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B.C. Today – Daily Report March 26, 2019 “It's About

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B.C. Today – Daily Report March 26, 2019 “It's About B.C. Today – Daily Report March 26, 2019 Quotation of the day “It’s about cake and eating it too. It’s about credibility.” Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver called the NDP government’s commitment to developing ​ ​ B.C.’s liquid natural gas industry a “generational sell-out” that will boost greenhouse emissions. Today in B.C. On the schedule The House will convene at 10 a.m. for question period. Monday’s debates and proceedings Environment and Climate Change Strategy Minister George Heyman introduced Bill 16, ​ ​ ​ ​ Protected Areas of British Columbia Amendment Act. If passed, the legislation will expand six Class A parks in the province and rename several others with traditional Indigenous names. ​ ​ Finance Minister Carole James introduced Bill 10, Income Tax Amendment Act, which, if ​ ​ ​ ​ passed, will finalize B.C.’s pro-LNG fiscal framework. (More on this below.) First reading of Bill 10 passed on division with the support of 80 NDP and Liberal MLAs and the ​ ​ opposition of the three-member Green Party caucus. Two government bills were given second reading and referred to committee: ● Bill 14, Heritage Conservation Amendment Act, which would enhance protections for ​ areas of heritage and archaeological value in B.C.; and ● Bill 7, Business Practices and Consumer Protection Amendment Act, which would ​ strengthen consumer protections for British Columbians who use payday loans. MLAs spent the remainder of the afternoon at second-reading debate on Bill 11, Civil Forfeiture ​ ​ Amendment Act, which would enhance the ability of the province’s civil forfeiture office to trace, preserve and forfeit the proceeds of crime. Committee A completed its review of the estimates for the Ministry of Advanced Ed, Skills and Training. Lieutenant Governor Janet Austin visited the legislature to grant Royal Assent to the first five ​ ​ bills passed during the spring session: ● Bill 2, Protection of Public Participation Act, the government’s second attempt at ​ anti-SLAPP legislation; ● Bill 3, Municipal Affairs and Housing Statutes Amendment Act; ​ ​ ● Bill 6, Supply Act (Supplementary Estimates); ​ ● Bill 9, Attorney General Statutes Amendment Act, which would make clarifying ​ amendments to the Family Law Act and the Wills, Estates and Successions Act; and ● Bill 12, Supply Act. ​ In the House Jobs, Trade and Technology Minister Bruce Ralston introduced members of the B.C. Tech ​ ​ Association, who hosted a morning event to showcase the industry to MLAs. Liberal agriculture critic Ian Paton welcomed members of the B.C. Farmland Owners ​ ​ Association to the chamber. Mental Health and Addictions Minister Judy Darcy introduced former Social Credit MLA Terry ​ ​ ​ Segarty and members of his family. ​ Premier John Horgan welcomed the Powell River Paper Kings to the House. The B.C. Hockey ​ ​ League team was in Victoria to play the local Victoria Grizzlies. Finance Minister introduces legislation to finalize “fiscal framework” for LNG investment in B.C. New legislation introduced by the B.C. government will draw more liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects to the province and with them thousands of jobs, according to Finance Minister Carole ​ James. Bill 10, Income Tax Amendment Act repeals two pieces of legislation underpinning the former ​ ​ Liberal government’s approach to attracting LNG to B.C. — the Liquefied Natural Gas Income ​ ​ Tax Act and the Liquefied Natural Gas Projects Agreements Act — and amends the Income Tax ​ ​ ​ Act to create a tax credit for natural gas producers. The tax credit, which will be available to eligible companies that pay corporate income tax in the province, would go into effect on January 1, 2020 and would reduce their corporate income ​ taxes from 12 per cent to nine per cent per year. James said Bill 10 represents the “final fiscal elements” in the government’s plan to bolster the ​ ​ ​ ​ province’s LNG industry. "British Columbians are counting on us to attract LNG investment that meets strict conditions: delivering jobs and financial benefits to B.C., creating economic partnerships with Indigenous peoples, and protecting our clean air, land and water," James said in a news release. Premier John Horgan announced the foundation of the government’s LNG framework last ​ ​ ​ ​ March, along with the four conditions the government deems essential for all LNG development in the province: ● Guaranteeing a fair return for B.C.’s natural resources; ● Guaranteeing jobs and training opportunities for British Columbians; ● Respecting and partnering with First Nations; and ● Protecting B.C.’s air, land and water, including living up to the province’s climate commitments. The framework was announced as the province awaited a final investment decision from LNG Canada regarding its plan to build an LNG export facility in Kitimat. The $40-billion project — backed by major industry players including PetroChina, Petronas, Shell, Kogas and the ​ ​ ​ Mitsubishi Corporation — represents the single largest private sector investment in the province’s history. The NDP government estimates it will support 10,000 jobs during construction as well as 950 permanent jobs at the Kitimat facility, while bringing in $24 billion in direct investment plus a total of $23 billion in government revenue. In order to land the project, the government has offered a suite of incentives, including a provincial sales tax exemption on construction costs, access to the industrial electricity rate and a chance to reduce carbon taxes above a $30 per gigaton threshold for companies whose facilities meet world-class industry standards. According to officials with the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, work is already well underway on the LNG Canada project with “significant activity” involving about 600 workers at the site in Kitimat, as well as ongoing construction preparation along various pipeline spreads across northern B.C. Liberal Party reaction “It shouldn’t surprise anyone that, after the years that we spent trying to promote and advance the establishment of a liquified natural gas sector, we are philosophically in favour of steps necessary to make that happen,” former finance minister Mike de Jong told reporters. As ​ ​ minister, de Jong introduced the legislation James’ bill would repeal. “Our desire is to be supportive, but we still have a job to do in terms of ensuring that the government fully discloses the benefits and the costs associated with the agreement,” de Jong said, noting he will keep an eye out to see if the government upholds its commitment to enforcing local procurement and labour hiring policies. Green Party reaction The B.C. Green caucus has no intention of supporting the legislation at any stage. “We are subsidizing climate change,” MLA Adam Olsen said of his opposition to the bill. ​ ​ “Personally, I am not ok with that and I am not ok with handing that over to my kids.” Leader Andrew Weaver accused the NDP of being hypocritical on the issue. ​ ​ “Over the past four years, I have listened to NDP MLA after NDP MLA hurl abuse at the B.C. Liberals for what they called ‘a generational sell-out,’” he told reporters. “What we are seeing today is that generational sell-out taken to a whole new level.” The NDP’s incentive program amounts to “bizarre accounting [and] economic folly,” according to Weaver. “They have basically given LNG Canada whatever they want,” he said. “Frankly, I’m surprised they haven’t given them promises of their second and third children as well.” The Green leader intends to drive what he perceives as the current government’s hypocrisy home during debate on the bill. “I am going to enjoy reading into the record … the myriad comments by the NDP MLAs so that you can see exactly what they thought of the legislation that the B.C. Liberals brought in and let me summarize it this way: it wasn’t very pleasant.” Today’s events March 26 at 7:30 a.m. – Surrey ​ Federal Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi will participate in an armchair discussion of ​ ​ the federal budget at a Surrey Board of Trade breakfast at the Civic Hotel. March 26 at 12:15 p.m. – Victoria ​ Premier John Horgan will join Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Lisa Beare; Ravi Kahlon, ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ parliamentary secretary for sport and multiculturalism; Gareth Rees, a World Rugby Hall of ​ ​ Fame inductee; and members of the Rugby Canada national team to celebrate rugby in B.C. and welcome the Webb Ellis Cup to the province. ​ ​ Upcoming events April 16 at 8 a.m. – Vancouver ​ The B.C. Chamber of Commerce will host a breakfast event with Attorney General David Eby at ​ ​ Chambar Restaurant, as part of its Cabinet Minister Breakfast series. Eby will discuss “increasing access to justice for all British Columbians, making ICBC work for British ​ Columbians again, and government’s latest efforts to combat money laundering in B.C.” Topics of conversation ● Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau revealed Ottawa’s criteria for entertaining a First ​ ​ ​ ​ Nations-backed bid to purchase the Trans Mountain pipeline during a speech at the Economic Club of Canada yesterday. Morneau said Indigenous groups would need to have “meaningful economic participation” as a result of any deal, which would need to respect the spirit of reconciliation, benefit all Canadians and be commercially viable. ● During a visit to Vancouver yesterday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Ottawa is ​ ​ ​ ​ taking the issue of money laundering seriously but cautioned the issue involves “a lot of different elements and angles.” ○ “We also have to be very mindful that there are always dangers of unintended consequences, so any steps we take need to be done very carefully,” Trudeau said. ○ On Sunday night, Trudeau attended a Liberal Party of Canada event to nominate ​ ​ Tamara Taggart, a former B.C. broadcaster, as the party’s candidate in the ​ Vancouver Kingsway riding in the fall federal election. ● The “bottom 90 per cent” of B.C. households will see their personal taxes decrease by a little over one per cent as a result of the NDP government’s tax policies, according to ​ analysis from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
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