The BC NDP government released the 2017 greenhouse gas emissions data today. To no one’s surprise, BC’s 2017 GHG emissions increased by 1.2% from 2016 to 2017 to a total 64.5 million tonnes (Mt) of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e), or roughly 13.1t CO2e per capita. Leading the way was a year-over-year 29% increase in emissions from natural gas flaring. Of course, this too is unsurprising as there is a glut of natural gas in the market and the predominant value from the drilling activity in the northeastern BC’s Montney Formation is in the liquids. A significant fraction of these liquids are shipped to Alberta where they are mixed with bitumen to form dilbit, the less viscous substance that can flow through pipelines. The gas, for which there is no market (and for which we have slashed royalty payments to the province and so literally give away), can be pumped back underground or burnt on site (flaring). And all of these activities are subsidized by the BC taxpayer to the tune of billions of dollars.

As I’ve outlined numerous times over the years on this blog site, with BC’s expansion into LNG, I do not believe the BC NDP government will be able to deliver a plan that will cut GHG emissions to 40% below 2007 levels by 2030. The premier claims that he will. I remain unconvinced.

Nevertheless, I remain very supportive of the CleanBC economic plan, which the BC Greens played an integral role in developing. However, I fear that it may be all for naught. As you will see in the above graph, the trend in emissions from the natural gas sector is on the rise, even without a single LNG facility in place. The trend in emissions from residential buildings is on the decline as we would hope.

Do we believe that it is fair for British Columbians to be burdened with the requirements and cost of reducing GHG emissions while we continue to offer subsidies and corporate welfare to the oil and gas sector? I think not for we have to work even harder as individuals to curb our emissions to account for the continued growth of emissions in the oil and gas sector.

Below I reproduce the media statement that I issued in response to government’s release of these new greenhouse gas emissions data.

Media Release

BC’s greenhouse gas emissions continue to climb
For immediate release
September 9, 2019

VICTORIA, B.C. – At a time when citizens are calling on their governments to ambitiously decarbonize – and every international panel has stated doing so is the only way to meet our agreed upon international climate targets- the provincial government’s recently released greenhouse gas data  shows that BC, as of 2017, has failed to correct its emissions trajectory.

The data released today show total emissions in British Columbia increased 1.2 per cent from 2016 to 2017 to a total 64.5 million tonnes (Mt) of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e), roughly 13.1t CO2e per capita. Emissions are now back up to 2007 levels when 64.8 Mt of CO2e was emitted, despite the BC NDP government last year committing to reduce emissions by 40% from this amount by the year 2030.

“We designed the CleanBC economic plan to start to tackle this challenge. Now that it is being implemented I expect we’ll start to see some slight emissions reductions, but it is clear we have a long way to go and we need to remain diligent in our commitment to our reduction targets,” said Dr. Andrew Weaver, leader of the B.C. Greens. “The timing of the release of these new emissions numbers is also particularly ironic as it comes on the heels of British Columbia announcing it’s sending a delegation to Japan to tout the potential export of highly subsidized LNG. As I’ve identified numerous times in the past, we cannot expand investment in the fossil fuel sector and hope to reduce our domestic emissions to promised levels.”

“British Columbians say they want to fight climate change. Looking at this data, they should be enraged that the lack of regulations in the oil and gas sectors means their footprint is two to three times larger than that of the average person living in the UK, Norway, New Zealand, Denmark and Sweden. The average British Columbia emits about 29 times the CO2e compared to an average citizen in Bangladesh.

“Our individual carbon footprint per British Columbian barely come in under our neighbours to the south, by a measly 12%. These numbers show us that we are not the concerned environmental stewards that we think we are, and it is because we have had governments that fail to regulate industry and fail to implement a vision for a new, green economy rooted in sustainable practices.”

This summer, government released its strategic climate risk assessment for British Columbia . Analyzing the climate risks likely to face British Columbia between 2040 and 2059, the report stated:

“British Columbia is already experiencing the effects of global climate change: average temperatures are increasing, sea levels are rising, and variable and extreme weather is becoming more frequent. Scientists expect these changes to accelerate and intensify in the years ahead, creating risks to society, natural resources, and ecosystems.”

British Columbia is contributing to global emissions rising when they need to be falling dramatically. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has repeatedly reported that carbon pollution needs to be cut by 45 percent by 2030 if we are to stay below 1.5C warming, beyond which even half a degree will significantly worsen climate change impacts and drag hundreds of millions of people into poverty.

“Now is not the time to protect the status quo or invest billions in expanding the oil and gas sector,” Weaver said.  “Now is the time to rise to the challenge before us. Climate change is an immense risk if we don’t do anything about it. But it is also an incredible opportunity if we act. We can- and must- build cleaner and healthier communities and vibrant, resilient, sustainable economies.”

CleanBC was developed in collaboration with the BC NDP government and supports the commitment in the Confidence and Supply Agreement to implement climate action to meet B.C.’s emission targets.

Quick Facts

In 2016, the most recent global data available from the International Energy Agency, the United Kingdom’s per capita emissions were 5.65t CO2e, New Zealand’s were 6.45t CO2e, Norway’s were 6.78t CO2e, Denmark’s were 5.84t CO2e and Sweden’s were 3.83t CO2e. For comparison, per capita emissions in Bangladesh were 0.45t CO2e and in the United States were 14.95t CO2e.

This puts the average British Columbian’s carbon footprint 2.3, 2.0,1.9, 2.2 and 3.4 times larger than that of the average person living in the UK, Norway, New Zealand, Denmark and Sweden, respectively.

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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

The Federal Court of Appeal ruled today to allow six of the twelve legal challenges against the Trans Mountain pipeline to proceed. These challenges are limited to the adequacy of the consultation with Indigenous Peoples and related issues. Below I reproduce our media statement in response to the ruling from the Federal Court of Appeal.

Media Statement

Trans Mountain pipeline faces six legal challenges; court rejects all environmental appeals
For immediate release
September 4, 2019

VICTORIA, B.C. – The Federal Court of Appeal ruled today to allow six of the twelve legal challenges against the Trans Mountain pipeline to proceed. These challenges are limited to the adequacy of the consultation with Indigenous Peoples and related issues.

“It is significant that that the courts will once again hear from First Nations about the consultation process,” said said Dr. Andrew Weaver, leader of the B.C. Greens. “Honouring the reconciliation process in Canada must require more than after the-fact engagement about a project the government always intends to approve. I am disappointed that the significant environmental risks that this project poses will not be taken up by the courts.

“The B.C. Green Caucus will continue its campaign to pressure government and engage the public as well. Because we know that continuing to invest in fossil fuel infrastructure is not just fiscally irresponsible, it is an economic liability. The Bank of Canada recently warned about future stranded assets in the oil and gas sector due to climate-related risk. This means TMX will only turn a profit if all global efforts to combat climate change by transitioning away from fossil fuels to clean alternatives fail.

“So is the federal government wishing for a failed global climate change strategy? The Liberals say they will use any profits from the TMX to fund Canada’s transition to a cleaner-energy economy. That  is like saying profit from the Titanic’s maiden voyage will be used to fund remodeling the ship. They are actively working to undermine the very thing they say they are working to improve.

“We can do better than banking on a future that continues to rely on fossil fuels decades into a climate disaster. And we can fund a clean energy economy without sacrificing our children’s environmental future.”

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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

Yesterday the Premier and Prime Minister made a joint announcement promising another $680 million subsidy of the BC natural gas sector. In this, the latest example of corporate welfare for the fossil fuel sector, the BC NDP government promised substantive taxpayer-funded handouts aimed at electrifying upstream natural gas activities.

Of course, investing in electrification infrastructure that moves our province to a greener economy must be a priority, but it is a missed opportunity when it is only to potentially offset future emitters, and the rest of the economy- and our emissions targets- are left treading water. The government could, and should, have simply required electrification through regulation. Instead, this latest announcement expands upon the litany of previous subsidies doled out by the BC NDP government to try and and deliver what the previous BC Liberal government couldn’t — a single LNG export facility,

Below I reproduce the media statement we released in response to this announcement.

Media Statement

B.C., federal governments announce $680 million to support future fossil fuel development in the province
For immediate release
Aug. 29, 2019

VICTORIA, B.C. – Provincial and federal governments announced today they will subsidize fossil fuel development further by committing $680 million to electrify natural gas facilities that have yet to be built.

“By prioritizing this $330 million to potentially reduce the future emissions from fossil fuel companies, the NDP government is not only providing more subsidies for the growth of the fossil fuel sector, but are also neglecting their responsibility to this province to be making the investments for an alternative future,”  B.C. Green Party Leader Dr. Andrew Weaver, MLA from Oak Bay- Gordon Head. ”Investing in electrification infrastructure that moves our province to a greener economy must be a priority, but it is a missed opportunity when it is only to potentially offset future emitters, and the rest of the economy- and our emissions targets- are left treading water.

“British Columbians are looking for leadership that is investing in their future by supporting the industries of tomorrow, not the dinosaurs of yesterday. With this massive subsidy, the NDP are investing in the very industries whose practices for the last many decades have contributed to the climate change crisis that is affecting British Columbians every single day- the heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, and species declines. Government’s own strategic risk assessment they released without so much as a statement last month contained clear warnings to this affect- again, warnings scientists have been making for decades.

“We should seize the opportunity to be a global leader in building a clean, vibrant economy based on new industries that aren’t the source of climate change. Instead, with today’s announcement we are asked to celebrate that we may slightly reduce the pollution coming from our oil and gas sector, even as it continues to grow. I know we can do better.”

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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 Justin Trudeau once more announced the approval of the now Canadian Taxpayer owned Transmountain Pipeline project. Those who have followed this blog over the last few years will know I have extensively commented on the fiscal folly of the federal government stepping in to buy the pipeline after Kinder Morgan abandoned the project in response to changing market conditions for expensive-to-extract, high-sulphur, Alberta-based diluted bitumen.

Below I reproduce the media statement my office released in response to the federal government’s announcement.

Media Release

Statement on Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project approval
For immediate release
June 18, 2019

VICTORIA, B.C. – In response to the Federal Liberal Party’s approval of the Trans Mountain expansion project, the B.C. Green caucus has released the following statement:

“The Liberal government’s decision to forge ahead with the Trans Mountain Expansion project is an abdication of their responsibility to Canadians to show climate leadership,” said Andrew Weaver, leader of the B.C. Green party.

“Just yesterday these very same Ministers supported a motion that declared a climate emergency. How can this government declare a climate emergency and yet continue to invest in major expansions of fossil fuel infrastructure that will last 40-50 years?”

“Now is the time for elected leaders to be bold and courageous. We need to urgently begin the transition away from fossil fuels and toward a clean, sustainable economy — to invest in clean technology, to help workers transition, to truly protect the environment upon which a healthy economy depends.”

In addition to the climate crisis, the flawed First Nations consultation process, and the impacts on the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales, there is also growing concern that the pipeline is a fiscally foolish project, now reliant on taxpayer money. Earlier today, Chief Leah George Wilson of Tsleil-Waututh Nation joined the former Federal Environment Minister David Anderson in highlighting evidence that there is no compelling business case for the Trans Mountain expansion project. This includes concerns that the Asian market that is so often used as justification doesn’t exist for Alberta bitumen.

“No compelling business case has been made for the expansion, with Kinder Morgan offloading the risk onto the Canadian taxpayer. Proceeding with the Trans Mountain expansion is a reckless use of taxpayer money.”

The B.C. Green Caucus has consistently been opposed to this project, including in the confidence and supply agreement with the NDP government that commits the government to using every tool available to stop the expansion project.

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Media contact
Stephanie Siddon, Research and Communications Officer
+1 250-882-6187 | macon.mcginley@leg.bc.ca

It’s been a week since the legislature rose for the summer and it’s taken me that entire time to muster up the energy to write about the BC Liberal antics on the last day of the session.

Those who have been following the daily proceedings of the BC Legislature will know that on Wednesday May 29, 2019 the Speaker decided it would be prudent to back up several computers in the legislature and store the data off site. While the BC Liberals spun themselves into a tizzy over what can only be described as normal and due process in light of the ongoing Auditor General and police investigations into the conduct of several senior legislative employees, their overall behaviour has left me dumbfounded.

The backups occurred after work to allow the employees to continue using their computers during the day while the legislature was sitting. Stories have emerged about how the Leader of the Official Opposition was hiding around corners and popping out to photograph the Speaker’s Chief of Staff as he walked around the building.  When asked why the computers needed to be backed up, the Speaker’s Chief of Staff told the Vancouver Sun:

“[The Speaker] simply wanted to ensure that all records were properly stored. He said he recalled five instances in the past where information, documentation and evidence ‘vanished into thin air.'”

A Liberal staffer also slept in their office during the evening of May 29 to prevent anyone from entering out of apparent fear of some sort of ongoing Legislative Inquisition. And on Thursday morning, chaos ensued as the BC Liberals initiated an all out assault on the integrity of the Speaker. Those who read what follows will probably have the same questions that I have. What on earth are the BC Liberals afraid of?

Thursday morning started the same as it always does. Visitors to the gallery were introduced and then we moved to Members’ Statements. Each day the legislature sits, three government and three opposition MLAs give two minute statements in which they typically celebrate something or someone in their riding. On Thursday morning, the Leader of the Official rose and delivered a bizarre rebuke of the Speaker’s apparent actions. Ironically, he concluded his statement with these words:

“We must work to make this a better place to conduct the business of the people of British Columbia as the elected representatives of the people of British Columbia. Part of that involves the continuity of the democratic process. So question period must proceed. That is part of the democratic process. This House must sit, but this House must also sit until the air is cleared about the events of the last 24 hours.“

And then the Liberals proceeded to boycott the rest of their Members’ Statements. As such, a number of government MLAs and I scrambled to offer impromptu statements to fill the void that had been created.  Mine was on the topic of global warming and intergenerational equity.

During the lunch break from 12:00 to 13:30 the BC Liberals continued their attack on the Speaker. First, the Leader of the Official Opposition offered up one of their own members to serve as a new Speaker if the BC NDP and BC Green caucuses would agree (we did not). Then, their house leader decided to hold a press conference wherein she released handwritten notes she had made at a House Leaders’ meeting with the Speaker the day before.

What’s remarkable about the release of the notes is that the day before, the three house leaders agreed that the BC Liberal house leader would be the note taker. But those same notes were never circulated among the house leaders for approval before they were publicly released. Our house leader, Sonia Furstenau, was incensed and immediately distanced herself from them in a hastily put together press conference we organized immediately after the lunch break on May 30.

But it didn’t end there.

The afternoon sitting was to continue with the debates on Budget Estimates for the Office of the Premier. Recall that I had risen on May 29 for 20 minutes to ask the Premier a series of questions concerning demand side measures that affect the price of gasoline. Initially I had requested a full hour of time as I had a suite of other questions that I had hoped to raise on a variety of other topics. In discussion with the BC Liberals (who we schedule time with) they were very adamant that I only be given 20 minutes as they had so many questions that they wanted to ask. There are battles that you pick in the legislature and this was not one of the ones I wanted to waste my energy on. As such, I agreed to rise for only 20 minutes on the Wednesday.

So you can imagine my surprise when I walked into the chamber after Sonia and I held our hastily put together press conference on Thursday to witness Ravi Khalon, the BC NDP MLA for Delta North, asking the Premier a series of questions. I subsequently learned that the BC Liberals had decided to boycott the rest of Premier’s estimates (and shut down debates in the other committee rooms too), presumably to try and force the house to adjourn before the Lieutenant Governor arrived later in the day to give Royal Assent to a number of bills. As such, the NDP and BC Green MLAs had to spontaneously fill the remaining time with questions to the Premier.

I took the opportunity to express my frustration with the behaviour of the BC Liberals (see jesting exchange video and text reproduced below). Seeing as I didn’t have any background research with me, I could not ask the more detailed questions I had originally planned to. Instead, and to kill a bit of time to allow the NDP MLAs to put together a speaking list, I followed up with two sports questions and one more serious open-ended question. In the latter, I asked the Premier if he could reflect upon the last two years and perhaps identify some of the high points that he believes are important areas where the government and the B.C. Green caucus have worked together for the betterment of the people in British Columbia (see text and video of Premier’s reflection below). I thought this question was particularly timely as it was the two year anniversary of the date that he and I signed the Confidence and Supply Agreement underpinning his minority government.

As the time approached when we were expecting the Lieutenant Governor to arrive in the precinct, the next stage of the BC Liberal antics got underway. After the passage of third reading of a couple of bills (that the BC Liberals did not support), BC Liberal MLA after BC Liberal MLA rose on a point of personal privilege. For the better part of an hour, virtually ever single BC Liberal MLA, including the Assistant Deputy Speaker (BC Liberal MLA for Coquitlam-Burke Mountain Joan Isaacs) read out a statement along the lines of:

“I rise pursuant to Standing Order 26 on a matter of personal privilege. I have become aware of behavior and conduct undertaken by the Speaker with respect to senior officers and employees of this Legislative Assembly that I believe to be improper and compromises the ability of those officers to independently perform their duties.

I have further become aware of activities undertaken by the Speaker, including the seizure of records, including electronic records, that I believe constitute improper conduct with respect to my rights as a member of this assembly and impede my personal freedoms as a member of this assembly.

Insofar as the Speaker serves as the presiding officer of this assembly, I wish to disassociate myself for all purposes, including any subsequent litigation from these actions, which I believe constitute a breach of the individual and collective privileges of this House and contempt for this House.“

While they proceeded to filibuster the closing of the session, the Lieutenant Governor was kept waiting.

At 18:05 the Lieutenant Governor finally arrived to a house void of virtually every BC Liberal MLA. All but three had decided to leave and boycott Royal Assent.

This was perhaps the most disgraceful and disrespectful behaviour I have witnessed in my six years in the legislature. Each and every MLA swears allegiance to the Crown and the Lieutenant Governor is Her Majesty’s representative in British Columbia. As the Lieutenant Governor walked in, it was obvious that she was visibly surprised by the absence of the BC Liberal MLAs. It was also obvious that the BC NDP and BC Green MLAs were visibly uncomfortable with what was going on. The Lieutenant Governor put on a brave face, gave Royal Assent to several bills (including one of my private members’ bills) and quickly left the building without the customary hand shakes and exchange of pleasantries with MLAs.

Looking back on this last day, it is clear to me that two things need to happen.

1) The BC Liberals, and in particular their Leader, need to offer a formal apology to the Lieutenant Governor for their disrespectful behaviour. There is simply no excuse for what transpired on the last day of the house. I honestly don’t know how Mr. Wilkinson sees himself as Leader of “Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition“. There was nothing ‘Loyal’ about his party’s behaviour last Thursday.

2) Joan Isaacs needs to immediately resign as Assistant Deputy Speaker. Failing that, I will almost certainly bring in a motion to have her replaced in the fall. It is unconscionable that she would undermine the non partisan nature of the Speaker’s office by reading out the above statement while wearing her Assistant Deputy Speaker gowns in the chamber. This is now the second time that she broken longstanding tradition and worn a partisan hat in her non partisan role.

It’s unfortunate that the BC Liberals continue to behave the way they have been in the legislature. The province deserves an effective opposition that respects, not flouts, the integrity of our institution. Their response to the Speaker’s desire to protect data for ongoing investigations was over the top and positively bizarre. It leaves me wondering why?

Videos of Exchange

Text of Jesting Exchange

A. Weaver: My humble apologies to the member for Powell River–Sunshine Coast. There are some burning questions I have for the Premier, in light of the fact that I had requested an hour’s time of the Premier’s estimates. I was told by members opposite that I could only have half an hour, because they had too many questions to ask.

Now I see that they decide not to ask questions. Yet another example of us listening to them….

Interjections.

The Chair: Members, come to order.

A. Weaver: Not having them agree to one thing and not following through.

Interjections.

The Chair: Members.

A. Weaver: As the Leader of the Third Party, it is my right to ask questions. I respected the jurisdiction of the official opposition to have more time, because they had so many burning, urgent questions that they felt it was appropriate for me to rise at 6:30 for 20 minutes last night when I knew I had an hour.

I have three very important questions for the Premier. I’m sure all British Columbians want to know. To the Premier, who do you want to win the basketball game tonight?

Hon. J. Horgan: I’ve become accustomed to questions not necessarily related to the office budget of the Premier, so I’m happy to answer this question as well. It speaks to something that all Canadians are passionate about. I myself, was a university basketball player. I’m a big fan of hoops. I’m a huge fan of the Vancouver Grizzlies. Before that, the Seattle SuperSonics. They’re both gone now. Go, Raptors, go!.

A. Weaver: On this important line of question, I have, for most of my life participated in hockey pools. In fact, I won a hockey pool one. I won $10,000 once. It was quite remarkable. I was very pleased.

However, this year I had chosen Boston against St. Louis in the final, but I got knocked out in the first round. My question to the Premier is: who does he want to win the Stanley Cup this year?

Hon. J. Horgan: If I had consulted with community liaison member Blair Lekstrom who is very ably helping us with caribou issues in the Peace country, he would have said the Boston Bruins. He had the audacity to wear a Boston Bruins jersey into our meeting earlier this week.

I certainly couldn’t support that initiative because of the 2011 outcome in Vancouver, but I think St. Louis is long overdue. It seems an ideal place to send the Stanley Cup.

Text of Premier’s Reflection

A. Weaver: On a more serious note, I just would like to ask an honest question here. As the Premier will know, we’ve been together under the CASA agreement for the last two years. There have been low points and there have been high points. I’m wondering if he could reflect upon the last two years and perhaps identify to the Legislature some of the high points that he believes are important areas where the government and this B.C. Green caucus have worked together for the betterment of the people in British Columbia. Perhaps he could elucidate that for the members of the gallery there who would like to learn about some of the good work that has been done.

I can understand it will take the Premier some time to reflect upon this, because there is so much good work that has been done. I really believe the Premier might need a few minutes to reflect upon the good work that’s been done.

Hon. J. Horgan: I thank the member, my colleague in the CASA agreement, for his question. It has been two years plus a day since we signed the agreement, a historic agreement in British Columbia, that’s led to stable government, positive outcomes for British Columbians in every corner of the province.

It’s difficult to point to one highlight, but one I know that the member will be most satisfied with is the development of CleanBC, which was absolutely integral to the foundation of a climate action plan that leads the continent. He and the Green caucus were critical to making that happen. I know members on the other side of the House as well, leading the first carbon price in North America set by the former government…. Their enthusiasm has waned over time for that, but I know that they laid a solid foundation. I give full credit to Premier Gordon Campbell for having the courage to start that initiative. I’m excited that we’re here to take the next step and lead the country and, in fact, the continent in that regard.

When I think about…. Again, the member comes from the post-secondary sector, so he would also agree with me that eliminating fees for English language learning and adult basic education was also critical to reducing barriers, eliminating obstacles to people realizing their full potential. At a time when we have a skills shortage, it’s important that we get people back into the classroom so that they can get the skills they need to be full participants in the economy, for their families, for their communities and, in fact, for the province.

We also have done a number of initiatives to cap tuition fees, to ensure that we have eliminated interest on student debt, on B.C. student debt, which I think is something that would be applauded by all members of this House. One area that I’m particularly excited about, the member for Mount Pleasant, the member for Kootenay West and I were at Vancouver Island University in the first couple of weeks of our time in government — at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo — announcing the tuition waiver for kids in care.

Of course, for those who are unaware of the program, that is an opportunity for those who have been in foster homes, have been wards of the state. When they age out, oftentimes they see an abyss rather than an opportunity. By waiving tuition fees, we’ve allowed kids in care to see hope in their future, to see opportunity in their future. That’s not just good for the individual. It’s good for the broader community. I know our colleagues in CASA were very supportive of that.

Arts and culture is another area that I’m very proud of. Reinvesting in the B.C. Arts Council, making sure that we’re doing everything we can to get the payback that we all see from arts and culture.

I’ve been to a number of film studios, in my time as Premier to see firsthand just the enormous number of jobs that we get in this sector. I know my deputy and I are ad idem on this question. We see electricians, carpenters. actors, extras — extras that get their big break by being at the right place at the right time on a Netflix film or a series or whatever it might be. That launches their careers.

Deadpool coming to B.C., not once, but twice and, let’s hope, three times. Probably the defining moment for me was just last week, Member, when I was visiting a studio in Vancouver that did the dragons for Game of Thrones. Now, not a lot of people know that. But the CGI for Game of Thrones was developed and designed in Vancouver, which had a whole host of other spinoffs for the community. Subcontractors creating more jobs, good high-paying jobs, whether it’s coders, whether it be artists, and that’s all happening here in British Columbia — not just in Vancouver, by the way, but also throughout B.C.

On the economy, of course, the member will know that we put in place an innovation commissioner to make sure that we’re talking about the economy of the future. We also, of course, are very mindful that traditional industries built British Columbia. We’re working hard to make sure that forestry, mining and other resource industries can prosper and flourish. Agriculture is very important to the member. He supports the agricultural land reserve. He supports strengthening tools like that for all British Columbians.

I know the member would like me to go on.

Interjection.

Hon. J. Horgan: You would? Okay. Creating a ministry…. I didn’t know I was filibustering myself, but here I find myself. It’s been a while. Excuse me.

On the housing side, the member is devastated, as I am, to see homelessness proliferating across B.C. But with modular housing programs, we’ve seen the hard-to-house and homeless finding a place to hang their hat and to start a new life, and it’s been transformative in places like Surrey. The Whalley strip was infamous, and now that’s been changed. Nanaimo. We’re working very hard on that. One of the largest tent cities in Vancouver Island’s history. No longer there. Service is in place for the people that have been moved into modular housing.

We’ve increased a whole host of other issues with respect to seniors. We’re demanding accountability for staffing standards in care centres. There’s more support for Shelter Aid For Elderly Renters, increased length of home support visits, capital funding to strengthen senior centres.

A systematic review of care centre staffing levels. This is something that the Minister of Health was absolutely pivotal on. We remember back to the turn of the century, when the government of the day was ripping up contracts, making it more difficult for seniors to find care facilities that were appropriately staffed with enthusiastic workers — caregivers that were not just coming to a job, but coming to care for our moms, our dads and our loved ones. An underrespected and underpaid area of our economy, and we’ve taken steps through the leadership of the Minister of Health to achieve that, with the support of the Green caucus.

We ended the disability clawback for transportation for bus passes. I know the member responsible for poverty reduction was the lead on that, but we had full support of the Green caucus in that regard. And a whole bunch of other stuff.

Anti-SLAPP legislation. I know the member and I talked about anti-SLAPP legislation in the first session. There were some challenges. A decision, a determination made in Ontario, made the bill that we were working on together on this side of the House a bit in doubt. We worked with the Attorney General, leg. counsel and the Green caucus to make sure that we could have anti-SLAPP legislation here British Columbia to protect those who are standing up for their communities.

We’ve made a whole host of other changes. The reduction of PST on electricity was absolutely critical to industry and something that should have happened a long, long time ago. That’s created more opportunities as well. I think there’s more here, but I think if the member has more questions, I’ll take that….