Today in the legislature I tabled a bill titled Family Day Amendment Act, 2017. The Bill amends the Family Day Act to prescribe that the third Monday in February each year is observed as “Family Day”.

As noted in the text of my introductory speech below, the amendment would align the date of BC’s Family Day with Family Days and other public holidays observed across the rest of Canada, and in the United States.

To see the rationale for this change, please consider viewing the video made by Andrew Johns, founder of the #UniteFamilyDay petition. His petition has already received more than 20,000 signatures.

Below are the video and text of the introduction of my bill together with our accompanying media release.

Video of my Introduction

Text of my Introduction

A. Weaver: I move that a bill intituled the Family Day Amendment Act, 2017, of which notice has been given, be introduced and read a first time now.

Motion approved.

A. Weaver: I am very pleased to introduce the bill intituled Family Day Amendment Act, 2017. This bill amends the Family Day Act to prescribe that the third Monday in February each year is observed as Family Day. This amendment would align the date of British Columbia’s Family Day with family days and other public holidays observed across the rest of Canada and in the United States.

The purpose of Family Day is to highlight the importance of family and to bring families together. This isn’t happening in B.C., with us observing family day a week earlier than all other provinces. Families spread out beyond B.C. aren’t able to be together. Federal employees and many who work in business are forced to work on Family Day since it is a business day everywhere else.

Instead of responding to corporate lobbyists in the ski industry, this government should honour the spirit of Family Day by putting families first and moving it to align with the rest of North America.

I move that the bill be placed on the orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

Bill M204, Family Day Amendment Act, 2017, introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

Media Release

 February 16th, 2017
For immediate release
Weaver proposes legislation to unite B.C. Family Day with rest of Canada

VICTORIA B.C. – “Family day is meant to put families first, not lobbyists from B.C.’s ski industry.” says Andrew Weaver, Leader of the B.C. Green Party.

Premier Christy Clark passed the Family Day Act in 2012 establishing B.C.’s very own Family Day on the 2nd Monday in February, compared to the rest of Canada who celebrates on the 3rd Monday. This bill amends that act to align the date of B.C.’s holiday with Family Days across Canada and President’s Day in the United States.

“With B.C. observing Family Day a week earlier than all other provinces, families are not being brought together. Many British Columbians are forced to work Family Day, since it is a business day everywhere else, and families spread out beyond B.C. aren’t able to be together.

“Instead of responding to corporate lobbyists in the ski industry, this government should put families first and honour the spirit of Family Day. The B.C. Liberal should move the holiday to align it with the rest of North America.”

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Media contact
Mat Wright, Press Secretary
+1 250-216-3382 | mat.wright@leg.bc.ca

Weaver Comments on the Representative for Children and Youth Report
For immediate release
February 6th, 2017

VICTORIA B.C. – Today’s report by the Representative for Children and Youth, “Broken Promises: Alex’s Story”, tells the story of Alex, a youth under the care of the Ministry of Children and Family Development who took his own life at age 18.

“The report speaks clearly of the gravity of the Ministry of Children and Family Development’s failure to provide basic supports, in keeping with their duty under the law,” says Andrew Weaver, MLA for Oak Bay – Gordon Head. “The Ministry denied Alex the chance to be taken care of by his extended family, and failed to provide him with desperately needed mental health services or the chance to find a meaningful connection to his culture.”

“It makes me sick to read that the government often referenced his ‘challenging behaviour’ as they cycled him through 17 placements, as if they were not complicit and aggravating all the challenges he faced.”

“That an abused and neglected 18-year old spent the last 49 days of his life in a hotel room, mostly alone, while the government waited for him to age out of care at age 19, is a horrific testament to the ways in which the Ministry is failing in its duty to protect and care for our most vulnerable children in BC”.

“The government’s subsequent news release claiming they intend to follow the report’s recommendations strikes me as horribly self congratulatory, considering many of the recommendations centre around the ministry neglecting to follow their own legislation to begin with. This isn’t something they should be telling us they plan to do, it has been their legal and moral responsibility to do so from the beginning.”

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Media contact
Mat Wright, Press Secretary
+1 250-216-3382 | mat.wright@leg.bc.ca

Media Release: November 16th, 2016
Weaver statement on the need for BC poverty reduction strategy
For Immediate Release

Victoria, B.C. – The combination of a low minimum wage, high cost of living, inadequate social assistance, and lack of well-paying jobs has resulted in widespread poverty across British Columbia – the only province without a poverty reduction strategy.

Peter Fassbender, Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, recently said he didn’t see the need for a poverty reduction strategy.

“It is outrageous. Comments like these show how out of touch the B.C. Liberals are with the issues facing everyday British Columbians,” said Andrew Weaver, Leader of the B.C. Green Party. “They are more interested in building an economy that  supports their corporate donors than they are in building one that supports the British Columbians that they were elected to represent.”

“The B.C. Liberals have spent 16 years claiming they need to grow the economy before they can deal with poverty. Our economy has grown, and yet British Columbia continues to have one of the highest poverty rates in Canada. Their trickle-down approach to poverty reduction is not working and they have no plan to fix it,” said Weaver, the MLA for Oak Bay-Gordon Head.

The BC Liberals’ jobs plan does not come close to addressing poverty in BC. 55,000 jobs have been created since last October, but 75% of these jobs (41,000) are part-time positions.

“The creation of part-time precarious work does not amount to a poverty reduction strategy and it does nothing to help struggling families in B.C.”

Food bank use is at an all-time high in BC: 103,400 people used food banks in March 2016, according to Food Banks Canada’s annual HungerCount report. Children made up almost a third of that number. This makes 2016 the 3rd year in a row that food bank use has increased. Charities are left with the responsibility to fill the gaps left by government inaction: people are relying on charities to meet their essential needs for food, clothing, and shelter.

“I personally know of a growing number of students who use food banks because they can’t afford to live,” said Weaver.

The unprecedented rate of food bank use in BC today speaks to the utter failure of the BC Liberals to promote economic growth in a way that serves British Columbians, and not just corporations. BC has one of the highest levels of poverty in the country, with between 11-16% of adults and 16-20% of children living in poverty, depending on the measure used.

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Media Contact
Mat Wright – Press Secretary, Andrew Weaver MLA
1 250 216 3382
mat.wright@leg.bc.ca

For immediate release
Oct. 17, 2016
Weaver Comments on Vancouver School Board Firing

Victoria, B.C. – “For public education to thrive in British Columbia, the provincial government must work effectively and in partnership with Boards of Education to put students first,” said Andrew Weaver, leader of the B.C. Green Party and MLA for Oak Bay-Gordon Head. “Minister Bernier’s announcement today is yet another example of how the dysfunctional relationship between the B.C. Liberals and Boards of Education results in the spending of more time and money on opposing each other than on finding solutions that will benefit students and teachers in the classroom.”

“We need to build relationships that establish trust. Education in B.C. needs a fresh start. The B.C. Greens are committed to working collectively with all stakeholders to make public education a priority and put the interests of BC students first.”

“With the cancelling of the fall Legislative session, this major decision was made without parliamentary oversight, allowing the B.C. Liberals to avoid being held accountable for their continued mismanagement of our public education system.”

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Media contact

Mat Wright
Press Secretary
Office of Andrew Weaver, MLA
+1 250-216-3382

This is the 23^rd 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.

Nathan Kuehne

It seems like just yesterday that I met Nathan as a young lad in Mr. Brooks’ Grade 5 boys class on the beach campus of Glenlyon Norfolk. In what feels like a blink of the eye, he’s 18 and now graduating from Grade 12 in a few months. Nathan is what’s termed a “lifer”, having attended Glenlyon Norfolk ever since Kindergarten. He’s an exceptional student with a passion for science and since Grade 9 he has competed at a very high level in Science Fairs. Nathan presently serves as Head Boy of the school this year and so serves as a role model and an ambassador for the school. He is also involved in the organization of numerous student activities including co-organizing weekly assemblies.

Nathan has had a love of science for as long as he can remember. In Grade 9, he qualified for the National Science Fair after placing 6^th in the Regional Science Fair, where his project involved the use of charcoal in soil to help plants grow. It was at the Regional Science Fair that he met a Grade 12 student who inspired and “wowed” him with his university level research. The Grade 12 student captivated Nathan and made him feel empowered, wondering to himself “how far can I go with this?” And indeed he has gone a very long way already.

After his inspirational experience at the competition in Grade 9, Nathan undertook a science project in Grade 10 that looked at detecting multiple types of cancer though a urine sample. His goal was to make testing for cancer easier and cheaper.

Nathan noted that he has had the benefit of an outstanding teacher mentor, Ms. Dallin, at Glenlyon Norfolk. Ms. Dallin has put in countless volunteer hours to support Nathan, including time during the summer months when Nathan consulted with a professor at the University of Victoria on his research. His Grade 10 science project landed him a spot on Team BC and a Gold Medal at the Canada wide Science Fair (in the Top 10 nationally).

In Grade 11, Nathan carried his research further with a project on Phenylketonuria (PKU), a rare inherited disorder that causes an amino acid to build up in the body. He presented a platform for disease detection that is inexpensive, accessible and will screen for many diseases. He presented a chemical protocol in looking for amino acids (which are elevated with diseases). The title of his project was “pH-Dependent Colorimetric Assays for Biomarking Amino Acids”. He received the President’s Award for 1^st Place Overall at the Vancouver Island Regional Science Fair and a Gold Medal at the National Science Fair. Nathan was a TedX Victoria speaker in 2015 called “DIY Diagnostic: A Life-Changing Test for PKU Patients”.

Nathan is one of two students from BC who was selected to compete at the recently held Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix, Arizona.

Nathan has been the recipient of many academic awards and scholarships, including top academic awards in Grades 9 to 11, the Glenlyon Norfolk Alumni Association Scholarship for academic success and contribution to the school and a Recognition Award for Excellence in International Baccalaureate Personal Project.

It did not surprise us to learn that Nathan has a long term goal of undertaking medical research. He has won a variety of scholarships, including the prestigious Chancellor’s Scholarship at Queen’s University and a National Scholarship at the University of Toronto, offered annually to approximately ten students from across Canada.

In addition to his passion for science, Nathan has other interests. He speaks five languages: English, Russian, German, Spanish and French (at varying levels of proficiency, he notes). He played basketball on the school team this year and he enjoys movies and hiking with friends. He loves working as a volunteer with younger students who love science. His hope is to inspire them the same way he was inspired by an older student when he was in Grade 9. Another of Nathan’s passions is Ukrainian dance – he has been dancing and competing since age 10. Now, he also teaches Ukrainian dance to 8 to 10 year olds at Victoria’s Veselka Dance group.

Nathan is a very engaging young man who has already accomplished a great deal and will no doubt go on to do ground-breaking medical research. His love of science, his intelligence and high degree of motivation will carry him far and we look forward to hearing a lot more about Nathan’s accomplishments in the future.