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close menu Office of the Premier

Upgrades secure drinking water system in Prince Rupert

March 17, 2023 9:38 AM
Upgrades secure drinking water system in Prince Rupert
The Province is providing $65 million to the City of Prince Rupert to replace crucial sections of its aging water-distribution system to ensure reliable water service for the community.
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B.C. supports stable, expanded transit services in Metro Vancouver

March 15, 2023 1:20 PM
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close menu Agriculture and Food

Historic investment in food security supports British Columbians

March 7, 2023 10:55 AM
Historic investment in food security supports British Columbians
The Province is investing more than $200 million in food security to ensure people have better access to an increased supply of affordable, local food.   
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Farmers, ranchers, processors supported by new Canada-B.C. partnership

March 15, 2023 9:00 AM
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New legislation will help protect against sharing of intimate images without consent

March 6, 2023 3:00 PM
Sharing intimate images without consent is wrong
To better protect people from the harmful effects of having their intimate images shared without their consent and improve access to justice for survivors of sexualized violence, the Province is introducing the intimate images protection act. 
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Amendments will fight disinformation, make elections more accessible

March 2, 2023 10:15 AM
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close menu Children and Family Development

Access to post-secondary education expanded for former youth in care

March 14, 2023 10:15 AM
Expanding access to post-secondary education and skills training for former youth in care
Former youth in care in B.C. of all ages will have their tuition waived for post-secondary education as government takes action to remove age requirements for the Tuition Waiver Program.
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More children will be supported with inclusive child care

February 3, 2023 8:00 AM
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British Columbians will get better highway cell coverage

March 21, 2023 10:45 AM
Safer highways with expanded cell coverage
The Province is supporting new cellular projects that will enable better safety for travellers along key transportation routes across British Columbia.
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High-speed internet access coming to remote Gitanyow, Stewart

March 16, 2023 11:15 AM
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close menu Education and Child Care

B.C. launches anti-racism action plan for K-12 students

January 23, 2023 11:15 AM
B.C. launches anti-racism action plan for K-12 students
Empowering students and educators to identify and take action against racism and discrimination in British Columbia schools is the aim of a new provincial K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan launched on Monday, Jan. 23, 2023.
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Students get improved air quality in B.C. schools

March 15, 2023 2:30 PM
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close menu Emergency Management and Climate Readiness

Province boosts funding for communities to help tackle climate challenge

February 21, 2023 12:22 PM
Province boosts funding for communities to help tackle climate challenge
Historic provincial investments will support communities in preparing for the risk of natural disasters related to climate change, along with a new one-stop online platform to help people and communities better prepare for, mitigate and understand disaster and climate risks.
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Community emergency response enhanced by Indigenous cultural safety

February 16, 2023 8:00 AM
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close menu Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation

New energy action framework to cap emissions, electrify the clean economy

March 14, 2023 2:50 PM
New energy action framework to cap emissions, electrify the clean economy
The Province’s new energy action framework will ensure oil and gas sector projects fit within B.C.’s climate commitments and create new opportunities for people in clean energy and technology.
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B.C., Haisla move forward on historic development project, commit to reduce emissions

March 14, 2023 1:58 PM
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close menu Environment and Climate Change Strategy

Province improves inclusion, accessibility in B.C. parks

March 22, 2023 10:45 AM
Province improves inclusion, accessibility in B.C. parks
The Province is renewing and expanding its commitment to make B.C. parks more inclusive and accessible with the release of the BC Parks Commitment to Inclusion.
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New energy action framework to cap emissions, electrify the clean economy

March 14, 2023 2:50 PM
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close menu Finance

Budget 2023 takes action on issues that matter most

February 28, 2023 1:40 PM
Budget 2023
Budget 2023 invests in improving health and mental-health care, creating more affordable housing, growing a clean economy and delivering more help with costs – especially for families and British Columbians most affected by global inflation.
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Legislation will help close B.C.’s gender pay gap

March 7, 2023 10:20 AM
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close menu Forests

B.C. introduces new measures on old growth, innovation, forest stewardship

February 15, 2023 1:20 PM
Taking more action to care for B.C. forests
The B.C. government is launching new measures to protect more old growth by fast-tracking innovation and co-developing new local plans with First Nations to better care for B.C.’s forests.
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Updated angling fees increase streams of revenue for fisheries conservation

March 14, 2023 3:45 PM
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close menu Health

New long-term care home coming to Vancouver

March 22, 2023 9:30 AM
New long-term care home coming to Vancouver
People on the Lower Mainland will benefit from improved long-term care and community services as Providence Health Care prepares to build the new St. Vincent’s Heather long-term care home.
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Sts’ailes will receive improved access to First Nations-led primary care

March 17, 2023 12:00 PM
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close menu Housing

Safe, new homes coming for women, children in B.C.

March 9, 2023 9:15 AM
Safe, new homes coming for women, children in B.C.
More women and children will have an affordable, safe and secure place to go, as 150 homes are either opening or are under construction in four different locations throughout the province.
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More than 130 affordable rental homes open in Langford, Victoria

February 17, 2023 11:00 AM
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close menu Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation

B.C. will formally recognize National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

February 7, 2023 11:35 AM
B.C. will formally recognize National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation will be enshrined in B.C. law to honour the strength and resilience of residential school survivors and remember the children who never came home.
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Huu-ay-aht First Nations, Province partner to create Oomiiqsu Mother Centre

November 8, 2022 2:15 PM
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close menu Intergovernmental Relations Secretariat

Nominate an exceptional citizen for B.C.’s highest honour

January 6, 2023 9:30 AM
Nominate an exceptional citizen for B.C.’s highest honour
Nominations are being accepted for the Order of British Columbia, the Province’s highest honour.
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Fifteen British Columbians honoured for dedication to service

December 5, 2022 10:30 AM
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close menu Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation

Minister’s statement on February Labour Force Survey results

March 10, 2023 8:00 AM
Minister’s statement on February Labour Force Survey results
Brenda Bailey, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation, has issued the following statement on the release of Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey for February 2023:
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New legislation will reduce barriers for people

March 8, 2023 1:55 PM
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close menu Labour

B.C. will formally recognize National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

February 7, 2023 11:35 AM
B.C. will formally recognize National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation will be enshrined in B.C. law to honour the strength and resilience of residential school survivors and remember the children who never came home.
  Read More

New funds will bolster supports for workers, businesses

February 23, 2023 11:45 AM
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close menu Mental Health and Addictions

B.C. building historic treatment, recovery services for people struggling with addiction

March 2, 2023 12:15 PM
More addiction treatment and recovery spaces
People struggling with mental health and addiction will have access to more treatment and recovery beds, along with community-based aftercare services through new historic investments through Budget 2023.   
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B.C. takes action to reduce ER wait times for people in mental-health crisis

February 23, 2023 9:52 AM
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close menu Municipal Affairs

Public libraries see historic funding boost from Province

March 24, 2023 10:45 AM
Public libraries see historic funding boost from Province
Public library users in communities throughout B.C. will benefit from modernized technology, enhanced programs and services, and better access to information through $45 million in provincial funding.
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Upgrades secure drinking water system in Prince Rupert

March 17, 2023 9:38 AM
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close menu Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills

More veterinarians coming for B.C. pet owners, farmers

March 23, 2023 11:15 AM
More veterinarians in B.C.
The Province is permanently doubling the number of subsidized seats for B.C. veterinary students attending the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) at the University of Saskatchewan.
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Province cooks up new centre for tourism, culinary arts

March 21, 2023 10:30 AM
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close menu Public Safety and Solicitor General

Repeat violent offending teams strengthen public safety

March 14, 2023 10:45 AM
The Province is creating dedicated police-prosecutor-probation officer teams to help keep communities safe by focusing on repeat violent offending throughout British Columbia.
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Investment in 911 network supports safer communities

March 1, 2023 10:45 AM
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close menu Social Development and Poverty Reduction

Historic investment in food security supports British Columbians

March 7, 2023 10:55 AM
Historic investment in food security supports British Columbians
The Province is investing more than $200 million in food security to ensure people have better access to an increased supply of affordable, local food.   
  Read More

Truck-driving program helps women change gears for new careers

February 17, 2023 8:15 AM
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close menu Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport

Contract awarded for RBCM collections, research building

February 23, 2023 2:30 PM
Contract awarded for RBCM collections, research building
Construction will begin this summer on the Royal BC Museum’s (RBCM) collections and research building as part of a long-term plan to protect the Province’s collections that include more than seven million artifacts and the BC Archives.
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Support to host sport events will benefit B.C. athletes, tourism

March 12, 2023 1:30 PM
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close menu Transportation and Infrastructure

B.C. supports stable, expanded transit services in Metro Vancouver

March 15, 2023 1:20 PM
B.C. supports stable, expanded transit services in Metro Vancouver
The Province is taking action to address TransLink’s urgent financial needs to protect transit service levels and investment plans, while providing reliable, affordable public transit that connects people to jobs, schools and essential services, enabling the transportation authority to plan for the region’s future.
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New funding will keep ferry fares affordable

February 26, 2023 1:46 PM
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close menu Water, Land and Resource Stewardship

Marine Protected Area Network partners endorse plan to protect British Columbia’s North Coast

February 5, 2023 10:45 AM
Marine Protected Area Network partners endorse plan to protect British Columbia’s North Coast
From Fisheries and Oceans Canada: https://www.canada.ca/en/fisheries-oceans/news/2023/02/marine-protected-area-network-partners-endorse-plan-to-protect-british-columbias-north-coast.html
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Watershed strategy co-developed with First Nations, $100 million invested

March 6, 2023 9:15 AM
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Environment and Climate Change Strategy

OPINION-EDITORIAL: Climate action as leadership - the view from B.C.

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Honourable George Heyman

Honourable George Heyman

Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy and Minister responsible for TransLink

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Contact

Email: ENV.Minister@gov.bc.ca

close menu Environment and Climate Change Strategy

Province improves inclusion, accessibility in B.C. parks

March 22, 2023 10:45 AM
Province improves inclusion, accessibility in B.C. parks
The Province is renewing and expanding its commitment to make B.C. parks more inclusive and accessible with the release of the BC Parks Commitment to Inclusion.
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New energy action framework to cap emissions, electrify the clean economy

March 14, 2023 2:50 PM
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Environment and Climate Change Strategy

British Columbia News

OPINION-EDITORIAL: Climate action as leadership - the view from B.C.

https://news.gov.bc.ca/04115

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Factsheet

Thursday, March 28, 2013 12:26 PM

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Factsheet

Thursday, March 28, 2013 12:26 PM

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By Terry Lake
Minister of Environment
March 28, 2013

VICTORIA - The report on carbon neutral government released this week by auditor general John Doyle has sparked debate about climate action and in particular, about the policy tools government can use in building its response.

Climate change is widely recognized as the greatest environmental threat facing society in this century - and has already cost B.C. millions of dollars in lost jobs, extreme weather events, health and safety impacts and stressed infrastructure. B.C. has shown leadership in standing up to this threat through its Climate Action Plan, and this leadership has not gone unnoticed.

Prominent articles in the Economist Magazine, the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times have pointed to the success of our policies and our economic growth - provincial greenhouse gas emissions fell 4.5 per cent from 2007 to 2010 while at the same time our GDP growth outpaced the Canadian average. Recently, both Oregon and Washington have expressed keen interest in learning more about our climate plan as they prepare plans of their own.

In 2008, the B.C. government set the target for all public-sector organizations to become carbon neutral, which created awareness and incentives for energy conservation and emission reduction projects. The Province passed the B.C. emission offsets regulation and created Pacific Carbon Trust to regulate and develop the provincial offsets market. The B.C. public sector is the fifth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the province.

The sector also spends nearly $400 million a year on energy. The obligation to lead is therefore good governance and good business - putting government's house in order as it asks businesses, communities and individuals to take action. And as B.C. steps up to and crosses this threshold of leadership it joins others taking action while there is still time to do so.

By including core government, school districts, health authorities, post-secondary institutions and Crown corporations, B.C. has engaged 300,000 public-sector employees in a strategic conversation about climate change and the need for individual and collective action. Beyond that, the two million British Columbians who learn in, use or visit public sector institutions - 6,500 throughout B.C. - are included in the conversation as well.

B.C.'s investments in carbon offsets support innovation, new jobs, economic opportunities and green technologies in communities in the province. The revenue from offsets sales helps make clean technology projects a reality, resulting in economic and social benefits, an economy ready to compete in a carbon-constrained world, and greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

Since 2007, B.C.'s offset investments have leveraged an estimated $300 million of private-sector investment in B.C. We are now well situated to attract additional investors who are purchasing offsets for voluntary and regulatory markets. This means jobs and other economic benefits, and support for cleaner technologies to take root in our province.

A key accomplishment of our carbon neutral government program has been focusing attention on the costs of energy and working with public-sector organizations to reduce those costs through investments in energy efficiency. Since 2008, B.C. has committed $75 million in this regard and it expects annual energy cost savings of $12 million and substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions as a result. A new kindergarten-to-Grade-12 capital innovation fund will drive further energy savings in school districts throughout the province.

Greenhouse gas emissions are an unfortunate byproduct of an old economic idea based on carbon-intensive fossil fuels. As the world struggles to come to grips with the effects of accelerating climate change, B.C. is at the forefront of a new idea, a new economy, creating incentives for low carbon economic innovation. This kind of leadership isn't easy, and from time to time those who don't like what we're doing or who disagree with our approach will make themselves heard. The report released this week signals that this is such a time.

Healthy and constructive debate is critical to good public policy. While we disagree with the Auditor General, we genuinely welcome feedback that helps us further improve our leadership position on climate action.

https://news.gov.bc.ca/04115

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March 14, 2023 2:50 PM

B.C., Haisla move forward on historic development project, commit to reduce emissions

March 14, 2023 1:58 PM
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