BC Today – Daily Report February 25, 2020 Quotation of the day “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.” Attorney General David Eby urges the Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in B.C. to ​ ​ be “fearless” as it probes the province’s dirty money problem. Today in B.C. On the schedule The house will convene at 10 a.m. for question period. Monday’s debates and proceedings Two government bills were introduced Monday; both were announced weeks before hitting the ​ order paper. Attorney General David Eby introduced Bill 9, Evidence Amendment Act, which, if passed, will ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ limit the number of experts and expert witness reports that can be used in automobile injury claims cases while giving judges the option to allow more. The legislation will also limit the costs lawyers can pass on to their clients. Municipal Affairs Minister Selina Robinson introduced Bill 10, Municipal Affairs and Housing ​ ​ ​ ​ Statutes Amendment Act, which, if passed, will give municipalities the option to pass bylaws to provide property tax exemptions for small businesses, arts and culture organizations, and non-profits in time for the 2020 tax year (more on this below). The bill also makes changes to the Assessment Act, the Local Government Act, the Community ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Charter and the Vancouver Charter. ​ ​ ​ Eby also tabled the Judicial Compensation Commission’s final report. ​ ​ MLAs spent the afternoon debating the budget bill. At the legislature Monday was Mining Day in B.C. Multiple MLAs welcomed representatives from a variety of mining organizations to the house. Attorney general calls on Liberals to hand cabinet documents over to money laundering commission Attorney General David Eby hailed the start of the Commission of Inquiry into Money ​ ​ Laundering in B.C. as the beginning of a process that will answer British Columbians’ questions ​ about the proliferation of money laundering in the province. “British Columbians deserve to know three simple things,” Eby said of the dirty money scandal. “First, how was this problem allowed to grow? … Second, who is doing this? … Finally, how big is this issue? How exactly are money launderers working in our economy and how can we best stop them?” He called on the commission — dubbed the Cullen commission after B.C. Supreme Court ​ Justice Austin Cullen — to be “fearless” as it probes the issue. ​ ​ “The public and the government need this commission to identify the weeds that are choking beneficial activities in our economy and wreaking havoc in our communities so that they may be routed out,” he said, pointing out that money laundering operations have been linked to the Lower Mainland’s runaway real estate market as well as the overdose crisis. The attorney general also took the time to castigate members of the previous Liberal government for their “simple and inexplicable failure ... to commit fully and in an unqualified way to the disclosure of all relevant cabinet documents concerning money laundering to the commission.” Former finance minister has cabinet documents ‘in a binder’ Eby first asked the Liberals to waive cabinet privilege on the documents in the summer of 2018. His request was initially rebuffed, but in January, Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson agreed to ​ ​ release the documents following a review of some kind. ​ Liberal MLA and former finance minister Mike de Jong has been delegated the Liberals’ ​ ​ pointman, according to Eby, tasked with dealing with cabinet documents from the former government that might be relevant to the commission. “My expectation ... would be that the B.C. Liberals would instruct the public service to disclose — without qualification, without censorship — the entire package of relevant cabinet records,” Eby told reporters. “MLA de Jong is likely to be a significant witness in this proceeding with great personal interest in the outcome — he is in a profound conflict of interest.” “Why would the public have any confidence that he would release to a public inquiry cabinet documents that could be profoundly damaging to his professional reputation should such documents exist?” the attorney general asked. De Jong told reporters he has been contacted by the commission and won’t be vetting the documents in any way. “I expect they would want it all and that's what's going to happen,” he told reporters. “I want them to have the material that they believe is relevant to the work they're doing.” The commission’s request goes back farther than the previous Liberal administration, according to de Jong, and includes documents related “to the Nanaimo Commonwealth Gaming inquiry … ​ ​ [and the] laundering of gaming proceeds by the NDP.” “I am mystified as to why the attorney general — having been part of the government that established an independent public inquiry — thinks it's his role to decide what's relevant, thinks it's his role to decide who should be testifying,” de Jong said of Eby’s comments. “I actually have confidence in the commission and am happy to see them do their work.” While Eby will not direct the commission’s list of witnesses, he told reporters he hopes De Jong, ex-premier Christy Clark and former cabinet minister Rich Coleman are interviewed. ​ ​ ​ ​ “They should be glad I'm not the commissioner,” he said. Property tax exemption bill would provide maximum flexibility and immediate relief: housing minister The NDP government’s legislation to provide relief for small businesses squeezed by sky-rocketing commercial property taxes was designed to provide municipalities with as much flexibility as possible while providing for a quick rollout, according to Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Selina Robinson. ​ ​ “Local governments, they know their communities best,” she told reporters following the bill’s introduction. “They're in the best position to know what this problem looks like in their community, whether it affects a narrow group of buildings, or an entire neighbourhood, or properties of a particular type across their whole community.” Bill 10 is enabling legislation, according to Robinson, giving local governments the option of ​ ​ ​ creating an interim business property tax relief program in time for the 2020 tax year and lasting for a maximum of five years. Commercial Class 5 (Light Industry) and Class 6 (Business and Other) properties will be eligible, provided they have at least one tenant paying at least a portion of the property’s taxes. The bill does specify several several parameters — mostly focused on ensuring that only ​ ​ properties that have seen a significant spike in land value are covered by the program — that ​ local governments must include in their bylaws, which must be passed by April 22 in order to affect the 2020 tax year. The NDP government is still working with the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM), local governments and business stakeholders to develop a more permanent solution, Robinson told reporters, although she could not specify when that long-term fix might be released or what options are being discussed. Robinson was joined by Brian McBay, chair of the City of Vancouver’s Arts and Culture ​ ​ Advisory Committee, who said the city estimates more than 20 cultural spaces and 400 artist spaces in the city were shuttered over the past year. "Vancouver is being emptied out of music and performing art venues, art galleries and artist studios,” he said. “The cultural sector is in a crisis, and the province's tax measures are the right step toward halting the closure of art spaces that bring joy and humanity to our democracy." Liberal Municipal Affairs and Housing critic Todd Stone was less impressed by the NDP ​ ​ government’s approach. “Split assessment was what local governments, businesses, and organizations wanted,” he said, suggesting the bill should have taken action to address skyrocketing property taxes on unused airspace over the heads of small businesses. Stone maintains his private member’s bill M201, Assessment (Split Assessment Classification) ​ ​ ​ Amendment Act, would do a better job of addressing the commercial property tax issue. ​ ​ According to the housing ministry, Stone’s bill could not be feasibly implemented in time for the ​ 2020 tax year and would have “wide ranging and unknown tax consequences spanning multiple ​ property classes.” Today’s events February 25 at 6 p.m. — Kamloops ​ ​ The BC Green Party’s Kamloops riding association will hold its annual general meeting at the Mount Paul Food Centre. February 25 at 2:30 p.m. — New Westminster ​ ​ The BC Green Party’s New Westminster riding association will hold its annual general meeting at The Carpentry Shop. Topics of conversation ● Demonstrations in support of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs who oppose the Coastal GasLink pipeline popped up around B.C. again yesterday after the Ontario Provincial Police arrested members of the Mohawks of the Tyendinaga at a rail blockade in eastern Ontario. ○ Gitxsan Nation members and supporters began blocking CN Rail tracks near ​ ​ New Hazelton again yesterday, less than a week after dismantling their previous blockade. The West Coast Express in the Lower Mainland was forced to cancel ​ service last night due to demonstrators blocking the tracks in Maple Ridge, and ​ Indigenous youth and their supporters took to the legislature steps again ​ ​ yesterday afternoon. ○ Former B.C. Liberal premier Christy Clark weighed in on the resurgence of ​ ​ ​ ​ demonstrations on Global News’ Linda Steele Show. “I think it’s got to stop,” she ​ ​ said of the disruptions. ● Yesterday, Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry ​ ​ ​ confirmed B.C.’s seventh case of COVID-19 — a man in his 40s who was in close ​ contact with the woman who was diagnosed with the virus after returning from Iran last week. Both individuals remain in isolation at home. Meanwhile, the first individual diagnosed with COVID-19 has fully recovered and the other earlier cases remain in their homes and are expected to undergo testing to confirm their recovery soon.