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Press Pass: NDP MLA says she can’t afford a house in her riding

HOUSING BLUES — If NDP MLA Jane Shin ever moves out of her Burnaby-Lougheed riding, it won’t be for political reasons. It will be because she can’t afford to buy a house there.
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The B.C. government said in a statement Friday morning that the decision by Justice Paul Walker raised issues of "general importance for child protection" that government wants clarified by the B.C. Court of Appeal.

HOUSING BLUES — If NDP MLA Jane Shin ever moves out of her Burnaby-Lougheed riding, it won’t be for political reasons. It will be because she can’t afford to buy a house there.

Speaking during debate on the budget last week, she told the house: “I’ve given up on Burnaby, as much as I’m a resident of Burnaby. I can’t find a house that I can occupy for anything less than $800,000.”

Shin said she’s in her mid-30s and has a big greyhound she’d love to see running in a fenced backyard.

“I might be the member for Burnaby-Lougheed, but I might need to get a place out in Mission or Maple Ridge or Chilliwack.”

Shin said she has a friend who is a nurse and whose partner is an accountant and they’re moving back to Taiwan because “B.C. is a place where you make six figures and you live poor.”

MLAs make $102,000 a year in base salary.

BYE-BYE, BAMBI — Energy Minister Bill Bennett was under scrutiny last week over his reported ties to a guide-outfitting operation.

But the East Kootenay MLA told reporters that, as a hunter himself, he was more likely to favour resident hunters over guides and their foreign clients.

Asked when he last shot an animal, he said: “I’m ashamed to say, two years ago.” It was, he said, a white-tailed deer, and when asked why he was ashamed, Bennett replied: “Because I should shoot one every year. I go out every year, and I haven’t shot one the last couple of years.”

ELECTIONS, 1 — Victoria-Swan Lake MLA Rob Fleming introduced a private member’s bill last week that would see all young British Columbians register to vote at age 16. Currently, you have to be 18 or older register.

“That means that when many youth become eligible to vote, they have already left school, and it is much more difficult to be enumerated,” Fleming said.

“Under this bill, youth would already be preregistered, and it would encourage younger voters to take their civic duty to heart.”

Fleming said the measure has led to increased participation in other provinces.

ELECTIONS, 2 — Saanich North and the Islands MLA Gary Holman introduced his own bill last week that would move provincial elections to October from May. This would allow full scrutiny of the government’s budget before a vote, he said.

At present, the government tables its budget in February and then hits the campaign trail a short time later. Holman said the finances never get proper scrutiny, and this opens the door “to exaggerated claims, hidden measures and post-election flip-flops such as the HST.”

Interesting as they are, neither Holman’s nor Fleming’s bills are likely to pass, since Opposition legislation rarely receives government support.

PLEASE HOLD — “Your call is important to us…”

Social Development Minister Michelle Stilwell made her first appearance in question period last week after being sworn into cabinet on Feb. 2.

The question was about the wait times that callers to the ministry’s 1-800 number endure. NDP critic Michelle Mungall said the average wait time has jumped to 34 minutes from 10 minutes when callers dial what Mungall termed the 1-800-USELESS number.

Stilwell said the wait time has lengthened for a number of reasons, mostly the volume of 120,000 calls a month. She said there are new options including a callback feature and an estimate of how long the wait will be for service.

She said staff have updated her on the average wait time and it is currently less than 10 minutes.

Mungall said another reason for the increased wait is that office hours are being reduced in several communities.

The ministry responded last week to an information request about the issue with a chart showing monthly wait time averages. Between September and December 2014, wait times jumped to 21 to 34 minutes, from seven to nine minutes.

— With files from Les Leyne and Lindsay Kines