Today in the legislature I spoke at second reading strongly in favour of Bill 3 – Election Amendment Act, 2017. This is the Bill that eliminates corporate and union donations in BC politics. In my speech, which I reproduce below (in text and video), I attempt to address many of the issues that have come up in the public debate of this bill.

Text of Speech

A. Weaver: It gives me great pleasure to rise and take my place in second reading debate of Bill 3, Election Amendment Act, 2017, a bill that I will speak, obviously, in favour of.

This bill culminates many, many years of public pressure, of opposition pressure, of desire across British Columbia to actually get big money out of B.C. politics. When we made campaign finance reform one of our top priorities in the last election, we did so as a matter of principle. We recognized that it was not right for unions and corporations to fund political parties.

The B.C. Green Party took the position that if we were going to criticize others for receiving union and corporate donations, we should not be receiving them ourselves. It was almost exactly a year ago today that we, the B.C. Green Party, stopped accepting union and corporate donations, and do you know what, hon. Speaker? Our fundraising went through the roof as a direct consequence of that, because British Columbians want big money out of politics.

As I go through my comments here, I’ll draw attention to this, because it’s very relevant to what we see today. If the B.C. Liberals truly feel, as a matter of principle, that public financing, transitional financing is not what they can support, then I encourage them to do the principled approach, the approach that B.C. Greens took, and not accept it, and fight to change it in the future.

I’ll come to some precedent for this, and I’ll talk about why what is before us here in the Legislature is based on good public policy. When it became clear to us that a minority government was in the works, this was one of our top priorities. We wanted to work with whichever government formed the majority, with our support in the House, to ensure that this became a top priority.

We had five basic principles that we wanted to see in place. We wanted to see the elimination of special interests in B.C. elections — that is, we wanted to ensure that all forms of corporate and union influence were removed, including in-kind contributions. We’re pleased to see that here in the legislation before us.

We wanted to ensure that there was a limit on the influence that existing corporate and union donations could have on future elections. That is, we were concerned, of course, that in the aftermath of the last election, massive corporate fundraising or union fundraising campaigns could be done in advance of banning big money and put away in little cubbyholes for use in a future election.

We wanted to ensure that non-residents could not donate to B.C. elections. Now, I recognize that I received a couple of small donations from my family who live around the world, and that won’t be allowed anymore, but I think we can forgo that. As a matter of principle, the B.C. Greens did not actually criticize others for accepting those, because we recognized that family members were supporting members in this House in the legislation.

The second thing that we wanted to ensure was that B.C. had one of the lowest individual contributions in this country. Now, what we would believe is the gold standard in British Columbia is the Quebec standard, with massive public financing. We recognize that $100 per individual might be something that was not palatable to everyone, and we agree that $1,200 is a wonderful compromise. It’s $100 per month, making us the second-lowest limit in Canada. This puts donating to political parties in the very reach of all individuals, so that each person has a very similar role in terms of funding that is not only left there for the rich and wealthy.

We’ve heard comment from opposite, time and time again, that this bill is an affront to democracy and that somehow the taxpayer is now being asked to fund what otherwise individuals were. That’s actually not true. It’s not true at a very fundamental level. Every donation that a corporation made, up to the maximum corporation credit, was able to get up to $500 of a tax credit. But not only that. A donation would not be considered revenue; it would be considered an expense, the cost of doing business in British Columbia.

The number of times I heard that donating to the B.C. Liberals was the cost of doing business — very important words, because that’s a write-off in B.C. I can’t count the number of times. You know, the taxpayer was subsidizing, because for every dollar that cost of doing business was given to the B.C. Liberals, 11 cents was not coming to the taxpayer, because they were not paying that corporate tax rate. But they were also claiming the $500 tax credit.

I’ve heard time and time again here today that somehow people have no choice as to who they fund now. Again, the people of British Columbia are smart. The B.C. Liberals take them for fools. They recognize that in the transitional allowance, you do have a say as to who you fund. It’s who you vote for. So each person, for the price of about the same as it costs to get a Starbucks grande if you bring your own cup — $2.50 in year one — actually donates to a political party.

We’ve heard story after story in this Legislature of the type of gifts to donors, those corporate elites who’ve given to the B.C. Liberals. What has come back? We’re talking about $2.50 a year. A Starbucks grande in your own cup. That’s the cost to the taxpayer. I’ll come to that more later.

The third thing we wanted to ensure, and we’re so pleased to see it in this bill, is that overall spending limits were reduced. We see that happening here both for political parties and for third parties.

The fourth thing we wanted to see is that loopholes would be closed to avoid the U.S.-style super PAC system, a system where money flows to unaccountable third parties in lieu of flowing directly to the political parties at play. Again, we’re excited by some of the offerings in this bill. Finally, we wanted to have this bill tabled first or early in the new session.

We’re very pleased that the B.C. Liberals did, in the summer, introduce a bill that was part of a political show to actually ensure that confidence was given to them in the lead-up to the Premier having to see the Lieutenant-Governor.

Our understanding is there’s a lot of good stuff in the bill that the B.C. Liberals introduced in the summer and reproduced here in the private member’s bill by the member for Vancouver-Quilchena.

We also appreciate that the Premier promised in the election — a promise which was met — that banning big money would be the first bill he would introduce in the Legislature, the first bill that was brought in. Obviously, he’s not counting the bill to note the supremacy of the Crown. This happened indeed. So we’re very, very excited by the prospects of this bill passing in the Legislature.

This bill does a number of things. First off, it puts a ban on contributions from non-eligible individuals where an eligible individual is defined as a resident of British Columbia and a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident. No longer can any person, entity, union or corporation anywhere in the world donate any amount of money anytime they want to any political party they want. Now you actually have to live in B.C. You actually have to be a resident of B.C.

We’re also excited that prior contributions cannot be put forward to the next election, and we’re excited that $1,200 is now the limit in terms of what an individual can donate. What’s important, too, is that specified fundraising functions in private residences and the other fundraising functions now have conditions associated with them. A “specified fundraising function” is now defined as a function held by a political party that has a member of the executive council, a parliamentary secretary or a leader of a major political party in attendance.

This is important. No longer can you pay $25,000 for exclusive events with somebody inside the decision-making cabinet in the province of British Columbia. In private residences, no more can people host pay-for-access events that charge anything greater than $100 for access as a front up — another good addition in this Legislature. And all other fundraising events, regardless of location, that meet the definition of “specified fundraising function” have additional disclosure and transparency requirements. Again, we’re very pleased with this.

The $1,200 limit per individual makes us the second-lowest max limit in Canada for personal contributions. This is exciting because you can donate $1,200, but you can’t find loopholes. Okay, we’ll allow $1,200 for leadership races as well, but you can’t donate $1,200 to the party and then $1,200 to each of the constituency associations across the province as well. It’s $1,200 one-off.

Now, this is a very important addition, and I would argue that government gave up a lot here, because on the government side, most ridings have what are called constituency associations. These are independent political entities for which a case could have been made that you could donate $1,200 to each constituency association and then $1,200 to the government as well. That’s not happening. It’s $1,200 — period. That’s something that the B.C. NDP gave up, and it’s something that put them at a disadvantage to the Liberals, who have riding associations that are not separate political entities. It’s the same with the B.C. Greens. We have the riding associations, not the separate political entities called constituency associations.

This bill also creates new party and candidate expense limits. Again, this is exciting. It’s exciting because it’s not a race to the bottom. We’re finding roughly a 25 percent reduction in the overall limit of what can be spent in elections, and we have new expense limits for the political parties and candidates during the campaign period. For political parties, the $116,000 multiplied by the number of eligible voters, about 3.66 million, is the limit. Candidates in ridings have $58,000 as the limit.

Again, you can run a good campaign — I think that’s about what we spent in this last campaign, or something like that — on $58,000.

This bill also creates a new system of allowances and reimbursements for political parties. This is where there seems to be some discontent in the official opposition. The new allowance is providing a transitional allowance that decreases over five years, and I’ll outline it here as follows. In 2018, it’s $2.50 per vote received in the 2017 provincial election. In 2019, it’s $2.25 a vote. In 2020, it’s $2.00 a vote. In 2021, it’s $1.75 a vote. And in 2022, it’s also $1.75 a vote, going to committee after that stage.

Now, the righteous indignation coming from opposite would suggest that somehow this is abhorrent. The member for Chilliwack-Kent berated all of us here, thinking that somehow this is impossible to imagine. Yet it’s exactly what happened federally. When Mr. Chrétien was the Prime Minister, we brought in per-vote funding that transitioned to zero as afterwards, through the Harper administration, as the government moved from a per-vote system in the free-for-all that used to exist, a transitional allowance to take us to the refund 50 percent after.

Now, what is remarkable, what is truly remarkable about the discourse that we’re hearing here is that it is the B.C. Greens who would benefit most if there was no transitional allowance. But would democracy benefit most? I don’t think so.

If we eliminated the transitional allowance today, nothing would change for the B.C. Green Party. Our fundraising would be identical to what it is. We’ve already banned union and corporate donations. Almost all of our donations, 90-something percent, come from donations under $1,200 a year. We’ve got thousands and thousands of people donating small amounts. But it is the B.C. Liberals and the B.C. NDP that would be hurled into chaos when suddenly they move from millions of dollars a year to a few hundred thousand dollars a year, initially, of fundraising. Gone are their corporate and union donations. Is this good for democracy? I don’t know. I don’t think so.

The irony here is the B.C. Greens support this transitional subsidy precisely because we think it’s important for democracy, for us to transition from the Wild West to the wonderful west by moving and allowing our main political parties the resources that they need to function in this transition, because otherwise, democracy in British Columbia will be in a state, and we don’t believe that is in the best interests of British Columbians.

Now, I’ll come to some specific examples of that in a second, but as I mentioned, federally, there’s a reimbursement of 50 percent of your expenses if you get something like above…. I believe it’s 5 percent in your riding and 2 percent thereafter. These are important decisions that can be made in time as to what those actual numbers are in British Columbia, what they will be as we evolve.

You know, right now it says we require a candidate to win 10 percent of the total number of valid votes in a riding and a party to win 10 percent. We think that that might be overly punitive to those parties which are starting out or those candidates who might want to run independently. We think of Vicki Huntington, the former MLA for Delta South, who received a significant fraction of the vote but might not have qualified as a political party here.

We need to look out for the independents in this legislation as we move forward. We need to look out for new parties — the B.C. Conservative Party, which may emerge as a force to be considered with in British Columbia, the B.C. Libertarian Party, the B.C. First Party, the B.C. Peoples Party. There are numerous parties that might emerge, and we don’t want to put limits in place. What’s in this legislation is a fantastic starting point that we can build upon as we move forward. I’m also excited about the fact that there are new third-party sponsorship rules in both the campaign and pre-campaign period. This, again, is very, very important to us.

Let’s take a look at what some other provinces do, because that’s important. Again, the righteous indignation coming from the opposite side. Somehow this is an affront to the British Columbian taxpayer.

I’ve talked about Canada. What about Ontario? Following the cash-for-access scandals, which pale in comparison to the scandals here in British Columbia, what they did in Ontario was this, in 2016. They had a transitional allowance. Sound familiar? It’s exactly the same as happened here in B.C., except they started at $2.71 per vote in 2016, being reduced over the pace of five years, precisely like is being proposed here in British Columbia today, except less.

We can look at Quebec. Quebec has a very, very aggressive public financing component. They have a $100 per person limit, but a very, very substantive public financing component, such that 75 percent of all political party financing comes from public financing. That’s an extreme. The one extreme is where we were. Quebec is the other extreme. What’s being put forward today is right there on the Quebec side in terms of innovation and leadership in Canada.

Let’s take a look at Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Manitoba. They all have public funding, transitional allowance, in some form or another. But again, the righteous indignation is somehow that British Columbia is going rogue on taxpayers, when virtually every other province in Canada does. But it goes further than that.

I could quote the Vancouver Sun just to give some sense of what some pundits out there are saying. I’ll come to the OECD, with very specific quotes from them and other nations in there, but let’s just have a quick look at the Vancouver Sun, which pointed out that 33 out of 34 nations in the OECD have some form of public funding.

Are we somehow going rogue? No. The only nation that doesn’t is Switzerland, but they have their own special process for funding. Frankly, the canton system, with four official languages, is something that I think you could have entire courses talking about here in the Legislature, let alone the few minutes that I have here.

Let’s take a look at what was said in this Douglas Todd article published on September 23. “But in the rough-and-tumble world of politics, that’s a relatively minor infraction compared to the moral chaos” — those are his words, “moral chaos” — “and mistrust generated by B.C.’s ultra-lax approach to political financing.”

The relatively minor infraction that he was referring to, of course, is the transitional allowance, which “is minor compared to the moral chaos.” Pretty damning. This isn’t coming from the New York Times, which took it to another level. This is coming from right here in B.C.

You know, one of the reasons why it’s important to actually think about the transitional allowance in the sense of good democracy is pointed out by the OECD in their report entitled Financing Democracy: Funding of Political Parties and Election Campaigns and the Risk of Policy Capture. This is no kind of rogue right-wing think tank or left-wing kind of group of people. This is the OECD, an international organization that is putting together best practices, policy recommendations, for the developed nations in this world.

Let’s have a look at what that means. As they say in the OECD report, and as Mr. Todd points out: “They do so to reduce the risk that vested interests will indulge in ‘policy capture,’ which refers to how powerful donors skew politicians’ legislation to suit their monetary interests.”

You don’t have to listen to me. You don’t have to believe me. I get that there might be some opposite who don’t think that this is happening. I get that you might be cynical of the now government who was in opposition for 16 years. But why don’t we turn to a former member of that party, Moira Stilwell. Moira Stilwell is the former member for Vancouver-Langara, a good friend and colleague who was banished to the leper colony out here in the far right of the Legislature for daring to challenge the prevailing wisdom by the political elite inside the B.C. Liberal Party by daring to stand up for what’s right and having integrity.

For daring to say what she thinks, banished to the leper colony, along with the member for Surrey–White Rock, who was banished to the other side, the Ebola colony here on the left. This is what she said.

This is what she said: “The idea that politicians are not influenced by money is not true, and everybody knows it.” Those aren’t my words. “Democracy costs money. But pay to play is out of hand.” Those are Dr. Stilwell’s words, a former member of this government’s cabinet who did not run again. Frankly, I believe that if we saw the way this esteemed colleague was treated…. I understand why she didn’t run again. Frankly, I’m shocked at some others who did run under the conditions that prevailed within the B.C. Liberal Party.

Let’s continue here. An OECD report recommends striking a balance between private and public funding and, of course, eliminating union and corporate funding. Let me give you a quote from this report. It’s an important quote. It says this: “While private donation is a channel of political participation, if the financing of political parties in election campaigns is not adequately regulated, money may also be a means for undue influence and policy capture by powerful special interests. In this context, public financing helps to sustain the institutionalization of political parties in democracy. Such public support strengthens the capacity of political parties to level the electoral playing field.”

This is really about trust in government. What this bill is advancing is efforts to try to rebuild trust in government in British Columbia, trust that has long gone by the wayside in recent years. For far too long, people were left to ask whether special interests were getting too much access to our decision-makers. Again, I don’t know how many business leaders I met in this province who told me straight to my face that donating to the B.C. Liberals was the cost of doing business in British Columbia. I’ve got worse than that. I don’t want to go on about….

Interjection.

A. Weaver: I’m not saying it isn’t so because it is so, and the members opposite know that it’s so. They’re very shy, very quiet, very sheepish, very smug right now. They know that this legislation is doing what’s right. They know that they’re put in a time-out here in the B.C. Legislature because of their behaviour in recent years with pay to play that became, frankly, objectionable to the average British Columbian.

The most important thing that this minority government can do is rebuild trust in government. This bill goes a long way to doing just that.

As we move forward, we will look at this bill carefully. We’ll look at this bill as well as the bill that the member for Vancouver-Quilchena put in to see if there are any nudges or modifications that we might be able to bridge party lines to discuss.

Let me give you one example that I think we might get some all-party agreement on. It’s the example with respect to election communication. Frankly, I believe that the definition of election communication in the B.C. Liberal bill is better than the one in the government’s bill. I think that we might be able to find some commonality here. I think, in this Legislature, strong and principled arguments will lead to, and ultimately give, a prevailing wisdom of goodwill.

Let’s bring that amendment forward. Let’s debate it here. Let’s see if we can’t build support on the government side for that legislation. There may be others.

Interjections.

Deputy Speaker: Members, wait for your turn, please. The member for Oak Bay–Gordon Head has the floor.

A. Weaver: Thank you, hon. Speaker. They are a feisty bunch, sitting there sheepishly in opposition after being put there in a time-out by the small but mighty B.C. Green Party.

There are other points in here. We’ll look again at whether there are any points where transparency can be even further enhanced. We’ll look to see whether there will be some changes to assist, maybe, smaller parties that might have been unduly overlooked in this. We recognize that government has done an incredible job in a very short time. We also recognize that there are ideas on opposite. We recognize that there are other ideas.

This legislation will pass. There may be one or two adjustments. We’ll see. We’ll see what the debate leads to. But right now it’s a great starting point for British Columbia.

I come back to the very beginning. It’s a bit rich for us to stand here and listen to the righteous indignation — I like those words — of the B.C. Liberals, Liberals who had made an additional cost on every corporation’s line here in the province of British Columbia. It’s called this, this, this — cost of doing business: donation to the B.C. Liberals.

B.C. is now a better place to do business, I’m telling Canadians and I’m telling the international community. You can do business now here in B.C. because you can do so for free. You don’t have to pay-to-play in British Columbia. With the passage of this bill, business is open for B.C., but it’s open for everybody in this world, not just those who donate to the B.C. Liberals. I look forward to this bill passing in due course.

Video of Speech

Today in the legislature I rose to question the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing about the government’s apparent inaction on the affordability file. When I attended the Union of BC Municipalities 2017 convention last week I heard  the Premier give his address to delegates. In it he once more focused only on the supply side of the affordability crisis. But there are also problems on the demand side.

As I have argued for four years, there is a glaring tax loophole that needs to be closed. This Bare Trust loophole incentivizes speculation, discourages transparency and encourages property tax avoidance.

Below I reproduce the video and text of my question period exchange with the Minister. I also reproduce the media release we put out today.

I was not statisfied with the response to my questions. Over the coming weeks we’ll continue to pressure the government to deliver on their commitment to clamp down on rampant real estate speculation in British Columbia.

Video of Exchange

Question

A. Weaver: It seems fitting that I rise and ask a question after this.

Last week, at the UBCM, the Premier took a page out of the B.C. Liberals’ failed strategy to deal with Metro Vancouver’s housing crisis. “We need more supply,” he proclaimed to the delegates. Once more our government has missed the glaring problems on the demand side. Where is their promised speculation tax? Where are the so many other steps that they said they would do and that they would take during the election campaign? And why, after I raised it here in the Legislature almost four years ago, has this government not yet closed a loophole that incentivizes speculation, discourages transparency and encourages property tax avoidance?

My question through you to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing is this: why haven’t you already closed the bare trust loophole — a loophole so big you could drive a bus through it — and ensure that the property tax is applied on the transfer of beneficial ownership and not just the transfer of title?

Answer

Hon. S. Robinson: I want to thank the member down the way for the question.

It’s really important that, when we take a look at the housing crisis — a crisis that rose under the previous government that did nothing, that just pretended like it was not an issue….

Interjections.

Hon. S. Robinson: Let’s be really clear. They were saying: “If you don’t like it, move to Fort St. John.” People have been really struggling.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members, please, we shall hear the response.

Hon. S. Robinson: It’s really important that….

Interjection.

Hon. S. Robinson: I’ve got nothing against Fort St. John, but I don’t like the government telling me where to live.

It’s really important that when we talk about putting together a comprehensive, affordable strategy, a comprehensive housing strategy, that addresses all of the pieces — the supply side and the demand side — that we take a look at all those levers and all the tools at our disposal, that we make sure that they work together. That’s what comprehensive means, and we need to take our time to get it right.

It’s really important. This is too important to really mess up, so we need to make sure that we’ve got it right. I’m really excited that it is coming in short order.

Supplementary Question

A. Weaver: Please let me remind you that when the Attorney General was in opposition, he was a very fierce critic of the B.C. Liberal housing policy or lack of a policy on affordability. Indeed, a year ago he told Reddit, the readers of Reddit: “We need to eliminate what’s called the bear trust loophole in the property transfer tax where these properties can transfer without property transfer tax paid. It’s costing us literally hundreds of millions of dollars, hundreds of millions that could be used for affordable housing initiatives.”

It’s a straightforward fix. All we have to do is what Ontario has already done years ago. We don’t need to rediscover the wheel, and there is no excuse for a delay.

My question through you to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing is this: what’s the holdup? You’ve had many years in opposition identifying problems, and you’ve had many years to identify solutions. The Attorney General has identified those solutions, said he’d do it. It’s a quick fix. Why haven’t you done it?

Answer

Hon. S. Robinson: I’m grateful that, with the help of member down the way, we’ll have 4½ years to get this work done. And I look forward to that work.

After ten weeks here in government, we have acted on a promise to increase funding for the residential tenancy branch. We are preparing to close unfair loopholes that allow landlords to bypass rent control, something that the previous minister said was rather complicated, which we learned was actually not that complicated.

We’ve announced the creation of 2,000 units of modular housing with wraparound services. We also announced 1,700 unit of affordable housing throughout the province.

That’s in ten weeks. Just think about what we are going to get done in 4½ years.

Media Release

Weaver presses B.C. NDP to commit to demand-side housing reforms
For immediate release
October 3, 2017

VICTORIA, B.C. – Andrew Weaver, leader of the B.C. Green Party, today questioned housing Minister Selina Robinson on the B.C. NDP government’s intentions to take action to cool the housing market.

“Last week at UBCM the Premier indicated that his government’s solution to the problem of housing affordability is to simply add more supply,” Weaver said.

“Once more our government has missed the glaring problems on the demand side. When in opposition, Minister Eby was a fierce critic of the government’s failure to act, and argued that the bare trust loophole costs British Columbia hundreds of millions of dollars that could be used for affordable housing initiatives. The government can take action immediately to close the bare trust loophole that incentivizes speculation, discourages transparency and encourages property tax avoidance.

“The B.C. Greens are committed to proposing bold solutions to the affordable housing crisis that is facing so many communities. I have previously called for the non-resident foreign buyer’s tax to be extended to the entire province, as communities from Victoria to Nelson face a housing crunch. I have also called for a ban on foreign ownership of ALR land over five acres, in order to stem speculation and protect British Columbia’s food security.

“The purpose of housing should be to provide homes for British Columbians – not a commodity that is wide open to international speculation. The B.C. Greens will continue to propose bold, actionable solutions to the housing affordability crisis that is uprooting so many communities across our province. As an opposition caucus, we will continue to push government to take action so that no British Columbian is faced with the terrible reality of being priced out of their own community due to real estate speculation.”

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Media contact
Jillian Oliver, Press Secretary
+1 778-650-0597 | jillian.oliver@leg.bc.ca

Today, Sonia Furstenau, BC Green MLA for Cowichan Valley, joined George Heyman, the Minister of the Environment, in announcing that the BC Government would initiate a  review of the Province’s professional reliance model. This announcement fulfills an important promise contained within our Confidence and Supply Agreement with the BC NDP.

Below is our media statement accompanying the announcement.

Media Statement

Furstenau welcomes review of professional reliance
For Immediate Release
October 03, 2017

VICTORIA, B.C. – Sonia Furstenau, MLA for Cowichan Valley, welcomed the government’s review of the professional reliance model announced by Environment Minister George Heyman.

“I’m thrilled to stand with Minister Heyman today as he announces that the government is launching a review of this system that has failed so many communities across British Columbia,” said Furstenau.

“Before professional reliance, government relied on independent in-house experts to conduct environmental assessments to ensure the health and safety of B.C.’s communities. Under professional reliance, the responsibility for this necessary due diligence has been shifted to industry. While qualified professionals are absolutely integral to the environmental assessment process, professional reliance as it stands lends itself to conflict of interest as proponents of projects receive no independent oversight when conducting these vital assessments.

“In Shawnigan we saw firsthand how the uncertainty created by professional reliance erodes trust. The geologists hired to assess the safety of the contaminated soil facility adjacent to our community’s drinking water had a profit-sharing deal and would have benefitted from the project going ahead.

“Resource development has been the backbone of many B.C. communities. It is essential that resource development be done with the support and confidence of the communities in which it occurs. By ensuring that people have trust in government and in industry to protect their health and safety, we can build thriving local economies that will sustain for the long-term.

“I am deeply proud that this review was prompted by its provision in the Confidence and Supply Agreement signed between the B.C. Green and the B.C. NDP caucus. This demonstrates how two parties working together in a minority government can truly put the interests of the people first. I look forward to supporting this review in any way I can.”

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Media contact
Jillian Oliver, Press Secretary
+1 778-650-0597 | jillian.oliver@leg.bc.ca

Today in the legislature the government introduced Bill 8: Lobbyists Registration Amendment Act. The goal of this act is to begin the process of tightening up rules regarding lobbyist registration. Below is the statement that we released in association with this Bill. I will provide a more extensive analysis with potential improvements when this bill proceeds to second reading.

Media Statement

Statement on government’s lobbying reform bill
For immediate release
October 2, 2017

VICTORIA, B.C. – The B.C. NDP minority government today introduced lobbying reform, the first B.C. Green initiative to be introduced as legislation following the May 9 election. The B.C. Greens were the only party to campaign to reform B.C.’s lobbying laws and the reforms were a key policy priority the B.C. Greens negotiated into their Confidence and Supply Agreement with the B.C. NDP.

“This change represents one piece of a larger number of reforms that the B.C. Greens will push for to clean up B.C. politics,” said Adam Olsen, the B.C. Green caucus spokesperson for trust in government.

“Government should represent the interests of the people, not special interests. Due to our province’s lax campaign finance laws, limited regulations on the lobbying industry and other systemic issues, this has not always been the case.

“The two-year prohibition ensures that decisions-makers cannot turn around and profit from decisions they took part in making. In the days and weeks ahead we will be reviewing it in detail to ensure that it adequately protects the interests of British Columbians from the undue influence of special interests and will be looking for ways to bring in amendments to further strengthen the way we regulate lobbying in B.C.

“The most important thing that this minority government can do is earn the trust of British Columbians. The B.C. Green caucus will continue to bring concrete, actionable proposals to the table to strengthen British Columbians’ trust in their government.”

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Media contact
Jillian Oliver, Press Secretary
+1 778-650-0597 | jillian.oliver@leg.bc.ca

Today I had the honour of addressing the delegates to the 2017 Convention of the Union of BC Municipalities as Leader of the BC Green Party. Below I reproduce the essential elements of the speech. You will see in the text a number of sections where I spoke freely. I tried to link to articles on my website that give the essence of what I was referring to in my speech.

Video of my UBCM Speech

Text of my Speech

Please let me start by thanking the Union of BC Municipalities for providing me with this opportunity to speak to you today.

Last year I stood before you as the Leader and lone elected MLA of the BC Green Party. This year so much has changed. I’m thrilled to be now joined by my two caucus colleagues: Adam Olsen, the MLA for Saanich North & the Islands and Sonia Furstenau, the MLA for Cowichan Valley.

Both Sonia and Adam come to the BC Legislature with experience at the local government level. Adam was a former Central Saanich Councillor and Sonia was a Regional Director in the Cowichan Valley Regional District. While our caucus is small, it is certainly mighty.

The world is changing there is a growing agitation for change borne out of an overall dissatisfaction with the status quo, career politicians, and conventional economic assumptions.

Simultaneously, we are experiencing major disruptive threats due to the mounting effects of climate change and technological advancement.

Many of these trends are present in the sociopolitical landscape of B.C.

The affordability crisis, caused by a combination of runaway real estate prices due to speculation and the desirability of B.C. as a place to live, and incomes that have failed to keep pace, in particular for young people, have left many people feeling hopeless and anxious about their future.

British Columbians are also simultaneously environmentally conscious, as well as cognizant of our province’s historical dependence on resource development for economic growth.

We are not afraid to acknowledge that there are many challenges, such as climate change and technological disruption, facing the world.

But with every challenge, comes an opportunity. If we make smart choices based on a long-term vision for the province, we can seize the exciting opportunities arising and build a dynamic province where British Columbians enjoy a high quality of life for generations to come.

In that, the provincial government, needs to recognize the crucial leadership role for municipalities and empower your members to pursue solutions that work for your unique communities. Your knowledge and expertise are needed now more than ever.

Rather than hanging onto, or trying to go back to, the economy of the last century we should be positioning ourselves as leaders in the 21^st century economy and that may look different for every community.

We have a unique opportunity in British Columbia because of three strategic advantages that we have over virtually every other region in the world.

1. The quality of life and natural environment allows us to attract and retain some of the best and brightest from around the globe —we are a destination of choice.
2. We have a highly skilled and educated work force. Our high school students are consistently top ranked — with the OECD specifying BC as one of the smartest academic jurisdictions in the world.
3. We have access to renewable resources — energy, water, and wood — like no other jurisdiction. We have incredible potential to create a clean, renewable energy sector to sustain our growing economy.

But for British Columbia to actually capitalize on our strategic advantages, we must ensure we protect them.

A quality public education is not the luxury of a strong economy. A quality education is what builds a strong economy.

And we must start thinking about the long-term consequences of our decisions, decisions that put people, rather than vested corporate or union interests or re-election goals first and foremost.

Last year in my UBCM speech I spoke about the need for leadership that placed the interests of the people of British Columbia — not organized union or corporate interests— first and foremost in decision-making. In that speech I announced for the first time that the BC Green Party would no long be accepting corporate or union donations.

“Leadership means leading by example,” I said. “And the BC Greens commit to doing just that.”

One year to the day later, I’m proud to say that we have had our last provincial election under corporate and union rule. I hope that in the weeks or months ahead, we will see the same corrosive influence removed from municipal politics as well.

If we are going to make BC a more prosperous place for ordinary people, we must:

• Work to provide everyone with economic security,
• Ensure our province’s resources are managed sustainably, and
• Make equity a fundamental value of a government that operates in the best interests of this generation – and future generations.

During the election the BC Green platform set out a bold plan to achieve this vision. It was grounded in economic security and sustainability in their full and truest sense. And it provided clear steps – based on evidence – to move us towards greater wellbeing for all British Columbians.

This is what we ran on. The NDP ran on something different. As did the Liberals. All parties presented ideas that resonated with certain people and communities.

But none of us got it perfectly right, as the election results indicate.

The BC NDP didn’t win a majority. The BC Liberals didn’t win a majority. And the BC Greens didn’t win a majority. Instead, we have a minority government. And I truly believe it has the potential to become far more than simply the sum of its parts – if parties choose to work together.

All parties have something to offer on behalf of the British Columbians that voted for our vision for the province. We have many shared priorities, goals, and values.

The interim budget presented two weeks ago is a wonderful starting point. It is a budget that includes initiatives from all three parties:

It was built on the foundation of the BC Liberals’ February budget and retained a number of positive initiatives started by their government.

It includes some important new NDP priorities. And it featured some BC Green led initiatives, such as the Innovation Commissioner, Emerging Economy Task Force, and Fair Wage Commission.

The BC government is working towards a new more collaborative form of governance and I am feeling very optimistic that this shift will lead to the creation of stronger public policy.

On child care, for instance, there are multiple proposals on the table. The Confidence and Supply Agreement our caucus signed with the BC NDP caucus set up structures for consultation so that we can collaborate to develop sound, evidence-based policies that will put people first.

In a minority government, we have an opportunity to collaborate to deliver the best public policy outcomes for British Columbians.

Childcare should be accessible, affordable and include a strong focus on early childhood education. We agreed with the BC NDP on these values, but had had slightly different ideas in terms of how to implement them.

Going forward, I believe we can develop a child care policy that features the best aspects of each proposal. Both proposals are a starting point upon which we can further improve.

We are not going back on this commitment – we are taking it further.

Our cooperative mindset can’t be confined to the legislative chamber, though, it must extend to each of your communities.

Given the challenges our province is facing – climate change, the opioid crisis, housing prices, homelessness, poverty, the automation of jobs, the decarbonization of our energy systems – we need your leadership.

Each community will have different challenges and opportunities in addressing these problems, no one knows this better than you.

The province needs to support your work.

Throughout my time in the legislature I have heard from countless communities who have innovative and ambitious plans in their jurisdiction. They’ve gone the distance, but the provincial government won’t step in to take it any further.

And, as we all know too well, the development of resources without proper engagement, consultation and consent has been a major source of conflict in communities across BC.

This approach is disrespectful, damaging to the environment, First Nation communities, municipalities and damaging to cross-governmental relationships.

My colleagues and I believe that we need a different approach to resource development: one that is inclusive, truly collaborative, and does not come with a pre-determined outcome.

One that respects the principle of free, prior and informed consent.

One that is bottom-up rather than top-down.

My favourite example of this concerns the ski resort proposals at Jumbo and Valemont.

Talk about Jumbo vs Valemont process

Another pressing, cross jurisdictional issue is, of course, housing.

We currently have an endless supply of demand. British Columbia is a beautiful province and wonderful place to live. Understandably, people want to move here to retire, study, work, and raise families. In many communities, the housing available is bursting at the seams.

Thanks to inadequate provincial policies and a lack of leadership on the housing file, municipalities have been forced to do more with less.

As we head into this new governance chapter my Green caucus colleagues and I stand with your communities and hope to amplify the solutions you are calling for.

We must protect the values of houses and apartments as homes first, not investment commodities.

Despite the barriers that have been blocking innovation and adaptation in BC, I have heard incredible success stories from companies and municipalities:

Talk about Penticton, Structurlam

Talk about Prince Rupert, container port

Talk about Terrace/Burns Lake, manufacturing

Talk about Prince George, broadband

To close I’ll end my speech much the same way as I did last year when I announced the BC Greens were going to stop accepting corporate and union donations on the eve of an election year:

Real leadership doesn’t come from doing what is easy. It is built on doing what is right.

In the year ahead this sentiment will continue to guide our work. Thank you again for having me.