On Friday, November 8 I had the opportunity to deliver a keynote address over lunch to delegates of the Clean Energy BC, Generate 2019 Conference. As evident in the video and slides of my presentation (reproduced below), I started the talk with a framing of what is happening in the climate system, why we should care about it and what has been done in terms of greenhouse gas mitigation. I then moved on to a discussion of potential opportunities in electrification and innovation within the emerging field of negative emission technologies.

Presentation Video

Slides Used in presentation

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In Ottawa today, Elizabeth May announced she was resigning as the leader of the Green Party of Canada. As leader of the BC  Green Party I issued a statement (reproduced below) thanking her for long-standing service. And on Twitter, I commented how she was an inspiration to me and that she demonstrated what integrity looked like in Ottawa.

Media Release

Weaver statement on resignation of Elizabeth May as leader of Green Party of Canada
For immediate release
Nov. 4, 2019

As this is the last day that the legislature will sit before Remembrance Day, the Premier rose to deliver a statement on its importance.

I rose shortly thereafter to provide a brief response, which I reproduce in text and video form below.

Video of Statement

Text of Statement

I would like to join the Leader of the Official Opposition and the Premier in spending some time to reflect upon what we will be experiencing on the 11th hour of November 11, in two weeks.

On the 11th hour of the 11th month in 1918, World War I came, officially, to an end. A year later King George V declared that November 11 would be Armistice Day. Ever since then, we’ve taken a time and a moment to reflect upon what those before us have actually accomplished, done and given to make us have the ability to live the lives that we live today.

I hear the stories from the member of the official opposition, who talks about his family. Earlier this week we had a very important moment in my family’s life, where we passed a bill memorializing Holodomor, a dark period in Ukrainian history. So many of our Canadian relatives have experiences through that.

To the Second World War. Many of us here will have ancestry in England. My father grew up as a little boy in Birmingham at a time when Coventry — the cathedral, as you all know — was bombed. They had a bomb shelter in their yard. His father worked building military planes. Outside of the house, they had smokestacks to fill the skies with black smoke so the bombers wouldn’t see the lights down below.

These are the stories that we have, but as time goes on, we begin to forget these stories. That is why November 11 is such an important day. It makes us all, each and every one of us, reflect upon what has happened so that we might collectively say: “Never again.”

As such, I think it would be entirely appropriate, hon. Speaker, with your leave, for all of us to take a moment of silence, in that we won’t be here together on that day.

Mr. Speaker: Thank you, Member.

Let us do that. A moment’s silence, please.

In the legislature today, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy tabled Bill 38: Climate Change Accountability Amendment Act, 2019. As noted in the government’s press release, “better accountability, transparency and more detailed targets for climate action will be mandated under a new Climate Change Accountability Act.”

This is an important piece of legislation that the Ministry and my office worked on collaboratively over the last year.

While British Columbia already has legislated greenhouse gas reduction targets, as well as a requirement to collect data for tracking emissions, our targets are set ten years apart and data is published on a two-year delay. Combine that with a four-year government mandate and you create a situation where political parties spend the first two years blaming their predecessors for bad results and the next two years saying they are just getting started while making promises they can only fulfill if you vote them back in. Then, before you know it, the ten year target is within sight, but by that time it is too late to substantively change you emissions trajectory.

As a climate scientist, I know that transparent, accurate, timely, and publicly accessible data is crucial to achieving our climate commitments. Trust us is not good climate policy. The amendments included in this act add real credibility to our province’s efforts.

The transparency and accountability mechanisms embedded within this bill set an evidence-based foundation from which future climate change risk, adaptation and mitigation  policy can be built.

Below I reproduce my speaking notes from the joint press conference Minister Heyman and I held. I also reproduce the press release that our office issued once the bill was introduced

Speaking Notes

The Climate Change Accountability Amendment Act tabled today demonstrates minority governments can move beyond political rhetoric and collaborate on ambitious climate legislation.

This act introduces transparency and accountability mechanisms that, if passed, will last well beyond this current government and set an evidence-based foundation from which all future climate policy can be built.

As a climate scientist, I know that transparent, accurate, timely, and publicly accessible data is crucial to achieving our climate commitments.

Trust us is not good climate policy. The amendments included in this act add real credibility to our province’s efforts.

British Columbia already has legislated greenhouse gas reduction targets, as well as a requirement to collect data for tracking emissions, but targets are set ten years apart and data is published on a two-year delay.

Combine that with a four-year government mandate and you create a situation where party leaders spend the first two years blaming their predecessors for bad results and the next two years saying they are just getting started while making promises they can only fulfill if you vote them back in. Then, before you know it, the ten year target is within sight, but by that time it is too late to substantively change you emissions trajectory.

I have seen so many promising policies fail because of this pattern of inaction, so fixing it was a top priority.

Bringing in diverse perspectives to tackle policy is the strength of this minority government. The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy has been exceptional in reaching out to our caucus over these many months. It has been a remarkable experience to collaborate with Minister Heyman and his team on the development of this critical piece of legislation.

Media Release

Legislation introduced to Ensure Climate Action Accountability
For immediate release
Oct. 30, 2019

VICTORIA, B.C. – The Climate Change Accountability Amendment Act tabled today demonstrates minority governments can move beyond political rhetoric and collaborate on ambitious climate legislation. This act introduces transparency and accountability mechanisms that, if passed, will last well beyond this current government and set an evidence-based foundation from which all future climate policy can be built.

“Campaign trail promises to address climate change are meaningless without concrete policy action to bring those promises to fruition,” said B.C. Green Party leader Dr. Andrew Weaver, MLA from Oak Bay- Gordon Head. “As a climate scientist, I know that transparent, accurate, timely, and publicly accessible data is crucial to achieving our climate commitments. ‘Trust us’ is not good climate policy. The amendments included in this act add real credibility to our province’s efforts.”

British Columbia already has legislated greenhouse gas reduction targets, as well as a requirement to collect data for tracking emissions, but targets are set ten years apart and data is published on a two-year delay.

“Combine that with a four-year government mandate and you create a situation where party leaders spend the first two years blaming their predecessors for bad results and the next two years saying they are just getting started while making promises they can only fulfill if you vote them back in,” said MLA Weaver. “I have seen so many promising policies fail because of this pattern of inaction, so fixing it was a top priority.”

This legislation will cut through those excuses by shortening the time scale and increasing transparency: Interim targets allow for evaluations and course corrections before it is too late; Annual emissions reporting standards and sectoral targets assist both industry and the public in identifying where emissions originate, which policies are working, which are not, and how everything aligns with our province’s fiscal forecast; A legislated and independent advisory committee will provide another check on government and ensure a diverse range of perspectives is always included.

“Bringing in diverse perspectives to tackle policy is the strength of this minority government,” Weaver said. “The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy has been exceptional in reaching out to our caucus over these many months. It has been a remarkable experience to collaborate with Minister Heyman and his team on the development of this critical piece of legislation.”

The Climate Change Accountability Amendment Act is a legislated component of CleanBC, which sets a pathway to a stronger, more sustainable future by reducing carbon pollution and creating economic opportunities across the province. CleanBC was collaboratively developed by the government and the B.C. Green Caucus and supports the commitment in the Confidence and Supply Agreement to implement climate action to meet B.C.’s emission targets.

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Media contact
Macon L.C.  McGinley, Press Secretary
B.C. Green Caucus
+1 250-882-6187 | macon.mcginley@leg.bc.ca

Today in the legislature my private member’s Bill M225: Ukrainian Famine and Genocide (Holodomor) Memorial Day Act, which I introduced on October 23rd and spoke to at second reading  yesterday, passed unanimously in the house. It will receive Royal Assent on Thursday and subsequently be in effect immediately thereafter.

During committee stage I thanked the Members from the Official Opposition and Government for their support of the bill (brief remarks reproduced below in video and in text).

After its passage, a reception was held in the legislature. His Excellency Andriy Shevchenko, the Ukrainian Ambassador to Canada, was at the reception where he spoke to the importance of the bill.

I append below the press release my office issued in association with the bill’s passage.

Media Release

BC Green PMB passes unanimously to recognize the millions of  Ukrainians killed in man-made famine
For immediate release
Oct. 29, 2019

VICTORIA, B.C. – A Private Member’s Bill from the B.C. Green Caucus passed unanimously today to honour those who died during the Holodomor – the Ukrainian Famine and Genocide of 1932-33. The legislation officially proclaims the fourth Saturday of November Ukrainian Famine and Genocide (Holodomor) Memorial Day.

The bill was introduced by B.C. Green Leader Andrew Weaver and is the result of collaboration with Bruce Ralston, Minister of Jobs, Trade and Technology, who introduced similar legislation in 2009.

“By enshrining Ukrainian Famine and Genocide (Holodomor) Memorial Day as an officially designated day in British Columbia, we are acknowledging and honouring the millions of people who were victims of this deliberate political strategy of starvation and we are asserting our collective pledge: never again,” said Dr. Andrew Weaver, MLA from Oak Bay- Gordon Head. “My grandfather and his family were survivors of the Holodomor. He and his wife, together with my mother and her siblings, made their way to Canada after the Second World War. She told me stories of living in a refugee camp in southern Europe and a chicken coop in France as they made their way to safety.

“Since then thousands more Ukrainians have made Canada their home, adding to the diversity of this great nation and contributing to its culture and prosperity. I am proud to be counted among the descendants who have made British Columbia their home.”

While the government of Canada has legislation recognizing this day, B.C. has never formally had its own legislation doing so. The gesture was more than symbolic for the Canadian Ukrainian community in B.C., and Ukrainian delegates witnessed second and third readings to show their support, including: Andriy Shevchenko, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Canada; Oleksandr Danyleiko, Consul General of Ukraine to Edmonton; Lubomyr Huculak, Honorary Consul of Ukraine at Vancouver; and Mr. Oleksii Liashenko, Counsellor with the Embassy.

This bill is the result of the shared values of this minority government and the B.C. Green Caucus’ collaboration with the Minister of Jobs, Trade and Technology. It will be implemented by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.

“This legislation creating a memorial day for the victims and survivors of the Holodomor is the culmination of efforts spanning many years, starting with a private member’s bill I introduced back in 2009,” said Minister Ralston. “It is important that we take this time to reflect on this atrocity and pay homage to the survivors and their descendants living in B.C. who contribute so much to the strength and prosperity of this great province.”

“As we mourn the lives lost from one of the most heinous acts in history, we commit to stand together against hatred and violence in all its forms,” said Lisa Beare, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture.“The official declaration of Holodomor Memorial Day in B.C. speaks to the determination and leadership of our government to learn from this terrible event in Ukrainian history and our resolve to stand up against racism, hate and discrimination here in B.C. and around the world.”

These principles transcend party lines, as evidenced by the unanimous support it received.

“Holomodor, or death by hunger, was inflicted upon millions of Ukrainian citizens in the early 1930’s by draconian communist party policy. It carries with it a tragic legacy which is only considered a genocide by 16 countries in the world,” said Tom Shypitka, MLA for Kootenay East. “By formally commemorating Holodomor Memorial Day, we take a firm stance alongside the people of Ukraine and all their descendants by recognizing this dark period in world history and ensuring that through knowledge and acceptance of the past, we will never allow similar atrocities to happen.”

“Ukrainians and their descendants- indeed all of us- must never forget the atrocity of the Holodomor,” said MLA Weaver, “lest we forget. This legislation represents our commitment to remember our collective responsibility to challenge hatred and intolerance and to protect the vulnerable people in our society.

The mood was celebratory once the House stood after third reading.

“But today is also about life. It is about celebrating the beautiful, strong people who have added so much to British Columbia – to our economy, our food, our music. We are a great symphony of cultures here in this province. Today, we ensure that the light from the millions who died is never extinguished from our consciousness even as we celebrate their legacy.”

MLA Weaver, Minister Ralston, Minister Beare, MLA Shypitka, and the Ukrainian delegates gathered after the house recessed in the Ned DeBeck Lounge to listen to the Victoria-based LUNA Ukrainian Ensemble.

Background

• The Ukrainian Famine and Genocide killed between three and four million Ukrainians between 1932 and 1933 as part of Joseph Stalin’s plan to eliminate a democratic independence movement.
• The atrocities, including the total deaths, were covered up by Soviet authorities for decades.
• The survivors and their descendants have contributed to their communities across Canada and in BC.
• B.C. has annually proclaimed Holodomor Day the fourth Saturday in November under the Federal legislation. This legislation removes the need to annually proclaim this day by designating on the fourth Saturday in November Ukrainian Famine and Genocide (Holodomor) Memorial Day to exist in perpetuity.

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Media contact
Macon L.C.  McGinley, Press Secretary
B.C. Green Caucus
+1 250-882-6187 |macon.mcginley@leg.bc.ca

Text of Remarks

A. Weaver: I’m very excited that we’re moving to committee stage. I suspect, with a bill that’s rather short, it’s quite clear the questions will be minimal.

I do want to, once more, acknowledge members of the official opposition and members of government, including the ministers sitting beside me — the Minister of Jobs, Trade and Technology and the Minister of Tourism — for their support on this bill. I look forward to any questions that may come during this committee stage.

Sections 1 and 2 approved.

Preamble approved.

Title approved.

A. Weaver: I move the committee rise and report the bill complete without amendment.

Motion approved.

Video of Remarks