The 40th Parliament of British Columbia was in session from June 26, 2013, to April 11, 2017. It consisted of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, as elected by the general election of May 14, 2013, and the Queen represented by Lieutenant Governor Judith Guichon. That election unexpectedly returned the BC Liberal Party to another majority government, their fourth consecutive government since 2001, this time with Christy Clark who had been premier since 2011. The BC New Democratic Party formed the official opposition under Adrian Dix and John Horgan who replaced Dix in the 2014 leadership election. The first member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the Green Party of BC, Andrew J. Weaver served in this parliament, along with independent Vicki Huntington. Three MLAs resigned: Jenny Kwan and Douglas Horne who resigned to stand in a federal election, as well as Ben Stewart who resigned for the purpose of providing the Premier, who had lost her seat in the general election, with another opportunity to gain a seat. The by-elections to replace the resigned members Clark won Stewart's Kelowna riding, while Melanie Mark and Jodie Wickens replaced Kwan and Horne, respectively. The only members to leave their party, Marc Dalton briefly left the BC Liberals as he unsuccessfully sought the Conservative Party nomination in the federal election, and Pat Pimm left the BC Liberal Party just prior to being arrested.
Legislative initiatives which were part of 2013 BC Liberal election platform included major amendments to liquor laws, local government elections, and holding a plebiscite on TransLink funding. The BC Liberal election priority of fostering a liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry involved the creation of the Liquefied Natural Gas Income Tax Act, the Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act which provides exemptions for LNG facilities and replaces the existing cap and trade regime, amendments to the Protected Areas of British Columbia Act to make way for pipelines through parks and other protected areas, and various amendments to the Natural Gas Development Statutes Act (formerly the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act). Other major legislation included the adoption of the Water Sustainability Act, creation of a licensing system for all-terrain vehicle and snowmobiles in the Off-Road Vehicle Act, adding electronic cigarette to the Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act, modernizing the Societies Act, amendments to the Motor Dealer Act to prohibit online sales of vehicles, creation of a new provincial park called the Ancient Forest/Chun T'oh Whudujut Park, and adoption of the Great Bear Rainforest (Forest Management) Act that limited commercial logging in the Great Bear Rainforest. Other new legislation included making discrimination based on gender identity or expression illegal, and creating a 15% property transfer tax that only applies to foreign nationals in Metro Vancouver.
In preparation for the next general election, legislation was adopted to increase the number of MLAs to 87, delete pre-campaign expense limits, allow constituency associations to incur election expenses, require dissemination of the identity of those who voted in the last election, and limited the update to voter registration information. The 40th parliament of British Columbia was formally dissolved on April 11, 2017, by request of the premier to the lieutenant governor making way for the 41st British Columbia general election set for May 9, 2017.
Elections and appointments The members of the legislative assembly were elected in the 40th general election, held on May 14, 2013. The BC Liberal Party unexpectedly elected an expanded majority, their fourth consecutive absolute majority. To accommodate party leader Christy Clark who lost her seat, Ben Stewart resigned his Westside-Kelowna seat. Clark won the Westside-Kelowna by-election on July 10. Regardless of not having a seat in the legislative assembly, Clark, as leader of the party with the most seats, was Premier. She named Rich Coleman as Deputy Premier and Minister of Natural Gas Development. In her cabinet, she kept Mike de Jong as Minister of Finance (as well as government house leader), Steve Thomson as Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, and Stephanie Cadieux as Minister of Children and Family Development. Clark shuffled Bill Bennett, Mary Polak, Shirley Bond, Don McRae, Terry Lake, and Naomi Yamamoto to different ministries while Norm Letnick, Ralph Sultan and Moira Stilwell were removed from cabinet. New members who Clark immediately appointed to her cabinet included Peter Fassbender as Minister of Education, Amrik Virk as Minister of Advanced Education, Suzanne Anton as Minister of Justice, Todd Stone as Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Teresa Wat as Minister of International Trade, Coralee Oakes as Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, and Andrew Wilkinson as Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizen Services. Veteran members John Rustad and Pat Pimm were also added to cabinet. Premier Clark issued mandate letters to each minister outlining priorities and expectations.
The Constitution Act states that the next general election had to occur no later than the second Tuesday in May, four years after the last general election. Accordingly, the 40th parliament was dissolved on April 11, 2017, by request of the premier to the lieutenant governor making way for the 41st British Columbia general election which was then scheduled for May 9, 2017.
First session The first session of the 40th Parliament began on June 26, 2013, with the Speech from the Throne delivered by Lieutenant-Governor Judith Guichon. This brief session was held only to pass a budget for the remainder of the fiscal year. The budget was largely the same as the BC Liberals had introduced in February as a pre-election budget. It increased the general corporate income tax rate from 10% to 11%, inserted a new top tax bracket applicable for the 2014 and 2015 years only, increased tax on cigarettes and tobacco, and exempted coloured fuel from the carbon tax.
Second session The second session opened on February 11, 2014, following a six-month recess. During the session 26 bills were given royal assent, all on or before May 29. Following through on campaign promises, a plebiscite on TransLink funding was set up with the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Funding Referenda Act, the first of several new liquor laws were passed with the Liquor Control and Licensing Amendment Act and its accompanying regulations, which among other items allowed for sales of liquor at grocery stores and farmers' markets, and recommendations of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry were implemented with the Missing Persons Act. To facilitate natural gas industry, the budget committed $29 million to the government's LNG strategy program, the Park Act and the Park Boundary Adjustment Policy were amended to allow more industrial activities within provincial parks, and the Natural Gas Development Statutes Amendment Act modernized the Petroleum and Natural Gas Act and revised the ability of land owners to appeal decisions concerning placement of wells, pipelines and facilities on their property.
The Minister of Agriculture Pat Pimm introduced the Animal Health Act updating the laws concerning agricultural biosecurity and amendments to the Agricultural Land Commission Act which controversially divided the ALR into two zones, each with different regulations and application decision-making criteria. Citing health issues, Pimm resigned from cabinet in April and was replaced by Norm Letnick who had served previously as agriculture minister in 2012–13. Michelle Stilwell was promoted to cabinet to replace Letnick's position of Minister of Social Development and Social Innovation.
The Water Sustainability Act modernized the laws regarding water management. The Off-Road Vehicle Act created the requirement that all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles be registered and licensed. The Provincial Capital Commission Dissolution Act closed the Provincial Capital Commission. The Local Elections Campaign Financing Act and the Local Elections Statutes Amendment Act placed new regulations on local elections, like extending the terms of mayor and councils to four years from three, establishing spending limits, and requiring registration of third-party advertisers. The Protected Areas of British Columbia Amendment Act, 2014, removed 11 ha from Indian Arm Provincial Park and 10 ha from Elk Falls Provincial Park and added 47,873 ha to four existing conservancies. The government tabled back-to-work legislation regarding a strike action at the Port of Vancouver but did not pass it as the strike ended.
Third session A short third session was held in October–November 2014 responding to requests by proponents of the liquefied natural gas industry to fast-track legislation. The Liquefied Natural Gas Income Tax Act established the taxation regime at 1.5% of net income until capital costs have been paid, then 3.5% afterwards, significantly less than the original 7% that the government had been planning. The Greenhouse Gas Industrial Reporting and Control Act repealed the Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Cap and Trade) Act in favour of intensity level emission limits, instead total emission measures, and the act set the emission limit at 0.16 carbon dioxide equivalent tonnes for each tonne of LNG produced. The Protected Areas of British Columbia Amendment Act (No. 2), 2014, removed 63 hectares from the Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Park to accommodate a pipeline to one of the proposed LNG facilities.
Also, the Container Trucking Act, which created the office of the British Columbia Container Trucking Commissioner, was adopted as a result of the negotiations in the previous session's response to the Port of Vancouver strike. The Canadian Pacific Railway (Stone and Timber) Settlement Act extinguished all of Canadian Pacific Limited's stone and timber reservations in exchange for $19 million.
Fourth session Prior to the fourth session, the Premier added Mike Bernier to cabinet as Minister of Education. The former Minister of Education Peter Fassbender took over Coralee Oakes's position as Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, as well as taking over responsibility for TransLink from Todd Stone's Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. Oakes was assigned to be Minister of Small Business, Red Tape Reduction and responsible for the liquor distribution branch. Naomi Yamamoto was moved from Minister of State for Tourism and Small Business was moved over to the newly created Minister of State for Emergency Preparedness. Both Jenny Kwan and Douglas Horne resigned as MLAs in order to pursue election in the federal general election.