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Daily Report June 2, 2020 Today in BC

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Daily Report June 2, 2020 Today in BC BC Today – Daily Report June 2, 2020 Quotation of the day “I cannot control people's activities — what I can do is provide you with the necessary advice and tools that you need to have a peaceful demonstration in a way that is not going to imperil your family, your loved ones, your community during this time and this pandemic.” Dr. Bonnie Henry cautions that public demonstrations — like the anti-racism demonstration that ​ ​ ​ took place at the Vancouver Art Gallery yesterday — may be risky for community health. ​ ​ ​ Today in B.C. On the schedule The house will reconvene for a summer session on June 22. Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix will provide an update on COVID-19 in B.C. ​ ​ ​ at 3 p.m. Landlords who don't apply for aid can't evict businesses A new order under B.C.’s Emergency Program Act will protect eligible businesses from eviction ​ ​ ​ if their landlords do not apply for the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) program. The federal program officially opened last week and uptake hasn’t met expectations, according to Finance Minister Carole James. ​ ​ “We’ve heard from small businesses and MLAs around the province that there are certainly some tenants [whose] landlords have been very clear that they don't want to bother, they don't want to take the time to apply for the federal program,” James told reporters. James hopes the order — which restricts commercial landlords from evicting tenants due to non-payment of rent, repayment lawsuits and repossession of property and goods — will encourage commercial landlords to apply to the federal aid program. CECRA provides eligible commercial landlords — those whose tenants have seen a 70 per cent reduction in revenue, have rent under $50,000 a month and generate no more than $20 million in gross annual revenue — with forgivable loans to offset reduced rent for impacted small business tenants. Recipients must provide tenants a rent reduction of at least 75 per cent from April through June. James said if CECRA is extended beyond June, the provincial order will be as well. Consultations begin on ‘recovery budget’ for 2021 B.C.’s 2021 budget consultation process began in earnest yesterday with the release of a new consultation paper. ​ Perhaps unsurprisingly, the finance committee’s public hearings will be held virtually this year. The first quarterly report on the province’s 2020 financials is due out in September and will include a full fiscal update, according to Finance Minister Carole James. ​ ​ “I know it feels like forever to everybody out there, but we in fact are only two months into the fiscal year … so there's still a lot of data that has to be collected,” she said, adding that the information will inform how the province approaches any changes to its emergency pandemic support initiatives. “We need to see how the restart program is going and how people are opening up and whether they're rehiring before we look at additional program supports that may be needed,” she said. In March, James admitted that the pandemic is likely to push the government’s budget — which contained a $203-million surplus in February — into the red. When it comes to 2021, James said to expect a “recovery budget.” To date, more than half a million people have applied for the province’s one-time, $1,000 emergency benefit for workers, according to James. ​ B.C. businesses have been offered a fleet of tax deferrals amid the pandemic. Asked about anxieties from business owners about those deferred tax bills coming due, James said the province is considering “a number of options,” including payment plans, to ensure businesses who have deferred tax payments are not overwhelmed by repayment requirements. Today’s events June 2 at 10 a.m. – Victoria ​ ​ Acting auditor general Russ Jones will release his office’s latest report, Skills Immigration ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Stream of the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program. ​ June 2 at 12:30 p.m. – Victoria ​ ​ Education Minister Rob Fleming will provide an update on the part-time return to in-class ​ ​ learning for B.C. students from kindergarten to Grade 12. The minister will also tour Monterey Middle School “to see the health and safety guidelines that are in place.” Topics of conversation ● Dr. Bonnie Henry confirmed 15 new cases of COVID-19 in B.C. yesterday, bringing the ​ province’s total caseload to 2,597. One new death was reported, pushing the provincial death toll to 165. With 32 people in hospital — five of them critical — and 2,207 people recovered from the disease, there were 224 active COVID-19 cases in the province. ○ B.C. has seen “a significant increase” in the use of certain personal protective equipment (PPE), Health Minister Adrian Dix said, adding that the province ​ ​ plans to continue its efforts to acquire more PPE as well as develop domestic supplies in preparation for “the possibility of future surges of COVID-19.” ● Municipalities across the country will receive this year’s federal gas-tax funding in one lump-sum payment later this month, instead of the second payment being held until later in the year. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the accelerated delivery of $2.2 billion ​ ​ will help communities “quickly move forward with infrastructure projects” as a way to restart their local economies. ○ Eligible projects include infrastructure to deliver high-speed broadband, water and road system improvements, and building cycling and walking paths. ○ The Federation of Canadian Municipalities called the announcement a “modest, ​ ​ preliminary measure” that will help local governments address “immediate liquidity issues” but noted that Ottawa is not providing any new funding. ○ “It has already been accounted for in municipal budgets & does not address our crisis of non-recoverable losses—or the stark choices we now face,” the federation tweeted. ​ ​ ● In addition to the general minimum wage increase that went into effect yesterday, the hourly minimum wages for liquor servers increased by $1.25 per hour to $13.95 — still ​ ​ 65 cents an hour below the general minimum wage — while live-in camp leaders will now make a daily wage of at least $116.86, a 5.4 per cent increase. ○ Resident caretakers also got a raise. Those managing nine to 60 units now make $876.35 per month, while those managing more than 60 units make $2,985.04. ○ Wages for workers in all three categories will go up again in a year’s time. ● The Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) is taking its annual conference virtual this year. ​ ​ ○ The well-attended annual event is popular with politicos — expect to see them on the livestream from September 22 to 24. ● Construction on a seven-kilometre section of the Trans Mountain pipeline began ​ ​ yesterday in Kamloops. ● After Canada Day, people travelling from B.C. to Yukon will no longer have to self-isolate for 14 days as the territory enters the second phase of its pandemic restart plan. “British Columbia has shown great success in managing COVID-19 within the province and based on their epidemiology, and ours, I am confident that this is a safe way for us to progress as we transition out of our cocoon,” said Yukon Premier Sandy Silver. ​ ​ ​ ​ ○ There have been no new cases in the territory since April 20 and only 11 cases confirmed in total. ● More than 900 square kilometres of critical caribou habitat has been logged in B.C. over the last five years, according to a report published in Conservation Science and Practice. ​ ​ ​ ​ “(The land) might be protected, but the devil's in the details in terms of what exactly the (logging) licences do or don't allow for,” Shaun Fluker, a law professor with the ​ ​ University of Calgary and co-author of the paper, told the Canadian Press. ​ ​ ○ In February, B.C., the federal government and two First Nations signed an ​ agreement aimed at preserving the province’s remaining caribou herds. ​ ● One of B.C.’s newest co-ops — the BC Craft Farmers Co-op — is hoping to make craft cannabis part of the province’s pandemic recovery efforts. Incorporated in April, the co-op is in the process of putting together an economic development proposal outlining how the sector can aid COVID-19 recovery efforts in B.C. and across the country by “creating thousands of jobs and diverting profits from the illicit market.” ○ “At the moment the regulatory landscape is extremely prohibitive [for craft producers],” Joel Podersky, an interim member of the coop’s board, told the ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Coast Reporter. “It encourages predatory business practices, it favours large ​ corporations intentionally.” ○ Podersky cited the province’s support for the Cannabis Business Transition Initiative, launched last year by Community Futures Central Kootenay with ​ ​ $675,000 in provincial support, as “an easy template” to support craft cannabis producers that could be scaled up across the province. ● Dermod Travis, executive director of the watchdog group IntegrityBC, died yesterday. In ​ ​ ​ March, Travis announced he was experiencing liver failure. He was known for his fearless critiques of politics at both the local and provincial levels, including long-standing criticism of B.C.’s lax political contribution laws. Funding announcements ● The Indigenous Tourism Association of BC is receiving $500,000 from Western ​ ​ ​ Economic Diversification Canada to “support the resiliency” of Indigenous tourism in ​ the province. ○ The funds are part of a $3.5-million “save the summer” announcement from federal Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly. ​ ​ ● The first year of the Bear Pass automated avalanche detection system pilot is now complete. The three-year pilot program on Highway 37A — supported by an $1.8-million investment through the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure's Intelligent ​ ​ ​ Transportation Systems program — gathers data about moving snow and ice masses ​ and sends real-time notifications to avalanche professionals, helping them monitor avalanche activity and manage risks to drivers.
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