BC Today – Daily Report November 15, 2019

Quotation of the day

“I thought I knew just about everything there was to know that was worthwhile knowing in the world and I found out I didn’t know shit — about people, about humanity, about the human condition."

In an interview with the North Shore News, Liberal MLA Ralph Sultan (West Vancouver—Capilano) ​ ​ ​ ​ reflects on his leap from the corporate world into public office. ​

Today in B.C.

On the schedule The house is adjourned until Monday, November 18.

Province plans to restrict vape flavours, sales and advertising in effort to reduce youth use

B.C. is moving to designate nicotine as a public health hazard under the province’s Public ​ Health Act, paving the way for a suite of of regulations aimed at making nicotine-laden vape ​ ​ ​ products less accessible and appealing to youth.

As he made the announcement yesterday, Health Minister cited a British Medical ​ ​ ​ Journal study that showed a “stunning” 74 per cent increase in youth vape use between 2017 ​ and 2018.

“This [designation] will allow us to bring in regulations to restrict the amount of nicotine in vapor pods and liquids to 20 milligrams per millilitre ... similar to what has been placed in the United Kingdom in the European Union,” he told reporters.

The concentration will make the nicotine content in vape products “similar to the content of a package of 20 cigarettes,” according to the health minister. Some vape products currently contain concentrations more than twice as high.

The changes will come into effect in April 2020.

Advertising of vape products will be restricted in public areas — including bus shelters and ​ ​ parks — and products will be limited to plain packaging that will have to include health warnings and nicotine levels.

The province is also taking aim at flavoured vape products that particularly appeal to young people, such as “candy and confectionery” flavour types.

Age-restricted vape stores will be allowed to sell “additional flavours,” according to the health minister, but convenience stores and gas stations will only be able to sell tobacco-flavoured products.

“This is a significant restriction in the market,” Dix said.

Currently, around 90,000 stores in B.C. sell vape products in a wide variety of flavours.

To ensure the new rules are respected, the province plans to beef up “the level of enforcement provided by the health authorities under the current Tobacco and Vapour Products Act” by 40 ​ ​ per cent. A “youth-led, anti-vaping social media campaign” will seek to “denormalize vaping” among young people, and the BC Lung Association will work with youth to further develop an anti-vaping toolkit that is already in use in some B.C. schools. ​

To help young people ditch the habit, the province’s quit-smoking resource, QuitNow, will be ​ updated to include new quit-vaping resources for youth.

Dix said he hopes Ottawa will follow B.C.’s lead and implement national standards, “especially on issues such as nicotine content, flavoring, and child access to nicotine.”

B.C.’s deputy health minister has already reached out to the federal government, Dix added.

B.C. to become first province to tax vaping products In a bid to further reduce their appeal, Finance Minister Carole James announced legislation to ​ ​ nearly triple the provincial sales tax (PST) on vape products that will be introduced next week.

The tax rate will jump from seven per cent to 20 per cent on January 1, 2020.

“Yes, it is a big tax jump, and one that really signifies the urgency of this problem. We all know that youth are particularly price sensitive, so when you make a product more expensive and harder to access, use will decline,” James told reporters Thursday.

The move would make B.C. the first province in Canada to specifically target vape products via tax; in its October budget, the government announced plans to develop a tax for vape products over the next year.

The PST increase will cover more than just nicotine vape devices and products. “E-hookahs” ​ ​ and “dry herb vaporizers” — usually associated with cannabis use — and all “cartridges, parts and accessories for these devices” will also be hit with the increased tax.

The legislation will also bump the tobacco tax rate up by two cents.

Stakeholder reaction Vancouver Coastal Health medical health officer Dr. Meena Dawar applauded the province’s ​ ​ crackdown, saying that — in addition to addictive nicotine — vape products contain “a cocktail of chemicals” whose health effects are unknown.

“While many of these chemicals may be approved for use in food products, they likely pose or they have a potential for harm if inhaled,” she told reporters. “In addition, several harmful chemicals have also been detected in vaping products.” These include heavy metals like lead, chromium and nickel.

Dr. Dawar cited data indicating that up to 20 per cent of youth in grades 7 through 12 use vaping products and that coveted flavours — “cotton candy, apple fritter, pink lemonade” — are traded between young users.

“Flavors that hook and entice you, they also mask the bitterness of nicotine,” she told reporters. “And you believe that because liquids taste and smell good, they must be safe, but vaping is harmful.”

The Vaping Trade Industry Association (VITA) expressed “concern” about the province’s plan.

“We strongly support measures that keep vaping products out of the hands of minors, but governments must equally ensure that effective products remain available for existing adult smokers,” VITA president and CEO David Daniel said in a statement. “The vaping industry’s ​ ​ voice needs to be heard on this important issue and we are urging the Government of to take a coordinated approach with Health Canada.”

He warned that a “patchwork” of provincial legislation “will only feed the black market and push adult vapers back to cigarettes.”

Juul, the company credited with revolutionizing the e-cigarette market, currently has three lobbyists registered in B.C.

Today’s events

November 15 at 7:15 a.m. — Victoria ​ ​ ​ ​ Finance Minister Carole James will be joined by Clara Morin Dal Col, president of Métis Nation ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ BC, and representatives of Métis communities in B.C. at a sunrise event to display the Métis flag in the Hall of Honour inside the Parliament Buildings.

November 15 at 10 a.m. — Clearwater ​ Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister will join District of Clearwater Mayor ​ ​ Merlin Blackwell and project partners to celebrate a new affordable housing project at 144 ​ Evergreen Place.

November 15 at 11:30 a.m. — Chilliwack ​ NDP MLA Bob D'Eith (Maple Ridge—Mission) will join Chilliwack Mayor Ken Popove and ​ ​ ​ ​ project partners for the opening of new supportive homes at 45890 Tretheway Avenue.

November 15 at 12:45 p.m. — Kamloops ​ ​ ​ ​ Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Selina Robinson will join Kamloops Mayor Ken ​ ​ ​ Christian and project partners to celebrate a new affordable housing project at 630 Victoria ​ Street.

November 15 at 2 p.m. — New Denver ​ ​ Children and Family Development Minister will announce a new child care ​ ​ project at Lucerne Elementary School.

November 15 at 4:30 p.m. — Salt Spring Island ​ ​ ​ ​ Transportation and Infrastructure Minister will attend a “relaxed pub night” ​ ​ fundraiser at the Harbour House Hotel.

November 15 at 7:30 p.m. — Vancouver ​ ​ ​ ​ The BC Young Liberals will host an “Opportunity Happy Hour” event at the Copper Chimney Restaurant.

Weekend events

November 16 at 2 p.m. — Vancouver ​ ​ ​ ​ BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson will be joined by special guests for an “Opportunity ​ ​ Summit” at the University of British Columbia’s Robson Square campus.

November 17 at 11:30 a.m. — Courtenay ​ NDP MLA Ronna-Rae Leonard will attend an Italian luncheon at the Courtenay Royal ​ ​ Canadian Legion Hall, hosted by the NDP’s Courtenay—Comox riding association.

Topics of conversation

● Bus drivers in Vancouver are set to begin refusing overtime today as their union escalates job action after talks with Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) broke down ​ on Thursday. “They are still rejecting any comparison with [the] Toronto transit system ​ when it comes to drivers’ wages, even though for CMBC executives and TransLink executives, they’re more than happy to look at the Toronto transit system for comparison,” Unifor western director Gavin McGarrigle said of the stalemate between ​ ​ the union and the employer. ○ CMBC president Michael McDaniel said the two sides have made “significant ​ ​ progress” in negotiations, but “wages are now the sticking point.”

● Indigenous leader and former B.C. cabinet minister Ed John — known for his advocacy ​ ​ for children and youth — is facing charges related to sexual assaults alleged to have ​ ​ occurred in 1974. The BC Prosecution Service announced yesterday that John has been ​ ​ charged with “four counts of having sexual intercourse with a female person without her consent.” Michael Klein has been appointed special prosecutor for the case. ​ ​ ○ John addressed the house last month on the day the NDP government’s UNDRIP bill was introduced.

● Liberal MLA Ralph Sultan (West Vancouver—Capilano) sat down for an in-depth ​ ​ interview with the North Shore News to reflect on his five terms as an MLA. Sultan ​ ​ ​ announced last month that he will not seek re-election.

News Briefs - Governmental

Ministry of Attorney General BC Liquor Stores are ditching plastic bags in favour of locally made paper ones. ​ ​

The province’s 197 government-owned stores will begin making the switch on November 25, with Vancouver Island locations taking the lead. Stores in Metro Vancouver are set to make the ​ transition on February 3, 2020, with the rest of the province converting by March 9, 2020.

The new paper bags, manufactured by Richmond’s Bulldog Bag Ltd., will be made from a minimum of 40 per cent post-consumer recycled content and be recyclable and compostable.

The bags will be able to hold a load of 7.5 kilograms — approximately equivalent to six bottles of wine or a six-pack of beer and two bottles of wine, according to the attorney general’s ministry.

There will be a charge per paper bag to encourage consumers to shop using their own reusable bags; stores will give away one free reusable bag per customer for a limited time.

"Too often, single-use plastics end up polluting our oceans, waterways, parks and forests,” Attorney General said of the switch. “At a minimum, the action taken today will mean ​ ​ that there will be 22 million fewer plastic bags in the landfill."

Funding announcements

● A $12.4-million investment through the Canada-BC Workforce Development ​ ​ ​ Agreement will help more than 2,000 British Columbians from under-represented ​ groups access pre-apprenticeship training, apprenticeship services and employment. The funding, administered by the Industry Training Authority (ITA), went to six service ​ ​ providers — five focused on supporting women in trades and one focused on equity seeking groups — through two-year contracts that began in September. ○ Another $1.37 million went to the ITA’s Youth Work in Trades programs at 51 ​ ​ school districts and several independent schools and will help 1,300 secondary students access trades training.

● The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture is investing $440,000 to support ​ ​ Indigenous Tourism BC in conducting labour market research to develop an ​ Indigenous tourism labour market strategy and address skills training for tourism operators and businesses in Indigenous communities. The organization will work with ​ ​ the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training through its Sector Labour ​ ​ ​ Market Partnership Program. ​ ○ The funding was announced in tandem with the signing of the Indigenous Tourism Accord, which commits the province and Indigenous Tourism BC to work together on initiatives aimed at revitalizing Indigenous cultures, protocols and languages; increasing collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous tourism operators; and improving cross-ministry co-operation. ○ The accord was signed at the International Indigenous Tourism Conference in Kelowna on November 14.

● Cannabis businesses in the Kootenays will soon be able to test tools and resources that would support licensing applications and help them “transition to the legal cannabis economy” with the Cannabis Business Transition Initiative. The initiative will be ​ ​ ​ ​ administered by Community Futures Central Kootenay with over $675,000 in ​ ​ provincial support.

● Harvest Project has launched the North Shore Rent Bank to provide “short-term, ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ no-interest loans to people at risk of eviction or disconnection of essential utilities” due to temporary financial difficulties. The organization — which has offered one-to-one ​ ​ coaching and counselling, monthly grocery support and clothing programs for 26 years — will also provide financial coaching to help loan recipients pay back their loan and plan for the future. ○ The North Shore Rent Bank is supported by a private donation and is the first of nine organizations to receive funding from the $10-million government grant to the Vancity Community Foundation’s Rent Bank program. The grant is part of ​ ​ ​ ​ the province’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. ​ ​

Lobbyist registrations If you are looking for further information on any lobbying registry, it is all public and easily searchable here. ​ ​

Consultants who registered as lobbyists from November 8, 2019 – November 14, 2019

● Nicole Johnson, Global Public Affairs ​ ​ ​ o Clients: Cineplex Entertainment Limited Partnership ​

● John Costello, N/A ​ ​ o Clients: CGL LP ​

Organizations that registered in-house lobbyists from November 8, 2019 – November 14, 2019

● STEMCELL Technologies Canada Inc. ● British Columbia Medical Association ● Honda Canada Inc. ● Merck Canada Inc. ● BC Construction Association ● BGIS Global Integrated Solutions Canada LP ● BGIS Workplace Solutions Inc. ● Hospital Employees' Union ● Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada