BC Today – Daily Report September 17, 2020 Quotation of the day “You should send him away to think about it.” ​ ​ Norman Spector offers his two cents on how Lieutenant-Governor Janet Austin should handle ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ a request to dissolve the province’s 41st parliament from Premier John Horgan. ​ ​ Today in B.C. On the schedule The house is adjourned until October 5, according to the parliamentary calendar. Premier John Horgan and Finance Minister Carole James will announce their economic ​ ​ ​ ​ recovery plan for the province at 1:30 p.m. Cabinet exodus continues Another NDP cabinet minister is calling it quits: Jobs, Economic Development and Competitiveness Minister Michelle Mungall announced yesterday that she will not be seeking ​ ​ re-election in Nelson—Creston while Mental Health. Mungall — who is 42 and was first elected in 2009 — said she wants to spend more time in her Kootenay home with her husband and young son. That brings the number of exiting ministers to five, representing nearly a quarter of Premier John Horgan’s 22-member cabinet (including himself). ​ Mungall joins Forests Minister Doug Donaldson, Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation ​ ​ Minister Scott Fraser, Social Development Minister Shane Simpson and Finance Minister ​ ​ ​ ​ Carole James. ​ Nurses can now prescribe safer alternatives to street drugs A new public health order issued by Dr. Bonnie Henry authorizes registered nurses and ​ ​ registered psychiatric nurses in the province to prescribe alternatives to street drugs. “We know the pandemic has only made the street drug supply in B.C. more toxic than ever, putting people who use drugs at extremely high risk for overdose,” the provincial health officer said in a statement. She said providing an alternative to the province’s toxic drug supply has been “critical to saving lives and linking more people to treatment and other health and social services.” In March, Dr. Henry issued more permissive guidelines for prescription alternatives — mostly hydromorphone along with some prescription heroin. More than 2,181 people were dispensed hydromorphone in July, according to the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions, up from 677 in March. The new order aims to “separate more people from the poisoned street drug supply” and reduce the deadly toll of the overdose crisis, according to Mental Health and Addictions Minister Judy ​ Darcy. ​ “We are taking every preventative measure possible to save more lives and connect more people to treatment and supportive services,” she said. Darcy said B.C. is the only province offering a “full continuum of care” in response to escalating fatal overdoses, noting recent investments in recovery options for youth and adults, as well as increased funding for overdose prevention and counselling services. The addictions ministry is working with the office of the provincial health officer on an updated policy directive for authorized prescribers and health authorities to be released “as soon as possible.” The update will further expand safe supply eligibility criteria “to prioritize reducing overdose events and deaths” and include more prescription medications, per the ministry. It will also increase the number of dispensing locations within health authorities and at community pharmacies. “This is what an emergency response looks like,” said Guy Felicella, a peer clinical advisor with ​ ​ the Overdose Emergency Response Centre. “This will provide a lifeline to people who use drugs. It says to them that their lives matter and offers hope to them, their families and their communities.” New nursing standards will also be issued soon to inform the practical aspects of the order and nurses will have access to training and education, as well as consultation with experts, according to the ministry. Sherri Kensall, interim board chair of Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of BC, was “very pleased” ​ with the change, saying it will have “a direct and beneficial impact” on harm reduction efforts. Today’s events September 17 at 1 p.m. — Online ​ Advanced Education, Skills and Training Minister Melanie Mark will be joined by NDP MLA ​ ​ Ravi Kahlon, Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley and BCIT president Kathy Kinloch for an ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ announcement about a new student housing project at BCIT. September 17 at 3 p.m. — Online ​ Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix will provide an update on Covid in B.C. ​ ​ ​ September 17 at 6:30 p.m. — Online ​ Forests Minister Doug Donaldson will host a fundraiser for the Stikine NDP riding association, ​ ​ featuring Gitxsan-style fry bread. September 17 at 7 p.m. — Online ​ Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau will host an online meet and greet, taking questions from ​ ​ supporters on her plans to guide the party “into the next provincial election.” September 17 at 7 p.m. — Online ​ A roast of outgoing Liberal MLA Ralph Sultan — “a jibe-filled journey through the life and times” ​ ​ of the oldest member of the BC legislature — takes place tonight. September 17 at 7 p.m. — Online ​ NDP MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert will host the “Big Steveston NDP Quiz of 2020,” a party ​ ​ fundraiser featuring “ridiculous segments and wild questions.” Topics of conversation ● B.C. reported 122 new COVID-19 cases yesterday. There were 1,614 active cases (up 24) with 60 people in hospital (down three), 23 of them critical (up seven). No new deaths were reported, leaving the provincial total at 219. ○ Fraser Health has launched a webpage with a list of all Covid exposures linked to ​ ​ schools in the region; other health authorities are expected to follow suit “soon.” ● A coalition of First Nations has launched a campaign to “demand transparency” from the ​ ​ province when it comes to Covid cases near Indigenous communities. The campaign aims to pressure the province to “make key information” about the pandemic available to Indigenous communities, especially “the location of proximate presumptive and confirmed COVID-19 cases.” ○ Doing so would allow Indigenous governments “to conduct culturally safe contact-tracing and to reduce the risk of racist interactions with the health care system,” according to the campaign. ○ CBC reports the Heiltsuk Nation, Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council and Tŝilhqot'in ​ ​ National Government also filed a complaint with the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner this week over the health ministry’s handling of data about confirmed and presumptive Covid cases. ● Norman Spector, who served as a constitutional advisor to former prime minister Jean ​ ​ Chrétien and ex-B.C. premier Bill Bennett, has some advice for Lieutenant-Governor ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Janet Austin should Premier John Horgan ask her to dissolve parliament so he can ​ ​ ​ call a snap election. ○ “I respectfully recommend that, should Premier Horgan now request that the Legislature be dissolved, you should send him away to think about it,” Spector wrote in a Times Colonist op-ed. ​ ​ ○ Spector served as an advisor to then-Green Party leader Andrew Weaver as he ​ ​ ​ ​ navigated negotiations with the NDP and the Liberals in the wake of the 2017 election. Nomination roll call NDP ● Another municipal official will be on the NDP ballot: District of Summerland Mayor Toni ​ Boot was nominated as the party’s candidate in Penticton. ​ ○ The riding is currently held by Liberal MLA Dan Ashton. ​ ​ ○ Tofino’s Mayor Josie Osborne also recently announced she will run for the NDP ​ ​ in Mid Island—Pacific Rim. ● Three candidates are seeking the NDP nomination in Vancouver—False Creek. Brenda ​ Bailey, executive director of DigiBC, announced her intention yesterday, joining ​ ​ ​ Morgane Oger, who clinched the party’s nomination for the riding in 2017 but failed to ​ unseat Liberal incumbent Sam Sullivan. ​ ​ ○ The third hopeful is Catherine Jenkins, a regional community network ​ ​ co-ordinator for Trans BC, who announced her candidacy in August. Jenkins also works part-time for Oger’s foundation, according to her LinkedIn profile. ​ ​ Liberal Party ● Mark Bowen was announced as the party’s candidate in Vancouver—Point Grey last ​ night. ○ Bowen, president of Broadbased Marketing Inc., will face off with Attorney General David Eby, who has held the riding since 2013. ​ ​ Funding announcements ● The Progressive Intercultural Community Services Society (PICS) will operate PICS ​ ​ ​ Diversity Village, a new long-term care facility with 125 publicly funded beds in Surrey. ​ The facility will be open to all seniors and will specialize in culturally sensitive services for members of the South Asian community. Construction is not expected to begin until 2022. ○ PICS is providing $5 million toward the facility’s $58-million projected cost with the Ministry of Health covering the rest, as well as operational funding once the ​ ​ Diversity Village opens. ● B.C.’s fifth food hub will be in Salmon Arm. The Salmon Arm Economic Development ​ Society will use $500,000 from the Ministry of Agriculture to launch the new hub, ​ ​ ​ which will provide local businesses access to shared food and beverage processing space and equipment in collaboration with the Salmon Arm Innovation Centre, the ​ ​ Shuswap Launch-a-Preneur Program, Community Futures Shuswap and ​ ​ ​ Okanagan College. ​ BC Today is written by Shannon Waters, reporting from the British Columbia Legislative Press Gallery. What did you think of this Daily Report? What else would you like to see here? Email [email protected] and let us know. ​ ​ Copyright © 2020 Queen’s Park Today. It is a violation of copyright to distribute this newsletter, in whole or in part, without permission. .