BC Today – Daily Report June 24, 2020

Quotation of the day

“This is a bureaucratic nightmare, in regards to paperwork, for stressed out small business owners who are on the brink of bankruptcy.”

Liberal Jobs critic Jas Johal calls the NDP government’s suggestion that business owners ​ ​ apply for extensions to the 16-week temporary layoff period “absurd.”

Today in B.C.

On the schedule The house will convene at 1:30 p.m. for question period. The government will hold its weekly cabinet meeting in the morning.

Tuesday’s debates and proceedings Government ministers introduced three new pieces of legislation yesterday.

Bill 17, Clean Energy Amendment Act, introduced by Energy Minister , would ​ ​ ​ allow BC Hydro to add new energy sources to its portfolio as it aims for the 100 per cent clean

energy standard set out in the CleanBC plan. It will also give BC Hydro the option to sell or lease the 180-acre Burrard Thermal generating station site, most of which is “either underutilized or vacant” since the station’s decommissioning.

Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Selina Robinson tabled Bill 14, Municipal Affairs and ​ ​ ​ ​ Housing Statutes Amendment Act (No. 2). Robinson called the bill a “first step” to addressing the cost of strata insurance premiums (more on this below).

Mental Health and Addictions Minister put forward Bill 22, Mental Health ​ ​ ​ ​ Amendment Act, which, if passed, would allow youth to be involuntarily admitted for up to a week of “stabilization care” immediately following an overdose.

(Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe released a statement saying the legislation will do little to address ​ ​ ​ ​ the shortage of treatment and support options for people who use drugs.)

Two bills received second reading and were referred to committee:

● Bill 4, Budget Measures Implementation Act; and ​ ● Bill 6, Mines Amendment Act. ​

‘No quick fix’ for strata insurance quagmire, says finance minister The NDP government is taking its “first steps” to address B.C.’s “unhealthy” strata insurance market that saw premiums increase by an average of 40 per cent last year.

“The current situation is unacceptable and there is no quick fix to this problem,” said Finance Minister following the bill’s introduction yesterday. “It is going to take some time.” ​ ​

Once enacted, the bill will ban referral fees paid by insurers, which run as high as 20 per cent, to brokers and property managers for getting stratas to buy their insurance.

The finance minister suggested that insurance brokers who have been receiving referral fees should pass those savings along to their clients.

The legislation will also clarify guidelines on what strata corporations are required to insure and what information — such as insurance coverage, notice of policy and deductible changes — they must provide to owners.

Regulations to come A slew of stakeholders were consulted on the bill, per the government, but the details will be hashed out through regulation after further consultation.

Regulatory changes could outline exceptions to full insurance coverage requirements, alter the

minimum contributions that owners and developers are required to pay into strata contingency funds, and require brokers to disclose the commissions they earn on insurance sales.

They could also close what Housing Minister Selina Robinson described as a “loophole” in the ​ ​ Strata Property Act, which allows stratas to avoid completing building depreciation reports if ​ three-quarters of owners vote to do so.

“This created risk for owners and increased the risk of claims from unaddressed repair needs, which drives up the cost of insurance,” Robinson said. “Unfortunately, many strata owners today are paying the price for this mistake.”

Liberal Municipal Affairs critic — who put forward a private member’s bill aimed at ​ ​ tackling strata insurance premiums in February — said the government’s legislation will provide “zero financial relief to condo and townhome owners who desperately need it.”

Stone said he has heard “horror stories” from owners anxious about “huge increases” in strata fees and special levies introduced to cover premium increases. “The government's bill does nothing to keep money in their pockets.”

Today’s events

June 24 at 12:45 p.m. – Victoria ​ Premier will speak to the media following the weekly cabinet meeting. ​ ​

June 24 at 6 p.m. – Online ​ The BC Liberal Party will introduce its Oak Bay—Gordon Head candidate for the 2021 election. ​ ​

Topics of conversation

● B.C. confirmed 13 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday, bringing the province’s total to 2,835. One additional death was reported, pushing the death toll to 170. There were 16 people hospitalized with COVID-19, seven of them critical, and with 2,491 people recovered from the disease, there were 174 active cases in the province. ○ British Columbians’ social interactions are back to about 65 per cent of normal, according to updated modelling data released yesterday, and the province has seen a modest increase in COVID-19 cases as a result. “This is my nervous level — we want to stay right about where we are,” Dr. Bonnie Henry told reporters. ​ ​ So far, the province has managed to stay on top of new cases via robust contact tracing. ○ The number of new cases generated by each confirmed case is around “the threshold for rebound in new cases.”

○ The provincial health officer said she thinks B.C. will be able to move to Phase 3 and open up more travel within the province in the near future. ○ The B.C. Centre for Disease Control has been working on developing a way to test wastewater for coronavirus RNA. Tests have been conducted over the past five weeks in Vancouver and Surrey with the hope that the test will be able to indicate the prevalence of COVID-19 in specific communities.

● BC’s Consumer Protection Authority has received more than 2,000 complaints about price gouging during the pandemic, but not a single fine has been issued, CTV News and The Breaker report. Only 357 of the 2,065 reports have been investigated, and the ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ majority of those were dismissed as unfounded. Twenty-five were resolved after businesses voluntarily recalibrated their prices, and 45 were referred to the government for possible enforcement (the CPA does not have the authority to levy fines). ○ Public Safety Minister told reporters the government’s focus has ​ ​ been on educating businesses rather than punishing price gougers.

● Dozens of people marched through Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside yesterday, calling for “real safe supply” to curb B.C.’s deadly overdose epidemic. The Drug User Liberation ​ ​ Front is calling on the federal and provincial governments to decriminalize the possession of drugs, as well as defund the Vancouver Police Department and use its budget to fund “community-led overdose response initiatives.”

● Former B.C. MP Jay Hill has been named leader of Wexit Canada, a new federal ​ ​ separatist party, the Western Standard reports. ​ ​ ​ ​ ○ The new federal party will not be affiliated with provincial Wexit parties or other independence parties. ○ Hill — who was elected in Prince George—Peace River in 1993 — served as government house leader and whip under former prime minister Stephen ​ Harper. ​

● The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner has ordered a review of the Abbotsford Police Department’s recommendation that one of its officers — who was criminally convicted of assaulting their estranged spouse — receive a 16-day suspension without pay for their actions. The commissioner says the minor penalty does not reflect the seriousness of the officer’s actions, which included “assault, installation of GPS tracking devices, harassing behaviours and inappropriate use of police databases.” ○ The NDP has pledged a review of the province’s Police Act amid Black Lives ​ ​ Matter protests.

● The Williams Lake First Nation has broken ground on what it says will be the first ​ seed-to-sale cannabis operation owned by a First Nation. ​

News briefs

Solicitor general exceeded authority on two orders, ombudsperson says ● Two ministerial orders issued by Solicitor General Mike Farnworth “were not authorized ​ ​ by the Emergency Program Act,” according to Ombudsperson Jay Chalke. The orders ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ — one allowing courts and tribunals to alter their mandatory time frames during the ​ ​ pandemic; the other exempting local governments from normal requirements related to ​ ​ public hearings and bylaw passage — are not consistent with how the government should use its emergency powers, Chalke said. ○ The first of the two orders has already been repealed and replaced, but Chalke recommended that any orders suspending or amending statutes should expire after a set number of legislative sitting days. ○ Chalke made four further recommendations for the government to avoid future overreach: namely, making sure orders are “not too broad and do not go further than necessary.” ○ Bill 19, COVID-19 Related Measures Act, should address some of the issues ​ identified in the ombudsperson’s report, Chalke said.

Funding announcements

● The Cowichan Valley Co-Operative Marketplace will use nearly $100,000 in funding ​ ​ from the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction to develop a ​ ​ contactless home delivery system to support local farmers and food processors in the region.

Question period On Tuesday, the Liberals continued to focus on B.C.’s temporary layoff period limits.

Extending the temporary layoff period ● Liberal MLA called on Premier John Horgan to apologize to B.C. ​ ​ ​ ​ business owners after “impugn[ing] their motives” in calling for an extension to the province’s 16-week temporary layoff period. ○ During Monday’s question period, Horgan said that if those calling for an extension are actually angling for an out from their severance obligations to their employees, they would be disappointed.

● “I don't know what more ... you want me to do, other than to agree that more discussion is required,” Horgan said, accusing the official Opposition of reading “salacious” excerpts from the letter signed by several business organizations. ○ The premier said he plans to discuss the issue during a conference call with business leaders set for Thursday.

● Liberal Jobs critic Jas Johal provoked an answer from Labour Minister Harry ​ ​ ​ Bains — who sat out Monday’s question period as the premier answered all ​ questions directed at Bains — after he called the government’s suggestion that business owners apply for an extension to the temporary layoff period “absurd.” ○ Johal said the employment standards office is already dealing with a backlog of more than 3,000 applications. “The current situation creates the potential for up to 30,000 businesses filing at once in early July,” he said. “This is a bureaucratic nightmare.”

● Bains blamed the backlog on the previous Liberal government.

Interim Green Party Leader asked about oversight and accountability of for-profit ​ ​ long-term care providers in the province. Health Minister treated Olsen to a litany of ​ ​ the government’s efforts to implement changes in the sector, as recommended by the B.C. seniors advocate.