No. 114 VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE Legislative Assembly of British Columbia First Session of the Forty-third Parliament

Wednesday, December 3, 2025

One-thirty o’clock p.m.

Prayers and Reflections by Darlene Rotchford.

On the motion of Amelia Boultbee, Bill (No. M 230) intituled Recall and Initiative Amendment Act, 2025, was introduced, read a first time, and Ordered to be placed on the Orders of the Day for second reading at the next sitting after today.

Order called for “Members’ Statements.”

Order called for “Oral Questions by Members.”

The Hon. Jagrup Brar (Minister of Mining and Critical Minerals), on behalf of the Hon. Randene Neill (Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship), tabled the Provincial Health Officer’s Annual Report of Activities Under the Drinking Water Protection Act in BC for the Fiscal Year 2023/24.

The Hon. Niki Sharma (Attorney General and Deputy Premier) tabled the following documents:

Report on Multiculturalism, 2023/24; and,

Civil Resolution Tribunal Annual Report, 2024/2025.

The Hon. Adrian Dix (Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions) tabled the Climate Change Accountability Report, 2025.

Jordan Kealy sought leave to move Motion 77.

Leave not granted.

The House proceeded to “Orders of the Day.”

Bill (No. 28) intituled Business Practices and Consumer Protection Amendment Act (No. 2), 2025, was again committed.

A proposed amendment by Steve Kooner to clause 5 of Bill (No. 28) was defeated.

Clause 5 of Bill (No. 28) passed.

A proposed amendment by Steve Kooner to clause 6 of Bill (No. 28) was defeated.

Steve Kooner moved a proposed amendment to clause 6 of Bill (No. 28) which was defeated on the following division:

Clauses 6 through 21 of Bill (No. 28) passed.

A proposed amendment by the Hon. Niki Sharma (Attorney General and Deputy Premier) to clause 22 of Bill (No. 28) passed.

Clause 22, as amended, of Bill (No. 28) passed.

Clauses 23 through 27 and the title of Bill (No. 28) passed.

Bill (No. 28) reported complete with amendment, and by leave, read a third time and passed.

Bill (No. 22) intituled Statutes Act was committed.

Clauses 1 through 38 and the title of Bill (No. 22) passed.

Bill (No. 22) reported complete without amendment, read a third time and passed.

The Speaker delivered his reserved decision as follows:

Honourable Members:

On Tuesday, December 2, the Official Opposition House Leader raised a question of privilege regarding the use of parliamentary time. In essence, the Official Opposition House Leader took objection to the use of certain procedural tools that she believes impede the good use of time and therefore constitute a breach of privilege. The Chair thanks the Official Opposition House Leader, the Leader of the Fourth Party, and the Government House Leader for their submissions. The Chair is now prepared to rule on the question of privilege.

Once a question of privilege has been raised by a Member, it is the duty of the Chair to determine whether a prima facie breach of the individual privileges of a Member, or the collective privileges of the House, has occurred.

The Chair recognizes that the fall sitting period has cast new light on the procedures that govern the conduct of parliamentary proceedings. It is not the role of the Chair to determine whether the use of the gardening tools within this garden of democracy, as it was once described by a long-serving Member, constitute a good use of the House’s time.

The rules that govern how this House undertakes its work are in the hands of the House itself. It seems to the Chair that, in their submissions, the Official Opposition House Leader, the Leader of the Fourth Party, and the Government House Leader offered suggestions on possible refinements to our parliamentary practices. If the rules of procedure no longer serve the needs of Members, that is a determination for the House itself to make by way of a substantive motion, and for the Chair to thereafter uphold.

With respect to the question of privilege raised by the Official Opposition House Leader, it is the ruling of the Chair that a prima facie breach of privilege has not occurred.

HON. RAJ CHOUHAN, Speaker

Bill (No. 23) intituled Regulations Act was committed.

Clauses 1 through 82, the schedules and the title of Bill (No. 23) passed.

Bill (No. 23) reported complete without amendment, read a third time and passed.

The Hon. Jodie Wickens (Minister of Children and Family Development) made a statement clarifying comments made earlier today in Oral Question Period.

By leave, the Hon. Mike Farnworth moved —

That Garry Begg replace Amshen / Joan Phillip as a member of the Select Standing Committee on Children and Youth.

Motion agreed to.

The Speaker declared a short recess.

His Honour the Administrator having entered the House, and being seated in the Chair —

Kate Ryan-Lloyd, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, read the titles to the following Acts:

Bill (No. 22) Statutes Act.

Bill (No. 23) Regulations Act.

Bill (No. 24) Vaping Product Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act.

Bill (No. 28) Business Practices and Consumer Protection Amendment Act (No. 2), 2025.

Bill (No. 29) Child, Family and Community Service Amendment Act, 2025.

Bill (No. 32) Mental Health Amendment Act (No. 2), 2025.

His Honour was pleased in His Majesty’s name to give assent to the said Acts.

The said assent was announced by Kate Ryan-Lloyd, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, in the following words:

“In His Majesty’s name, His Honour the Administrator doth assent to these Acts.”

His Honour the Administrator was then pleased to retire.

The Hon. Mike Farnworth moved —

1. That the House, at its rising, do stand adjourned until it appears to the satisfaction of the Speaker, after consultation with the government, that the public interest requires that the House shall meet, or until the Speaker may be advised by the government that it is desired to prorogue the First Session of the Forty-third Parliament of the Province of British Columbia. The Speaker shall give notice to all Members that he is so satisfied or has been so advised, and thereupon the House shall meet at the time stated in such notice, and, as the case may be, may transact its business as if it has been duly adjourned to that time and date.

2. That, by agreement of the Speaker and the House Leaders of each recognized caucus, the location of sittings and means of conducting sittings of this House may be altered if required due to an emergency situation or public health measures, and that such agreement constitute the authorization of the House to proceed in the manner agreed to. The Speaker shall give notice to all Members of the agreement and shall table it for it to be printed in the Votes and Proceedings of the House at the next sitting.

3. That, in the event of the Speaker being unable to act owing to illness or other cause, the Deputy Speaker shall act in their stead for the purpose of this order; in the event that the Deputy Speaker being unable to act owing to illness or other cause, the Deputy Chair of the Committee of the Whole shall act in their stead for the purpose of this order; and in the event that the Deputy Chair of the Committee of the Whole being unable to act owing to illness or other cause, another Member designated collectively by the House Leaders of each recognized caucus shall act in their stead for the purpose of this order.

Motion agreed to.

4  Reply to Lynne Block from the Hon. Minister of Education and Child Care to written questions on notice: —

1. Transfers: Could you please provide a written breakdown of the $63,527 million in transfers, specifying each partner organization and the initiatives or services they are funding?

Response:

2. B.C. training and education savings program special account: Regarding the $30,001,000 allocated to the B.C. training and education savings program special account, can you please provide a detailed breakdown of what this funding covers and how it impacts training and education?

Response:

a. B.C. training and education savings program special account helps families get a head start towards saving for their child’s post-secondary education.

b. The program offers families a one-time grant of $1,200 to start putting money aside for their child’s future education.

3. Teachers Act special account: Could you please confirm the accurate net amount for the Teachers Act special account and clarify the reason for the difference between the figures presented on page 63 and the financial overview?

Response:

The Teachers Act special account estimate amounts are $8.6 million for 2024–25 and $9.082 million for 2025–26. These numbers in the Financial Summary section of the “2025–26 – 2027–28 Service Plan, March 2025” (page 18) align with the figures presented on page 63 of the “Estimates Fiscal Year Ending March 31, 2026.”

4. EAs for K to 3: Of the $370 million allocated to support K-to-12 education, could you specify the amount earmarked for the commitment of an education assistant in every kindergarten-to-grade-3 classroom, and can you please provide a projected timeline for full implementation across the province?

Response:

a. Government is committed to supporting districts to increase the number of EAs in schools.

b. 80% of K-3 classes throughout B.C. currently have education assistant support; we’re working closely with B.C.’s education partners to explore ways to support hiring more EAs.

5. Early intervention and literacy screening: Could you please provide data on the number of children screened to date under the $30 million early intervention program, the number still awaiting screening, and details regarding the government’s commitment to ongoing funding for this program beyond the initial three years? What metrics will be used to evaluate the program’s success over the three-year period to inform decisions about future funding?

Response:

a. It is mandatory for all kindergarten students in B.C. public schools to be screened for literacy to determine where they are in their development of reading skills.

b. There is no waitlist for literacy screening.

6. SOGI resources age-appropriateness: Could you please provide specific details regarding the criteria being developed within the provincial framework to ensure SOGI resources in schools are age-appropriate and focused solely on anti-bullying, and what is the anticipated timeline for the implementation of this SOGI-specific guidance? What will be the consultation process involved in developing this framework and which stakeholders will be involved?

Response:

a. School districts across the province are already required to have clear resource selection policies in place.

b. We’ve heard there is some confusion around existing policy, and the Ministry is working extensively with K-12 education partners to refine the guidance to better reflect the complexities of the various resources that are available today.

7. The allocation of the $9 billion between Education and Child Care: Could you please provide specific breakdowns of the $9 billion (both for operating expenses and ministry operations) between the Education and Child Care branches in the current budget? How “fluid” is this allocation process and what is the specific criteria used to determine the amounts for different categories?

Response:

The $9.828 billion includes:

a. over $8.2 billion (8,216) for public schools;

b. almost $64 million for other partners;

c. $54 million for ministry administration;

d. $30 million for B.C. training and education savings program;

e. approximately $589 million for independent schools;

f. over $9 million (9,082) for Teachers Act special account; and,

g. over $866 million for child care.

8. School districts’ budget cuts: As the Minister stated that the budget remained the same, please outline projected impacts the Education Ministry anticipates with the removal of the carbon tax revenue and school districts’ future financial stability.

Response:

a. Since day one, our government has been committed to public education, making record investments in the K-12 system year over year.

b. Questions about the removal of the carbon tax are best directed to the Ministry of Finance.

9. Shift away from letter grades: Has the Ministry collected any data or feedback from parents, teachers, and/or students regarding their understanding and perception of the proficiency scale compared to traditional letter grades? Are there any plans to re-evaluate the effectiveness of the current grading policy?

Response:

a. B.C.’s reporting policy is in line with other provinces across the country who have adopted this modern approach to student reporting.

b. To ensure seamless transitions to post-secondary institutions and career programs following graduation, letter grades and percentages continue to be used on report cards for students in grades 10-12.

10. PISA and FSA results: The PISA and FSA results show dips in numeracy and literacy. As the Minister acknowledged these concerns, is the Ministry looking at any specific strategies or interventions that the Ministry may plan to implement to address these declining scores, beyond the existing literacy and numeracy funding?

Response:

a. B.C. students continue to perform among the best in the world in math, science and reading.

b. We have prioritized developing resources like the BC Learning Pathways, which help teachers develop students’ important literacy and numeracy skills.

c. BC Learning Pathways is a series of resources that emphasize foundational skills in reading, writing, oral language and math as well as critical thinking and communication skills from K-12.

11. Mental health of children and youth: As the government has committed to a counsellor in every school, please provide a more concrete timeline or targets for achieving this goal. How will the Ministry measure the impact of increased mental health supports on student well-being?

Response:

The Ministry is working hard to deliver on important mandate priorities including expanding counseling resources in schools. There has been significant progress to improve access to mental health supports for students, educators and families through our government’s annual $3 million Mental Health in Schools Grant.

12. Mental health of teachers: Could the Ministry provide specific data regarding teacher burnout and retention, and how the effectiveness of any initiatives in addressing these issues, will be evaluated?

Response:

As the employers, questions around data and retention rates should be directed to individual school districts.

13. MyEdBC: Does the Ministry have any plans for upgrades or improvements to the system to address the ongoing frustrations reported by teachers?

Response:

MyEdBC is highly customized based on sector feedback. The Ministry implements weekly upgrades through an agile change request process.

14. Select Standing Committee on Education: Will the Minister support the reinstatement of the standing education committee, which has not met since 2006? If so, what steps would need to be taken to make this happen?

Response:

This is not currently part of the mandate for the Ministry of Education and Child Care.

7  Reply to Heather Maahs from the Hon. Minister of Education and Child Care to written questions on notice: —

1. What is the Ministry’s estimate of the number of additional child care spaces expected to be created through the expansion of child care on school grounds beyond the changes made under the Education Statutes Amendment Act, 2020?

Response:

Since 2018, our government has funded more than 14,700 new spaces on school grounds. Boards know their communities best and it’s up to them to choose to expand their offer of child care on school grounds. We know many districts are excited to dive into this work with their communities — some school districts are already far ahead in planning and execution, while other districts will need a bit more time to determine what their needs are.

2. How many new child care spaces were created through the New Spaces Fund and the Start-Up Grant program using Government of Canada Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CW-ELCC) funding during the 2022/23 fiscal year?

Response:

Throughout the province, there are now 169,900 licensed child care spaces, which is 48% — or 56,000 spaces — more than when our government introduced the ChildCareBC plan and made child care a priority. In 2022/23 fiscal year, 3,922 New Spaces Fund spaces and 829 Start-Up Grant spaces were created for a total of 4,751 spaces, of which 2,701 spaces were funded through CW-ELCC. Of note, Start-Up Grant spaces are provincially funded and did not utilize funding received through the CW-ELCC.

3. How many new child care spaces were created through the New Spaces Fund and the Start-Up Grant program using Government of Canada Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CW-ELCC) funding during the 2023/24 fiscal year?

Response:

Throughout the province, there are now 169,900 licensed child care spaces, which is 48% — or 56,000 spaces — more than when our government introduced the ChildCareBC plan and made child care a priority. In 2023/24 fiscal year, 5,315 New Spaces Fund spaces and 1,312 Start-Up Grant spaces were created for a total of 6,627 spaces, of which 3,325 were funded through CW-ELCC. Of note, Start-Up Grant spaces are provincially funded and did not utilize funding received through the CW-ELCC.

4. How many new child care spaces were created through the New Spaces Fund and the Start-Up Grant program using Government of Canada Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CW-ELCC) funding during the 2024/25 fiscal year?

Response:

Throughout the province, there are now 169,900 licensed child care spaces, which is 48% — or 56,000 spaces — more than when our government introduced the ChildCareBC plan and made child care a priority. In 2024/25 fiscal year, 2,001 New Spaces Fund spaces and 1,735 Start-Up Grant spaces were created for a total of 3,736 spaces, of which 1,342 were funded through CW-ELCC. Of note, Start-Up Grant spaces are provincially funded and did not utilize funding received through the CW-ELCC.

5. Since the signing of the Canada-British Columbia Early Learning and Child Care Agreement in 2021, how many Action Plans — including all formal, draft, interim, amended, supplemental or otherwise unplanned or ad hoc submissions — have been submitted by the province to the government of Canada; and of these, how many were approved, how many were rejected and how many were amended at the request of either party?

Response:

B.C. submitted a 2021/22 – 2022/23 Action Plan and a 2023/24 – 2025/26 Action Plan to Canada under the Canada-British Columbia Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CW-ELCC) Agreement. No Action Plan submission has been rejected by Canada, and neither has an Action Plan been amended.

6. What were the dates of submission, approval, amendment or rejection for each Action Plan or related submission described in question 5?

Response:

The 2021/22 – 2022/23 Action Plan was included as an annex to the CW-ELCC Agreement, which was signed in July 2021. B.C. received Canada’s approval of the 2023/24 – 2025/26 CW-ELCC Action Plan on Nov. 29, 2023.

7. Section 5.1 of the Canada-British Columbia Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement requires the province to publicly release its Action Plans. Why have the Action Plans for fiscal years 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26 not been publicly released, and when will each be made public?

Response:

The Action Plan for 2022/23 forms part of the 2021/22 – 2022/23 Action Plan and was included as an annex to the CW-ELCC Agreement that was signed in July 2021. This Action Plan is already publicly available.

The 2023/24 – 2025/26 Action Plan will be annexed to the CW-ELCC Agreement. B.C. has been informed by government of Canada that the Action Plan is in queue for translation by federal authorities, which needs to be completed before the Action Plan can be publicly released. Futhermore, annual reports on progress and results achieved under the Canada-B.C. ELCC Agreement can be found easily available online for fiscal years 2021–2022, 2022–2023 and 2023–2024.

And then the House adjourned at 5.04 p.m.

HON. RAJ CHOUHAN, Speaker

NOTICE OF BILLS

Thursday, December 4

Dallas Brodie to introduce a Bill intituled Public Education Labour Reform Act.

Lawrence Mok to introduce a Bill intituled Shingles Care Transparency Act.

Kristina Loewen to introduce a Bill intituled Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome and Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections Awareness (PANS PANDAS) Act.

Kristina Loewen to introduce a Bill intituled Victims of Intimate Partner Violence Protection (Bailey’s Law) Act.

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