Spring legislative session focused on tackling big challenges
During the spring legislative session, Premier David Eby and the B.C. government focused on the issues that matter most to British Columbians – passing new laws and introducing solutions to help reduce costs for families, build more affordable homes, strengthen public health care, and train people for the opportunities of the future.
“The past few years have shown us we’re at our strongest in B.C. when we work together and put people first,” said Premier Eby. “That’s why our government took real action throughout the session to tackle the challenges people are facing today, and help everyone build a stronger, more secure future for themselves and their families in this beautiful province we all love.”
Government passed 25 pieces of legislation in the spring session to deliver on British Columbians’ priorities.
A suite of new tools will allow police to seize proceeds of crime – such as fast cars, glamourous homes, and luxury goods – making gang activity unprofitable. This builds on steps taken in recent years to crack down on organized criminals who have fuelled the toxic drug crisis and make B.C. less safe.
A new law will better protect people from the effects of having their intimate images shared without their consent and improve access to justice for survivors of sexualized violence. This builds a path to justice for people to regain control of their private images and hold perpetrators accountable.
Additional steps were taken to make sure people living in 55+ strata buildings are able to grow their families or support their children, with the comfort of knowing they will be able to stay in their homes. This builds on previous work to open up tens of thousands of strata units to families and younger renters, providing more housing options.
A new pay-transparency law was passed to help close the gender pay gap. Employers will now be required to include wage or salary ranges on all jobs and will not be able to ask prospective employees for pay history information or punish those who disclose their pay to co-workers, which are actions known to contribute to the gender pay gap.
Young people transitioning from government care now have access to new and increased support until the age of 27, giving them the same help, guidance and time to grow that their peers have. These changes will give young people in care a stronger foundation as they transition to adulthood.
B.C. is taking additional steps toward reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation will be a statutory day of commemoration to honour the strength and resilience of residential school survivors and remember the children who never came home. New legislation passed this week will recognize the Haida Nation’s inherent rights by recognizing the Council of the Haida Nation as the government of the Haida Nation.
British Columbians will no longer have to pay for abandoned industrial projects that threaten B.C.’s natural environment. Amendments passed to the Environmental Management Act will ensure companies, not people, pay for the cleanup costs if projects are abandoned by businesses.
“From the first day of this session until the last, our focus has been on the things we can do in here to make people’s lives better out there,” said Ravi Kahlon, house leader. “I’m proud of the progress we’ve made on important issues, but there’s a lot more to do. I look forward to talking with British Columbians over the summer about the challenges they’re facing – as we plan for more action to help people in the fall session.”
Through Budget 2023 and by investing last year’s surplus in people, government also took action to support British Columbians now and help them seize the opportunities of the future:
- helping people with costs by sending out a third round of the BC Affordability Credit, creating the new Renters Tax Credit, making prescription birth control free, and investing to keep ferry fares affordable;
- delivering more homes for people faster with a new Homes for People action plan that will speed up construction of new homes, increase the supply of middle-income housing, fight speculation, and help those who need it the most;
- strengthening public health care by launching a plan to better detect, treat, and prevent cancers, and through a new agreement with B.C.’s nurses that will transform the way people are cared for – as nurses will spend more dedicated time with patients.
- ensuring safe and stronger communities with new dedicated hubs to get repeat violent offenders off B.C.’s streets, a major new investment to improve 911 emergency service, historic funding for mental-health and addiction recovery, and a new fund that will improve roads, water facilities, and recreation options in growing communities; and
- building a strong, clean economy for everyone by launching the Future Ready action plan to help people get the skills they need for in-demand jobs, introducing a new energy framework to electrify the clean economy and approving Canada’s first majority-Indigenous owned liquid natural gas project.
After a challenging few years, British Columbians continue to see positive signs of recovery. While other jurisdictions around the world face uncertainty and instability, B.C.’s economy remains strong – with a low unemployment rate, more than 20,000 full-time jobs created this year, and the export of made-in-B.C. goods to the rest of the world up 20% over last year.