In the BC Legislature today I rose to pay tribute to former Oak Bay Mayor and Councillor Nils Jensen who passed away on Sunday morning after a brief battle with cancer. Below I reproduce the text and video of this tribute.

Photo credit: Oak Bay News/Black Press.

Video of Tribute

Text of Tribute

A. Weaver: I rise today profoundly saddened by the news of the passing of Nils Jensen on Sunday, April 7, after a short battle with cancer. Nils left us far too young at the age of 69 years.

Nils made significant contributions to our community in so many ways. He served four terms on Oak Bay council, two of them as mayor. He was always driven by the best interests of his community and served us with dignity and commitment.

I was honoured to have the opportunity to get to know Nils well over these past few years. I’ve always held him in high esteem. I enjoyed his sense of humour and positive outlook on the world. I’ll sorely miss our annual lawn bowling challenge that he beat me at, year after year, as we opened Carnarvon Park’s Oak Bay Lawn Bowling Club. I’ll also miss handing out candy with him at the Oak Bay Tea Party, when every year we would run out, and we would have to borrow from him.

Nils loved Oak Bay and brought great energy to his political and community life. He also worked on critical infrastructure projects for the region during his tenure as the chair of the capital regional district and head of the regional water supply commission. Under his visionary leadership, the Sooke reservoir was raised. Nils understood that Victoria actually had a water availability crisis emerging and showed the leadership required to ensure fresh drinking water for the region was available for generations to come.

Nils was highly educated, with degrees in mechanical engineering and law degrees from Osgoode Hall in the London School of Economics. Nils had a long and distinguished career as a defence lawyer and Crown prosecutor for the province of British Columbia.

Nils leaves his wife, Jean, and two sons, Nicholas and Stewart. Our hearts go out to his family for the loss of their beloved husband and father. Our community has lost a great leader, one who has left us far too soon, and I have lost a close personal friend.

A memorial service will be held on Thursday, April 11, at 2:00 p.m. at the Oak Bay High School community theatre for Nils Jensen

Today as I was walking into the Chamber to get ready for Question Period, I heard the Leader of the Official Opposition saying a few words in remembrance of Paul Fraser. I was shocked as I had no idea Paul Fraser had died.

After the Leader of the Opposition finished his brief tribute, I rose to offer a few words. These are reproduced in video and text below.

Paul Fraser was highly regarded by all members in the BC Legislature. He first became B.C.’s Conflict of Interest Commissioner on Jan. 1, 2008 and was unanimously reappointed twice further, the most recent reappointment was in May 2018.

Video of Statement

Text of Statement

A. Weaver: Well, that was an enormous shock. I found out literally as the Leader of the Official Opposition was speaking about the passing of Paul Fraser. I can only say that I’m at a loss for words.

Paul was, as has been articulated, a gentleman. He cared deeply about the ongoing workings in this place. He cared deeply about each and every MLA, and he worked with each and every MLA to try to help them through what are often difficult and challenging issues that come to us as we try to serve our job here.

I’m devastated. I spoke to him two weeks ago. He had pneumonia. He still wasn’t feeling well. He spoke to me about an issue that I was asking about. He provided me some advice.

I think I join everyone in this House in saying: Thank you, Paul, for all the good work you did. We will miss you.

On December 13th, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture launched the 2018-2019 British Columbia Multiculturalism Grant Program. The grants are open to registered non-profit and charitable organizations and offer up to $5,000 in funding for activities, programs and events in communities across the province to engage public participation in building cross-cultural and intercultural interaction, trust and understanding, or challenge racism, hate and systemic barriers.

The grants will be available for community projects in two streams:

• International Interaction Stream: Projects that build cross-cultural and intercultural interaction, trust and understanding between people of different ethno-cultural, racial, religious and other backgrounds through a range of activities, programs, events and approaches.
• Anti-Racism and Systems Change Stream: Projects that challenge racism, hate and/or reduce systemic or institutional barriers for under-represented, radicalized and/or other minority groups, especially those that use a collaborative community approach.

The deadline to apply is January 10th, 2019. Please feel free to share the poster promoting the awards.

Today was the final day of the fall legislative session. The house will resume sitting on February 12, 2019. At this time the government will introduce a new Speech from the Throne.

Below is the media statement my office released in association with the rising of the house.

Media Release

B.C. Greens mark action on key priorities, improvements to legislation
For immediate release
November 27, 2018

VICTORIA, B.C. – Andrew Weaver, leader of the B.C. Green Party caucus, closed the end of the Fall legislative session noting action on key B.C. Green priorities and key improvements to government legislation.

“This was a very productive session for our caucus,” said Weaver.

“We saw action on a number of important issues we have long championed, such as demand-side housing action, lobbying reform, changes to the Agricultural Land Reserve, reform of the professional reliance model and a revitalization of the environmental assessment process. These policy changes will strengthen our democracy and help ensure B.C.’s long-term prosperity and quality of life. I thank the Ministers for their hard work and collaborative approach to these policies.”

Lobbying and the professional reliance model reform were signature B.C. Green Party platform policies, which both the B.C. NDP and B.C. Greens committed to actioning in their Confidence and Supply Agreement (CASA). Commitments to revitalize the ALR and the environmental assessments were also a key CASA commitments.

“Our Caucus was also able to improve important pieces of legislation, securing the passage of amendments to the Speculation and Vacancy Tax and the government’s ride-hailing legislation,” Weaver continued.

“I am greatly encouraged by these instances as examples of how opposition parties working in a minority government can help produce more balanced in legislation. In both cases, we drew our concerns from listening to the public and stakeholders, ensuring their voices were heard in the Legislature.

“Towards the end of the session we also participated in the initial announcements from the upcoming climate plan, the ZEV standard and social housing retrofits. Actioning an innovative climate plan that puts an economic vision at its centre is the single best thing we can do to set our province up for success. Collaborating with government on this file has been a highlight of our working relationship and I look forward to the release of the full plan very soon.”

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Media contact
Jillian Oliver, Press Secretary
+1 250-882-6187 | jillian.oliver@leg.bc.ca

Today in the legislature Mike de Jong rose and sought leave, pursuant to Standing Order 35, for the  legislature to “adjourn its usual business, for the purpose of discussing a definite matter of urgent public importance.” The essence of his request is summarized in the motion below that he proposed that we debate.

“That this House review its own conduct with respect to the events and facts that led to the presentation of a motion on Tuesday, November 20, 2018, placing the Clerk and Sergeant-at-Arms on administrative leave, with a view to ensuring that all of the steps that were taken were consistent with the principles of procedural fairness and natural justice and, if that is found not to be the case, to consider remedial steps.“

Both Mike Farnworth, the government house leader, and I recommended to the Deputy Speaker that he not grant the request. We both argued that it would not be in the public interest for us to be debating this in the Legislature in light of the fact that there is an ongoing criminal investigation.

Shortly after Question Period in the afternoon, the Deputy Speaker rose to offer his ruling. He agreed that it was not appropriate to undertake the debate under Standing Order 35 because of the existence of an active criminal investigation focusing on two permanent officers of the house.

Below I reproduce the video and text of my brief remarks.

Video of statement

Text of Statement

A. Weaver: I join my colleague in government in speaking against the public interest of debating such a matter in this House.

Frankly, it reminds me of a parody site in The Hard Times, where we would have a debate that goes along the lines of “Man with Half the Facts in Heated Debate with Man with Zero Facts.” The danger of having such a debate in the absence of information while a police investigation, a criminal investigation, is ongoing with not one but two special prosecutors, is very worrying. I would argue that it is in the public interest that the police investigation be allowed to proceed unheated from political interference.

With that in mind, I think it would be inappropriate for us to be debating this in the Legislature, in light of the fact that there is a criminal investigation ongoing as we speak. With that, I do recommend that this not be accepted.