B.C. Today – Daily Report April 5, 2019 Quotation of the day “It wasn’t carbon taxes. It wasn’t fuel taxes. It wasn’t excise taxes. It’s just profits to oil companies.” Premier John Horgan says “gas companies gouging” led to record high gas prices in B.C. this ​ ​ week — not the increase to the provincial carbon tax. Today in B.C. On the schedule The House is adjourned until 10 a.m. on Monday, April 8. Thursday’s debate and proceedings Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth introduced Bill 13, Community ​ ​ ​ ​ Safety Amendment Act, which, if passed, will give authorities more power to deal with “nuisance properties” — homes where drug sales or other crimes are taking place — and establish a confidential system for reporting them. Finance Minister Carole James introduced Bill 26, Financial Services Authority Act, which, if ​ ​ ​ ​ passed, will establish a new, independent Crown agency to regulate credit unions, insurance ​ companies, pensions and mortgage brokers. Liberal House Leader Mary Polak presented a 17,000-signature petition asking the government ​ ​ to ban smoking in multi-unit residential buildings. Following question period, Government House Leader Mike Farnworth called for third reading ​ ​ of Bill 10, Income Tax Amendment Act, which will finalize B.C.’s pro-LNG fiscal framework. The ​ ​ ​ Green Party caucus forced further debate on the bill, proposing two amendments: one calling for a second round of committee review and another that would delay third reading for six months. Both failed. Bill 10 passed third reading with the support of the NDP government caucus and all B.C. Liberal ​ MLAs who were in the chamber (several, including leader Andrew Wilkinson, were not ​ ​ present) and over the objection of the three-member B.C. Green caucus (Ayes 76; Nays 3). The House then turned its attention to the estimates for the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. Committee A continued its review of the estimates for the Ministry of Jobs, Trade ​ and Technology. In the House Health Minister Adrian Dix welcomed representatives from the Canadian Cancer Society to the ​ ​ House. The legislature hosted a Daffodil Month campaign yesterday morning. ​ ​ Provincial taxes aren’t to blame for record-high gas prices: Premier During his weekly media availability with the legislative press gallery, Premier John Horgan ​ said he is disappointed in the “massive spikes in [gas] prices” across B.C. “with no rationale.” Some Lower Mainland communities are seeing the price at the pumps set new records at 163.9 per litre. “The carbon tax went up one penny on Monday,” Horgan told reporters. That does not reconcile with a 12 … or 14 cent increase throughout the week. I look at the commodity price and it is still pretty low for a barrel of crude oil. If you go to the pump, you see these unreasonable increase in cost. It’s not about governments gouging. It’s about gas companies gouging.” Horgan rejected the idea that the twinning of the Trans Mountain pipeline would bring relief for B.C. drivers. “We need more refined product, to be sure, but that’s not the plan [for Trans Mountain] as I understand it, and if the federal government is changing that I would like to hear it,” Horgan said. “Instead of purchasing a pipeline as the federal government did, perhaps if they wanted to get into the oil business, they should have gone into refining.” The B.C. government is not currently considering easing up on any of the provincial gas taxes, but Horgan said they will be watching the issue through the summer. “If the price increases persist through the summer, we will look at other options,” he told reporters. “If we are in a position to provide relief, then we’ll do that.” “Offensive” questions and pay transparency On the week’s bitter question period exchanges over the government’s handling of pay increases for workers in the social services sector, Horgan was visibly frustrated, saying the Liberals “lack the moral high ground” to criticize his government on the issue. “We gave a six per cent increase over three years to the entire sector,” he said. “The challenge is low wage redress and that low wage disparity did not happen over the past eighteen months, it happened over the past 16 years. This issue is being exploited by B.C. Liberals and I find that offensive.” The premier does not believe that a legislative approach is the best way to attempt to close the gender pay gap. “I don’t believe that a piece of legislation will move us in the right direction,” he said. “If we had balance on boards of private sector companies, if we had balance on executives of private sector companies, we would see much faster action than passing a private members’ bill here in B.C.” Horgan said he has not read Liberal MLA Stephanie Cadieux’s private member’s bill on pay ​ ​ certification but was “confident” Mitzi Dean, parliamentary secretary for gender equity, has. ​ ​ BC Today attempted to follow up with Dean, but a spokesperson from the finance ministry ​ ​ ​ ​ would only say that “pay equity is an important issue that government is looking at, in addition to ​ the numerous actions that have already been taken to support women in the workforce.” Horgan hails passage of LNG bill; Greens cry folly Premier John Horgan released a statement following the passage of Bill 10, Income Tax ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Amendment Act. "Our government set four stringent conditions for LNG in B.C.: a fair return for our natural resources, jobs and training opportunities for British Columbians, partnerships with First Nations, and the project must fit within our CleanBC plan,” the statement said. "LNG Canada's liquefied natural gas project meets these conditions. The project will create jobs and opportunity for Kitimat, the Haisla Nation and people in the North, and is expected to generate $23 billion in government revenues to support public services for all British Columbians.” Green Party MLA Sonia Furstenau called the bill’s passage “tragic,” and leader Andrew ​ ​ ​ Weaver accused the MLAs who supported the bill of “throwing future generations under the ​ bus.” “We’ll sleep well tonight knowing that we stood on our principles,” Weaver told reporters. “We came out of committee stage of this debate with even greater challenges than we went into committee stage with,” MLA Adam Olsen added. He said the government failed to provide ​ ​ satisfactory answers on details of the bill and expressed bafflement that Liberal MLAs — many of whom asked hard questions and expressed disappointment at the lack of answers — supported third reading of the bill. “To British Columbians, my message is simple: nothing will ever change in this place if you continue to put in place people who do nothing but toe the party line, say one thing in a campaign and do exactly the opposite thereafter,” Weaver added. “It’s pretty clear to us that B.C. Liberals and B.C. NDP are two sides of exactly the same coin.” Today’s events April 5 at 7 a.m. – Vancouver ​ Members of the Tla'amin Nation will be joined by NPD MLA Nicholas Simons (Powell ​ ​ River—Sunshine Coast) to recognize the third anniversary of the Tla'amin Nation Treaty with a flag ceremony at the B.C. Parliament Building. April 5 at 8:15 a.m. – Vancouver ​ The 2019 Council of Forest Industries convention wraps up at the Parq Vancouver Hotel and Conference Centre. Premier John Horgan will deliver a luncheon keynote address; he will hold ​ ​ a news conference at 1:45 p.m. following his speech. April 5 at 9:30 a.m. – Burnaby ​ Social Development and Poverty Reduction Minister Shane Simpson; Education Minister Rob ​ ​ ​ Fleming; and NDP MLA Mitzi Dean, parliamentary secretary for gender equity, will make an ​ ​ ​ announcement with the United Way of the Lower Mainland regarding the Period Promise Campaign and adding menstrual products to B.C. schools. April 5 at 12 p.m. – Richmond ​ Education Minister Rob Fleming will make an announcement about improving school safety at ​ ​ Mitchell Elementary School in Richmond. April 5 at 1 p.m. – Abbotsford ​ NDP MLA Bob D'Eith (Maple Ridge—Mission) will join Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun and ​ ​ ​ ​ partners for the opening of new supportive homes at 1640 Riverside Road. April 5 at 1:30 p.m. – Richmond ​ NPD MLA Nicholas Simons (Powell River—Sunshine Coast) will join Sechelt Mayor Darnelda ​ ​ ​ Siegers and project partners for the opening of new supportive homes at 5656 Hightide ​ Avenue. April 5 at 6 p.m. – Vancouver ​ Premier John Horgan and several NDP MLAs will host a fundraiser at the Granville Island ​ ​ Hotel’s Dockside Restaurant. Weekend events April 6 at 2 p.m. – North Vancouver ​ B.C. Liberal supporters will be out doorknocking in the North Vancouver—Lonsdale riding. April 6 at 7 p.m. – Courtenay ​ NDP MLA Ronna-Rae Leonard (Courtenay—Comox) will host “an evening of stimulating ​ ​ ​ conversation and tasty snacks” at The Prime Chophouse. Topics of conversation ● A third case of measles was confirmed on Vancouver Island yesterday, bringing the total ​ ​ in this year’s outbreak to 23. “Measles should not exist in British Columbia,” Health ​ Minister Adrian Dix told reporters. “My goal is to give everyone who has not been ​ ​ immunized or has not been fully immunized … [an opportunity] to be fully immunized in April, May and June.” ○ B.C.’s catch-up immunization campaign is already underway. ​ ​ ● Liberal House Leader Mary Polak believes a regulatory tweak might be the simplest way ​ ​ to make non-smoking the default in multi-unit residential buildings in B.C. “Why is it in a ​ strata development, the default position is smoking and you have to get a two-thirds majority to make it non-smoking?” she asked.