On January 16, the Premier issued mandate letters for his cabinet and Parliamentary Secretaries. In them, he stated that his Government “… will tackle the challenges people worry about at the kitchen table,” including:

• Growing the economy and “…creating good jobs …;”
• Reducing “… costs for families including by helping people access homes they can afford through support for first-time homebuyers, increasing the supply of rental housing stock, and stronger measures to crack down on housing speculation;”
• Improving health care; and
• Improving community safety.

The Government also signaled that their “… commitment to take action on climate change remains foundational …,” and they want to continue to advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. This includes “… implementing the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act …”.

There will also be a service review of Government programs (led by the Ministry of Finance in partnership with ministries) to ensure they are relevant, efficient, effective, “… grow the economy, and help keep costs low for British Columbians.”

The Premier also noted the December 12 accord that the Government has with the BC Green Caucus, and states “The commitments in that accord complement the direction in these mandate letters.”

There are also key Government commitments in each of the mandate letters to Ministers:

Honourable Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs

• “Work to make homeownership a reality for more British Columbians. 
• Increase the supply of rental, co-op and non-market housing. Identify under-used capital that can be leveraged to construct new purpose-built rental housing across the province. To this end, work with the Minister of Citizens’ Services to identify potential uses for surplus government real estate assets in a way that supports our overall housing and economic development goals. 
• Support tenants with interventions that deliver affordability and a high quality of living without compromising rental housing supply or rental housing standards. 
• Work with small-scale landlords to identify interventions that will support them with establishing new rental units, including improving their ability to deal with issues of non-payment of rent, crime, or property destruction. 
• Work with the Minister of Finance to remove barriers to the construction of small-scale multi-unit housing across the province. 
• Work with homebuilders to address barriers to new home construction in the current capital and interest rate environment. 
• Work across ministries to expedite permits required for new housing construction. 
• Work with local governments to achieve housing targets and address concerns related to infrastructure.”

Honourable Brenda Bailey, Minister of Finance

• “Work with the Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs to:
  • support the construction of new purpose-built rental housing by exploring new models for capitalizing the construction of purpose built rental buildings;
  • remove barriers to financing small scale multi-unit density; and,
  • eliminate taxes that could prevent or impair the transfer of land for the purpose of developing affordable housing.”

Honourable Mike Farnworth, Minister of Transportation and Transit

• “Support improvements in BC’s road infrastructure balanced with integrated transit opportunities ... 
• Drive the development and expansion of transit across the province and work with communities across BC to find ways to strengthen key rural and intercity transportation services. This includes supporting regional transportation plans such as the Central Okanagan Transit Future Plan and working toward regular local transit along the Sea to Sky corridor.
• Identify affordable and efficient opportunities for expansion of SkyTrain, RapidBus, and rail service in the province to meet the transportation and goods movement needs of growing populations. 
• Lead work to advance progress on the Broadway extension to UBC, including by working with the federal government, UBC, the City of Vancouver, First Nations, and all relevant government agency stakeholders. Work with the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs to advance related government objectives on housing density and identify opportunities to achieve reduced carbon pollution and economic development.” 

Honourable Diana Gibson, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation

• “Ensure that any proposed new legislation or regulations are considered through the lens of impact on BC businesses and engage on proposed legislative initiatives at the earliest possible stage. Bring forward reforms as required to ensure that our laws promote high standards in relation to human rights, the environment, and social well-being, without unduly impairing our ability to compete internationally and ensure the prosperity of British Columbians. 
• Work with business leaders in the province to develop a set of performance measurements in relation to the ease of doing business in British Columbia, address issues identified, and improve competitiveness for business to grow our province’s economy and create good jobs.
• “Make sure BC’s economy has the space to grow by creating an inventory of existing industrial lands, carrying out a land-use needs assessment and a strategy for protecting and growing the industrial land base,” which aligns with the commitment in the NDP election platform to establish an Industrial Land Reserve.

Honourable Bowinn Ma, Minister of Infrastructure

• “Recognizing BC’s growing communities and aging infrastructure, ensure faster delivery of cost-effective, high-quality generational investments. 
• Structure our capital plan to minimize cost inflation due to labour shortages or overlapping demands on a limited pool of bidders while prioritizing delivery of high-quality infrastructure across the province. 
• Identify and implement opportunities to reduce costs for taxpayers and expedite approval and construction of projects, including standardization of infrastructure like schools, hospital patient towers, child care facilities, and drug treatment or mental health facilities, but not limited to these projects. 
• Work with your ministerial colleagues to address permit delays in major infrastructure projects and identify opportunities for reduced cost and increased efficiency. 
• Advocate strongly with the federal government for fair cost share related to critical infrastructure projects with national importance.”

Honourable Anne Kang, Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills

• “Work with ministerial colleagues who have identified shortages of key skilled workers and professionals that are constraining economic growth or service delivery to find practical, fast, and efficient ways to address shortages of those workers through training, credential recognition, career laddering, and other innovative approaches.
• Work with the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs to ensure that post-secondary institutions that have identified opportunities in relation to using housing as an economic development tool are supported in delivering that housing urgently.
• Work with the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs to enable privately owned new purpose-built rental buildings that, if partnered with a public post-secondary institution, receive special provision under the Residential Tenancy Act to be exclusively for students registered at that institution.
• Engage with people with international professional credentials to ensure that the implementation of our International Credentials Recognition Act is relevant, meaningful, and effective for them in transitioning into employment in their area of professional training … identify any shortcomings in the implementation of the Act and ensure that professional colleges and other credential granting agencies are in compliance with government expectations.
• Support government in formally recognizing and celebrating professional colleges and credential-granting agencies that exceed government expectations.”

Honourable Randene Neill, Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship

• “Support cross-government work in partnership with First Nations to improve timing and transparency of permitting processes to support sustainable economic growth, housing, and infrastructure while maintaining our world-leading environmental standards.
• Work with communities affected by drought, or expected to face water shortages, to support community-based priority setting between industrial, agricultural, residential, and environmental uses for water. Ensure better coordination between water regulators and local communities in advance of drought to support effective response during an emergency.”

Honourable Kelly Greene, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness

• “Lead cross-ministry coordination for our government’s work to enhance BC’s resilience, such as our work through the Climate Preparedness and Adaptation Strategy and the BC Flood Strategy, and seek a more appropriate level of support from the Federal Government.
• Develop provincial and regional hazard risk assessments, including modernized tools for access, to improve transparency, awareness, and informed planning and preparedness for communities to enhance resilience.”

Honourable Adrian Dix Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions and Minister responsible for Francophone Affairs

• “Identify innovative ways to help us meet our carbon emission goals in a manner that reduces cost burdens for BC families and businesses, grows our economy, and positions us for trade diversification and expansion in light of growing global economic and political instability and supply chain cost inflation.”