
the
grief
Ethan's
family
is
going
through
and,
as
the
member
said
rightly
those
busts
in
this
place,
who
have
young
people
in
our
Lives
who
are
close
to
us
to
imagine
ourselves
in
the
position
of
Ethan's
mom,
absolutely
horrific.
D
Our
government
takes
this.
Incredibly
seriously,
we've
been
working
on
public
transit
safety
with
TransLink,
even
in
advance
of
these
recent
horrific
incidents.
Community
safety
officers,
TransLink,
is
already
in
the
midst
of
hiring
them
they're
bringing
out
24
Community
safety
officers
to
increase
Security
on
our
Transit
System.
D
The
RCMP
and
Transit
Police
are
stepping
up
their
presence
and
Patrols
in
the
transit
system.
Very
important
and
we've
told
them
that
if
they
need
any
additional
resources,
they
should
absolutely
ask
they'll
make
those
available
at
the
national
level
Minister
farnworth
has
reached
out
to
his
counterpart.
D
Pardon
me,
the
minister
of
Public
Safety,
has
reached
out
to
his
counterpart
Minister
Amanda
Chino,
who
to
make
sure
that
we're
part
of
any
federal
response
that
they're,
preparing
and
I
could
advise
members
of
this
house
that
premiers
across
Canada
are
working
with
the
chiefs
of
police
nationally
to
tighten
our
relationship.
So
we
can
find
those
common
elements
of
those
issues
we're
seeing
our
provinces
with
the
chiefs
of
police
and
put
forward
unified
recommendations.
C
People
are
tired
of
the
rhetoric
and
the
reannouncements
and
want
concrete
action
that
actually
produces
improved
results.
So
my
question
is:
what
is
it
going
to
take
for
this
Premier
and
government
to
actually
take
meaningful
steps
so
that
families
and
loved
ones
can
feel
safe
in
their
own
communities?
Again.
D
You,
honorable
speaker,
well,
here's
here's
where
I'm
on
the
same
page
with
the
member
across
the
way.
These
are
people
who
are
just
going
about
their
daily
business
in
their
communities.
They're
going
to
visit
friends
using
Transit
they're
going
to
work.
It's
her
horrific
and
unacceptable
violent
incidents
that
are
shaking
people
in
community
and
our
government's
taking
action
on
this
honorable
speaker,
because
people
deserve
to
be
safe
on
Transit.
They
need
to
be
safe.
D
On
Transit
and
in
community
I
ran
through
the
pieces
of
work
that
we've
been
doing
at
the
immediate
local
level,
the
provincial
level,
the
national
level
I
know.
The
number
is
aware
of
these
things.
Our
government
will
not
stand
by.
We
will
continue
to
take
action
with
all
of
our
partners
to
ensure
safety
for
people
in
community.
C
C
They
said
that
the
catch
and
release
program
is
failing
communities
right
across
the
province
and
when
you
add
to
that
as
Minister
of
Housing,
the
program
that
warehoused
those
with
severe
mental
health
and
addiction
issues
and
motels
and
hotels
in
the
downtown
cores
right
across
this
province
without
proper
supports.
It's
no
surprise
that
we've
ended
up
where
we
are
today
now
having
served
as
attorney
general
from
day
one
in
this
government.
D
Honorable
speaker,
one
of
the
key
priorities
of
our
government
is
ensuring
that
every
British
Columbian
is
safe
in
their
Community.
Well,
that's
going
to
work
whether
it's
on
transit,
it's
in
a
local
park
in
a
downtown
area.
It's
been
the
focus
of
our
government
and
the
member
knows.
I
know
he's
aware
that
we've
taken
action
on
this
12
teams
across
the
province
starting
work
beginning
of
next
month.
These
are
prosecutors,
probation
officers,
correction
officer
officers
to
address
the
issues
of
repeat
violent
offenders.
D
D
The
the
work,
though,
also
recognizes
that
there's
a
serious
issue
of
mental
health
and
addiction
that
underlies
a
lot
of
what
we're
seeing
in
communities
pure
assisted
car
programs,
where
a
mental
health
professional
is
present
with
a
police
officer
of
new
funding
to
expand
that
program
across
the
province,
pure
teams
to
intervene
in
situations
where
it's
more
appropriate
that
someone
with
experience
around
mental
health
is
responding
instead
of
a
police
officer,
freeing
up
police
to
respond
to
criminal
issues.
D
E
Thank
you,
Mr
Speaker
and
I
remind
the
premier
that
the
announcement
in
Nanaimo
was
actually
the
third
time
that
they
have
announced
that
three
times
for
the
last
year,
the
government
has
ignored
explicit
demands
for
enhanced
safety
measures
on
public
transit.
The
Surrey
border
trade
pleaded
for
increased
safety
measures
for
women
that
was
done
last
year.
E
F
You,
honorable
speaker
and
I
thank
the
member
for
the
question
and
I
want
to
make
it
clear
to
to
the
member
that
the
side
of
the
house
takes
this
issue
extremely
seriously.
F
I
can
tell
you
that
that
also
involves
working
with
the
the
local
unions
involved
in
terms
of
identifying
what
additional
measures,
but
I
also
want
to
make
it
clear
to
the
member.
There
are
significant
safety
measures
in
place
on
our
transit
systems,
whether
they
range
from
the
the
yellow
alarm
strip
on
that
can
be
triggered
by
passengers
who
are
experiencing
problems.
There
are
emergency
phones
at
all,
Sky
train
stations.
F
All
bus
drivers
have
a
silent
alarm
that
they
can
use
to
alert
law
enforcement,
that
there
is
an
issue
in
place
and
nearly
all
buses
have
closed
circuit,
TV
cameras
on
them
to
be
able
to
put
in
place
and
identify
if
individuals,
if
there
is
an
issue
taking
place.
That
being
said,
we're
always
wanting
to
see
if
there
are
additional
ways
in
which
we
can
make
our
transit
system
which
moves
about
400
000
people
daily
safer,
and
we
are
working
with
police,
Transit
unions
to
do
just
that.
E
Thank
you.
Thank
you,
Mr
Speaker
and
I
I
thank
the
the
minister
for
his
for
his
answer,
but
people
have
been
identifying
those
gaps
for
over
a
year
now
they
have
been
they've,
been
stating
them
publicly
to
this
minister,
to
the
Ministry
of
Transportation,
I'm
sure
to
the
premier
directly.
E
The
crisis
of
violence
on
Transit
has
exploded
under
this
premier's
watch,
whether
he
was
attorney
general
or
now.
Premier,
you
know
for
a
local
111.
President
barbiere
Mann
warned
last
November
last
November
that
escalating
violence
and
assaults
on
drivers
is
increasing
and
I
quote
it's
happening
almost
once
a
week.
One
is
too
many.
We
can't
just
let
this
keep
happening,
end
quote,
but
under
this
NDP
government
it
does
keep
happening
and
it's
getting
worse.
It's
not
getting
better.
We
see
that
every
day
in
every
community
in
this
province.
E
F
You,
honorable
speaker
and
again
I
thank
the
member
for
the
question.
I'll
also
inform
the
the
member
that
I
spoke
with
Minister
Mendocino
yesterday
on
the
issue
of
violence
and
around
the
challenges
that
our
transit
systems
are
facing
in
this
regard,
and
as
he
commented
to
me,
this
is
something
that's
happening
right
across
the
country
on
transit
systems,
whether
it's
our
Vancouver's
transit
system,
whether
it's
Edmonton,
whether
it's
Calgary,
whether
it's
Toronto.
This
is
something
happening
right
across
the
country.
F
He
wants
to
work
with
us
on
additional
ways
in
which
we
can
deal
with
the
situation.
As
I
said
to
the
member
we
are
working
closely.
My
director
of
police
services
is
working
closely
with
the
the
police
agencies,
the
RCMP
Municipal
police
forces
on
doing
that.
That
also
includes
the
the
unions
involved.
My
expectation
is
to
see
a
significant
increased
police
presence
around
our
transit
system.
The
premium
has
made
it
clear
in
a
answer
to
earlier
questions
that
if
additional
resources
are
required,
those
resources
will
be
will
be
in
place.
F
Everybody
deserves
to
feel
safe
in
our
transit
system.
400
000
people
a
day
use
that
system.
It's
one
of
the
best
in
the
country
and
we
want
it
to
be
the
safest
in
the
country.
G
Thank
you,
Mr
Speaker.
This
government
promised
to
protect
old
growth
for
us
and
meaningfully
engage
with
First
Nations.
They
promise
a
paradigm
shift
in
how
our
forests
are
managed.
They
promise
to
defer
at-risk
old
growth.
Despite
these
promises
stands
of
old
growth,
forests
are
currently
being
logged
in
territory,
culturally,
significant
and
biologically
Rich
old
growth
stands
are
being
clear-cut
against
the
community's
wishes.
G
The
letter
they
wrote
to
the
minister
of
forest,
it
says
at
the
heart
of
the
matter,
is
the
simple
fact
that
no
consultation
or
basic
information
sharing
has
ever
occurred
with
our
quaccutal
membership,
our
hereditary
Chiefs
or
the
matriarchs
of
our
tribe.
This
deal
was
negotiated
and
concluded
in
secret
without
the
free,
prior
and
informed
consent
of
the
true
stewards
of
our
lands
and
territory.
Thus,
the
laws
of
British
Columbia
and
the
laws
of
the
kwakutil
nation
have
been
violated.
G
Some
of
the
recent
cut
blocks
are
within
the
at-risk
old
growth
prioritized
for
the
deferral
by
this
government.
My
question
is
to
the
Minister
of
Foreign
leaders
have
unequivocally
called
for
deferrals
of
all
old
growth
logging
within
their
territory.
It's
been
adopted
by
policy
and
enshrined
by
their
land
use
plan.
Why,
then,
did
this
government
approve
old
growth
logging
in
their
territory.
H
Thank
you
very
much,
Mr
Speaker,
the
the
issue
that
has
arisen
in
this
territory
is
that
the
elected
nation
has
received
a
tenure
of
53
000
cubic
meters
a
year
and
they
have
the
the
permission
and
the
right
to
to
log
that
there
is
a
dispute
internally
between
that
elected
group
and
the
hereditary
leadership
of
this
nation,
which
is
being
resolved.
H
I
I
through
internal
discussion.
Our
policy
on
Old
growth
is
is,
is
one
that
is
province-wide.
We
have
deferred
to
2.1
million
hectares
of
of
old
growth
and
we're
aiming
to
add
more
to
that.
The
the
Imp
the
effect
and
the
implications
of
that
kind
of
change
are
massive
and
we
are
working
our
way
through
the
complications
that
arise
from
the
implementation
of
this
policy.
But
generally,
the
policy
has
been
well
received
by
Forest
companies
by
First
Nations,
by
communities
and
by
ngos.
G
G
Of
course
the
forest
industry
is
going
to
be
happy
that,
while
the
internal
disputes
within
the
coagul
nation
are
being
resolved,
that
the
old
growth
that
should
be
deferred
as
being
locked,
that's
the
kind
of
reconciliation
that's
being
delivered
on
the
other
side
of
the
house,
Mr
Speaker,
the
hereditary
Chiefs,
matriarchs
and
community
members
have
been
calling
on
this
government
to
Halt
the
logging
of
old
growth
they're
asking
the
minister
for
us
to
share
the
forestry
deal
with
the
quakutal
membership
that
they
haven't
been
able
to
see.
G
G
This
Minister
seems
to
be
okay
with
just
allowing
the
the
anger
and
the
frustration
within
the
community
to
foment,
while
the
old
growth
continues
to
fall
in
their
territory.
In
their
letter
they
note
Mr
Speaker
that
they're
prepared
to
go
into
their
territory
and
protect
it
if
necessary,
but
that's
really
the
job
of
this
Forest
minister
to
do
that.
They
shouldn't
have
to
do
that.
Mr
Speaker!
H
Thank
you
very
much.
Mr
Speaker,
one
of
the
ways
in
which
this
policy
is
being
implemented
is
through
Forest,
landscape
planning.
That
is
a
in
contrast
to
the
previous
Arrangement,
where
a
login
plan
was
simply
presented
to
the
ministry
and
approved
or
not
approved.
This
process
will
involve
communities,
whether
it's
indigenous
Nations,
their
the
community,
the
companies
labor
and
their
representatives
in
a
in
a
community
focused
Regional
process
to
come
to
a
durable
agreement
about
how
any
particular
part
of
our
forest
should
be
harvested.
H
A
You
Mr
Speaker
under
this
soft
on
crime,
Premier
social
disorder
and
violence
has
never
been
worse
and
people
don't
even
feel
safe.
Getting
on
a
bus
anymore.
Recently,
someone
took
a
five
foot,
long
metal
fence,
post
and
shattered
a
bus
window
narrowly
missing
the
bus
driver,
The,
premier's,
Catch
and
Release
in
soft
on
crime
policies.
They
go
Way
Beyond
the
justice
system.
Every
day
we
witness
the
consequences
of
this
two-term
government's
abject
failure
to
address
mental
health
and
addictions,
and
the
absence
of
Frontline
interventions
and
massive
gaps
in
care.
I
Thank
you,
Mr
Speaker
and
I
I
thank
the
member
for
the
question
and
also
you
know
wish
to
express
my
my
sympathy
to
the
family
of
the
the
young
man
who
who
was
who
was
killed
and
to
those
who
are
experiencing
the
the
challenges.
With
respect
to
that.
Currently
we
have.
I
I
We
know
that
the
Investments
that
we
have
made
over
the
past
number
of
years
since
2017
since
this
ministry
was
stood
up,
have
shifted
the
access
to
treatment
to
community
Community
Counseling
to
to
hospital
to
hospital
services
to
bed-based
services
in
community,
and
there
is
no
question
that
there
is
more
work
to
be
done.
That
work
is
work
that
we're
engaged
in
with
with
all
of
our
with
all
of
our
partners,
including
looking
at
supports
across
sectors
and
workplaces
where
folks
are
experiencing
mental
health.
I
A
Thank
you,
Mr
Speaker,
the
out
of
control,
crime,
crime,
violence
and
lawlessness
that
we
see
every
day
are
the
direct
consequences
of
this
premier's
disastrous
soft
on
crime
policies.
For
six
years,
the
police
act
review
was
completed
a
year
ago
with
critical
recommendations
on
mental
health
and
interactions
with
police.
But
this
Premier
has
utterly
failed
to
take
action
on
any
of
those
recommendations.
A
As
the
opposition
we
have
proposed
Solutions
and
even
introduced
a
private
member's
Bill
to
amend
the
mental
health
act,
to
give
us
more
tools
to
help
those
in
crisis.
But
the
premier
refuses
to
call
it
for
debate.
When
will
the
premier
finally
admit
the
total
failure
of
a
soft
on
crime
policies
and
start
implementing
our
Solutions.
F
Thank
you,
honorable,
speaker
and
I
appreciate
the
the
question
from
the
member
I
want
to
make
a
couple
of
observations.
First
off
when
it
comes
to
Public
Safety.
In
our
transit
system,
our
there
are
184
Transit
police
officers.
There
are
RCMP
detachments,
Municipal
detachments,
who
work
extremely
hard
to
ensure
safety
on
our
transit
system.
They
work
extremely
diligently
whenever
an
event
or
whenever
a
tragedy
occurs
whenever
something
occurs,
to
bring
that
perpetrator
to
Justice
I.
F
Note
that
at
two
o'clock
the
the
RCMP
held
a
press
conference
and
announced
an
arrest
in
the
case
of
the
the
tragic
murder
that
took
place
on
our
transit
system
of
of
young
Ethan
and
Suri.
I
can
also
tell
the
member
that
we
have
done
a
significant
amount
of
work
in
terms
of
additional
resources
for
police,
in
terms
of
dealing
with
the
challenges
that
she
has
is
outlined.
Expanding
the
car
program,
for
example,
peer
assisted
care
teams
which
have
mental
health
workers
that
are
going
to
assist
police
in
in
doing
their
job.
F
At
the
same
time,
we
will
be
we're
seeing
coming
online,
a
map
which
police
have
asked
for
I
am
Health
which
allows
them
to
get
information
to
a
hospital
a
lot
faster
than
in
previously,
so
that
they're
not
having
to
spend
time
in
hospitals
with
an
individual
waiting
for
that
individual
to
be
assessed
and
appropriate
treatment
to
be
made
available,
and
often
you
would
see
police
waiting.
Four
five
six
eight
hours
sometimes
going
to
happen
that
has
been
that
has
been
implemented.
F
We
have
a
I
mean
changes
up
the
requested
changes
at
the
federal
level
in
terms
of
the
criminal
code
of
Canada.
All
of
those
things
are
concrete
steps
that
have
been
taken
by
this
government
and
will
continue
to
be
taken
by
this
government
and
there's
one
other
thing
that
I
wanted
to,
or
to
to
also
make
clear
to
the
opposition,
because
I
know
the
member
I
raised
it
and
the
other
member
raised
it
in
terms
of
Nanaimo.
F
There
was
new
initiatives
announced
that
overnight
in
the
Nile
16
million
dollars
in
new
funding
to
assist
police
in
doing
Special,
investigated
and
targeted
enforcement
into
violent,
repeat
offenders.
That
is
money
that
is
available
for
communities
in
Nanaimo,
in
Prince,
George
in
Kelowna
and
other
communities
around
the
province.
That's
targeted
that
comes
into
effect
with
the
individuals
in
place
to
be
able
to
do
that
in
the
first
few
weeks
of
May.
So
honorable
speaker,
we
have
done
a
lot.
There
is
a
lot
more
to
do,
but
it
is
our
priority.
J
Thank
you,
Mr
Speaker.
Well,
the
end
of
the
day.
Here
we
we
listen
again
to
words
and
and
rhetoric
from
the
solicitor
general
he
goes.
The
solicitor
general
goes
with
the
premier
and
attorney
general.
Last
week
and
again
it's
a
reannouncement
of
a
re-announcement
people
want
action
and
I'll
highlight
one
particular
area
that
the
solicitor
general
needs
to
stop
his
line
of
of
information
on.
J
He
sits
here
and
talks
about
all
the
work
that
he
and
his
government
are
doing
to
bring
more
RCMP
officers
into
this
province.
Everyone
agrees
that
that
that
is
a
good
idea,
but
Mr
Speaker.
Let's
look
at
the
record.
Let's
look
at
the
results
which
are
terrible.
There
are
813
RCMP
vacancies
across
Canada,
the
entire
country,
as
of
today,
460
of
those
RCMP
vacancies
are
right
here
in
British
Columbia
over
half
now
now
Mr
Speaker,
the
solicitor
general.
The
premier
could
have
taken
action
on
this
five
years
ago.
J
Four
years
ago,
three
years
ago,
two
years
ago,
last
year
earlier
this
year,
the
results
are
terrible.
Now,
this
past
Saturday,
another
young
man,
was
stabbed
on
the
sky
Train
in
Surrey.
The
third
such
attack
on
transit
in
Surrey
within
two
weeks
and
the
second
stabbing
in
less
than
a
week
last
year,
Transit
assaults
spiked
by
24,
with
a
staggering
31
percent
increase
compared
to
the
10-year
average,
from
cesuri
to
Nanaimo,
kamlo's
Prince
George,
you
name
you
name
it.
J
Every
Community
can
see
and
feel
this
premier's
abysmal
failure
on
public
safety
and
no
number
of
scripted
announcements
or
Bluster
from
this
government
can
hide
it.
So
my
question
to
the
premier
is
this:
when
our
British
Columbia
is
going
to
feel
safe
again,
when
are
they
going
to
be
safe
again
in
their
communities?
When
is
this
government
going
to
step
up
and
take
action
so
that
British
Columbians
are
safe.
F
You,
honorable
speaker
and
I,
appreciate
the
question
from
the
member
and
I
also
appreciate
the
way
in
which
they're
trying
to
to
ask
it.
That
is
the
role
of
the
opposition.
But
what
I
want
to
make
clear
honorable
speaker
is
the
Investments
that
we
have
made
are
not
rhetoric.
They
are
in
fact
actual
action.
F
F
And
honorable
speaker
in
Year
One,
we
brought
in
the
first
we
brought.
You
know
we're
talking
about
tragedies
that
have
happened
in
our
transit
system,
I'm
outlining
for
the
opposition,
a
number
of
initiatives
and
steps
and
concrete
actions
that
have
taken
place
and
instead
I'm
hearing
heckling,
honorable,
speaker
and
I-
think
that's
really
unfortunate,
because
the
people
of
this
province
deserve
to
feel
safe
and
they
deserve
to
know
the
actions
that
we've
been
taking
and
I
can
tell
you
from
the
very
beginning.
F
We
started
on
a
program
around
guns
and
gangs,
violence
that
put
in
place
A,
Witness,
Protection
security
program
that
has
seen
significant
increase
in
the
number
of
cases
and
convictions
and
individuals
going
behind
bars.
Honorable
speaker,
we
put
in
place
the
first
Firearms
lab
honorable
speaker,
so
forensic
analysis
is
done
here
in
British
Columbia
not
having
to
be
sent
off
to
Ottawa.
F
F
We
are
the
largest
Detachment
in
the
country.
Honorable
speaker,
e
division
and
I
can
tell
you
that
in
my
Ministry,
one
of
the
first
things
that
we've
been
working
on
with
the
RCMP
is
to
get
a
full,
comprehensive
understanding
on
a
Detachment
Detachment
basis
of
exactly
what
the
vacancies
are
and
where
those
vacancies
are
whether
they're
soft
vacancies
or
hard
vacancies.
F
And
what
I
can
also
tell
you.
Honorable
speaker,
I,
know
because
I
know
that
member
was
never
solicitor
general.
But
his
former
colleague
who
was
solicitored
General,
understood
the
vacancy
problems
and
Time
After
Time
After
Time
went
to
get
those
vacancies
filled
and
they
were
never
filled
honorable
speaker,
but
what
I
can
tell
you
is
that
this
Premier
made
it
a
commitment
that,
when
the
evidence
was
presented
that
here's,
what
we
have
to
do,
we
made
the
largest
investment
in
provincial
policing
in
the
history
of
this
province,
and
indeed
this
country.
K
What
they
want
is
a
premier
that
will
acknowledge
the
fact
that
they
are
afraid
to
take
a
bus
in
British
Columbia.
Who
can
possibly
imagine
that
Dominique
Curtis
has
started
a
position,
a
petition
following
the
tragic
death
of
young
Ethan
in
just
two
days
over
5
000
British
Colombians
have
signed
that
petition.
K
The
petition
States
and
I
quote.
This
is
just
one
of
many
violent
or
deadly
incidents
on
TransLink
buses.
It's
a
growing
trend
and
that
needs
to
be
stopped
now
end
quote:
announcements
re-announcements
empty
words.
What
on
Earth
was
this
Premier
thinking
when
he
and
his
Roadshow
rolled
into
Nanaimo
people
who
were
desperate
for
this
Premier
to
show
meaningful
action
and
understanding
and
the
reception
should
not
have
been
a
surprise
to
this
premier?
K
F
Thank
you,
honorable,
honorable
speaker
and
I
appreciate
the
the
question
from
the
member,
but
I'll
make
it
clear,
as
I
have
made
it
clear
right
from
the
very
beginning.
This
government
takes
this
situation
very
seriously.
That
is
why
we
have
a
community
Safety,
Action
Plan.
That's
why
we've
been
working
with
local
government,
that's
why
we
have
been
working
with
with
with
police
agencies
right
across
the
province.
That's
why
we
have
been
working
with
the
federal
government,
because
we.