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Daily Report November 21, 2019 Today in BC

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Daily Report November 21, 2019 Today in BC BC Today – Daily Report November 21, 2019 Quotation of the day “I’m so glad that the minister is now in British Columbia where we can come and show him every day the community he represents and the people in this city and across the province are opposed to his pipeline.” Protestors including Peter McCartney, a climate campaigner with the Wilderness Committee, gave ​ ​ Vancouver Liberal MP Jonathan Wilkinson a taste of his new job as federal environment minister, ​ ​ showing up outside his constituency office while he was being sworn in Wednesday in Ottawa. ​ ​ Today in B.C. On the schedule The house will convene at 10 a.m. for question period. Wednesday’s debates and proceedings No new legislation was introduced on Wednesday. Attorney General David Eby tabled the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch’s annual report ​ ​ for 2018-19. The house completed committee stage on Bill 37, Financial Institutions Amendment Act, which, ​ ​ modernizes the regulatory framework for financial institutions operating in the province. The bill was immediately granted third reading. MLAs also completed committee stage on Bill 39, Miscellaneous Statutes (Minor Corrections) ​ ​ and Statute Revision Amendment Act. ​ Bill 45, Taxation Standards Amendment Act, passed second reading unanimously. The bill ​ adds a sin tax to vaping products and ups taxes on tobacco. ​ MLAs in the chamber spent the rest of the afternoon at committee stage on Bill 40, ​ ​ Interpretation Amendment Act — the daylight savings time bill. Committee A continued committee stage on Bill 41, the UNDRIP legislation. ​ ​ ​ At the legislature Attorney General David Eby introduced members of the ADR Institute of Canada to the house. ​ ​ The institute’s 45th annual general meeting and national conference is taking place in Victoria this week. Representatives from Community Futures BC and members of the Minister's Advisory Council on Indigenous Women were in the chamber for question period. Liberal Mental Health and Addictions critic Jane Thornthwaite welcomed re-elected Liberal MP ​ ​ Terry Beech (Burnaby North—Seymour). ​ B.C. to take legislative approach to restricting ‘expensive, excessive’ expert witness testimony in court cases The province will not appeal the B.C. Supreme Court ruling rejecting the government’s attempt to cap expert witness testimony in ICBC cases, Attorney General David Eby told reporters ​ ​ yesterday. “We have reviewed the chief justice’s decision and have decided not to appeal,” he said. “Our odds of a stay of the effect of this decision while legal arguments are made on appeal — likely all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada — are low. This would prevent us from taking action that would address this issue until years down the road.” Instead, the province will attempt to restrict expert witness testimony via legislation that amends the Evidence Act. The amendments will “limit the number of adversarial expert reports and ​ ​ include a narrow judicial discretion to allow additional experts in select cases,” according to Eby. Other possible amendments to the act will aim to “improve efficiency, encourage prompt settlement and provide support” to vehicle crash victims — the province is still consulting on how to accomplish those objectives. “We hope to reduce costs for personal injury plaintiffs, help them keep more of their settlements, instead of seeing that money go to pay for excessive, expensive adversarial expert reports,” Eby said. The expert witness cap was projected to save ICBC $400 million; Eby said he expects cost savings from legislative amendments to be “significantly less” than the province’s previous approach, noting similar actions in other jurisdictions “haven't seen a significant reduction in the number of experts used.” And further legal challenges loom. “I would say the odds of a legal challenge to any Evidence Act changes related to motor vehicle ​ ​ or other personal injury evidence processes are about 100 per cent,” Eby told reporters. “[But] we have a couple of opportunities here to stand on firmer ground.” The attorney general’s hope is that by making legislative changes — rather than tweaking court rules, as the government’s previous crack at capping expert witness testimony attempted to do — the province’s action will withstand any further court challenges. “Also, we have the initial decision of the chief justice on which to build reforms, so I certainly do feel better,” the attorney general said of the province’s new tack. Labour minister taking hands-off approach to escalating transit strike With the Metro Vancouver transit strike set to escalate to three days of full service shutdowns ​ ​ next week, Labour Minister Harry Bains is still hopeful that a negotiated agreement between ​ ​ the two sides can be reached. “This is obviously difficult news for everyone who relies on transit in the Lower Mainland — no one wants to see a disruption,” Bains told reporters. “We strongly urge both sides to get back to discussions at the bargaining table — that’s where solutions and a fair deal will be found.” Bains did not directly answer questions as to when the province might intervene, saying a negotiated agreement would be best for everyone involved. “This is a matter between the employer, Coast Mountain Bus Company and the union [Unifor],” he said. “They have successfully bargained numerous collective agreements together without any outside involvement. It’s our expectation that they will be able to do so again.” Liberal Labour critic John Martin said it’s time for the NDP to step in. ​ ​ “Horgan and his Labour minister have sat on their hands for 20 days now,” he said in a statement. “During the last transit strike, a mediator was appointed after just 11 days. Vancouver commuters deserve leadership and a swift response from their government.” Today’s events November 21 at 12 p.m. — Victoria ​ Education Minister Rob Fleming and Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike ​ ​ ​ Farnworth will be joined on the back steps of the legislature by law enforcement personnel and ​ school community members for an announcement about student safety and improving partnerships between schools and police. November 21 at 12:30 p.m. — Victoria ​ Premier John Horgan and members of the Canucks Alumni Association, including Chris ​ ​ ​ Higgins and Jyrki Lumme, will participate in a photo opportunity at the Parliament Buildings. ​ ​ ​ November 21 at 7 p.m. — Vancouver ​ The BC Green Party will hold a kick-off meeting for its Vancouver Regional riding association at the Britannia Community Services Centre. November 21 at 7:45 p.m. — Victoria ​ Lieutenant-Governor Janet Austin and Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike ​ ​ ​ Farnworth will present awards for valour or meritorious service to 114 British Columbia police ​ officers in a ceremony at Government House. Topics of conversation ● It’s been a year since the legislative clerk and sergeant-at-arms were removed from the legislative precinct amid allegations of misappropriation of funds and abuse of legislature policies. In the time since, much work has been done to increase the legislative assembly’s accountability and transparency, according to Government House Leader Mike Farnworth. “You see now proactive disclosures on the clerk’s ​ ​ office in terms of expenditures, particularly around travel,” Farnworth told reporters. ○ The Legislative Assembly Management Committee (LAMC) is in the process of implementing all of the auditor general’s recommendations to address fiscal reporting issues, and a workplace review is underway. ● There are now four B.C. MPs in federal cabinet, up from three before the federal ​ ​ election. North Vancouver MP Jonathan Wilkinson, formerly the fisheries minister, ​ ​ is now responsible for environment and climate change, and Delta’s Carla ​ Qualtrough retained her accessibility portfolio while adding the responsibility of ​ employment and workforce development. Vancouver South MP Harjit Sajjan ​ remains as minister of National Defence, and long-time Vancouver Quadra MP Joyce Murray holds a new cabinet position as minister of Digital Government. ​ ○ Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s 37-member cabinet remains ​ ​ gender-balanced. ● B.C. scored top marks on Energy Canada’s Provincial Energy Efficiency Scorecard, ​ ​ but the province only earned a C-, with 56 points out of a possible 100. The BC ​ Energy Step Code, industrial energy management systems, and EV programs are ​ some of the best practices in the country, according to the scorecard, but the province has room to improve when it comes to promoting electricity saving programs. It could also further leverage the Step Code into a mandatory program that rates building energy efficiency. ○ “A renewed commitment to saving electricity” could help B.C. remain at the front of the energy-efficiency pack and “avoid expensive and risky generation projects,” according to the scorecard. Question period Liberal MLAs focused on the looming transit shutdown in Metro Vancouver during Wednesday’s question period. ‘The turkeys at CLAC’ ● Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson accused the NDP government of ignoring the needs ​ ​ of transit-taking Vancouver residents by not wading into the labour dispute between the Coast Mountain Bus Company and its unionized workers. ○ “We have no sign of any activity from the premier, and the minister of labour is so totally invisible on this file that no one even knows his name,” Wilkinson said. “When is this minister of labour going to actually do something rather than sit in his office and smirk?” ● Labour Minister Harry Bains reiterated the comments he made to reporters, saying the ​ ​ government is encouraging both sides to “get back to the bargaining table,” confident a deal can be negotiated there. ○ Bains could not resist taking a swipe at the previous Liberal government’s record on labour issues. “The only thing they know about collective bargaining is how to tear up collective agreements that were negotiated through collective bargaining,” he said. ● “Both sides not negotiating holds the public hostage,” said Liberal ICBC critic Jas Johal, ​ ​ who called on the province to appoint a mediator to resolve the impasse.
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