BC Today – Daily Report October 22, 2019
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
BC Today – Daily Report October 22, 2019 Quotation of the day “Tonight … we accomplished something different.” Re-elected Independent MP Jody Wilson-Raybould reacts to her win in Vancouver Granville. Today in B.C. On the schedule The house will convene at 10 a.m. for question period. Monday’s votes and proceedings Finance Minister Carole James introduced a pair of bills on Monday afternoon: ● Bill 33, Securities Amendment Act (No. 2), which, if passed, will give the B.C. Securities Commission the “strongest enforcement and collection tools in the country to help crack down on white collar crime,”; and ● Bill 37, Financial Institutions Amendment Act, which, if passed, will modernize the regulatory framework for financial institutions operating in the province — including credit unions, trust companies, and insurance companies and their intermediaries — to enhance protections for consumers. Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Lisa Beare tabled the annual report from the BC Arts Council. Speaker Darryl Plecas presented the annual reports from several of the statutory offices: the Conflict of Interest Commissioner; the Registrar of Lobbyists for British Columbia; the Information and Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia; and the Office of the Police Complaint Commission. The house spent the afternoon at committee stage on Bill 35, Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act (No. 2) and adjourned early at 4 p.m. to ensure MLAs and legislature employees received the required three consecutive hours to vote. Election 2019: Liberals hold on to power with minority The major networks began predicting a Liberal government just 10 minutes after the polls closed in B.C. on election night. The Conservatives were the big winners in B.C., picking up 17 seats and 40 per cent of the popular vote. The Liberals saw their B.C. seat count drop to 11 — down from 15 in 2015. The NDP also won 11 seats. Just over one quarter of ballots cast in B.C. went to each of the parties. The Greens picked up two seats and about five per cent of the vote. After a nailbiter of a night in Vancouver Granville, Jody Wilson-Raybould was the only successful Independent candidate in the country. Voter turnout in B.C. was about 65 per cent — similar to the national turnout rate. Notable candidates ● NDP MP Jenny Kwan was the first victory declared in B.C., holding on to the Vancouver East riding with more than half its votes. ● Both B.C.-based federal party leaders kept their seats: Green Party Leader Elizabeth May more than doubled the vote share of her closest competitor while NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh beat out Conservative candidate Jay Shin by a much more modest margin. ● All of B.C.’s Liberal cabinet ministers kept their seats: Harjit Sajjan in Vancouver South; Jonathan Wilkinson in North Vancouver; and Carla Qualtrough in Delta. ● Two of the safest Conservative seats in the country remained blue: Todd Doherty won more than half the votes in the Cariboo—Prince George riding — more than double Liberal candidate Tracy Calogheros’ second place share — and Bob Zimmer trounced his competitors, carrying more than two-thirds of the Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies vote. ● After a slow start, longtime Liberal MP Joyce Murray came out on top in Vancouver Quadra — a riding the party has held since 1984. ● NDP candidate Svend Robinson was unable to stage a successful political comeback, failing to unseat Liberal incumbent Terry Beech in Burnaby—North Seymour. ● Former B.C. Liberal health minister Terry Lake failed in his bid to become a Liberal MP, losing the Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo riding to Conservative Cathy McLeod. ● Green Party MP Paul Manly was victorious in his second campaign of the year, holding on to the Nanaimo—Ladysmith seat he won in a by-election in February. ● In Victoria, NDP candidate Laurel Collins succeeded in making the leap from local to federal government, keeping the riding orange following former NDP MP Murray Rankin’s decision not to seek re-election. ● In Skeena—Bulkely Valley, NDP candidate Taylor Bachrach, former mayor of Smithers, also won his race, taking the seat over from former NDP MP Nathan Cullen. ● Liberal incumbents John Alday in Cloverdale—Langley City, Jati Sidhu in Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, and Gordie Hogg in South Surrey—White Rock all went down to Conservative challengers. Conservative candidate Nelly Shin won the Port Moody—Coquitlam riding, previously represented by the NDP’s Finn Donnelly who did not seek re-election. Today’s events October 22 at 12 p.m. — Victoria Jobs, Trade and Technology Minister Bruce Ralston will join Jeff Bray, executive director of the Downtown Victoria Business Association, for a tour of downtown Victoria businesses in recognition of Small Business Week. Please note: Yesterday’s scheduled report released from the Auditor General’s Office has been postponed. Managing Human Resources at the B.C. Sheriff Service will be released on Thursday, October 24, at 12:30 p.m. Question period During Monday’s question period, Liberal MLAs focused on frustrated attempts to obtain government records via freedom of information requests. ‘Delete, delay, deny’ ● Liberal House Leader Mary Polak kicked off question period by calling on Premier John Horgan to make good on his pledge to look into the status of a set of notes related to a phone call conducted by his chief of staff, Geoff Meggs, after a Liberal FOI request for them came up empty. ● “These were transitory notes about a telephone conversation,” Horgan told Polak, adding that they were “processed through the appropriate channels” before being “destroyed, as per document disposal requirements.” ○ According to Horgan, the phone conversation in question took place “19 months ago.” ● When Polak asked Horgan to elaborate on the transitory nature of the notes requested, the premier went after the ex-BC Liberal government’s own record on FOI requests. “I can appreciate that the official Opposition is disappointed that since we were sworn into government they have received 3,500 pages of emails from the chief of staff's office — which is exactly 3,500 more than we got from them,” he said. ● When Liberal MLA Mike De Jong suggested that Horgan’s office could use a copy of the records management guide the NDP government produced, Horgan shot back, “From the guy who didn't know how to turn on his computer to talk about records and document disposal, it's a little bit rich.” ● Liberal Finance critic Shirley Bond accused the government of “charging outrageous fees” for requested documents. She asked Horgan to explain how 42 hours of work to produce FOI’d emails could result in a $1,200 fee. ○ Horgan responded by repeating his line about receiving “zero” pages in response to FOI requests for the premier’s office under the previous Liberal government. ● When Liberal ICBC critic Jas Johal continued to press the issue of FOI fees, Selina Robinson — temporarily appointed as Citizens’ Services minister following Jinny Sims’ resignation from cabinet — stood to respond. She accused the Liberals of filing “thousands of open-ended” FOI requests, “bunging up the system” and costing $23 million to process. ○ “It is also harder for the FOI system to provide timely service to the journalists, to other groups, to people who have decisions that are affecting their lives that are made by this government,” she added. ● “I want to reiterate here this is a new practice, new fees and a deliberate attempt to obstruct the Opposition from getting information,” Johal responded, asking Robinson how she knew specifically which requests were filed on behalf of the Liberals. ● “We get a report that says ... whether [a request is] from individuals, political parties, organizations,” Robinson said. “Based on the requests, the volume of requests, it is really clear that it's the Opposition who's putting in these regular requests that are open-ended.” LNG and a low-carbon economy ● Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver reiterated his objections to the NDP government’s efforts to launch a liquid natural gas (LNG) industry in B.C., calling them incompatible with the stated goals of the CleanBC strategy. ○ He asked Environment and Climate Change Strategy Minister George Heyman how British Columbians can “have confidence that this government is serious about being a climate leader” given its efforts to promote LNG to foreign markets. ● Heyman gave the Green caucus credit for “putting in place a robust accountability framework” to ensure the government’s progress on emission reduction targets is measurable. ○ “British Columbians won't have to take our word for it — they will be able to rely on regular reporting and verification that we are on a path to do what we say we will do,” Heyman said. “What we have said we will do is reduce emissions, and ... that the development of LNG must fit within our CleanBC plan.” ● Weaver then pivoted to asking Jobs, Trade and Technology Minister Bruce Ralston how the government plans to ensure “a just transition for rural communities away from their dependence on fossil fuel extraction.” ○ When he was heckled by the Liberal benches during his second question, Weaver called the Opposition MLAs “Luddites.” ● “Our government is committed to encouraging innovation in the British Columbia economy and building a sustainable economy that benefits everyone,” Ralston said, citing examples of government support for innovation and tech. Liberal Municipal Affairs and Housing critic Todd Stone asked Health Minister Adrian Dix to commit to banning the sale of flavoured vaping products in the province and finding “new funding” to support an in-school education campaign about the dangers of vaping. Dix said the government “will be taking regulatory steps” on the issue shortly. .