The following interview with BC minister of social development and poverty reduction and Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons was conducted on June 18, 2021, one day after the latest legislative assembly session concluded.
Peak: After this legislative session, what are your thoughts on how the pandemic recovery is going?
Simons: The government’s plan, along with public health, has been effective. The vaccination rollout is going as well as we could have hoped. Second vaccinations are on the rise. I see hints of people feeling optimistic, which is a nice thing to observe, and as we step into step two [of the BC Restart Plan], people are feeling that the end of the worst part is close.
Our job situation is getting better. We’re always looking for signs of strengthening in the economy, but British Columbia has been remarkably resilient, and basically that’s a testament to the people who have understood and accepted the fact that public health people are experts in this area, and have done what they needed to do; people have adjusted their lives to protect each other.
Peak: Regarding the province’s paid sick leave provisions, there has been criticism from the labour movement that the temporary program for workers who fall sick with COVID-19 only provides three days. In terms of the government’s promise to introduce permanent paid sick leave next year, what might the consultation process for that look like?
Simons: We’re always looking for a way of improving working conditions, and this is a part of that. The plan is to engage in some consultation in order to come up with a permanent arrangement that isn’t specifically related to the current situation. I believe the ministry of labour is planning that process now.
Peak: This session, you introduced the Accessible British Columbia Act, your first as minister. In response to critics who say the legislation lacks clarity and timelines, you have said the legislation’s flexibility is its strength. Which aspects of the legislation are likely to be tweaked or nuanced in the coming months?
Simons: It was really an honour to be able to table that legislation. The process had been in play for a while, and I essentially felt that I was getting onto a train that had already been moving. An incredible amount of work has gone into that legislation, and considerable consultation, and [it has had] really mostly very positive responses.
What I acknowledged [in response to concerns] was that people who are affected by barriers have been looking for some positive news, and when I give the explanation as to the nature of the legislation as being enabling, that usually assuages any concerns about the legislation, because ultimately its stated purpose is to identify and remove barriers, and ultimately prevent barriers from being built if possible.
[People with disabilities who I have spoken to] are happy with the fact that it includes attitudinal barriers. They recognize the intersectionality of accessibility and disability, and the need to ensure the work we do has that framework in mind. I see it as a positive mechanism for establishing standards, and no sector is excluded.
The focus now is that we get the best out of this legislation. If we’re proscribing an organization that is very complex, we don’t want to put artificial deadlines on, and we’ve seen the ineffectiveness of deadlines in other jurisdictions. I just think we want to do it right. I am confident we have robust legislation.
Peak: Old-growth logging is a recent hot-button issue that has prompted local protests here in Powell River, with calls to end all old-growth logging across the province, not just in the areas in and around Fairy Creek, where the provincial government put in place a two-year logging deferral. What are your thoughts on these ongoing concerns?
Simons: What I have said to people who have expressed their concern, which I share, is that we need to proceed with haste with respect to the 14 recommendations of the [2020 Old Growth] Strategic Review. The minister has introduced an intentions paper, which has been broadly, from my understanding, received with some reassurance.
With the promise of more deferrals happening in the summer, recognizing the complexity of the issue, I think forestry policies have only gotten better since the New Democrats have gotten into power. I’m sorry that, and it’s too bad, work hadn’t started in the 16 years previous, and I think that the work has [now] begun.
If the complaint is that we’re not going fast enough, that’s part of public pressure; I don’t see a problem with people expressing their views with respect to that. If they want us to change direction, I don’t agree.
We’re heading in exactly the right direction, and I think what people are expressing is perhaps some disappointment that the work hadn’t started earlier, but I don’t see the protests being against the bold steps that the government has taken.
Peak: Looking ahead to the next session, what is coming up and what are you looking forward to?
Simons: What I’m looking forward to is really getting into the Accessible British Columbia Act, into the establishment of a system that will develop standards for different organizations and sectors, and that’s going to be worked through the summer and into the next session.
I do anticipate there will be more people together in Victoria. I’ve met my deputy minister twice in person. I haven’t met many of my new colleagues in person. I hope that the fall allows us to get together, meet with each other, and see each other face to face. There’s something that you miss when you don’t have the hallway conversations, or chats before meetings start.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention the discovery of the burial sites of the children in Kamloops, and I think the Truth and Reconciliation Commission calls to action are as important as ever. And perhaps there’s more awareness of them now, because in a sense, the truth of the residential school system became more understood to a lot of people by this, and I am quite sure the work we started with respect to recognizing rights and title and other efforts to improve the system of child welfare and the justice system are all going to contribute to the ongoing process of reconciliation.
