In Legislature debut, MLA Nathan Cullen speaks to pandemic, housing concerns and representing Stikine

Stikine MLA Nathan Cullen made his debut in provincial politics
on Tuesday, with his first speech to the BC Legislature

Members of the British Columbia Legislature received a first hand look and listen to the oratorical skills of newly elected MLA Nathan Cullen, with the former MP for Skeena-Bulkley Valley making his debut Tuesday afternoon in his new political theatre as the provincial representative for the constituents of Stikine.

Mr. Cullen returned to political life this fall, leaving retirement from the federal scene to run in the fall election and then once again finding the continued support of residents in the Bulkley-Stikine region of the province.

With this weeks return to the Legislature, the new MLA had a first chance to take to his new political home on Tuesday, as he joined in on the discussion related to new housing legislation, as well as to share a few other themes on his opening day opportunity.

For his debut, the MLA provided a glimpse for his oratory that made him famous in federal politics, first with a few comments towards the Stikine riding which he represents, followed. by some thoughts on the COVID Legislature experience and then took to the topic of the day and the roll out of the Government's housing initiatives.

As I rise for my first speech in this Legislature, I wish to acknowledge a number of things. One, of course, being that representing the incredible and beautiful constituency of Stikine is an immense honour for me. I am speaking to you today not from the Legislature but from my home in Smithers, in Wet'suwet'en territory, in Gitadatan territory specifically. 

I am honoured by those friends and those friendships that I have built over many years with the Wet'suwet'en, that they allow me to raise my family here and conduct my business as the representative for Stikine. 

I wonder if this is true for other members of the assembly and other legislatures around the province and around the country. I feel a bit like Matt Damon and the Martian, talking into a screen day after day. On occasions like this, talking about something in renters and renters' rights, we want to connect with people, want to be able to demonstrate for working people in this province that the government is on their side, that we understand the realities of life today, as strange as it is, and are doing something about all of those many challenges that we face. 

It feels like today is appreciation day for the member from Vancouver–West End, and that is long overdue and well deserved. Our colleague from Vancouver was obviously instrumental in making this legislation happen, in listening to renters and property owners from around British Columbia, both in the city and the rural environment where I live, and not just listening, but coming up with solutions.

As for the changes to legislation being discussed this week, Mr. Cullen observed on how the government has tackled the issue to address some of the challenges facing renters during these times.

Now, if I look around the northwest, where I represent here in Stikine, and I start to think of the profile of who it is that is renting, who it is that we're talking about, I think of young families, young people getting into rental units. I think of seniors on fixed income. I think of some marginalized people and people who are just struggling, sometimes referred to as the working poor, who are just trying to get by. 

Those are the people that we're talking about today. Those are the people that we're talking about protecting today with the measures under this bill, under Bill 7, that will freeze rental prices right now, through the end of the year, and then forever more afterwards not allow landlords to hike up rents, sometimes with the flimsiest of excuses, way beyond the cost of inflation — 4, 5 6 percent. 

We hear of renovictions that took place where the rent would double instantly. For a senior on a fixed income, for a young family just trying to make ends meet, this is devastating. You now have to look for another place, because you simply can't afford to stay in it. You just don't have the money. Because that rental unit is more than just an investment opportunity. It's a home for someone. 

And so this bill — and it's prescriptions to put some limits and some accommodations and understanding that never should rental increases go beyond what inflation is doing — I think is important. It is going to make and has already made a huge difference. That you don't read every day on Facebook or in the newspaper another story of someone having to lose their home, unable to pay the rent or mortgage. That this government has come in with…. One of the only governments in the country, I think the only government in the country, who brought in rental supports.

The presentation also provided a view of the partisan themes of the Legislature now that MLA's are back in session, the Stikine MLA's presentation taking note of his view of the previous Liberal government's handling of housing and how in particular that has impacted on neighbouring Skeena.

Mr Cullen offering up some comments that may have caught the attention of the incumbent for that riding Ellis Ross, who is currently seeking the leadership of the BC Liberal Party.

We saw this. We saw this up close. I served for a number years as the Member of Parliament for Skeena, which represented places like Terrace and Kitimat. That anytime there was an economic boom going on — when they were refurbishing the smelter at Alcan, or when other economic opportunities were coming up and suddenly rental properties were becoming more scarce — we saw waves of these renovictions taking place in which landlords, owners of these properties, would change the countertop in the kitchen and the rent would double. They would change the carpet in the hallway, evict the person because they had to do this renovation, and suddenly the rent went up 30, 40, 50 percent. 

And again, who we're talking about is working people. People who are just trying to make those ends meet and are doing the jobs that we need every day. The people cleaning our hospitals, the people serving us food at the restaurant, the people who are taking care of our kids. Those are the people who would take the hit. 

And I'm surprised, I don’t know if I've heard from my colleague from Skeena yet. That is a living proof example of those two communities in particular, Terrace and Kitimat, that saw many years of renovictions. The previous government just simply didn't care. Maybe they didn't understand, but I find that hard to believe. They were in there for more than a decade and a half. You think they would have figured out that there's some sort of connection.

Bringing his presentation to an end, Mr. Cullen noted how his first topic to speak to was one that touches the every day life of British Columbians and how the changes proposed will make a difference in their lives.

I think it's also interesting for me, personally, that this is the topic that I first get to speak to — a topic that affects people's lives every day. And that is the philosophy and the culture of our government in action. 

What is it when you vote NDP? 

Well, it looks like this. We're going to help out renters. We're going to make sure that working people have a fair shake in this world. There are enough challenges as it is, being evicted for some sort of false, fake half-renovation, for watching your rent skyrocket while your paycheque doesn't match and doesn't follow suit. I think that shows what this government's about. 

It's why I decided to run. It's why I wanted to be a part of this government: to see what a progressive, a truly progressive government could do in action when it comes to mental health, when it comes to poverty reduction, and when it comes to systemic racism and uprooting it from the very foundations of what this province has, as we come up on our sesquicentennial. 

It seems to me that much has been exposed through these number of months. 

It seems to me that our government has been attempting to be nimble, to look at the research and the evidence that's before us, to understand what we can do about poverty eradication — not in speeches like this, but in real-time action, like this bill that we're talking about. 

That will make a real difference in people's lives, each and every day, so that when they open up the hydro bill, when they open up the heat bill, it's not with so much pain, because they know their rent is not going to suddenly go through the roof. They know that they're not going to be renovicted and suddenly pushed out of their home and struggling and looking for a place for them and their kids to call home. 

And so that's what we're talking about today.

You can review the full debut speech in the Legislature from the Hansard archive, and view the Video archive feed starting at the just before the 2:45 PM mark of the Tuesday afternoon proceedings.

For more notes on the Legislature see our archive page here.

A wider overview of political themes from Victoria can be explored from our blog D'Arcy McGee.