First Nations, forestry and cabinet resignation big topics for B.C. legislature return
Credit to Author: Rob Shaw| Date: Sun, 06 Oct 2019 20:31:47 +0000
VICTORIA — First Nations rights, climate change targets, the forestry crisis, insurance rates and health concerns over teen vaping are expected to dominate the fall session of B.C.’s legislature, which begins Monday.
But they may all be overshadowed by the abrupt resignation of Citizens’ Services Minister Jinny Sims, who is facing a police probe.
The appointment of a special prosecutor into Sims’ case comes four months after the Opposition B.C. Liberals sent the RCMP a package of documents from Sims’ fired constituency assistant, Kate Gillie, that alleged Sims used her ministerial credentials to write visa reference letters for up to 10 Pakistani citizens, three of whom may have been on a U.S. security watch list, and that she did so in some cases with the expectations of political donations.
Sims has not been charged with any crime and the nature or extent of the allegations against her remain unknown. But the police investigation is likely to loom large in political cut-and-thrust between the Liberals and NDP during the six-week legislative session.
On the legislative front, the B.C. NDP government is expected to introduce several bills, including one that will enshrine into law the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The province will become the first government in Canada to take such a move, following Ottawa’s failure to pass similar legislation through the Senate last year.
The declaration — often referred to as UNDRIP — sets into law the requirement for “free, prior and informed consent of the Indigenous peoples concerned” for projects on their traditional territory, as well as establishes inherent rights for First Nations communities to be part of consultation and negotiations without having to first prove their history and claims.
“The legislation is going to create a framework for reconciliation for government in British Columbia,” said Scott Fraser, the minister of Indigenous relations and reconciliation. “We’ve had a pattern of uncertainty and lawsuits. Instead of that, we’re trying to build a robust and sustainable economy by working together, creating economic and social opportunities.”
The bill will be similar to the failed federal legislation, which consists mostly of the UNDRIP text, annual reporting requirements and a pledge to develop a plan for implementation, said Fraser.
“We’re hoping we as a model can show how to do this right,” he said. “It’s about human rights, but also about bringing certainty and predictability for everybody on the land base.”
First Nations feel the bill will help them start negotiations from a fairer position with inherent rights, said Terry Teegee, regional chief with the B.C. Assembly of First Nations.
“This has been a long time coming,” said Teegee. “UNDRIP won’t be necessarily the silver bullet but it really changes the relationship.”
A separate B.C. bill will tackle climate change by mandating the government report annually on pollution-reduction targets.
“It will be much the same way a budget is produced, we will be forecasting three years in advance what our reductions will be in certain areas and what money we are intending to spend on it,” said Environment Minister George Heyman. “And we will report on the last year for which verifiable data is available.”
B.C.’s current greenhouse gas emissions reporting requires two years to produce verified results. The latest figures, released last month, showed progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions over the past decade has been virtually wiped out by large increases in carbon pollution.
The targets will gauge the effectiveness of the NDP government’s CleanBC environmental plan, which has set targets for vehicle electrification, increased B.C. Hydro energy use and improved energy efficiency retrofit programs.
Health Minister Adrian Dix has also said he’ll announce a plan this month to curb youth vaping. The Opposition Liberals have said the province is taking too long to ban flavoured vape juice after a rising number of health concerns.
Also among the major items up for debate during the session will be sawmill closures and more than 3,000 job losses or curtailments in the forestry sector.
“Our forest industry is in a deep crisis and the NDP seem to have a complete disinterest in it,” said Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson. “We’re going to be raising that in a big way. This is a government that has written off a third of the province.”
Forests Minister Doug Donaldson has been on the defensive after it was revealed a $69 million forestry aid package required the elimination of a $25 million rural dividend fund that helped small communities.
Wilkinson said the Opposition also intends to target rising auto insurance rates for youth, after Attorney General David Eby changed risk ratings at the Insurance Corp. of B.C.
“ICBC doesn’t work anymore and thousands of young people are now going to pay the price for David Eby’s ambitions,” said Wilkinson.
The ICBC changes came after a $5,500 cap on minor injury pain and suffering claims in crashes, which Eby instituted to stave off annual losses at the Crown auto insurer that had risen to as high as $1 billion.
The legislative session runs for six non-consecutive weeks, until late November.