BC Today – Daily Report November 5, 2019
Quotation of the day
“Unlike politicians who say ‘I want to spend more time with my family’ and go off sadly, I'm very excited to note I'll have time with my husband and time with my daughter.”
Federal Green Party Leader Elizabeth May announced she was stepping down from the post Monday, though she will remain on as MP for Saanich—Gulf Islands and lead the Green parliamentary caucus.
Today in B.C.
On the schedule The house is adjourned until Monday, November 18.
After 13 years, Elizabeth May steps down as leader of the Green Party of Canada
“Effective today, I am no longer leader of the Green Party,” Elizabeth May announced Monday. “I’m staying as parliamentary leader of the Green Party caucus. I am very excited about this — I wanted to choose a moment when we had had a lot of success before leaving.”
May has led the party since 2006 and said she promised her daughter that 2019 would be her last campaign heading up the federal Greens.
“I’m very excited to know that I’ll have time with my husband and time with my daughter and my extended family, and that I keep my promises,” said May, who married husband John Kidder on Earth Day this year.
“I’m not stopping my work, the climate crisis is as critical as ever,” she added.
Last week, May expressed her interest in running for Speaker of the House of Commons. “I am less partisan, certainly, than most members of Parliament,” she told CBC at the time. Yesterday, May said she now plans to wait to make a bid for the Speaker’s chair until after the next federal election.
Jo-Ann Roberts, a former CBC journalist who has served as the party’s deputy leader, has stepped up as acting leader following May’s abdication. Roberts ran unsuccessfully for the federal Greens in Victoria in 2015 and in Halifax last month.
Roberts said she was somewhat surprised by May’s announcement.
“I think she feels the timing is right," Roberts told CBC. “She's always been politically savvy and knows that we may be facing an election under a minority government in under two years, so now's the time. Let's get a new leader in place so that that person is ready to go.”
As interim leader, Roberts won’t be throwing her hat in the leadership race.
“This will not be a coronation for one candidate, I can tell you that," she said. “The party is anxious to have a vigorous campaign, and to really give party members a chance to talk about what the party should be looking like going forward.”
The federal Greens will choose their next leader on October 4, 2020, at the party’s convention in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
B.C. Green Party reaction Just less than a month ago, on the first day of the B.C. legislature’s fall sitting, B.C. Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver made a similar announcement — declaring his intent not to run for re-election in 2021 and instructing the party to begin preparing for a leadership race.
Weaver also declared his disinterest in running for federal office or leadership of the federal Greens.
“I can assure you and swear on a stack of Bibles, that will never ever happen,” he told reporters at the time.
On Monday, Weaver thanked May for her service as federal Green leader and called her impact on Canadian politics “substantial.”
“As the first Green MP, she led the way for the multiple Green caucuses elected in Canada today,” he said. “As a voice of principle and reason on issues such as climate change, she has elevated the national conversation and forced other parties to take bolder positions.”
Weaver urged his federal counterparts to look to the future as they begin the process of choosing a new leader.
“As members of the Green Party of Canada reflect on what is next, I hope that it will be with an eye to building on Elizabeth’s legacy and the opportunity that the future holds,” he said. “The federal party leadership contest will partly overlap with our own B.C. Green Party leadership contest, and while they remain distinct parties with separate leadership races and internal processes, I expect it to be an exciting time to explore new ideas and visions for Canada and B.C.”
Weaver’s replacement will be chosen at the B.C. Green Party’s annual leadership convention, set to take place in Nanaimo from June 26 to 28.
Today’s events
November 4 at 8 a.m. — Vancouver Premier John Horgan will hold a news conference alongside representatives from the First Nations Leadership Council at the sixth annual B.C. Cabinet and First Nations Leaders' Gathering at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Following the news conference, the premier will give opening remarks at the gathering, as will Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, Cheryl Casimer of the First Nations Summit, Regional Chief Terry Teegee of the BC Assembly of First Nations, and Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Minister Scott Fraser. The speeches will be livestreamed.
November 5 at 10 a.m. — Cranbrook Ministry of Agriculture staff will hold a public consultation on recent legislative changes to the Agricultural Land Commission and Reserve at the Days Inn at the Cranbrook Conference Centre.
Topics of conversation
● Saskatchewan has been granted intervener status in the latest legal challenge to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. The province will back Ottawa’s bid to defeat the cases brought by six First Nations groups that allege the federal government’s second round of consultations with Indigenous peoples on the controversial project were inadequate. “Saskatchewan will make submissions to the Federal Court of Appeal on the need to fairly balance the duty to consult with other matters of public interest, such as transportation infrastructure,” Saskatchewan Attorney General Don Morgan said in a statement. “Projects like Trans Mountain create a stronger economy that allow the federal and provincial governments to invest in programs and initiatives like health and education.” ○ In September, the Federal Court of Appeal granted permission for the First Nations groups to proceed with their challenges and dismissed six submissions arguing the federal government’s re-approval of TMX should be overturned on environmental grounds. The court is set to hear arguments on the approved challenges next month.
● A B.C. insurance broker has had his licence yanked for eight months for helping clients avoid paying bridge toll debts. The Insurance Council of B.C. suspended Jugjit Singh Sumra’s broker licence last month for entering false receipt information for bridge tolls in order to help clients renew their auto insurance — something that cannot be done with more than $25 in outstanding toll debts on a driver’s record. ○ Seven other insurance brokers have had their licences suspended for similar actions following an ICBC investigation that began in 2015. The other seven brokers initially received $5,000 fines for their actions, but the Financial Services Tribunal subsequently ordered the Insurance Council to suspend their licences.
● The deadline for the B.C. Utilities Commission (BCUC) to report on its inquiry into the regulation of Indigenous energy production projects — also known as utilities — has been extended from January 31, 2020, to April 30, 2020, via order-in-council. ○ In March, Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Minister Michelle Mungall asked the BCUC to collect input from Indigenous communities, industry stakeholders and members of the public, and then define the characteristics of Indigenous utilities and whether they should be regulated under the Utilities Commission Act.
● The Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) has turned down another application from an addiction recovery home seeking to expand its operations on the Agricultural Land Reserve. The non-profit Luke 15 House currently operates in Surrey and applied to the ALC to expand its operations to a five-acre parcel it had agreed to buy in Langley; the property already has a building the organization planned to use. “We were changing
nothing, this building and property has been used as a community care facility since it was built in the early 1970s and we thought it would be no issue,” spokesperson David O’Sullivan told the Vancouver Sun. The ALC ruled that “continued use of the property for non-farm-use purposes reduces the agricultural opportunities on the property.” ○ Liberal Mental Health and Addictions critic Jane Thornthwaite accused the NDP government of forcing addiction recovery programs “out into the cold” with its ALR policies. “For this government to force out some of our most vulnerable citizens, in the middle of an addiction crisis where thousands are dying, is heartless and irresponsible,” Thornthwaite said in a statement. “This situation illustrates how many silos remain between ministries and the low priority that this government places on recovery and treatment facilities. It’s clear that not enough is being done to ensure a full spectrum of care.”
Appointments and employments
Premier’s office ● Michael McKinnon was appointed a communications manager with the premier’s office for a term ending August 29, 2020, effective November 1, 2019.
Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture ● Ramesh Ranjan was appointed a senior ministerial assistant in the minister’s office for a term ending November 23, 2019, effective October 28, 2019. ○ Ranjan served as a ministerial assistant with the ministry since August 2018.
Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training ● Seamus Wolfe was appointed a ministerial assistant with the minister’s office effective October 29, 2019. ○ Wolfe served as an executive assistant with the minister’s office since April 2019.
British Columbia Lottery Corporation ● Hilary Cassady, Fiona Ka Yee Chan and Lisa Ethans were reappointed directors of the corporation’s board for one year terms, effective October 28, 2019.
Civil Resolution Tribunal ● Kathryn Campbell was appointed a vice-chair of the tribunal for a term ending December 11, 2022, effective October 28, 2019.
Islands Trust Conservancy Board ● Susan Hannon was appointed a member of the Islands Trust Conservancy Board for a term ending August 27, 2021, effective October 28, 2019.
Funding announcements
● Eight legal clinics will soon roll out across B.C., each supported by up to $250,000 from the Ministry of Attorney General. The clinics will offer legal advice on issues including poverty, housing, immigration and disability, and act as counsel in legal proceedings at no cost to their clients. The first clinic will be offered through the Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre in Vancouver and will support renters with tenancy and housing-related issues. Locations for the other clinics are still being finalized. ○ The $2-million commitment for free legal clinics was announced earlier this year.
● The Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions has awarded $10 million through the Community Counselling grants program to twenty-nine community counselling programs. The funding is administered through the Community Action Initiative and will support mental health and substance use services, including easy-to-access counselling, with a focus on marginalized people and those who have previously faced barriers to services. ○ The program will disburse up to $120,000 per year over the next three years as part of the ministry’s Pathway to Hope initiative.
● The Nadleh Whut’en First Nation is using its share of the first transfer from the BC First Nations Gaming Revenue Limited Partnership to build six new homes. The 2018 Shovel Lake Wildfire rendered several family homes in the community, located about 180 kilometres east of Prince George, unfit to live in. The nation is building two three-bedroom homes and four one-bedroom tiny homes to replace them. ○ In August, the province transferred the first two years of shared gaming revenue — $194.84 million — to the limited partnership to fulfill its Budget 2019 commitment. ○ This is the first funding announcement related to how it is being spent.
● In September, construction began on 39 affordable rental homes in Cranbrook. The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is partnering with the Aqanttanam Housing Society and the City of Cranbrook on the three-storey, wood-frame Chief Agnes McCoy Centre, which includes “a mix of below-market rent and low-cost homes for Indigenous families, Elders, seniors and individuals,” according to the ministry. Construction is expected to be completed by next fall. ○ The ministry is providing $7.8 million through the Indigenous Housing Fund, as well as an annual operating subsidy of approximately $24,000 and unspecific construction financing. The Columbia Basin Trust provided a $454,200 grant for the project.