Today on the first day of debates after the opening of the 3^rd session of the 41^st parliament I rose in Question Period to ask what the government was doing to clamp down on questionable immigration, tax and real estate schemes.

I made reference to a recent BC Supreme Court judgement (Fu v. Zhu, 2018), that was the focus of a story written by Douglas Todd in the Vancouver Sun describing “A shocking B.C. Supreme Court case that pitted two rich families from China against each other provides grim revelations about the kind of migration, tax, and real-estate scams regularly occurring in Metro Vancouver and beyond.”

Below I reproduce the video and text of the exchange.

Video of the Exchange

Question

A. Weaver: Happy Valentine’s Day to the House here today.

The recent Fu v. Zhu B.C. Supreme Court case concerning the case of multi-million dollar homes in Vancouver outlined questionable immigration, tax and real estate schemes occurring right here under our noses.

The judgment states that one of the parties “was sophisticated in lying, including scheming to deceive Canadian immigration authorities.” Another claimed just $97.11 in worldwide income, despite owning multi-million-dollar properties and one of China’s largest manufacturing and distribution companies.

That the parties had no problem outlining so many questionable activities before our courts shows little regard these individuals had for our laws. This government committed to crack down on fraud, tax evasion and money laundering in our markets, and the Civil Forfeiture Act allows properties to be seized that are linked to unlawful activities.

My question to the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General is this: why aren’t we using civil forfeiture or a similar tool in cases like this one?

Answer

Hon. C. James: Thank you to the member, the Leader of the Third Party, for the question. Just on the very specific issue of civil forfeiture, I want to make it clear that the government doesn’t direct civil forfeiture procedures. Under the act, the civil forfeiture office has no independent investigative or seizure powers. It’s really up to the police, who make the determination around investigation, around priorities, and then they refer the assets that are seized under criminal law as they deem appropriate.

On the bigger question, on the bigger issue that the member raised — the issue of fraud, around speculation, the issue of the use of loopholes to avoid taxes — we are very concerned as a government about that direction. That’s why we took action, in our first update in September, to close loopholes, to act on gathering and sharing information that’s needed for enforcement — first steps. As you heard from the throne speech yesterday, there will be more to come in the budget. Stay tuned.

Supplementary Question

Mr. Speaker: The Leader of the Third Party on a supplemental.

A. Weaver: Even if we can’t use civil forfeiture in cases like this, there’s an urgent need to address this problem. The current Attorney General has called B.C. “a jurisdiction where the rules do not apply to white-collar crime, fraud, tax evasion and money laundering, where even if the rules do apply, enforcement is absent.” In opposition, the now government spoke strongly about this challenge and the urgent need for action.

My question, again, is to the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General or perhaps the Minister of Finance. If government isn’t going to use civil forfeiture as a tool for enforcement in cases like this, what immediate steps are you taking to ensure that the rules, in fact, do apply to tax evasion and fraud and that we have adequate enforcement to deal with those who break these rules?

Answer

Hon. C. James: To the member, six more days until the budget heads out. You will see some very specific actions contained in the budget. They were talked about a little bit in the throne speech. But there will be a comprehensive plan. It will include action to be able to deal with the approach around speculation, to deal with the evasion of taxes. Those are critical pieces. We have a table right now with the federal government that we are bringing those issues to because this is an issue that doesn’t simply impact British Columbia. It, in fact, impacts across Canada. So we need to make sure that the enforcement happens here in our province and also happens across the country. So we were working on those pieces, and you’ll see more details in the budget.

The 3^rd session of the 41^st parliament opened today with the Speech from the Throne. Below I reproduce our media release outlining my initial reactions. I will be providing a more extensive analysis during the throne speech debates tomorrow.

Media Release

Weaver responds to Throne Speech
For immediate release
February 13, 2018

VICTORIA, B.C. – B.C. Green Party leader Andrew Weaver responded today to the Speech from the Throne.

“I am encouraged to see our shared values represented in today’s Throne Speech,” said Weaver.

“The focus on housing and child care and early childhood education represent policies that we have heard are top priorities for British Columbians across the province.

“However, we await details in next week’s budget as to how these values will be implemented in government policy. British Columbians are facing an affordability crisis and they deserve to see a strong vision and bold action from this government.

“I am glad to hear the government acknowledge that the first step to solving the housing crisis must be to address demand and speculation, both foreign and domestic. What’s critical is that these measures are bold enough to make a difference for British Columbians. Our caucus has long maintained that taking strong demand-side action is critical to improving housing affordability. Houses should be for homes for people to live in, not commodities for speculation. I hope to see significant demand-side action in the budget next week.

“While it’s positive to see a focus on childcare, going forward we hope to see far more emphasis on the importance of high quality early childhood education. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to provide the next generation of British Columbians with the best possible head start – and well paid, high quality educators must be at the centre of this transformation. Sonia Furstenau, our spokesperson on this issue, will continue to advocate for an evidence-based approach to early childhood education so that our children can succeed in our fast-changing world.

“While I appreciate the government reiterating its commitment to take steps to meet our climate target, we must get beyond rhetoric. Our caucus’ role is to ensure that the days of politicians vowing to take action on climate and then doing nothing must end. Actions, not words, are what are required to meet our responsibility to the next generation. I look forward to working with Minister Heyman to enact a climate action strategy to meet our targets so that we can become leaders in climate action once again.”

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Media contact
Jillian Oliver, Press Secretary
+1 778-650-0597 | jillian.oliver@leg.bc.ca

Today we issued a media release calling on the BC Government to promote the BC wine industry in light of Alberta’s recent petty announcement that it was initiating a boycott. I reproduce our media release below.

On a slightly different note, readers who might think that the BC Liberals were good for the BC Wine industry might wish to think again. Their mismanagement of the BC Wine Institute VQA specialty licenses has led to NAFTA and WTO challenges by the US and Australia, respectively.

There was no need to create new licenses as the existing ones had already been grandparented in. There would have been no grounds for challenges if they had simply left things alone.

I warned the BC Liberals in 2015 that this was likely going to happen. Unfortunately this is now yet another mess created by the BC Liberals that has to be cleaned up.

Media Release

B.C. Greens call for Government support of B.C. Wine industry
For immediate release
February 10, 2018

VICTORIA, B.C. – Andrew Weaver, Leader of the B.C. Green Party today called for the B.C. government to take immediate mitigation steps to help provide support for B.C. wineries.

“B.C.’s wine industry is a provincial treasure that brings significant tourism and economic activity to our province,” Weaver said.

“More than that, it represents the best of our province – innovators who have developed their businesses into an internationally renowned region. Today we are calling for the provincial government to take decisive action to support these businesses who have been unfairly targeted by a neighbouring government.”

Specific mitigation measures currently supported by the B.C. Greens include:

• Launch a “Drink Local” program to encourage British Columbians to buy wine from BC wineries, including a promotional campaign in BC Liquor Stores and a province wide advertising campaign to encourage the purchase of 100% BC craft alcohol.
• Explore whether wholesale prices could be provided to licensed restaurants to encourage the purchase and promotion of wine for BC wineries.
• Provide funding to increase BC VQA export sales in other Canadian provinces and to international markets.

“The B.C. Green Caucus is 100% behind the government’s decision to ensure that major decisions are based on sound evidence – something that was not the case in the approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline. It is incredibly petty that the Alberta NDP government has chosen to go after small business in B.C. in response and we hope all British Columbians will we stand with us in support of our coastline and in support of our wineries.”

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Media contact
Jillian Oliver, Press Secretary
+1 778-650-0597 | jillian.oliver@leg.bc.ca

Today the BC government announced that in 2019, Family Day will move from the second to the third Monday in February. As noted in our press release, reproduced below, the BC Green Caucus wholeheartedly supports this change. In fact, I introduced a Private Member’s Bill in 2017 to  do just this. We are thrilled that the BC NDP have supported this BC Green initiative.

The purpose of Family Day is to highlight the importance of family and to bring families together. This isn’t happening in B.C., with us observing family day a week earlier than all other provinces. Families spread out beyond B.C. aren’t able to be together. Federal employees and many who work in business are forced to work on Family Day since it is a business day everywhere else.  In addition, Family Day in the rest of Canada coincides with President’s Day in the United States (a Federal holiday).

Media Release

Weaver welcomes move to align Family Day with other jurisdictions
For immediate release
February 9, 2018

VICTORIA, B.C. – Andrew Weaver, leader of the B.C. Green Party, welcomed the announcement that Family Day will be moved to the third Monday in February beginning in 2019. Weaver spearheaded this change, introducing a Private Member’s Bill on this issue in 2017.

“This change honours the spirit of Family Day by putting families first and aligning B.C. with the rest of North America,” said Weaver.

“The purpose of Family Day is to highlight the importance of family and to bring families together. The previous B.C. Liberal government’s choice of Family Day prevented this from happening in our province. Families spread out beyond B.C. aren’t able to be together. Federal employees and many who work in business are forced to work on Family Day since it is a business day everywhere else. I am heartened to know that families across B.C. will no longer face these barriers beginning in 2019.”

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Media contact
Jillian Oliver, Press Secretary
+1 778-650-0597 | jillian.oliver@leg.bc.ca

Today the British Columbia Fair Wages Commission released its first of two reports. The establishment of a Fair Wages was a key component of our Confidence and Supply Agreement with the BC NDP.

We are very pleased with the recommendations of the Commission as I outline in our release media release reproduced below

Media Release

Weaver statement on Fair Wages Commission report
For immediate release
February 8, 2018

VICTORIA, B.C. – Andrew Weaver, leader of the B.C. Green Party, issued the following statement in response to the Fair Wages Commission final report.

“We proposed the Fair Wages Commission with the goal of depoliticizing the process of setting minimum wage in B.C,” Weaver said.

“We support raising the minimum wage: ultimately, all British Columbians should have livable incomes. We know that our economy will be made even stronger when people can afford to live where they work, have adequate income and time to spend with their families and on their health, and have disposable income to help fuel local businesses.

“I am glad that a key recommendation of the report is to establish a permanent commission to keep politics out of minimum wage discussions, and I strongly urge the government to commit to this recommendation. This commission should be empowered with the explicit mandate of analyzing the impacts of minimum wage increases and recommending changes going forward based on evidence.

“It is essential that we ensure changes to the minimum wage are done within the broader context of the changing economy, and in a responsible way that minimizes adverse effects while maximizing benefits to British Columbians. As we move towards the goal of livable incomes for all British Columbians, we must put evidence first and proactively address the changes on the horizon. We look forward to working further with the government to explore innovative solutions, such as basic income, to the growing issues of precarious work and technological automation.”

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Media contact
Jillian Oliver, Press Secretary
+1 778-650-0597 | jillian.oliver@leg.bc.ca