For decades the judicial branch has been strongly encouraging the legislative and executive branches of government to address aboriginal title through negotiation, agreement, and legislation. The approach of the provincial government has been to litigate. This has resulted in the lawyers in the...
For the fourth time I have introduced a private members bill to amend solitary confinement policy. The bill prohibits a person from being held in solitary confinement if they are pregnant, at risk of harm or suicide, have a prescribed disability or require medical observation. The bill requires the...
For decades Indigenous child welfare has been in the hands of the provincial government. Their policies have disrupted families, separating children from their parents and extended family, and had devastating consequences. In 2022, the province made large changes through Bill 38: Indigenous...
There is an important teaching that once you start something that you must finish the work. In 2018, the provincial government invested $50 million in Indigenous language revitalization. It kickstarted and reinforced Indigenous language preservation and teaching. These funds were critical for...
The BC NDP continues to deliver fragmented housing policy, addresses part of the problem part way. The changes represented in Bill 14: Tenancy Statutes Amendment Act, 2024 and Bill 16: Housing Statutes Amendment Act, 2024 are far from the actions that are needed to support people renting in British...
After 15 months of deliberations, hearing from more than 400 individuals and organizations, and 1400 survey responses, the Special Committee on Reforming the Police Act, tabled an all-Party consensus report on April 28, 2024. The report was comprehensive and offered a plan for implementing the...
For more than 175 years, First Nations communities have not been able to own land in the name of their First Nation. The province is finally amending the Land Title and Property Law Acts to allow Indigenous communities to hold land as they determine is in their best interest. These changes while...
British Columbia has been a leader in legislating presumptive clauses in the workers compensation system for firefighters that are diagnosed with certain forms of cancers. Rather than forcing firefighters to prove the cancer is a result of exposure from their workplace, we presume it is. It is a...
BC Hydro needs to build massive new transmission lines to provide electricity to the BC NDPs LNG industry in order for them to create the illusion that the fossil fuel industry is “net-zero.” In order to expedite the construction of the transmission lines BC Hydro doesn’t want to go through an...
Last Fall, while we were debating changes to the North Island-Coast Development Trust Initiative Act I asked why the Minister ignored requests from the Island Coastal Economic Trust to remove gendered language in their law? Hon. Brenda Bailey, Minister of Jobs and Innovation stated it was an...
The BC NDP has long promised that as social democrats they will stand up for the most vulnerable people in the province. They always point to how terrible the former government was as a way to distract from their record. This government is not seeking to eliminate poverty but rather reduce it and...
Following a Court of Appeal ruling that a section of the Child, Family, and Community Service Act, made in the Fall 2022 intruded to far into personal privacy the Minister has until April to make the change to comply with the decision of the court. [Transcript] A. Olsen: Thank you for the...
For the third time I introduced a Wildlife Amendment Act to afford protections for bear dens in British Columbia. Premier David Eby has mandated his Minister of Water, Land, and Natural Resources, Hon. Nathan Cullen, to protect biodiversity, this includes ensuring bears have a sage place to den,...
The BC NDP have tabled an $89 billion dollar budget. The largest in British Columbia history. With it comes a $7.5 billion dollar deficit. The largest in British Columbia history. They have double the provincial debt since taking office. While I believe this would be defensible if British...
With the BC NDP government moving to rezone vast areas of British Columbia from single family to multi-family — three, four, or six times the density — they have to answer the question how local governments will accommodate the increased development pressure on aging and insufficient...
For the past year I have been advocating for the BC NDP government to support the Island Coastal Economic Trust (ICET) so it can transform into a stable long-term community-led economic development vehicle for Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities. The BC NDP has ignored the pleas of local...
In this response to Bill 44: Housing Statutes (Residential Development) Amendment Act, 2023, I take space to discuss a variety of issues. This is the accumulation of 15 years in governance and politics. I have been at both the local and provincial tables, involved in thousands of hours of meetings...
Victims and survivors of crime have been advocating for changes to the Criminal Victims Assistance Program. The provincial government has moved welcome amendments, however I am concerned they don’t go far enough. We have casework in our constituency office involving children and it appears that in...
The BC NDP celebrated being the first jurisdiction to get the federal government to decriminalize small amounts of illicit substances. Open drug use in public spaces is ABSOLUTELY a problem, but it is not THE problem, it is a symptom of the problem. Addiction is a health issue not a criminal...
Tech companies have built billion dollar platforms by disrupting traditional markets. We have heard the saying “move fast and break things.” Well, when it comes to short-term vacation rentals (STVR), what they participated in breaking was the housing market. Now, I don’t believe that STVRs are to...
The Police Amendment Act, 2023 is the BC NDP response to the policing mess that has been unfolding in Surrey for the past few years. This situation was entirely avoidable if the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Hon. Mike Farnworth, had intervened but he didn’t and now both the...
The long-awaited update to the Emergency Program Act (EPA) was finally introduced to the British Columbia Legislature. While there are many of the recommendations from reports over the past twenty years in the new legislation, the BC NDP continues to use enabling legislation to achieve their ends....
In April, I responded to Bill 23 which creates minimum passing distances for cyclists, imposes speed limiters on heavy-duty vehicles to reduce collisions and greenhouse gas emissions, and expands the province's ability to permit technology like robot delivery services. Overall, this legislation marks important...
In April, I responded to the Electoral Districts Act which added six new ridings to the province and changed the boundaries of dozens more. While my riding, Saanich North & the Islands, remains largely unchanged, we will be losing the Keating neighbourhood to South Saanich. I've represented this community in one...
In April, I had the pleasure of responding to Bill 18, the Haida Nation Recognition Act, and reading the words of my dear friend, Gut Takin Jaad, a Haida member, former legislative intern with the BC Green Caucus, and a current Constituency Assistant for MLA Sonia Furstenau. [Transcript] A. Olsen: I appreciate this...
In April, I responded to Bill 21, the Civil Forfeiture Amendment Act, which would permit unexplained wealth orders to combat money laundering. The B.C. Civil Liberties Association has raised serious concerns about this legislation, suggesting it will violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Critical...