I’ve sat on a lot of committees in my time as an MLA, including police act reform, freedom of information and privacy act reviews, and several hiring committees. Last summer, I participated in an all-party committee to look at how private members (all MLAs except cabinet ministers) could introduce, debate, and vote on bills or motions. Currently,...
For the past fifty years the BC NDP could be counted on to be the most vocal advocates of agriculture, specifically protection of the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) and the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR). However, in my recent exchange with Hon. Pam Alexis (Minister of Agriculture) it has...
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...
The Minister of Health, Hon. Adrian Dix, has stood in the legislature and talked about how he is spending billions more each year on the healthcare system. His budget has ballooned from $21 billion (2017/18) to $36 billion this year. My constituency email is full of stories from our constituency...
The BC NDP government has their priorities wrong. While drought grips British Columbia the provincial government is prioritizing electricity and water for the fracking industry. In order for our province to meet CleanBC climate action targets requires electrification. Drought is causing tremendous...
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...
With a provincial general election just a few months away there is no discussion, or even a hint of a concern, about the potential impact that artificial intelligence and large language models on our democratic processes. As a demonstration of how powerful the tools are I created a simple prompt in...
You have probably seen the fossil fuel lobby advertising campaign with bright green bus ads and highway billboards making specious claims that BC NDP LNG will reduce emissions. It of course is nonsense. However, they are spending a lot of money promoting these misleading statements across the...
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,...
While the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction pays the funeral cost of the lowest income British Columbians, they will not pay for a basic grave marker. It makes little sense. For more than a year the Ministry has defended the indefensible that they are burying people in unmarked...
The healthcare system is failing British Columbians. Yet, the finance minister continues to hand the health minister billions of dollars in an expanded budget. Last year, the health minister Hon. Adrian Dix signed an agreement with BC Nurses to ensure there was a safe patient-nurse ratio. He still...
I have asked the BC NDP government multiple times if they believe housing is a human right. First, they suggested access to shelter was a human right, then last Fall the housing minister agreed. In this two-minute statement I outline the actions I believe represent a government that is approaching...
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 Builds program, essentially a recycled HousingHub that the BC NDP announced in 2018 they have reclassified middle-income for a household from $50-100,000 as it was in the former program to $84-191,000. The BC NDP have offered little relief for people making under $84,000 and so the...
The Select Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs is required to be populated by the government at each new session of the Parliament. However, government has failed to call the committee take advantage of the fact that all political parties are represented and it could be a good opportunity to...
In Question Period, I asked the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Hon. Mike Farnworth about accountability for the RCMPs Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG). Minister Farnworth suggested that when there are incidents that are described in the courts of discrimination and...
In this statement I celebrate the 2024 BC Business Awards most resilient communities. First place goes to the District of Central Saanich and second place to the Town of Sidney. I’m thrilled that the Saanich Peninsula has taken the top two spots on the list. Congratulations to Mayors Windsor and...
Two weeks ago the BC NDP quietly launched a public consultation on proposed changes to the Land Act. While I have been publicly critical of the way Minister Nathan Cullen introduced the initiative, I am deeply disappointed by the response of the BC United who decided to re-embrace their former approach that is eerily reminiscent of their...
Calls for Premier David Eby to replace Advanced Education Minister Selina Robinson grow louder following comments she made at an online forum last week. Calling the comments “wrong” and “hurtful” the Premier also said, “We are in positions of authority, responsibility, and power. And that brings with it an expectation on the part of all British...
British Columbia has a new Minister of Children and Family Development. Is the change in leadership a reset for a deeply troubled child welfare system? Or, is it a political reset for Premier David Eby? The Premier’s language should be noted. He called the move a “significant reset” and apparently, he and former-Minister Mitzi Dean “reluctantly”...
In preparation for the final session (Spring 2024) of the 42nd Parliament, I look back on this term and reflect on the pace of life as a legislator, house leader, and the role of opposition members as government critics. On Pace The pace of politics is fast. Each session comes and goes. In the lead up, the energy builds in anticipation. During...
Reflecting on the past six years as MLA for Saanich North and the Islands, I am proud of the advocacy work of our Community Office. From day one, we created a community-centred approach advocating for constituents who contact us while proactively working to bring people together on important issues to coordinate response and build local...