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Ten o’clock a.m.
Prayers and Reflections by the Hon. Kelly Greene.
The House proceeded to “Orders of the Day.”
Order called for “Private Members’ Statements.”
On the motion that Bill (No. M 216) intituled Professional Reliance Act be concurred in at report stage, a debate arose.
Bill (No. M 216) concurred in at report stage, as recommended by the Select Standing Committee on Private Bills and Private Members’ Bills that the Bill not proceed.
The House resumed the adjourned debate on the motion for second reading of Bill (No. M 233) intituled Public Sector Construction Projects Procurement Act.
Pursuant to Standing Order 25, division on the motion for second reading of Bill (No. M 233) was deferred until 30 minutes prior to the ordinary time fixed for adjournment.
On the motion for second reading of Bill (No. M 237) intituled Insurance (Vehicle) Amendment Act, 2026, a debate arose.
On the motion of Amna Shah, the debate was adjourned to the next sitting of the House.
And then the House adjourned at 11.54 a.m.
One-thirty o’clock p.m.
Order called for “Members’ Statements.”
The Speaker delivered his reserved decision as follows:
Honourable Members:
The Chair is prepared to rule on the question of privilege raised by the Member for Skeena earlier this month, which was taken under advisement.
On Wednesday, April 1, the Member for Skeena reserved her right to raise a question of privilege following Oral Question Period. The Member outlined her question of privilege on Thursday, April 2, arguing that the Minister of Health may have misled the House and that there were contradictions between information provided by the Minister in the House and correspondence from the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, which the Member for Skeena tabled with her submission. On Monday, April 13, the Minister of Health offered her submissions to the Chair in response to the question of privilege, which countered the submissions made by the Member for Skeena, and tabled supporting documents. The core of the matter centres around data that, while subject to debate in the House, is not required to be placed before the House. The Chair thanks the Member for Skeena and the Minister of Health for their thorough submissions, which assisted the Chair’s review of the matter.
First, the Chair will remind the House of a ruling of the Chair on April 7, 2022:
“Guidelines for raising a question of privilege are outlined in Parliamentary Practice in British Columbia, 5th edition, at pages 399 to 400, and one of the essential elements required is “a brief written statement of the matter, which the Member reads to the House.” The brief statement is intended to inform the House of the facts on which the question of privilege is based, and the statement should primarily focus on any applicable parliamentary authorities which may be of assistance to the Chair – not arguments with respect to differences of opinion or fact amongst Members.”
In the matter at hand, the Member for Skeena submits that, at minimum, the Minister of Health made contradictory statements in the House that may amount to misleading the House. When assessing such a question of privilege, the precedents are clear that the Chair must examine any evidence that proves that the statement was misleading, that establishes that the Member (in this case, the Minister) making the statement knew at the time that the statement was incorrect, and that establishes that the Member intended to mislead the House in making the statement. Based on the submissions made to the Chair, that threshold of irrefutable evidence has not been met.
The Member for Skeena and the Minister of Health offered different interpretations of information that ultimately amounts to disagreement or debate, and therefore not a matter for the Chair to adjudicate. Having carefully reviewed the respective submissions, the Chair cannot conclude that there was an intentional or deliberate attempt on the part of the Minister of Health to mislead the House or offer erroneous information. It is therefore the ruling of the Chair that a prima facie breach of privilege has not occurred.
The Chair urges Members to consult the Chair or the Clerks at the Table to ensure that Members properly distinguish points of order and questions of privilege, and to ensure that the proper procedures are followed when raising a question of privilege.
HON. RAJ CHOUHAN, Speaker
Order called for “Oral Questions by Members.”
The Hon. Niki Sharma (Attorney General and Deputy Premier) tabled the Crown Proceeding Act Report, for the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2025.
The House proceeded to “Orders of the Day.”
Order called for Committee of Supply.
Pursuant to Sessional Order, order called for Section A of Committee of the Whole.
Pursuant to Sessional Order, order called for Section C of Committee of Supply.
The House resumed the adjourned debate on the motion for second reading of Bill (No. 16) intituled Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2026.
The debate continued.
Bill (No. 16) read a second time and Ordered to be placed on the Orders of the Day for committal at the next sitting after today.
The House resumed the adjourned debate on the motion for second reading of Bill (No. 9) intituled Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Amendment Act, 2026.
On the motion of Bryan Tepper, the debate was adjourned to the next sitting of the House.
Pursuant to Standing Order 25, in consideration of second reading of Bill (No. M 233) intituled Public Sector Construction Projects Procurement Act, the House divided.
Motion negatived on the following division:
| Nays — 48 | |||
| Lore Blatherwick Dhir Routledge Chant Toporowski B. Anderson Neill Osborne Brar Krieger Davidson |
Parmar Sunner Beare Greene Wickens Kang Begg Arora Higginson Sandhu Lajeunesse Choi |
Rotchford Elmore Phillip Popham Dix Sharma Farnworth Eby Bailey Kahlon Chandra Herbert Whiteside |
Boyle Ma Yung Malcolmson Gibson Glumac Shah G. Anderson Chow Morissette Valeriote Botterell |
| Yeas — 42 | |||
| Loewen Kindy Milobar Warbus Halford Rattée Wat Kooner Banman Hartwell L. Neufeld |
Van Popta Dew K. Neufeld Rustad Wilson McInnis Paton Day Toor Hepner Giddens |
Dhaliwal McCall Maahs Block Stamer Gasper Mok Davis Williams Chapman |
Bird Doerkson Luck Tepper Chan Boultbee Sturko Brodie Armstrong Kealy |
(In Committee — Section A)
Bill (No. 14) intituled Forests Statutes Amendment Act, 2026, was committed.
Clauses 1 through 4 of Bill (No. 14) passed.
On clause 5 of Bill (No. 14).
Section A of Committee of the Whole reported progress on Bill (No. 14) intituled Forests Statutes Amendment Act, 2026, and asked leave to sit again.
Bill to be considered at the next sitting.
Committee to sit again at the next sitting.
(In Committee — Section C)
Section C of Committee of Supply reported progress of the estimates of the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness.
Report to be considered at the next sitting.
Committee to sit again at the next sitting.
And then the House adjourned at 6.19 p.m.
HON. RAJ CHOUHAN, Speaker
Wednesday, April 22
Trevor Halford to introduce a Bill intituled Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Repeal Act.
Wednesday, April 22
15 The Hon. Mike Farnworth to move —
That, should the motion for second reading of Bill (No. M 237) intituled Insurance (Vehicle) Amendment Act, 2026, pass, notwithstanding Standing Order 84A (1), Bill (No. M 237) be committed to the Special Committee to Review Provisions of the Insurance (Vehicle) Act.
And that, notwithstanding Standing Order 84A (2), the Special Committee to Review Provisions of the Insurance (Vehicle) Act report Bill (No. M 237) back to the House by the deadline fixed for the Special Committee to present its final report to the House.
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