Claire Trevena

In the 38th Parliament of British Columbia the BC NDP, with Trevena, formed the Official Opposition. She was selected for the bi-partisan Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture to deliver recommendations on the development of fish farms in BC. NDP leader Carole James assigned Trevena to be the official critic to the Employment and Income Assistance ministry, headed by BC Liberal Claude Richmond. She supported the 2005 review of welfare rates in which she advocated for earning exemptions and opposed the ministry providing welfare recipients with "free socks, T-shirts and travel mugs" in exchange for authorizing direct deposits of welfare cheques into a bank account.[10] She chastised Richmond after an internal survey of ministry employees reported very morale and revealed he was ignoring staff recommendations.[11] On local issues, Trevena lobbied the government to intervene in the bankruptcy of a Port Alice pulp mill.[12] While the mill was 87 years old at the time and required equipment upgrades and environmental remediation, it also comprised 80% of Port Alice's tax base and was one of only a few mills in the world that produced specialty products using dissolving sulphite pulp;[13] the province eventually directed $800,000 to Port Alice to cover the loss of the 2005 property taxes, facilitated the sale of the mill to a Swiss investment company for $1, and provided $7.5 million for site remediation.[14][15] When another mill was facing closure (Elk Falls sawmill in February 2008), Minister of Forests Rich Coleman declined to offer provincial assistance but recognized Trevena for her efforts helping keep the Port Alice mill open.[16] Trevena backed the creation of the North Coast Trail through Cape Scott Provincial Park, but opposed efforts at developing private accommodations in the park.[17] During the debate over whether the Vancouver Island Health Authority should build a new hospital or renovate existing facilities in Campbell River and Comox, Trevena campaigned in support of renovating the existing hospitals. When the Health Authority chose to build a new $306-million, 230-bed facility near Courtenay instead, Trevena lobbied Minister of Health George Abbott not to approve the decision, and continued to publicly campaign in support of the renovations.[18] She delivered an 18,775 signature petition to the Legislative Assembly requesting Abbott to not approve the Health Authority's plan;[19] the Health Authority eventually relented and upgraded the two smaller hospitals.[20]

In July 2006, Carol James reassigned Trevena to be critic of child care, early childhood development, and women's issues.[21] In 2007, Trevena lobbied against budget cuts to child care programs by Minister of State for Child Care Linda Reid;[22] after significant opposition some cuts were restored later in the year.[23] Trevena spoke out against a Ministry of Children and Family Development project to use MLA offices belonging exclusively to BC Liberal Party members to distribute 2,000 free automobile booster seats for children at public events.[24] Trevena and party leader Carol James travelled the province hosting open houses regarding women's issues;[25] they advocated for the "restoration of funding for women's centres" and the "reinstatement of cancelled victims' services programs".[26] On local issues, Trevena criticized the split of the Comox-Strathcona Regional District into two separate regional districts as being "sudden and arbitrary decision" by the Minister of Community Affairs Ida Chong made without public consultation;[27] Trevena backed the CSRD request for a one-year delay which was denied.[28] After Trevena complained about the lack of provincial spending on highways and roads in her constituency, the Minister of Transportation Kevin Falcon questioned her ability as an MLA, and she, in return, questioned his abilities as a minister.[29] Beginning in 2008, Trevena sat on the Select Standing Committee on Public Accounts, during the 4th and 5th Parliamentary sessions. In the Spring she again travelled across the province with Carol James, this time discussing child care issues and promoting the party platform which advocates for universal child care.[30]

With the 39th BC general election coming in May 2009, Trevena was acclaimed as the BC NDP candidate in October 2008.[31] The BC Liberals selected former chief of the Kwakiutl First Nation Marion Wright to face Trevena in what was projected to be a competitive race but which Trevena easily won.[32][33][34] In the 39th Parliament of British Columbia Trevena became one of two assistant deputy speakers.[35] In that role, she travelled to Kenya to attend a conference for the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, along with the speaker Bill Barisoff.[36] She joined with fellow NDP MLAs Scott Fraser and Lana Popham, in conjunction with the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, in lobbying for the stop to old-growth logging on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.[37] In the Harmonized Sales Tax debate, Trevena called for the Select Standing Committee on Finance to conduct public consultation across the province but ultimately opposed its implementation on the basis its fewer exemptions compared to Provincial Sales Tax and the increased control the HST would give to the federal government on taxation matters.[38][39] In November 2010, Trevena emerged as one of thirteen NDP MLAs to call for a leadership convention over the leadership of Carol James.[40] Trevena had been critical of the party a year earlier at a BC NDP convention when she criticized the neglect of the party's "Sustainable BC" vision during the 2009 election[41] but did not publicly come out against James' leadership, as Bob Simpson was removed from caucus in October for public dissent, until Katrine Conroy resigned as caucus whip.[42][43] After threats of discipline and mediation efforts failed and James resigned, Trevena immediately stated she was not running for the leadership position.[44] Instead, in mid-March 2011, she endorsed John Horgan in the leadership race,[45] though Adrian Dix went on to win. Dix moved Trevena from assistant deputy speaker to opposition critic of children and family development, a role similar to what she held during the 38th Parliament.[46] In this role she responded to an editorial by Mary McNeil, the minister responsible for children and families, calling for the minister to poverty reduction strategy.[47] As the government was considering a fall 2011 election, Trevana was acclaimed the NDP candidate for the North Island riding,[48] though the mid-term election was not called. In 2012 she toured with an NDP forestry committee, along with Bill Routley, Norm Macdonald, and Harry Lali seeking strategies to curtail raw log exports.[49] She subsequently presented the NDP forestry plan later that year, calling for reforestation, restriction to raw log exports, and the re-instatement of a jobs commissioner.[50] She advocated for the Coastal Ferry Amendment Act to include a freeze in the rise of ferry fees[51] and subsequently called fare increases "disgraceful".[52]

In the 40th BC general election Trevena was considered the front runner in her riding with Simon Fraser University postgraduate student Nick Facey of the BC Liberals and retired Campbell River resident Bob Bray challenging her.[53] However, Trevena's party lost the general election and again formed the official opposition. Party leader Adrian Dix appointed Trevena to the role of critic of transportation and BC Ferries.[54] Following announcements of BC Ferries route cuts and fare increases[55][56] and a scandal involving executive bonus payouts,[57] Trevena initiated in a well-received comparison review of the BC Ferries system with Washington State Ferries system.[58][59][60] Also in this critic role, she criticized fellow MLA Jordan Sturdy for not delivering a petition from his constituents on Bowen Island to the legislature regarding ferry cuts.[61] In May 2014 Trevena introduced a private member bill (Bill M-213) titled Provincial Shipbuilding Act, 2014 which would have required new public transportation vessels, like ferries, be constructed in Canada and that the procurement process give weight to bids that demonstrate direct economic benefits to B.C. and that utilize union contractors.[62] The bill was not advanced beyond first reading and, later that year, Trevena was critical of the Premier for agreeing to build new ferries in Poland despite an election promise to create a shipbuilding industry in B.C.[63] Trevena introduced the same bill again (Bill M-211) in May 2015 but again it was not advanced beyond the first reading. Trevena endorsed Horgan to be leader of the BC NDP in the 2014 leadership election,[64] as she had done in 2011 election. After Horgan became leader he kept Trevena as the opposition critic on transportation.

In the 41st BC general election, Trevena was challenged by Dallas Smith of the Kwakwaka'wakw First Nations for the BC Liberals, Sue Moen for the Green Party, and former BC Refederation Party party leader John Twigg for the BC First Party.[65] Trevena was again re-elected with her party forming the Official Opposition, but this time in a BC Liberal minority government. However, in the first session of the 41st Parliament the BC Liberal government lost a confidence vote and the second session began with the BC NDP forming a minority government. In July 2017, Premier John Horgan appointed Trevena Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.[66] In her mandate letter, she was charged with eliminating tolls on the Port Mann and Golden Ears Bridges, and reviewing BC Ferries to freeze user fees and bring ferry ship-building back to British Columbia.[67][68] Among other reforms, the 2017-18 government review of coastal ferry service operated by the independently managed BC Ferries led to Trevena introducing the Coastal Ferry Amendment Act, 2019 which addes that the BC Ferry Authority must consider the public's interest in safe, reliable and affordable service in addition to the other factors. [69] Also in that ministerial role, Trevena led the government's introduction of the Passenger Transportation Amendment Act, 2018 that governed vehicle for hire companies.[70]