MLA in ACTION – Issue #6

Week 1 – March 31st to April 4th

The first week back at the Legislature after the break has been a blur!

Monday started with the NDP’s decision to introduce and pass Bill 8 - Carbon Tax amendment Act 2025 - to cancel the consumer carbon tax all in one day. With the help of our amazing Caucus Team, we rose to the challenge and opposed the Bill every step of the way until around 1:30pm Tuesday morning when an alliance of NDPers and Conservatives passed the Bill.  The Lieutenant Governor came from Government House and gave the Bill Royal Assent, following which the House adjourned at 1:49am.

I could not support Bill 8 even at 1st reading because:

1.     There is no plan to replace the carbon tax with another equivalent way of fighting accelerating climate change. The planet is burning. We owe it to our children and grandchildren not to abandon the fight against climate change. Yet here we are removing the carbon tax, widely acknowledged as the best tool we have to fight climate change. Why? Because when you raise the price of goods and services it motivates people to substitute less costly green energy products and services.  

2.     The budget deficit of $10.9 Billion, that’s a capital B, will now increase to an estimated $12.7 Billion with no credible plan on how to get the budget back to balance. Debt servicing costs will increase, not only because there is more debt, but also because the interest rate on that debt will go up. Why will interest on debt increase? Because on Thursday major rating agencies dropped BC’s credit rating.

3.     The cancellation of the carbon tax means that there will no longer be $1 Billion dollars allocated to carbon tax credits for low to middle income British Columbians. At a time of increasing living costs this will make things even harder for families around BC. The credit for a family of 4 was up to $1,008.

We will be doing everything we can under the Accord to press the government to implement climate action measures which have an equivalent positive impact and to press the government to provide replacement benefits totalling $1 Billion to low- and middle-income families in this province. And finally, to press the Minister of Finance to take care of people and the environment, while also getting our financial house in order.

Through the balance of the week, I attended numerous meetings and worked on the second reading of Bill 7 – the Tariff Reduction Bill.  A bit of a log:

·      Met with Finance Minister to discuss her vision for innovation in the BC Economy. This will be crucial to our success in diversifying trade and generating the revenues to reduce the deficit.

·      Met with Solicitor General Garry Begg to discuss 911 services for 10 municipalities – Colwood, Langford, Metchosin, North Saanich, Sidney, Sooke, View Royal, North Cowichan, Duncan and Ladysmith. The key issue here is equity – municipalities that have the RCMP are being required to cover the 911 costs while those that do not have the RCMP often do not have to cover the cost. Also, there is the key issue of facilitating mental health service access through 911.

·      I had the privilege of speaking at a reception for Chief Willie Sellars and members of the Williams Lake First Nation who were invited to the Legislature to show their Oscar nominated film Sugarcane - a very moving documentary on the horrific history of Indian residential schools in the Williams Lake community. The film underscored the importance of us all doing our part to advance reconciliation and convey the truth about residential schools. There continues to be denialism and terrible public statements which we must all work to address. See the Question Period exchange and my point of order here. 

·      Throughout the week I worked with my team to prepare for budget Estimates questions, including meeting with representatives of UBCM, to learn more about the funding challenges facing local governments due to provincial housing decisions. I attended a Rotary Breakfast where I met CEO Heather Edward and learned about the great work of the Saanich Peninsula Hospital Foundation.  and met with community groups to discuss the importance of vacancy control and how to advance it on the provincial agenda.

·      I was pleased on behalf of the Green Caucus to attend a major housing announcement involving expanded funding for the Rental Assistance Program (RAP) and the Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters (SAFER).

After that, it was off to ASK Salt Spring for my monthly visit …you can check out the great discussions we had in old style written form here or in this ASK Salt Spring Answered interview (scroll to bottom of webpage to listen). The afternoon was filled with more meetings with constituents, and Laura Patrick, the new Chair of the Islands Trust. I will be giving a speech to the Trust Council in June. A wonderful dinner and peaceful stay at the government wharf and back to Pender Island the next morning.

Monday morning, I met with Huu-ay-aht First Nations for a productive discussion on the draw down of social services jurisdiction, and I believe First Nations are best able to deliver the services needed in a compassionate and successful manner. Later in the day I met with the Speaker of the House to discuss house protocols and procedures. In between being in the Legislature I participated in meetings and briefings with Minister Lana Popham, as well as a briefing on Oil and Gas royalties. In these times of large deficits, we all really need to get a better understanding of the royalties being paid by the oil and gas sector to ensure they are fair to BC taxpayers.

Week 2 April 7 -  11th

Throughout the day, fellow Green MLA Jeremy Valeriote and I proudly wore wooden BCAA Fireweed Pins, a limited-edition design by Quw’utsun Tribes artist Charlene Johnny. We were lucky to get our hands on them before they sold out for the year! This meaningful collaboration between BCAA and Charlene Johnny supports wildlife recovery and community resilience, with 100% of proceeds going to the United Way BC Wildfire Recovery Fund and the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Resilient Minds program.

As we tackle the major challenges in the Forest sector, it has been helpful to meet with the Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Christine Boyle and the Minister of Forests, Ravi Parmar. I am confident that by working together, we can make the paradigm shifts - with broad based support - necessary to build new markets and restored profitability, while all the while completing the Old Growth Action Plan and respecting First Nations interests and priorities.

I had a great opportunity to meet with the Mayor of Victoria on Tuesday to discuss homelessness and ways for the province to support the provision of housing and related supports to make much more progress on this seemingly intractable challenge. I’m looking forward to working on this issue throughout the year in our riding and across BC.

The balance of the week provided several additional opportunities to represent constituents including:

·      Attending the Chamber of Commerce Sidney Breakfast Club to learn more about the way in which tariffs are affecting businesses on the peninsula and ways that we can all help to ensure that the provincial and federal government support is effective. There were over 90 guests in attendance at the Shoal Centre – what a great turnout!

·      Extending a big thank you to the Heart and Stroke Foundation for all their work at their February is Heart Month luncheon. We all have friends and family who have faced the challenge of heart disease and enjoyed the amazing support provided by the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

·      Supporting my colleague MLA Jeremy Valeriote in hours of budget estimates debate on the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Health.

·      Meeting with the Persons with Disabilities (PWD) organization to discuss ways in which we can better support persons with disabilities when social assistance and disability rates are falling further and further behind the cost of living.

·      Perhaps the most important part of the week for me was making a statement in the legislature regarding the importance of all MLAs setting an example for all British Columbians to stand firm against racism, discrimination, denialism, and the revictimization of residential school survivors.

Here is my statement:

Statement Apr. 10, RB

Topic: Indigenous History

Honourable Speaker, before I begin, I want to acknowledge that we’re meeting today on the ancestral, traditional territory of the Lekwungen speaking peoples.

On the first day of this legislative session, Songhees Elder Mary Ann Thomas opened this house in a good way, with uncomfortable truths about our shared history.

Mary Ann Thomas went to residential school. She told everyone sitting in this chamber, on the day of the Throne Speech.

She said her long hair was cut short. She was hit. Her head was put in a toilet bowl. She said she shares these stories because, quote, “I’m speaking for the ones that don’t have a voice.”

We don’t record and study history because it’s pleasant. We keep history alive because it helps us understand each other.

As Members of this Legislative Assembly, it is our responsibility to be leaders and ambassadors for the right way of doing things. To demonstrate, through our words and actions, ʔiisaak, one of Huu-ay-aht First Nation’s sacred principles, which means conducting yourself with Utmost Respect.

This Big House in which we do our work has meaning because collectively we give it meaning.

Every day we uphold a shared set of values. Every day we stand against racism, discrimination, denialism, and the revictimization of residential school survivors. 

Our symbols and traditions give this place power and a presence in the lives of all British Columbians. And it is the responsibility of every single one of us to hold each other accountable to uphold our shared values every single day.

Thank you, Honourable Speaker.