Media Release: September 30, 2015
Andrew Weaver Calls Site C Dam Fiscally Foolish
For Immediate Release

Victoria B.C. – In a debate on the Site C dam in the B.C. Legislature today Andrew Weaver, MLA for Oak Bay – Gordon Head and Deputy Leader of the B.C. Green Party will reject the need for the Site C dam, calling the project ‘fiscally foolish, socially irresponsible and environmentally unsound’.

The debate has been called on a motion brought forward by the Minister of Energy and Mines, The Honourable Bill Bennett, for the House to support the construction of the Site C Clean Energy Project.

In his response to the motion, Andrew Weaver will make seven points arguing alternatives to Site C which will demonstrate clear fiscal, environmental and social benefits for the province.

1: Site C will require the flooding of 16,000 acres of viable agricultural land where alternative energy projects can provide the same power without the footprint;
2: First Nations traditional land use and provincial historical sites would be preserved;
3: Job creation associated with Site C is constrained to one region while alternative energy projects would benefit communities throughout the province, with better long term job prospects;
4: Cost overruns associated to Site C will be borne by provincial taxpayers. Solar, wind and geothermal project risks are covered by industry;
5: Renewable energy projects can be done in partnership with First Nations who would directly benefit through employment and revenue from installed facilities;
6: Site C will take far longer to complete, and is not scalable compared to wind and solar.
7: Renewable energy projects would be located closer to where the energy is required, benefiting regions throughout the province, and reducing energy loss through transmission.

While the Joint Review Panel did not specifically recommend or reject the Site C project, the report highlighted the lack of analysis on renewable alternatives, significant adverse effects on fish, wildlife and wetlands, and unmitigable adverse effects on First Nations traditional land use. In addition, the Canadian Geothermal Energy Association issued a comprehensive report demonstrating the viability of equivalent firm power at a cheaper megawatt rate, and with construction costs of $3.3 billion vs the estimated Site C costs now approaching $9 billion.

“I have been pointing out for several years now that Site C is the wrong project at the wrong time” said Andrew Weaver, “There are clear, viable and cheaper alternatives which the government is deliberately ignoring in order to justify a truly damaging decision. Imagine if we invested $9 billion into the clean technology sector, what a boost that would mean to the economy and employment around the province.”

The full transcript of Andrew Weaver’s speech is attached and will be available at www.andrewjweaver.ca, along with previous statements and analysis on the Site C project.

Media Inquiries

Mat Wright
Press Secretary – Andrew Weaver MLA
Cell: 250 216 3382
Mat.wright@leg.bc.ca
Twitter: @MatVic

Parliament Buildings
Room 027C
Victoria BC V8V 1X4

Today in the Legislature I rose to speak in support of Bill 29 – Property Taxation (Exemptions) Statutes Amendment Act, 2015.

Bill 29 ensures that there is consistent treatment across the province with respect to the way independent schools are subjected to municipal property taxation. Presently only the land immediately under a school building is exempt from municipal taxation. While most municipalities extend the exemption to the rest of the school property (playgrounds, playing fields etc.) there have been a few exceptions and some municipalities are contemplating the idea.

Below is the text of my speech at second reading.

Text of 2^nd Reading Speech

A. Weaver: It gives me great pleasure to stand and speak in support of Bill 29, Property Taxation (Exemptions) Statutes Amendment Act. My riding is particularly interesting in that there are presently six…. Well, there are five high schools now, but after the election boundaries are redefined, there’ll be six high schools. Three of them are public schools, and three of them are independent schools. Oak Bay, Lambrick, Mount Doug — public schools. St. Michaels and Maria Montessori are presently in the riding and independent schools. Glenlyon Norfolk, soon to be in the riding, as well, is another independent school.

We have much to be proud of, of our education system in British Columbia. Despite what some might have said, Canada ranks at the very top, internationally, in the program for international student assessment scores, particularly in the area of sciences and reading. If we look at the 2012 science rankings, worldwide, No. 1 was Shanghai, China. No. 2, Hong Kong, China. No. 3, Singapore. No. 4, Japan. No. 5, Finland. And No. 6, British Columbia.

Now, when you compare that to 2003, in fact, two of those — Shanghai and Singapore — were not part of the 2003 assessment. So in essence, British Columbia would have been ranked No. 4, worldwide, in terms of science achievement, whereas in 2003, British Columbia was ranked No. 6. So we have much to be proud of in British Columbia with respect to our science education.

The same is true with our language arts. In 2003, No. 1 in the world was Finland. Alberta was No. 2, and British Columbia, No. 3. Since 2002, a number of other jurisdictions have participated in the international PISA. So we see Shanghai and Singapore moving up. British Columbia dropped to No. 6, which would have been fifth if you accounted other jurisdictions that weren’t there.

But what is really important to note is how it did relative to other provinces in Canada and the much-touted Finnish education system. I’ll come to Finland in a second, because in 2003, Finland ranked No. 1 in science, No. 3 in mathematics and No. 1 in reading. British Columbia was sixth in science, fifth in mathematics and third in reading.

Now, what’s indicative of a government that has somewhat lost touch with developing advancements in education, for reasons unknown to anybody, the B.C. government sent a young person to Finland to study the Finnish system. I understand that if you’re looking at the 2003 PISA assessments, you might want to understand the Finnish system. But in 2012, British Columbia was above Finland in mathematics, was above Finland in reading and was tied, statistically so, in science. There’s much to be proud of about our education system in British Columbia, and we do not need to study the Finnish system to find that out.

We are the top-ranked province in Canada, in terms of science education as well as reading, and yet that was not the case in 2003. Alberta was the top-ranked province in all three areas covered by PISA. But there is one area that B.C. does have some trouble with and I would argue that this has nothing to do with the quality of our teachers in British Columbia, but rather as the quality of the means and the ways they’re being trained to teach mathematics.

Mathematics is the one subject where B.C. has dropped, relative to other jurisdictions, in the move that has moved mathematics from learning the times tables by rote memorizing — learning by memorization, a critical aspect of learning mathematics — and moving into trying to understand what that means. You should know that seven times eight is 56, right off the bat. That’s a critical building block. But you shouldn’t necessarily have to know in grade 3 that….

M. Farnworth: Nine times seven?

A. Weaver: Sixty-three, and nine times nine is 81.

But today in school you’re not taught nine times seven is 63. You’re taught that nine times seven is ten times seven minus one times seven. Now, that’s an abstract idea that many people in elementary education simply can’t grasp. If you want to know why we’re going down in maths, you have only to look at the way our teachers are being trained in the universities, not the quality of the teachers themselves. Apart from mathematics, we rank at the very top internationally.

I will not listen to those who bemoan the state of our education system in B.C. We rank second to no other province in terms of quality, and we’re one of the top nations internationally and certainly the top nation in the western hemisphere.

What does that have to do with the bill? Well, it has to do with treating independent schools the same as public schools. Presently, the contents of this bill are actually in play in the Vancouver Charter already. The Vancouver Charter is quite specific in terms of what can or cannot be included in property taxation. This bill essentially says to the rest of the province that we’re going to be consistent. Whether you be in Victoria, Prince George, Kelowna, whether you be in Fernie, whether you be in Haida Gwaii, Prince Rupert, schools will be treated one and the same in terms of their property taxation.

Many people often don’t realize that we’ve had independent schools in Canada since the 17^th century when the first Catholic schools were established in Quebec. In many jurisdictions, we have publicly funded school boards that fall along denominational lines. In Ontario and Alberta, for example, we have Catholic school boards and we have non-Catholic school boards. They’re both public school systems that go back to Confederation days. Here in B.C., we would call Catholic schools independent schools, where in other provinces, they’re considered part of the public system.

We have other potential problems which exist presently. Let’s suppose right now that we have a Catholic school on church property. How does that fall within the property taxation realm? Is it a church? Is it an independent school? Is it in the Catholic school board? No. This needs to be cleared up. While this bill is very short in terms of length, it’s important in terms of substance, because it actually closes a lot of potential problems that could create a potpourri of odd property taxations across the province.

One of the things that I support in this bill is the fact that it does not apply to things like endowment lands, things like houses for staff, for example, if there may be some independent schools that provide housing for their teachers. There may be some other independent schools that have large endowment lands. These are not being covered under this legislation. It’s simply the school and that which is typically used in school.

There are benefits for that. A school in my riding, Glenlyon — well, soon to be my riding; half the school is in my riding — for example, has a lovely Astro Turf field that is used by the local community in partnership, the Bays United soccer community. They have a public relationship with the independent school, yet there is a potential — it’s not right now — for that to be taxed, even though the public is benefiting from this field that is used by all.

In summary, then, first off I would like to recognize that we do have an outstanding education system. It does not help our education system when we continue to bemoan the problems in it instead of celebrating the successes in it. Sure, there are problems in our education system. There are problems in everything around us. But we will not move this education system forward if all we do is fixate on the negative that’s in it.

Secondly, I think fairness is critical. This bill provides fairness, recognizing that there are other provinces where independent schools, like the Catholic system, are actually part of the public system, whereas in B.C. we’ve never had Catholic school boards. Finally, it does not exclude some of the extraneous properties attached with an independent school. Those will be subject to municipal taxes.

With that, I thank you for your time. I’m only sad that the new Minister of Education is no longer sitting beside me, but across the hall. I do appreciate your office, hon. Speaker, and of those House Leaders, in preparing me here in the Legislature for two upcoming by-elections so that my colleagues can sit beside me.

Video of 2^nd Reading Speech

The Vote

Second reading of Bill 29 approved unanimously on a division.

We are pleased to welcome the Alzheimer Society of B.C. to deliver a free community workshop on October 2^nd on how we can be part of creating a more dementia-friendly community.

The workshop, to be given by Rebecca Morris, Alzheimer Society of B.C. Advocacy Analyst, will focus on how to best support people living with dementia in our community. It will cover topics such as:

• understanding the signs and symptoms
• addressing misconceptions
• practical communication tips
• essential information on wandering behaviour

The workshop will give you new ideas and skills for when you are communicating with people living with dementia in your community. We can all play a role in making our community a great place to live for people with dementia!

We invite all interested community members to attend this free workshop and join us in our ongoing efforts to create communities which are friendlier to those living with dementia.

**Please note, space for the workshop is limited to 30 seats and everyone interested in attending must RSVP by email, to andrew.weaver.mla@leg.bc.ca, or by phone, to (250) 472-8528**

Event Details:
Date: Friday, October 2^nd
Time: 2:00pm – 3:30pm
Location: Berwick House, 4062 Shelbourne Street, Victoria, BC
Please RSVP to: Andrew.Weaver.MLA@leg.bc.ca or (250)472-8528

If you are a caregiver or person living with dementia looking for information or assistance please call the Alzheimer Society of B.C.’s First Link Dementia Helpline at 1-800-616-8816.

Text of my Opening Remarks

Your Honour, Mayor Jensen and Distinguished Guests:

Today is a glorious day; one in which we recognize and honour the magnificent achievements of Queen Elizabeth II. Today, Queen Elizabeth II becomes the longest reigning monarch in British History.

Since Confederation in 1867, only six monarchs have ruled over Canada – Elizabeth II has been our Queen since she was 25 and for 43% of Canada’s history as a nation. I was not even born in 1953 when the Queen ascended the throne and my father, who marched in the Queen’s coronation procession with the University of Bristol Training Corps, was a twenty-year old undergraduate student.

During her reign, Elizabeth II has witnessed the election of twelve British Prime Ministers and eleven Canadian Prime Ministers (and possibly twelve a month from now). Eleven Governors General and twelve Lieutenant Governors of British Columbia have served as her representatives.

Canada has been the country most visited by The Queen throughout her reign of sixty-three years and, at eighty-nine years of age, the Queen still travels and keeps a full schedule of engagements.

Queen Elizabeth has participated in twenty-four Royal trips to Canada; She has often stated that it is her ‘second home’, feeling totally at ease in our wonderful nation. Here in Oak Bay we will never forget Her Majesty’s attendance at the 1994 Commonwealth Games. And Canucks fans across the province will recall her dropping the ceremonial puck (with Wayne Gretzky) at an exhibition game between the Canucks and the San Jose Sharks in 2002.

Her Majesty’s Canadian tours have included visits to each of the thirteen provinces and territories, frequently playing a key role in national celebrations and honour ceremonies. Though many of the Queen’s duties in Canada have been delegated to her Canadian representatives, she describes having a very deeply held affection for, and loyalty to, our country – which she first toured as Princess Elizabeth in 1951.

Our Queen is also a dedicated supporter of many Canadian charities and public organizations, such as the Canadian Cancer Society, the Canadian Nurses’ Association, the Canadian Red Cross Society, the Royal Canadian Humane Association, and Save the Children – Canada.

Elizabeth II has shown remarkable dedication and commitment in her role as our Queen. I am sincerely grateful to Councilor Hazel Braithwaite, Mayor Nils Jensen and the Municipality of Oak Bay for creating this opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s tremendous accomplishments. Thank you for allowing me to participate in this historic event.

Long Live the Queen

This is the 22^nd in our series of stories celebrating the outstanding accomplishments of youth in our community. These inspirational young adults are enriching our lives with their passion and commitment to the betterment of society.

Ruby Tang

Ruby was one of a group of students who visited my MLA office in April of this year. Across BC similar groups were visiting MLA offices asking MLAs to commit to do what they can to stop attempts to increase thermal (as opposed to metallurgical) coal exports through BC ports (I‘ve written extensively about this in the past). It was the first time I had the opportunity to meet and chat with Ruby and I was delighted to sign the pledge (and subsequently mount it and hang it in my constituency office). I was also profoundly impressed by her commitment and passion.

Ruby is a multi-talented young woman who excels at school and is working towards the betterment of her community in so many ways. She was born in Victoria, attended Willows Elementary School and Monterey Middle School before attending Oak Bay High School. This week Ruby starts her final year in the newly built Oak Bay High School.

Ruby loves languages and learning about diverse cultures. Her parents immigrated to Canada from mainland China (near Guangzhou in Canton Province) when they were young adults. Ruby has studied at the Victoria Chinese Public School and speaks Mandarin and Cantonese. She received academic awards every year from 2009 to 2014 and a Chinese Painting Award in 2011. She remains closely affiliated to the school through acting as a grade one teacher’s assistant and (starting this fall) as an assistant in the Chinese water colour painting class. In addition, Ruby helps teach and rehearse Chinese cultural dance to younger students, aiding them to prepare for performances including the Chinese New Year celebrations and the Victoria Day parade.

At the Victoria Chinese Public School, Ruby has taken a great interest in the history of Victoria’s Chinese community. She has been able to transcribe or transliterate from Chinese (Cantonese) to English and she helps out as a volunteer at the Royal BC Museum. Her volunteer duties have included doing research for the human history department at the Royal BC Museum.

Ruby is a very accomplished musician. A student with the Victoria Conservatory of Music (VCM) since 2005, she has achieved the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) Grade 10 level in piano. She is currently working on achieving an Associate of the Royal Conservatory (ARCT) Diploma in piano performance. This is the highest academic standing for performance awarded by the Royal Conservatory. Included in her list of awards are the VCM Millicent Lavoy Piano Award (2014); the Hilda King RCM Theory Award (2013) and the VCM David Foster Piano Award (2011).

Ruby started learning to play the violin in Grade 5 and was in the School Districts’ Strings Program until Grade 10, enjoying many opportunities to perform at school concerts, during school tours, community performances and arts festivals.

An exceptional student academically, Ruby has achieved a Grade Point Average of 5.0 with Distinction in Grades 9, 10 and 11 (averages above 90% each year). When we interviewed Ruby for this article, it was during the summer and she was attending summer school to complete English 12 – to get it done so there would be more time for the many activities Ruby will pursue in her graduating year. For example, she will be co-leading the Environment Club, participating in the Debate Club and continuing a project she is working on (and co-founded) with students from two other high schools called Victoria Youth Matters. The aim of Victoria Youth Matters is to “engage youth in politics and engage politicians in youth”. With a federal election coming in October, Ruby and the other co-founders will be holding all candidates forums for their local electoral ridings. The topics chosen would be based on a survey of youth’s understanding, interest and opinions on politics.

Ruby has received many awards and accolades for her achievements at school and for her leadership and service to the broader community. In 2015, these have so far included being the Community Leadership and Philanthropy Pillar Representative at the Old School Farewell Ceremony, receiving the Oak Bay High Difference Maker Award, Best Overall Leadership Student Award and the Most Involved in the Community Award. In the community, Ruby received a District of Oak Bay Young Exceptional Star Award in 2014 and in 2015 she was the keynote speaker at the Young Exceptional Stars annual event.

Ruby was Student Council Community Leader Representative in Grade 10 and Student Council Treasurer in Grade 11. Other school involvement includes the Cops for Cancer Campaign, Peer Tutoring and helping new students settle in at Oak Bay High. She has assisted the school counsellor by translating between English and Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin) for new students (and their parents) from China. In Grade 12, Ruby will also lead the Amnesty International Club at her school.

We are not sure where a person would find the time and energy to do more, but there is much more on Ruby’s plate. She has been very active in the Rotary Club’s International Action Club (known as Interact Club) at Oak Bay High. In Grade 11, as Interact Club President, she conducted meetings, organized events and worked on projects that benefited the school as well as projects that promote international goodwill. She was fortunate to attend a Rotary Youth Leadership Conference in Tacoma Washington in Grade 10, where she further developed leadership skills. In May 2015, Ruby took part in “Adventures in Citizenship”, an annual Interact program where 200 youth from across Canada travel to Ottawa to learn about the history of politics, explore Canadian identity and learn about our democratic institutions.

Ruby has been active in the community as a volunteer in many ways, including the Oak Bay Lodge “Memory Café”, where youth discuss topics of interest and share memories with senior citizens; the Victoria Dragon Boat Festival and the Oak Bay Tea Party. As I noted earlier, she has participated in the youth-led “Defend Our Future” action and she was part of the organizing team for the YesBC (Youth for Environmental Stewardship) 2015 Youth Climate Action Summit & Off the Grid Music Festival.

To challenge herself, Ruby joined the girl’s school rugby team last year and found out that she loves the sport and she hopes to play in Grade 12. She has also been on the school’s badminton and cross country teams. She has a Bronze Cross in Lifeguard and Lifesaving from the Canadian Red Cross, including standard first aid and CPR training.

In looking 10 years ahead, Ruby will have completed her post-secondary education and she hopes to be working on social justice issues in some way, possibly as a diplomat. When asked what makes her happy, she said “making a difference in people’s lives makes me happy”. She has been inspired by many people, including Mr. Alan York (recently retired as a counsellor at Oak Bay High) and Mr. Tim Bradshaw, Oak Bay High teacher, debate coach and sponsor of the school’s Rotary Interact club. Another person who has been an inspiration to Ruby is Winnifred Scott Wood, her past piano teacher.

Ruby is an outstanding ambassador for youth in so many ways. She’s highly motivated and organized and she takes on new challenges willingly. While she may accomplish so much and help so many, you would never know it from her quiet, modest and unassuming manner. Thank you, Ruby for all your contributions and hard work in your school and community. Oak Bay is a better place because of all that you do.