May 5th is the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls inquiry began in 2015 and concluded with a final report on June 3, 2019. In 2021, the federal government released a National Action Plan and the provincial government tabled...
Both the BC NDP and BC Liberals support gas liquefaction for the export market. However, a growing body of research is showing that fracking, the process to extract gas from the ground, causes significant harm to human health. Indigenous communities, children and pregnant people are disproportionately impacted by the...
Services for adults with eating disorders across the province are delivered by health authorities with one exception - Island Health. For some inexplicable reason those services are delivered by the Ministry of Children and Family Development. For years, the services have been inadequate but during the pandemic the...
For decades labour policy has lurched back and forth. This is a result of a legislative assembly previously split by two establishment political parties, BC NDP and BC Liberals, aligning as pro-labour and pro-business respectively. This has not benefited workers or business owners. Neither of these entrenched "sides"...
ÍY SȻÁĆEL (Good Day), Welcome to my weekly update for May 1st, 2022! Following a two-week adjournment to accommodate the Easter long weekend, the BC Legislative Assembly resumed the Spring session this week. It is always a shock to the system. The pace of constituency and legislative work is very different and it usually takes a few hours on the...
In Bill 16, the provincial government is seeking to give the British Columbia Transportation Financing Authority the power to purchase land to allow for more transit-oriented developments. This is a positive change that has the potential to create more deeply affordable housing near transit routes. With inflation...
For the past 15 months I have been honoured to participate in the Police Act Reform committee. We were given a broad terms of reference to review the entire policing system in British Columbia and provided 11 recommendations for transformational change. This was a collaborative process between all Members on the...
For years, my constituents living on the Southern Gulf Islands have dealt with the environmental and social impacts created by large transport ships anchored throughout the Salish Sea. Increased consumer demand for goods from around the globe has stretched supply chains and combined with inefficient operations at the port in Vancouver has meant...
April 28th is the National Day of Mourning. This is my 2-minute Members' Statement on the important issue of worker safety and the much needed reform in WorkSafe BC. [Transcript] On the National Day of Mourning, we remember workers who have died, were injured or became ill from their job. We recommit to protecting...
Large corporate institutional landlords, known at real estate investment trusts (REIT), are purchasing rental apartments at a shocking rate. In many cases, they are renovicting the tenants and dramatically increasing rents. This is another example of the financialization of housing and it is putting many renters...
Nearly 1,000,000 British Columbians do not have access to a family doctor or team of primary health care practitioners. More are notified each day that their doctor is retiring or shutting down their practice due to exhaustion and frustration. There is a lurking threat that the BC NDP is doing nothing about, large...
ÍY SȻÁĆEL (Good Day), Welcome to my weekly update for April 10th, 2022! It was an extremely busy week in the Legislature. With 20 government Bills, 6 Private Members’ Bills and one Private Bill, and Budget Estimates ongoing it makes for a full day in the Assembly. For example on Thursday afternoon, within a span of a couple of hours I was asking...
When the consortium of multi-national corporations decided to invest in LNG Canada they only approved half the project (2 trains). They government regulatory process had approved them for 4 trains. Now they are looking at the possibility of growing their investment to the full 4 trains. The problem for the BC NDP is...
Tsawout First Nation has created a first-of-its-kind Marine Use Law embracing the principles of self-determination and the right to "fish as formerly" captured in the Douglas Treaty. This has enabled Tsawout to realize economic development opportunities, including with Cascadia Seaweed to grow kelp in the waters in...
Today I raised a question of privilege after Hon. Katrine Conroy (Minister of Forests) stated unequivocally that glyphosate is non-carcinogenic and non-toxic. The Minister gave the impression that the science regarding the safety of glyphosate has been settled when it has not. The Minister stated in the same breath...
I followed up my previous question to Hon. Katrine Conroy (Minister of Forests) about her defense of the aerial spraying of glyphosate on B.C. forest lands. Ultimately, the food security that the provincial government talks about does not include Indigenous practices of hunting, fishing, and gathering of wild foods...
Bill 12: Property Law Amendment Act is the legislation promised by Minister Selina Robinson (Finance) last Fall to introduce a “cooling off period” which government is now calling a “Homebuyer Protection Period.” This Bill is another example of the BC NDP using enabling legislation to give them the power to create...
Family doctor system is no longer feasible for most doctors today An estimated 15,000 residents of Saanich North and the Islands are without primary health care. Without a family doctor, or a primary care network, you will find yourself sitting in walk-in clinics or emergency rooms addressing each issue, not your overall health, with a doctor who...
ÍY SȻÁĆEL (Good Day), Welcome to my weekly update for April 3rd, 2022! It was a busy week for me in the legislature. With the Police Act Committee meeting on Monday and Wednesday evenings it made for long days. In Private Members’ Motions on Monday morning, MLA Mike Bernier (Peace River South) tabled, “Be it resolved that the House support...
The BC government continues to use glyphosate and other poisons to clear forest lands of unwanted vegetation. Unwanted only by the forest industry. The species that this government is killing are the same species that Indigenous Peoples have harvested, and continue to harvest, since time immemorial for food and...
Following the tabling of the Declaration Act Action Plan, I rose in Question Period to ask Premier John Horgan how his BC NDP government can justify the expansion of fossil fuel extraction and liquefaction infrastructure knowing the human rights violations, environmental and Indigenous rights. In my follow-up question...
The BC Legislative Assembly unanimously passed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act in November 2019. Section 4 of the Act requires the government to table an Action Plan to ensure key steps toward reconciliation are taken, to ensure the government is accountable for their commitments to Indigenous...
In my second reading speech to Bill 14: Wildlife Amendment Act 2022 I share some of the W̱SÁNEĆ stories about our relationship with nature and all other life. The amendments in Bill 14 provide for the official acknowledgement of sheltering agreements between Indigenous Nations. In addition, the Bill provides a...
Micah Zandee-Hart is from Saanichton, BC in my riding of Saanich North and the Islands. In February, she was part of the Canadian Women's Ice Hockey team that defeated the United States 3-2 to win gold at the Beijing Winter Olympics. [Transcript] In February, we were lucky to cheer on 215 Canadians competing in the...
On International Women's Day, I rose in the Assembly to acknowledge and raise my hands in gratitude to the amazing and powerful women in my life. [Transcript] Laura, Phyllis, Sylvia, Emily, Joni, Heather, Ella, Yetsa, Madison, Patty, Sonia, Laura, JoJo, Maeve, Jonina, Stephanie, Hailey, Laura, Sarah, Claire and Rose....
In the 2020 election the BC NDP promised to make contraception free for all British Columbians. As a cisgender male, free or near-free condoms are widely available, vasectomies are covered by MSP, however for women, trans-men and gender diverse people, getting prescription contraception requires a visit to a medical...