B.C. Today – Daily Report January 7, 2019

Quotation of the day

“We need to win to continue the government. It’s that simple.”

Premier nods to the significance of the upcoming by-election during NDP ​ ​ ​ ​ candidate ’s campaign launch in Nanaimo Saturday. ​ ​

Today in B.C.

On the schedule The House is adjourned for the winter break. MLAs are scheduled to return to the House on February 12 for the delivery of the government’s throne speech.

Parties kick off Nanaimo by-election campaigns

Former NDP MLA Leonard Krog, now mayor of Nanaimo, joined Premier John Horgan to ​ ​ ​ ​ launch former NDP MP Sheila Malcolmson’s bid for his former seat on Saturday. ​ ​

“This NDP government has done all the positive things the B.C. Liberals could have done if they wanted to,” Krog said at the event, professing confidence that his former party will retain the ​ ​ seat.

“Nanaimo, apparently, it is the safest seat in the universe, but no seats are safe unless you work hard,” the premier said, acknowledging the significance of the upcoming campaign.

The B.C. Liberals also launched candidate Tony Harris’ campaign on Saturday. Harris, a ​ ​ well-known local businessman, contends the riding has been considered a safe NDP seat for so long that the party has taken it for granted.

“I’m confident that Hub City voters are ready for a new voice in Victoria — a local, homegrown voice that’s focused on big, bold ideas,” Harris said in a post on his campaign page, in which he ​ ​ also accused Malcolmson’s campaign of lacking “a single mention of any new ideas about how to make our city better.”

On Sunday, the B.C. Green Party held a launch event for its candidate, Michele Ney. Ney is the ​ ​ daughter of former Nanaimo mayor Frank Ney, who also served as a one-term MLA for the ​ ​ now-defunct Social Credit Party.

The Island Party, which fielded four candidates in the 2017 provincial election, has ​ ​ also registered a candidate: party leader , an economist who has worked for ​ ​ the Fraser Institute and represented a Toronto riding as a Progressive Conservative Party of MP from 1979-80.

The B.C. Conservative Party and the B.C. Libertarian Party have both declared their intent to run candidates in the by-election but neither has registered one with Elections B.C. yet. Candidate nominations for the by-election close on Wednesday.

Nanaimo voters head to the polls on January 30.

Topics of conversation

● B.C.’s Civil Forfeiture Office has launched a $4.5 million claim against a B.C. couple ​ ​ named in the recently stayed money-laundering case against Richmond-based Silver International. The Civil Forfeiture Office alleges Caixuan Qin and Jian Ju Zhu ​ ​ ​ laundered as much as $220 million per year, according to court documents. The claim includes a Vancouver home valued at $2.5 million as well as $2 million in cash seized at Silver International’s offices. ○ None of the allegations have been proven in court.

● Former B.C. Liberal leader Gordon Wilson’s defamation suit against Premier John ​ ​ ​ Horgan and Jobs, Trade and Technology Minister Bruce Ralston will be heard in B.C. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Supreme Court in April 2020. Wilson is seeking $5 million in damages after Horgan and Ralston publicly disparaged his work for the former Liberal government. ○ Wilson’s suit also names NDP MP Rachel Blaney in relation to a post on her ​ ​ Facebook page and seeks to have “defamatory expression and injurious falsehoods” removed from the filings and social media pages of CBC, CKNW, , Vancouver Sun, Times Colonist and RED FM, all of which ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ reported on Horgan and Ralston’s remarks.

● The B.C. RCMP is planning to enforce an injunction against the Unist’ot’en protest camp ​ ​ near Smithers. The camp is located on Wet'suwet'en Territory and in the path of the Coastal GasLink pipeline. Last month, the B.C. Supreme Court issued an injunction against the camp, requiring residents to stop blocking access to a bridge and forest service road needed to access areas relevant to the project. ○ “We would like to emphasize that the RCMP respects the Wet'suwet'en culture, the connection to the land and traditions being taught and passed on at the camp, and the importance of the camp to healing,” the RCMP’s “E” Division said in a statement issued Sunday. “We also recognize the importance of open and direct dialogue between all parties involved in this dispute.” ● In a Saturday Facebook post, the local Gidimt’en clan said RCMP interference with the camp would amount to “an act of war.” ​ ​ ● Members of the clan say they met with RCMP liaison officers on Friday but were given few details about the situation. “By rejecting the requests for information… the RCMP indicated that they intend to surprise and overwhelm the Wet’suwet’en people who are protecting their territories on the ground,” the clan posted on its Facebook page.

● Nearly three months after cannabis became legal in Canada, Vancouver’s first two private legal cannabis stores opened this weekend. B.C. has issued just six licences to ​ ​ private cannabis retailers, and only a single government store is currently operating in Kamloops.

● The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is planning to study the feasibility of ​ ​ returning the E&N rail line on to service. Ministry representatives met with the Island Corridor Foundation (ICF) and local First Nations early in December to discuss the project. Few details are available, but one ICF representative told the Alberni ​ Valley News that repairing the rail line, which ceased operating in 2011, will likely cost ​ the province “hundreds of millions.”

● Washington State’s Department of Ecology has approved Canada’s amended spill ​ ​ response plan for the Trans Mountain pipeline spur that runs through the state. ○ As the new owners of the pipeline, state law requires the Canadian government to have a spill plan approved by its Department of Ecology. In September, the state government deemed Canada’s response plan to be inadequate. ○ The pipeline spur serves four refineries in two Washington counties.

News briefs - Governmental

Ministry of Health B.C.’s lowest-income families are now exempt from prescription drug deductibles under the province’s Fair Pharmacare program while those earning less than $45,000 per year will see ​ ​ their deductibles and copayments reduced.

In February 2018, Health Minister Adrian Dix announced a three-year, $105-million investment ​ ​ ​ ​ to eliminate or reduce the cost of prescription drugs for low-income British Columbians. The changes went into effect on January 1, 2019 and are expected to benefit 240,000 households.

"No one should have to make the difficult decision between their family's health and putting food on the table,” Dix said in a statement issued Friday. “We know that for many working households, needed prescriptions were going unfilled too often because Fair PharmaCare deductibles were too high.”

This is the first change made to the Fair Pharmacare program since it was introduced 15 years ago. Previously, households earning less than $30,000 per year paid up to $600 in deductibles before receiving prescription coverage.

Deductibles for households earning up to $13,750 annually as well as those for seniors born before 1940 and earning up to $14,000 per year have also been eliminated.

Appointments and employments

Ministry of Finance ● Susan Gee was appointed communications director of Government Communications ​ and Public Engagement, effective December 19, 2018. ○ Gee previously served as director of communications and development for the Victoria Hospitals Foundation.

Ministry of Health More than two dozen board members have been appointed and re-appointed to B.C.’s five ​ ​ health authorities and the Provincial Health Services Authority, effective December 31, 2018.

Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) ● Dr. Kerry Jang, Sandra Harris and Donisa Bernardo were appointed to two-year ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ terms as directors of the board of the Provincial Health Services Authority. ○ Dr. Jang is a psychiatry professor at the University of ; ○ Harris is a program developer and advisor for social development at the Gitksan Government Commission; and ○ Bernardo has 20 years of experience as a member of the Hospital Employees’ Union’s executive, where she most recently served as financial secretary. ● Tim Manning was re-appointed as board chair for a two-year term. ​ ● Robert Kiesman, Chief Clarence Louie and Sharon Stromdahl were re-appointed as ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ board members for terms of two years.

Fraser Health ● Joanne Mills and Manpreet Grewal were appointed to two-year terms as directors of ​ ​ ​ the board of Fraser Health. ○ Mills is the executive director of the Fraser Region Aboriginal Friendship Centre and vice-president of the B.C. Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres. She is also a sitting member of the Metro Vancouver Homelessness Partnering Strategy Community Advisory Board and led the development of the PHSA’s Indigenous cultural competency training program. ○ Grewal is the vice-president of the Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of B.C., director for the Social Planning and Research Council of B.C., a trustee for the Fraser Valley Health Care Foundation and board director for Prospera Credit Union.

Interior Health ● Allan Louis and Karen Hamling were appointed to the board of directors of Interior ​ Health for two-year terms.

○ Louis is a councillor of the Okanagan Indian Band and co-chair of School District 22’s Aboriginal Education Committee. He is also a member of the First Nations Health Council. ○ Hameling, a former health records manager at Arrow Lakes Hospital, is vice-chair of the Columbia River Treaty Local Governments’ Committee. She served four terms as mayor of Nakusp. ● Tammy Tugnum, Dennis Rounsville and Diane Jules were re-appointed as board ​ ​ ​ members for two-year terms.

Island Health ● Alana Nast and Fred Pattje were appointed to two-year terms as directors of the board ​ ​ ​ of Island Health. ○ Nast is a chartered professional accountant and a principal with the accounting firm Green Horwood & Co LLP. ○ Pattje is a former councillor of the City of Nanaimo. ● Robina Thomas was re-appointed as a member of the board for one-year term. ​

Northern Health ● Wilfred Adam, John Kurjata and Patricia Sterritt were appointed to two-year terms as ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ directors of the board of Northern Health. ○ Adam, a six-term commissioner of the B.C. Treaty Commission, is a former chief of the Lake Babine First Nation. ○ Kurjata has served as a director of the Lake View Credit Union since 2015 and became chair in April 2018. He is a former board member of Community Futures Peace Liard and currently serves as chair for Northern Lights College’s board of directors. ○ Sterritt, a member of the Gitga'at Tribe of Hartley Bay, is a former director of social services for the North Coast Tribal Council. ● Stephanie Killam was re-appointed as a member of the board for a two-year term. ​

Vancouver Coastal Health ● Dr. Penny Ballem was re-appointed chair of the board of directors of Vancouver Coastal ​ Health for a three-year term. ○ Dr. Ballem is a former deputy health minister and served as the City of Vancouver’s city manager from 2002 until 2015. She replaces outgoing board chair Kip Woodward. ​ ​ ● Marilyn Slett was appointed to the board of directors of Vancouver Coastal Health for a ​ two-year term. ○ Slett is currently serving her third consecutive term as elected chief councillor of the Heiltsuk Nation’s tribal council. ● Howard Harowitz, Allan Baydala and Clifford Fregin were re-appointed as board ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ members for two-year terms.

Can’t get enough of B.C. politics? Listen to this week’s episode of PolitiCoast to hear ​ ​ Too Close To Call’s Bryan Breguet weigh in on polling and the PR referendum.