Review BC Ministerial Mandate Letters January 2021 Minister of Children and Family Development,

• Continue to work with Indigenous partners and the federal government to reform the child welfare system, including implementing the new federal Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families and the principles of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, and continuing to reduce the overrepresentation of Indigenous children in care. • Support families involved with the child welfare system by focusing on family preservation and keeping children and youth connected to their communities and culture, while working to ensure that in cases where children and youth come into care, consideration of their individual needs determine their placement. Minister of Child and Family Development, Mitzi Dean

• Improve support for families of children with special needs, ensuring that the new Child and Youth with Special Needs framework is designed to serve the needs of a broad range of families.

• Build on our expanded supports for young adults in care, with particular attention to supporting the transition to independence and ensuring supports reach all youth. CHILD CARE: Minister of State for Child Care, Minister of Children and Family Development, Mitzi Dean Minister of Education,

• … integrate child care into the broader learning environment by developing a strategy to move delivery of child care into the Ministry of Education by 2023. • … work toward providing universal access to before and after school care, prioritizing care on school grounds so parents know their children are safe at one place for the full work day. Minister of State for Child Care, Katrina Chen

• Enshrine the concept of universal child care in legislation to protect the principles of affordable, accessible, inclusive and quality child care. • Continue to implement Childcare BC, our government's ten-year plan to provide universal, affordable, accessible, quality and inclusive child care to every family that wants or needs it, with the goal of no family paying more than $10 a day for licensed childcare when fully implemented. • Continue to improve the affordability of child care, including by working closely with the federal government to expand the number of $10 a day child care spaces across . Minister of State for Child Care, Katrina Chen • Continue to expand the number and availability of child care spaces, including by developing a capital plan and modular strategy for child care, and by working with the Minister of Finance to ensure that whenever government builds a new school, hospital or other project, child care is considered. With Finance Minister Robinson & Advanced Education Minister Kang: • … lead work to implement and enhance the Early Care and Learning Recruitment and Retention Strategy, including expanding our successful ECE wage enhancement program to ensure that Early Childhood Educators are a well-supported profession, just like other professionals who work in B.C.’s education system. Minister of Education, Jennifer Whiteside

• Support COVID-19 recovery by fast-tracking improvements to online and remote learning, including investing in more computers and tablets, more training for teachers and support staff, and new ways to improve social e- learning to promote group interactions between students and teachers. • Continue to invest in new and modernized schools, including focusing on meeting seismic requirements and climate change and energy efficiency standards as set out in our CleanBC plan. With Indigenous Relations & Reconciliation Minister Rankin: • … lead work to put more Indigenous languages into B.C.’s curriculum. Minister of Education, Jennifer Whiteside

• Build on investments into mental health supports for students and staff to better support children and youth with special needs and their families, so everyone involved in our kids’ learning gets the help they need. • To help make sure students are properly fed for learning, work with school districts to create more local school meal programs based on district data and priorities, and work with the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries to integrate Feed BC into this plan so that districts can include locally grown food. Minister of Education, Jennifer Whiteside

• Continue to take the pressure off parents to fundraise while giving students safe, accessible playgrounds by expanding our government's Playground Fund to more schools. • Deliver targeted investments to help make sure students have the classroom supplies they need to succeed, so parents and teachers don’t have to pay the full cost out-of-pocket. • Support the work of Mental Health & Addictions Minister Malcomson to provide dedicated mental health teams in school districts. Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Sheila Malcomson

• With Children and Family Development Minister Dean, … lead work to address mental health concerns early by rolling out new mental health and addictions care initiatives for children and youth. • Expand the availability of treatment beds for people by building new treatment, recovery, detox and after-care facilities across the province with some beds specifically for British Columbians under age 24. Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, (selected)

• Build on our government's Poverty Reduction Plan, TogetherBC, and the recommendations of the Expert Panel on Basic Income to determine the best approach and path forward to reducing poverty long-term and providing opportunities for jobs and skills training. • With support from the Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Minister Popham, lead work to increase food security for people in need by expanding government support to food banks and developing program partnerships with food producers, grocery stores and not- for-profits to develop discounted food market, food recovery and food redistribution programs. Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Housing, (selected) • Lead government’s efforts to address homelessness by implementing a homelessness strategy. • With the support of Children & Family Development Minister Dean, Social Development & Poverty Reduction Minister Simons, Mental Health & Addictions Minister Malcolmson, Health Minister Dix and Municipal Affairs Minister Osborne, address the needs of people experiencing homelessness, including those living in encampments. • To make life more affordable for renters – particularly during the hardship caused by COVID-19 – deliver a freeze on rent increases until the end of 2021, and then make permanent the actions our government took to limit rent increases to the rate of inflation. Minister of Advanced Education & Skills Training, (selected)

• With support from Minister of Children & Family Development Minister Dean, expand tuition waivers to all former youth in care, regardless of age. • Expand the B.C. Access Grant program by increasing eligibility to reduce barriers and make sure more people are able to access the skills they need for the jobs of the future. • Keep student fee increases low by strengthening the existing Tuition Fee Limit Policy to make sure institutions are not increasing fees beyond the prescribed limits. Minister of Finance, (selected)

• As soon as possible, provide immediate relief for people by delivering a one-time Recovery Benefit. • Introduce an income-tested renter’s rebate to support rental households that need it most and are not already receiving other rental support. • Launch a new Recovery Investment Fund to deliver an additional 1% of GDP each year in capital projects, above and beyond our existing capital commitments, to drive new growth and investment, including funding new schools, hospitals, child care spaces, roads and transit, and more. Minister of Labour, (selected)

• Continue working with the federal government on a paid sick leave program to protect workers and businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. • Once the minimum wage reaches $15.20 per hour in June 2021, provide predictability for employers and workers by tying the minimum wage to the rate of inflation. Minister of Municipal Affairs, (selected) • Work with cabinet colleagues to redouble our government’s efforts to streamline foreign credential assessments processed by various regulatory bodies and health-related colleges to make sure immigrants can more easily strengthen their language skills and access job opportunities in their field of training.

Minister of Transportation, (selected)

• Work with BC Transit to help families get around more affordably by making transit free for children up to and including age 12. Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, (selected) • Increase support for initiatives that are proven to prevent and reduce crime and increase the use of restorative justice programs. • With support from your cabinet colleagues, continue to work to implement the Calls for Justice of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Minister of Health, (selected) • Fight for a national pharmacare program while enhancing Fair Pharmacare by continually reviewing cost thresholds and drug eligibility with the goal of bringing the cost of prescription drugs down. Special Interest to Charitable Sector

Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development and Non-Profits, , supporting Social Development & Poverty Reduction Minister Simons

• Support charitable organizations and the non-profit sector by acting as the advocate and key point of contact within government. Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity, , supporting Finance Minister Robinson (selected)

• Ensure our government’s commitment to gender equality is reflected in our budgets, policies and programs. • Act as the government’s liaison with feminist and women’s organizations, and other organizations concerned with gender equality and the advancement of women. • With support from the Minister of Labour, lead work to close the gender pay gap by continuing to address systemic discrimination in the workplace and moving closer to equal pay for equal work through new pay transparency legislation. Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives, , supporting Social Development & Poverty Reduction Minister Simons

• Conduct a full review of anti-racism laws in other jurisdictions and launch a stakeholder consultation to inform the introduction of a new Anti-Racism Act that better serves everyone in B.C. • Work with B.C.’s new Human Rights Commissioner and other stakeholders to introduce legislation that will help reduce systemic discrimination and pave the way for race-based data collection essential to modernizing sectors like policing, health care and education.