Office of the PremierOffice of the Premier
BC Hydro will construct approximately $1 billion worth of capital projects in Chilliwack, Abbotsford, Mission, Hope and Harrison Hot Springs over the next decade to upgrade and expand the electricity grid to provide clean power for homes, businesses and growing transportation needs.
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Agriculture and FoodB.C. farmers are getting help with adopting new labour-saving technologies that will enhance their profitability, productivity and efficiency, while helping to improve food security in the province.
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Attorney GeneralNominations for the honorary designation of King’s Counsel (KC) for 2024 will open on Monday, Aug. 12, 2024.
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Children and Family DevelopmentFrom Indigenous Services Canada: https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/sts-ailes-canada-and-b-c-celebrate-coordination-agreement-to-support-child-and-family-services-833129120.html
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Citizens' ServicesAs part of British Columbia’s ongoing work to protect government information systems, the Province is entering an agreement with the Government of Canada to enhance collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre).
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Education and Child Care
Families in Surrey will have 915 more elementary seats in their community as part of the B.C. government’s plan to expand schools quicker.
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Emergency Management and Climate Readiness
To help keep people safe and informed during emergencies, the Province is providing funding to communities in B.C. to improve planning for emergency evacuation routes and public notifications.
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Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation
BC Hydro will construct approximately $1 billion worth of capital projects in Chilliwack, Abbotsford, Mission, Hope and Harrison Hot Springs over the next decade to upgrade and expand the electricity grid to provide clean power for homes, businesses and growing transportation needs.
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Environment and Climate Change StrategyFinance
B.C.’s First Quarterly Report shows the Province supported growing communities while responding to a major wildfire season, high interest rates across the country and global economic challenges.
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Forests
New support for forest-sector manufacturers throughout the province will create jobs, strengthen local economies and promote the transition to high-value, made-in-B.C. forestry products.
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Health
Patients in Kamloops now have improved access to services as upgrades at the Royal Inland Hospital (RIH) are complete, including enhancements to the post-anesthetic recovery (PAR) unit, pediatric unit and ambulance stretcher bays.
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Housing
Indigenous people on and off reserve in B.C. will have access to approximately 1,600 new affordable rental homes through partnerships between the Province, through BC Housing, and Indigenous non-profit housing providers.
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Indigenous Relations and ReconciliationThe Coastal First Nations-Great Bear Initiative (CFN) and the Government of British Columbia are strengthening their decades-long relationship by renewing their commitment to work together through a reconciliation agreement that builds off the success of their 2009 reconciliation protocol and 2020 Pathway to Reconciliation memorandum of understanding (MOU), to continue to benefit all those who live on the north and central coast.
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Intergovernmental Relations Secretariat
The King Charles III Coronation Medal was awarded to outstanding individuals in British Columbia during a ceremony with the lieutenant governor.
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Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation
New support for forest-sector manufacturers throughout the province will create jobs, strengthen local economies and promote the transition to high-value, made-in-B.C. forestry products.
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LabourConstruction workers can soon say goodbye to unsanitary portable toilets on most construction sites and say hello to cleaner flush toilets.
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Mental Health and Addictions
The Province has launched the Opioid Treatment Access Line to make it faster and easier for people to get life-saving medication to treat opioid-use disorder and get connected to same-day care.
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Municipal AffairsPost-Secondary Education and Future Skills
More people will have the opportunity to train for in-demand careers, such as physical therapists, occupational therapists and midwives, at a new state-of-the-art University of British Columbia (UBC) facility in Surrey.
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Public Safety and Solicitor GeneralPolice in B.C. will soon have more tools to enhance their efforts in protecting children online and strengthen abilities to pursue, disrupt and prosecute offenders.
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Social Development and Poverty Reduction
People facing complex barriers will have better access to employment opportunities with the launch of wraparound services that support the most vulnerable on their path to employment readiness.
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Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport
Eighteen people in British Columbia are being honoured with the Province’s Medal of Good Citizenship for their extraordinary contributions to their communities.
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Transportation and Infrastructure
Hundreds of new homes and space for amenities such as grocery stores and child care near transit are coming soon as plans for the future site of the Surrey Langley SkyTrain project move forward.
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Water, Land and Resource StewardshipWater has begun to overflow the landslide blocking the Chilcotin River near Farwell Canyon.
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Minister of Health and Minister responsible for Francophone Affairs
Health
Patients in Kamloops now have improved access to services as upgrades at the Royal Inland Hospital (RIH) are complete, including enhancements to the post-anesthetic recovery (PAR) unit, pediatric unit and ambulance stretcher bays.
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An innovative agreement has been ratified between the Nurses’ Bargaining Association (NBA) and the Health Employers’ Association of BC (HEABC) under the Shared Recovery Mandate that increases wages, introduces workplace reforms, improves working conditions and strengthens patient care throughout the province.
“Almost every person in B.C. will benefit from the care, knowledge and support nurses provide at some point, and I want to thank B.C.’s nurses for their heroic efforts,” said Premier David Eby. “This agreement is part of our commitment to continue supporting nurses and strengthening B.C.’s health-care system, ensuring every single person in B.C. gets the care they need, when they need it.”
The new three-year agreement retroactively takes effect April 1, 2022, and includes general wage increases, improved on call rates, responsibility pay, premiums, expanded mentorship positions, and initiatives focused on diversity, equity and inclusion, and Indigenous-specific anti-racism.
“This new agreement is an important step in strengthening B.C.’s nursing workforce now and into the future,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “Along with investing in the new staffing model, the agreement will support the recruitment and retention of nurses and ensure that they are better supported so they can continue focusing on caring for their patients.”
In addition to reaching a new deal for nurses, the Ministry of Health is separately investing approximately $750 million over three years to implement new first-in-Canada nurse-to-patient staffing model. This model will allow nurses to spend more time with the people they care for and provide better, more person-focused services.
Furthermore, the Province is providing more than $108 million in ongoing funding and additional one-time funding of $100 million to support nurses in accessing training and career-development opportunities, as well as their well-being and day-to-day operations.
“I am immensely grateful for the professionalism of nurses throughout British Columbia and want to recognize the value and importance of the work nurses do and the passion they bring to caring for and supporting people during some of the most vulnerable times of their lives,” Dix said.
The NBA Provincial Collective Agreement covers approximately 51,500 registered, psychiatric and licensed practical nurses in B.C., represented by the BC Nurses’ Union, Health Sciences Association, Union of Psychiatric Nurses, Hospital Employees’ Union and British Columbia General Employees’ Union.
Investing in the recruitment and retention of nurses is an important part of B.C.’s Health Human Resources Strategy. The strategy advances 70 actions to retain, recruit and train health-care workers in B.C. while supporting innovative health system redesign and optimization.
Learn More:
To learn more about the BC Nurses Union, visit: https://www.bcnu.org/
To learn more about the Province's health human resource strategy, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2022HLTH0059-001464
A backgrounder follows.
