2005 Legislative Session: 6th Session, 37th Parliament

HANSARD

The following electronic version is for informational purposes

only.

The printed version remains the official version.

Official Report of

DEBATES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

(Hansard)

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2005

Afternoon Sitting

Volume 27, Number 1

CONTENTS

Routine Proceedings

Page

Speech from the Throne

Introduction and First Reading of

Bills

An Act to Ensure the Supremacy of

Parliament (Bill 1)

Hon. G. Plant

[ Page 11725 ]

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2005

The House met at 2:04 p.m.

This being the first day of the sixth session of the

thirty-seventh Legislative Assembly of the province of British Columbia for the

dispatch of business, pursuant to a proclamation of the Hon. Iona Campagnolo,

Lieutenant-Governor of the province, hon. members took their seats.

Mr. Speaker: Good afternoon, hon. members. Nice to see you

all. Welcome to all of our guests — a very warm welcome. It's especially nice

today to see the member for Esquimalt-Metchosin with us. [Applause.]

Hon. members, it is my pleasure to call upon Lt.-Col. Donald J.

Copple, divisional commander of the Salvation Army, to lead us in prayer today.

D. Copple: Shall we pray together?

Lord God Almighty, who rules the nations of the Earth and is the

author of peace and the lover of harmony and concord, we humbly pray to you

today for the members of this provincial Legislature. May they always be in all

ways led by your excellent guidance and be protected by your power.

[1405]

We ask, O Lord, for you to endow with wisdom the Premier of this

magnificent province. We beseech this also for his colleagues in the cabinet and

for the other members of the Legislature. We pray that your wisdom will result

in truth, in justice, in happiness and in peace for all citizens of our

province.

We pray, our Father, that you will steer the deliberations of our

provincial government. We need you. We trust you. We need your truth. We need

your love. We need your wisdom. May we always observe your admonition to depart

from evil and to seek peace and pursue it.

We pray in the timeless words of Saint Patrick. We need God's

might to protect us. We need God's power to direct us. We need God's eye for

discerning. We need God's ear for our hearing.

Amen.

Mr. Speaker: Hon. members, ladies and gentlemen, I'm

informed that the Lieutenant-Governor is in the precinct. I would ask everyone

to please remain in their seats. Thank you.

Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, having entered the House and

being seated on the throne, was pleased to deliver the following gracious

speech.

Speech from the Throne

Hon. I. Campagnolo (Lieutenant-Governor): Pray be seated.

Mr. Speaker, hon. members, British Columbians, it is a privilege

to once again address you at the beginning of the new session of the parliament

of British Columbia. Since this assembly last convened, we have lost many

honoured British Columbians who we pay tribute to today: former member of this

assembly Daisy Webster; former Member of Parliament Dave Worthy; B.C.'s

provincial archivist John Bovey; entrepreneurs Bob Scarabelli, Joseph Capozzi

and Lucille Johnstone.

We join the Nisga'a people in mourning the loss of their first

ambassador of the Nisga'a Lisims government, Rod Robinson, the hereditary chief

of the Eagle clan.

We lost people whose spirit and zest for life contributed so much

to our diverse communities: Dr. Paul Lin; Amrit Kaur Dhaliwal; Domenic Mobilio

and David Grierson. We lost Toni Onley, who captured the stunning beauty of our

province in his art, and Pierre Berton, a Canadian legend who brought to life

the history of our land and our people.

We were reminded about the sacrifices of our volunteers and our

law enforcement community with the tragic loss of Aux. Const. Glen Evely, who

died in the line of duty.

[1410]

Our prayers, condolences and commitment to assistance go out to

the families and survivors of the terrible tsunami in South Asia that has taken

such a heavy toll in human life and property. That event, like the tragic

mudslide in North Vancouver, has reminded us all of the tenuous nature of life,

the sheer power of nature and the need to prepare as best we can to avoid such

loss of life in the future. At the same time, it has shown British Columbians'

and Canadians' generosity of spirit, and it has united the world in common cause

and in empathy.

A tribute to the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform. This

session marks an important milestone in the history of our province and our

nation. For the first time in Canada, all members enter this session knowing the

date of the next general election and the date that this assembly will be

dissolved. On April 19 the writ will be dropped, and an election will be held on

May 17, as specified under the Constitution (Fixed Election Dates) Amendment

Act, 2001. That bold stroke in parliamentary reform, passed in August 2001, is

an achievement for which all members should be rightly proud.

Nearly two years ago this Legislature also unanimously approved

the terms of reference, Chair and referendum process for the Citizens' Assembly

on Electoral Reform. It was a world first, driven from start to finish not by

politicians or government but by citizens drawn from all walks of life.

On behalf of all British Columbians, your government extends its

warmest thanks to the assembly Chair, Mr. Jack Blaney, and to Mr. Gordon Gibson

for his outstanding founding report. A special thanks is also owed the 161

members of the citizens' assembly and their staff, their researchers and

administrators. Their selfless commitment, dedication and contributions through

11 months of deliberations and 50 public hearings were an inspiration to all of

us.

Now that the assembly's work is done, it will be up to all British

Columbians to answer its draft referen-

[ Page 11726 ]

dum question on May 17: should British Columbia change to a BC-STV electoral

system as recommended by the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform? Yes or no?

Your government will remain neutral on that question, yet it is

firmly committed to acting on the referendum outcome. This is British

Columbians' chance to make an informed decision on how best to elect their MLAs

and choose the electoral system that best represents their needs and interests.

Toward a golden decade for British Columbia. As we enter this

parliament's final legislative session, we look forward to what lies ahead. This

government's path is clear. Although its options have multiplied as British

Columbians' fortunes have improved, its chosen route and destination remain the

same — more jobs, more investment, new hope, new prosperity, lower taxes,

balanced budgets, increased revenues, better service for families and people in

need, better health and education, a cleaner environment, safer streets and

schools, new confidence, new optimism, a world of new possibilities.

This has been your government's road map to prosperity, and it

remains its guiding vision. This is the mandate that your government was elected

to fulfil and has acted to deliver. It is the route that will lead the province

forward to higher ground and higher purpose. It is the welcome ground won

through three years of hard work.

Together, British Columbians have weathered many trials and

unimagined obstacles to emerge stronger, healthier and empowered by their

progress. Today we are entering a golden decade for British Columbia. The future

that British Columbians have worked so hard to create is now within our grasp.

Our province is leading the nation in job creation. Unemployment

is at its lowest level since 1981. Our economy is growing in every region, and

business is booming. People are moving back to B.C. Families are coming home.

There is new optimism in the forests, new certainty on the land base and new

hope for first nations in the resource communities. There is new labour

stability, with 68 public sector agreements and the fewest number of strikes and

lockouts in over 30 years.

Government is again living within its means, with balanced budgets

and, including the forecast allowance, a record surplus. Our stronger economy is

generating new revenues for sustainable improvements to social services. For the

first time in many years, we will start paying down operating debt in a real and

sustainable way. There is new wealth to sustain expanded services for those most

vulnerable in our society.

There are new means to pursue people's goals. Better access to

education and high-quality health care. Better support services for women,

children, seniors and people in need. More jobs and new opportunities for

families, first nations and small businesses across B.C. Higher take-home pay

and a better standard of living. That is the power of a strong economy. That is

the point of responsible fiscal management, and that has always been the object

of your government's vision for a brighter future.

[1415]

We do live in the best place on Earth. The promise of the next

decade is to make it even better for all British Columbians. It is the capacity

to lift our entire society higher. It is the potential to open new gateways of

knowledge, trade and culture by opening our minds, hearts and the province to

the world. It is the prospect of giving our children a better chance to pursue

their dreams by leaving them a brighter future and not our debt. This is your

government's mission.

It means setting our sights high, building on the reforms and

investments made to make British Columbia the true Canadian leader in economic,

environmental and social development. It means looking beyond B.C. to the new

world of global commerce that holds our future in the balance.

We are uniquely positioned as Canada's gateway to the Asia

Pacific. We have a golden opportunity to open that gateway wide and to make the

competitive advantage British Columbia's competitive edge. We have a golden

opportunity to forge new relationships, to open up our ports, airports, roads

and rail links, to open our province to new trade, investment, visitors and

cultures.

This is the age of global connection, global communication and

global partnerships. The new explorers are those who seek new knowledge and push

through to new frontiers of cultural understanding. We are uniquely well

positioned to take that next step and become the continent's foremost Pacific

crossroads.

Now that we have rebuilt the province, we are ready to take the

products of this province to the world. It is time to tell the world about all

that we have achieved and all that we have to offer, not just economically but

also culturally, environmentally and socially as British Columbians.

It is time to welcome the world and understand it better through

new gateways to trade, new cultural exchange, new relationships and a new

partnership in education. This is the path your government will pursue. It's

time to move B.C. beyond recovery to a new stage of discovery, growth and

opportunity that is far-reaching, forward-looking and truly global.

Great goals for a golden decade. As your government reaches

higher, it will set new goals to guide its progress. Its overriding objective is

to help British Columbia realize its full potential as the best place on earth

to raise a family, to live and play, to work, invest and get ahead.

To that end, your government has identified five great goals for

the decade ahead: (1) to make B.C. the best-educated, most literate jurisdiction

on the continent; (2) to lead the way in North America to healthy living and

physical fitness; (3) to build the best system of support in Canada for persons

with disabilities, special needs, children at risk and seniors; (4) to lead the

world in sustainable environmental management with the best air and water

quality and the best fisheries

[ Page 11727 ]

management, bar none; and (5) to create more jobs per capita than anywhere

else in Canada.

These are the far-reaching aspirations that will challenge us all.

They explicitly recognize and embrace British Columbia's role as a Canadian

leader. It is only by setting our sights high and pushing ourselves to new

heights that we can test the limits of our potential. Experience suggests that

when British Columbians set their minds to a task, they exceed expectations.

That is how we won the right to host the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympic

Games. We worked for it. We focused on it and won our Olympic dream together.

If we work together with determination and focus, we will not just

reach our goals, we will surpass them. That is the story of British Columbia. In

less than four years we have re-established ourselves as a national force, as a

job leader and as a leader in health reform and educational advancement. We are

leading the nation in investor confidence and small business optimism.

In short, the prosperity plan is now well underway, and it is

working. Your government will build upon that plan with targeted investments and

policies to the benefit of B.C.'s families.

The best place on earth to raise a family. The family is the

fundamental building block of any community or society. Key to any family's

well-being is the means to support and provide for its members, especially

children. Your government believes that it should take no more than necessary

from families' paycheques to provide the services that families want and need.

That is why it reduced income taxes for all B.C. families by an average of 25

percent and by 28 percent for those who earn less than $30,000 a year. Next week

your government will build on that success.

The best in child care and early childhood development. The future

of any province and any family is in its children. This year your government

will do more to give British Columbia's youngest citizens a healthy start in

life. The best early childhood development always starts at home with loving

families, but increasingly, it's also happening in day care centres and in other

learning environments.

[1420]

Your government has made 32,000 more day care spaces eligible for

funding and 10,000 more children eligible for day care subsidies. Funding for

child care subsidies and capital improvements is now higher than ever. Over the

next five years, working with the federal government, an additional $650 million

is planned to be made available to young families all over this province to

assist with child care.

Early childhood development programs will also be strengthened. We

know that the earlier we can identify physical and emotional problems in infants

and toddlers, the faster and more effectively we can deal with them. New

resources will be added to do just that.

Over $76 million will be invested through 2007 to expand

diagnostic screening services to every child in hearing, sight and dental

testing. Additional funding will also be targeted to encourage healthy

pregnancies and to help prevent fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

Your government wants all children to have the brightest possible

future. No public service is more important in that regard than public

education. The new Ready, Set, Learn program will give parents new tools to

prepare their preschoolers for public school.

The best in education. Your government is committed to making B.C.

the best-educated, most-literate jurisdiction on the continent. Its entire

education strategy has been aimed at putting students first, starting by

restoring education as an essential service. Many changes have been made to give

school boards greater autonomy, flexibility and certainty to help them direct

resources where they are needed most for students.

There is great accountability for school board spending and for

their school outcomes in student achievement. Parents and students now have

greater choice in schooling and new opportunities for involvement in school

planning and in volunteerism. All school districts have received substantial

funding increases in spite of declining student enrolments. In the coming year

block grants to school boards will increase by $150 million. That represents a

total increase in school operating funding of $305 million since 2000-01 despite

a drop in enrolment of over 29,000 students. It equals an increase in

per-student funding of $863.

In addition, the school boards have received $68 million for wage

costs and $138 million in one-time grants since 2002. Your government believes

that every child deserves to have adequate school-based library services and

textbooks. Every school will be required to provide library services for its

students.

Your government will require that every school in B.C. meet

appropriate standards for learning resources. Last fall it provided school

districts with an extra $10 million for new textbooks, enough to buy 285,000

textbooks. That extra funding in this year's block grant is enough to eliminate

textbook shortages.

All districts will be required to report annually on how they are

providing their students and their schools with adequate library services and

learning resources. The increased funding includes an estimated $28 million

extra to improve education for students with special needs. It also helps school

districts make any necessary adjustments to class size and composition.

We know that arts and music programs are an enormous benefit to

student learning and achievement. The new funding will also support that

priority. Your government will work with school boards to ensure that a

comprehensive arts and music curriculum is available and delivered throughout

the public school system in British Columbia.

Other steps will be taken to promote physical education and active

lifestyles. Your government will extend the successful Action Schools program to

every school in B.C. for grades kindergarten to 9. It will eliminate junk food

in all schools within the next four years. It will extend the Roots of Empathy

program, which teaches children compassion and understanding and has proven

effective in helping reduce aggressive behaviour, to every school in the

province.

[ Page 11728 ]

At the same time, your government will work with schools to

increase student safety. Safety will be improved by your government's $1.5

billion plan to complete all needed seismic upgrades within the next 15 years.

New steps will be taken to ensure that our schools are fully

utilized for the benefit of their communities. With declining student enrolment,

school boards have often found that there simply is not the student population

needed to warrant keeping many schools open. This is not a function of

underfunding. It results from shifting demographics and population patterns.

[1425]

Your government will work with community school advocates and

others to examine new uses for those underutilized school spaces across B.C.

They might be suitable for early childhood development centres, parent centres,

community libraries, seniors centres, day cares, music rooms, theatres,

diagnostic centres or perhaps meeting rooms. The opportunity is to define modern

uses that revitalize schools as centres of learning in neighbourhoods and towns,

as centres for community activity and for child development.

As we explore new ways to utilize our schools, new capital

improvements will be made. By 2007-08, capital funding for B.C. schools will

have increased by $1.8 billion since 2001. We will have built or approved 29

schools in British Columbia and expanded, renovated, replaced or seismically

upgraded 245 schools.

The best in literacy. The province's new literacy strategy is also

central to our future. It is aimed at promoting improvements in reading,

writing, numeracy and computer literacy for all British Columbians. A new

Premier's advisory panel on literacy is assessing literacy challenges,

identifying urgent needs and developing an action plan to help B.C. meet its

literacy goals. The strategy includes an extra $12 million to strengthen

community libraries and improve access to library resources for citizens across

the province.

There is a new $5 million literacy innovation program to promote

literacy in our schools. Provincial funding has been doubled for the adult

cost-shared literacy program. A new $5 million Literacy Now initiative is

supporting community-based literacy programs, working closely with volunteer and

non-profit organizations. This year your government will once again match any

donations raised by the successful Raise-a-Reader program on the

dollar-for-dollar basis. All of this will move our province closer to its great

goal of education and literacy.

The best in higher learning. By increasing access to higher

learning, we will also take our advanced education system to a higher level.

Your government has embarked on the largest expansion of post-secondary seats in

40 years. Last year's throne speech announced a plan to create 25,000 new

student spaces across B.C. by 2010. Those spaces are in addition to the 6,000

new spaces created in the previous three years.

Over the next three years alone, $800 million will be invested on

capital improvements. This session new legislation will be introduced to

formalize the new Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, which joins UBC

Okanagan as B.C.'s newest universities. To fully support the new student spaces,

your government will further increase funding for advanced education by $132

million over the next three years. Together with the funding increase announced

last year, the operating budget for advanced education will be $195 million

higher by 2007 than it was in 2004.

This new funding will provide new capacity to moderate rising

tuitions. Your government recognizes that rising tuition costs are a concern for

many British Columbia families. Now that our tuition rates are again comparable

with those of other provinces, your government will act to limit future tuition

increases to the rate of inflation, effective this September. Legislation giving

effect to that measure will be introduced later this year.

Moreover, new steps will be taken this year to improve student

financial assistance. These measures will build upon previous improvements to

existing student aid programs. The new student financial assistance program will

allow eligible students to earn more than three times more money without penalty

than they could have before. The new loan reduction program now allows a portion

of student loan costs to be forgiven for eligible students who successfully

complete their studies.

Other steps will be taken this year to deliver new access to

higher learning closer to home. The new seats and programs already announced

will help meet skills shortages in key demand areas. The new industry training

model is also helping to more rapidly address workforce needs and give more

workers access to trades training, yet we know that even these measures will not

be sufficient to offset the growing needs and opportunities in sectors like

construction, oil and gas, hospitality and others.

More will be done to make the most of growing job opportunities

for our citizens. A major initiative will be undertaken to further increase

access to skills training and apprenticeships. Your government will work with

the federal government to enhance and speed up credentialing for newcomers to

Canada in trades and professions. Further steps will also be taken to expand

access to advanced education and research activities in our regions. Your

government will explore the potential for creating new special-purpose

universities.

[1430]

In expanding our range of education opportunities, we must also

look to expanding our reach and knowledge beyond our borders. Your government

will build its new Asia-Pacific gateway strategy in the marriage of advanced

education and trade. It will work to establish British Columbia as the new

global home for the World Trade University, to be located in Chilliwack. The WTU

is a United Nations global partnership mechanism. It will offer graduate-level

programs in trade-related fields and executive development programs targeted to

working international executives. It will host international trade conferences

and events,

[ Page 11729 ]

including the potential for British Columbia to host World Trade Forum

events. The WTU will firmly establish British Columbia's role as Canada's

gateway to the Asia-Pacific and as a true global leader in trade relations.

Your government will bring together all our institutions of

advanced learning to pursue other initiatives to help British Columbians learn

more about other nations and other cultures. Our new One World scholarship fund

will be launched to help British Columbia students earn their degrees and

diplomas in other, non–G-8 countries. This will create a new avenue of

understanding and new ambassadors for British Columbia abroad.

The best system of support for persons with disabilities, special

needs, children at risk and seniors. Our stronger economy has generated new

revenues to help advance another of your government's great goals for B.C.

families. Financial prudence and new fiscal capacity will allow us to build the

best system of support in Canada for persons with disabilities, special needs,

children at risk and seniors. It allowed your government to announce the single

largest rate increase in history for persons with disabilities on income

assistance. It allowed combined funding for autism and early childhood

development to almost triple since 2001. It allowed funding for social housing

to increase by 38 percent since your government came to office.

This year more will be done to improve our social safety network

for society's most vulnerable. The amount that persons with disabilities can

earn without penalty while on income assistance has already been doubled. Those

earnings exemptions will be further increased next year.

Efforts to combat violence against women will be stepped up, with

over $37 million in new funding over the next three years. That new funding will

ensure that women and children escaping violent and abusive relationships have

24-7 access to safe housing.

The government will increase resources for counselling services

and outreach activities tailored to the special needs of seniors, multicultural

communities, aboriginal women and people with disabilities. The Premier's Task

Force on Homelessness will continue to develop new strategies to tackle the

challenges of homelessness, addictions and mental illness in our communities.

New steps will be taken to improve legal aid, family law and addiction services.

Over the next three years funding for adult community living services will be

increased by $91 million. There will be new respite support for families caring

for children and adults with developmental disabilities. An additional $37

million will be invested over three years in programs related to children in the

care of government.

As our population ages, seniors' needs will continue to grow.

Seniors are living longer and healthier lives, and that is great news. Yet this

also presents new challenges to our society. To that end, the new Premier's

council on aging and seniors' issues will be established. It will include

representatives from key seniors organizations, every region and our diverse

multicultural communities.

The council will identify pressing needs and opportunities to

advance your government's great goal in respect of seniors services. It will

examine how to improve the full spectrum of seniors housing options and home

care. It will consider the issue of mandatory retirement to engage seniors and

all citizens in fruitful dialogue on what changes, if any, should be made to

improve seniors' independence and quality of living in the modern world. It will

examine the changing service needs of a healthier aging population and recommend

comprehensive plans for reform.

Safer streets and schools. Safer communities are central to your

government's plan to make B.C. the best place to raise a family. Your government

is committed to fighting crime with new resources. Today 100 percent of all

traffic fine revenues are returned to B.C.'s municipalities for crime prevention

and policing. As well, your government will commit $122 million in new funding

for 215 new police officers over the next three years. That will improve

provincial policing in rural and smaller communities, including first nations

communities. It will help crack down on cybercrimes and better protect children

from sexual predators.

[1435]

New integrated approaches to policing, homicide investigation and

criminal prosecution will all take law enforcement to a higher level. The new

AMBER alert system will help solve child abductions. New measures to reduce

impaired driving and to discourage aggressive panhandling and unsafe activities

will improve safety in our streets and highways. New policing and enforcement

powers will improve safety for seniors, women and youth along the SkyTrain

corridor.

New legislation will be tabled this session to ensure that

criminals do not profit from their crimes, and your government will engage all

levels of government in a common review of steps that might be taken within the

respective jurisdictions to take public safety to a higher level. A special

provincial congress on public safety will be convened later this year. It will

look across the board at crime prevention, treatment, legislation and bylaws,

policing, prosecution, courts and corrections.

The federal Criminal Code is applied by our police and courts at

all levels. It is time to take a hard look at the sentencing options and

guidance given to our courts by legislators in problem areas like violent crime,

organized crime, drug trafficking, marijuana grow ops and car theft.

The best place on Earth to live and play. Nothing is more

important to our quality of living and lifestyle in British Columbia than our

family's personal health. Together we can achieve another great goal over the

next decade to lead the way in North America in healthy living and physical

fitness.

Leading the way in healthy living and physical fitness. The

pressures on our health care system are rapidly outstripping our economy's

ability to generate new revenues needed to pay for growing service demands. Our

aging population, new technologies, ex-

[ Page 11730 ]

panded health services, soaring drug costs and higher labour costs all add

new cost pressures every year. That is why your government acted to revitalize

our health care system with significant reforms and new infusions of funding.

This renewal process has not been easy, but it was necessary. It has been guided

at every step by the goal of putting more of each health dollar to improve

patient care.

Health care spending has increased by $2.4 billion since the year

2000. Over the next three years it will go up by another $1.5 billion. New

demands are still stretching resources in unprecedented ways. Health funding has

outpaced the rate of revenue growth in that period. This year health spending

will consume 44 percent of all government operating expenditures, excluding

interest on debt.

Although there is clearly more that must be done to improve health

care in British Columbia, we are making progress. Our citizens have the longest

life expectancy in Canada. We have the most universal prescription drug program

in Canada. British Columbia now leads the nation in cancer treatment and

survival rates. We have the lowest smoking rate in Canada and the lowest smoking

prevalence amongst teens. British Columbia has Canada's lowest median wait time

for access to diagnostic tests and specialists, and our province attracted more

doctors from other parts of Canada in 2003 than any other province.

Your government has nearly doubled the number of doctors in

training with new medical schools at the University of Northern British Columbia

and the University of Victoria and a new life sciences centre at the University

of British Columbia. This represents the first increase in medical training

seats since 1980, a quarter-century ago. It means that by 2008 there will be 896

doctors in training at any given time in British Columbia, up from 488.

Your government's nursing strategy is similarly paying off, with

600 more nurses at work and another 2,134 new nurse training spaces added since

2001. That represents a 50 percent increase in total nurses in training in

British Columbia. That is 25 times greater than the nurse training spaces added

through the 1990s.

This year B.C.'s first-ever class of nurse practitioners will

graduate from the University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria,

and the first class of nurse practitioners will begin their studies at the

University of Northern British Columbia.

Your government has increased the number of MRI machines by 75

percent, increased access to renal dialysis by 40 percent and added seven new CT

scanners. By any measure this is progress.

There will be 5,000 new beds for seniors across the spectrum of

assisted living, residential care and independent housing. These are the choices

that seniors want. There are new cardiac defibrillators in every ambulance in

B.C., and there is new training for paramedics.

[1440]

Our Fair Pharmacare system is now the envy of Canada and a model

for other provinces which they aspire to emulate. It has reduced costs for

280,000 British Columbia seniors and families on lower incomes. Today 82 percent

of all citizens pay the same or less than they did in 2001. Your government will

continue to drive the establishment of a national pharmacare strategy. Although

MSP premiums increased to help pay for increases in doctors' fees and salaries,

today 230,000 citizens on lower incomes pay lower premiums than they did in

It takes time, but in every area of health care, progress is

apparent. Challenges remain, but patient satisfaction surveys confirm that we

are making progress. The fact is, thanks to thousands of health professionals

across the province, we do have a great health care system in British Columbia

that is getting better every day. The opportunity is to take our health services

to a higher level.

There is new hope. The recent federal-provincial health accord

will pump an extra $5.4 billion into British Columbia's health care system over

the next ten years. It will support major improvements in home care for seniors

and aboriginal health care starting this year. It will help reduce wait times in

key areas like cardiac treatment, diagnostic imaging, joint replacements and

sight restoration. It will increase investments in telehealth for rural and

remote communities and in new medical equipment and technologies. All of these

measures will provide better health care for our citizens.

As your government continues to improve patient care, it will

devote new energy and new resources to prevention. It will explore new ways to

integrate alternative health care options into our mainstream health care

system.

Advancements in health research are rapidly making British

Columbia a world leader in disease and illness prevention. Genome B.C. has led

the world in genome mapping and cancer research. The Michael Smith Foundation

has been a major force in health research. Your government will budget $100

million in 2007 to support the Michael Smith Foundation's amazing work.

Researchers at the Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre were the

first in the world to crack the genetic code of SARS, only weeks after it first

struck. Working with experts around the world, British Columbia's SARS

accelerated vaccine initiative research team led the world in developing four

potential vaccines to that virus. Two of those may be available for human

clinical trials.

The B.C. Centre for Disease Control is already the best in Canada.

We have a golden opportunity to make it the best in the Pacific world, and we

will. New measures will be announced to expand that centre to become the Pacific

centre for disease control. Working with governments and institutions in

Singapore, China and India, we will forge new partnerships and foster new

advancements in disease prevention that will further consolidate B.C.'s

reputation as a global leader in public health and research. All of these

measures will improve preventative health care and treatment for our citizens.

[ Page 11731 ]

Over the last three years, your government has more than doubled

funding for vaccinations. It has expanded childhood immunization programs and

influenza vaccination programs to help infants, their parents and seniors. This

year more will be done to support those prevention and wellness programs and to

increase avian flu awareness and prevention measures.

The best way to improve health outcomes is to help our citizens

stay healthy. There is no place better on Earth to lead a healthy lifestyle than

in British Columbia. Without a doubt, we can achieve the great goal of leading

North America in healthy living and physical fitness. Your government will

establish a sweeping new health and fitness program for all British Columbians.

A major new initiative called Act Now will soon be launched in partnership with

others. Act Now will be the most comprehensive health program of its kind in

North America.

Your government will act now to increase by 20 percent the

proportion of British Columbians who are physically active. It will act now to

reduce by 20 percent the proportion of British Columbians who are either obese

or overweight. It will act now to reduce by another 10 percent the prevalence of

tobacco use, and it will act now to increase by 20 percent the proportion of

British Columbians who eat the recommended daily level of fruit and vegetables.

Through these measures, by 2010, B.C. will become the healthiest jurisdiction

ever to host the Olympics.

Your government will explore the introduction of personal health

guides in B.C. — an exciting innovation currently being pioneered in the United

Kingdom. Through that initiative all citizens will work with their family

doctors, nurse practitioners, community nutritionists and other members of the

health care team to develop personally tailored health plans. Those plans will

aim at setting achievable personal health goals that help individuals measure

their progress throughout their lives.

[1445]

Leading the world in sustainable environmental management. A

healthy environment is also critical to a healthy lifestyle. Our stunning

natural scenery; diversity of species, wildlife and ecosystems; and our clean

air and water all help to define this province to the world. We can lead the

world in sustainable environmental management with the best air and water

quality and the best fisheries management, bar none.

That is yet another of your government's great goals for the

golden decade ahead. Already much has been done to meet that goal. Your

government has acted to acquire and preserve Burns Bog and the Codd wetlands for

future generations. It established 37 new class A parks and one ecological

reserve and expanded 34 existing parks and four ecological reserves. It passed

legislation to protect species at risk. It modernized environmental protection

legislation and acted to clean up contaminated sites. The habitat conservation

trust fund is being strengthened with a $6.5 million donation to support

parkland acquisitions and conservation activities.

While the challenge of land use planning remains, final agreements

are on the horizon and drawing near. The opportunity for the next decade is to

improve the management of parks and protected areas and to improve access for

public use and enjoyment. It is to improve wildlife management and conservation

practices in general.

To that end, your government will invest $9 million over the next

three years to establish a B.C. conservation corps. The corps will provide new

employment opportunities for B.C. students and graduates to work in our parks

and wilderness as a new generation of conservationists. That initiative will be

complemented with a $7.5 million increase over the next three years, to add up

to 50 new conservation officers and park rangers.

Major new steps will be taken to improve water and fisheries

management. Our water resources are the wellsprings that sustain our province

and its people. They are the lifeblood of our fisheries.

New resources will be added to help implement the $16 million

drinking water action plan and the $120 million B.C. community water improvement

plan. Investments will be made to strengthen the 184 water quality monitoring

units now situated across B.C.

The new Pacific Salmon Forum will provide an independent voice to

help us safeguard our precious wild salmon resource and improve aquaculture

industries. The living rivers strategy will be expanded this year, and new

investments will be made in salmonid enhancement and fish habitats.

Water plans will be advanced in communities across B.C. to

implement your government's new drought management action plan. As water

stewardship is strengthened, airshed management will also be improved. Your

government's new clean-energy strategy will help tremendously in that regard.

Your government will continue to fight for cleaner air in the

Fraser Valley by maintaining its opposition to the proposed Sumas 2 power

project. New steps will be taken this year to promote alternative energy in

wind, tidal, solar and run-of-the-river power projects. An alternative energy

and power task force will be established and will report directly to the

executive council.

The new Richmond-Airport-Vancouver — RAV — rapid transit line will

vastly reduce vehicle emissions in the lower mainland, and new airshed

management plans will be supported with improvements to the 146 air quality

monitoring units across British Columbia. All these measures will apply sound

science to our environmental management and raise it to a higher level in

British Columbia.

The best place to play. As we enhance "super, natural British

Columbia," we also advance our growing reputation as the best place on Earth to

visit and play. Our parks and resorts are a huge and growing draw for visitors

the world over. Ecotourism, marine tourism and agritourism are all thriving,

using nature as a showcase. Our destination-resort tourism industry is taking

these competitive advantages to a higher level,

[ Page 11732 ]

with over $4 billion worth of projects now on the drawing board or underway.

Tourism is a cornerstone of your government's Asia-Pacific gateway

strategy to create new jobs, investment and opportunity in every region.

Canada's approved destination status with China calls out for the immediate

development of tourism products that meet the needs of Chinese tourists. One

hundred million travellers are expected from China worldwide by 2020. British

Columbians will be prepared to welcome them.

[1450]

The 2010 Olympics will open that gateway to literally billions of

visitors and viewers from around the world. Your government is making the most

of that opportunity. It is doubling the funding for Tourism B.C. and giving the

Union of B.C. Municipalities a further $25 million to draw new tourists to every

region of the province. It is creating new circle routes and a Spirit of 2010

trail system to provide visitors with additional opportunities to see more

communities and all the regions of the province.

The goal is to double tourism revenues within a decade. New steps

will be taken this month to benefit regional tourism across our province and to

showcase the best of B.C. to the world.

The best place on Earth to work, invest and get ahead. Leading the

nation in job creation. The improving standard of living and growing

opportunities mentioned today are possible through the power of a strong

economy. Virtually every sector is now buoyed by higher commodity prices, low

interest rates, new confidence and new competitiveness. The government's goal is

to build on that confidence and creativity as we create more jobs per capita

than any other province in Canada over the next decade.

Since December 2001, British Columbia has led the nation in job

creation with nearly 200,000 new jobs; 97 percent of those jobs are full-time

jobs. Many are in high-paying sectors like forestry, energy, mining and

technology.

Forestry, mining and small business are back. Energy, construction

and transportation are booming. Tourism, technology, manufacturing, retail and

agriculture are on the rise. The film industry has new cause for hope. Our

biotechnology industry offers tremendous promise.

Your government will undertake further action to make the most of

the opportunity inherent in the challenges caused by the mountain pine beetle

infestation. New measures will be taken to help communities and families in the

areas affected to better plan and cope with the long-term implications of the

pine beetle problem.

The higher Canadian dollar is challenging many of our core

industries, from pulp and paper to lumber and tourism to trade. For decades our

industries have enjoyed a major competitive advantage due to our discounted

Canadian dollar. That advantage is rapidly waning. It can only be offset by

greater productivity, more competitiveness and new customers the world over.

Workers and employers alike will be challenged to recognize this growing reality

and to respond accordingly.

To succeed in a world where our dollar is near or at par with the

American dollar, our industries will need new flexibility, new investment, new

business models and new partnerships with their workers. Your government will

act this year to help lead that discourse. It will initiate a comprehensive

review of British Columbia's competitiveness in every sector, and it will work

with other governments and industry sectors to plot a course for the next ten

years.

Together we will pinpoint the barriers to growth and identify

solutions to overcome them. We will learn what government can do and what the

private sector must do to reach its potential. This will be done on both a

sectoral and regional basis to identify our competitive needs and opportunities

in the golden decade ahead.

A B.C. competition council will be formed to help steer this

initiative and provide advice. Representatives from organized labour will be

invited to serve on this council and to work with employers, academics and

regional representatives to help improve each sector's ability to compete.

At the same time, your government will lead new efforts to promote

British Columbia's industries to the world. Just as we must lead the

Asia-Pacific to Canada, so we must lead Canada to the Asia-Pacific. It is the

gateway to tomorrow.

Maximizing this advantage will be a central part of your

government's economic strategy and a crucial part of Canada's future economic

growth. Initiatives previously noted in health research, education, advanced

education and trade relations will all play a pivotal role. New relationships,

agreements and partnerships with first nations are also opening new gateways to

growth in their communities and new avenues for their investment.

Yet more will be done to make the most of this strategic

opportunity to open up our Pacific gateway to the world. Your government will

take international marketing efforts to a higher level. It will bring all

sectors of our economy together in an effort to develop a common brand for

British Columbia, Canada, in global markets.

Your government will build on the successful trips to India, Japan

and China, and other emerging markets. It will build on the Dream Home China

project and pursue new gateways to growth for B.C. wood products throughout the

Asia-Pacific.

Working with Canada, it will establish a network of B.C. trade and

cultural centres in key international markets. This initiative will be led by a

new Asia-Pacific trade council that will help advise your government on where

and how to best target available resources.

[1455]

Your government's transportation plan and ports strategy will also

be central to its Pacific gateway initiative. We have a golden opportunity to

finally open up

[ Page 11733 ]

the port of Prince Rupert, to expand the port of Vancouver and to improve

cruise ship facilities all along our coast.

We have a golden opportunity to open up our gateways by rail and

road, working with Canada and the United States to also better secure our

continental perimeter.

As we look out to the other countries and cultures, we will also

look within our province to the many cultures that have made us who we are as

British Columbians. Our heritage, diversity and inclusive society are not just

sources of provincial pride. They are strategic assets that must be maximized.

There is no place on Earth with the diversity and wealth of first nations

cultures as exist here in British Columbia. There is no place on Earth that sets

a better example for the world of how citizens from all countries can come

together and forge a new culture that is rooted in diversity, mutual trust,

respect and celebration.

As Canadians, we are a model of multiculturalism. Yet as British

Columbians, the opportunity is ours to take that reality to a higher level. We

can do more to increase our understanding of each other, and the most

fundamental level of that understanding is to be found in language. Your

government will increase its support for ESL programs in coming years. It will

do more to promote aboriginal languages and learning in Punjabi, Mandarin and

other languages of the Asia-Pacific. New initiatives will be launched to make

more services and resources available in other languages.

New investments and programs will be launched to support and

celebrate our diverse heritage in music, art, culture and sport. New initiatives

to encourage support for the arts and creative endeavours will build on recent

investments to prepare our province for the Cultural Olympiad in 2010.

Conclusion. Through all of these measures, we will build a future

worthy of the past. We will realize our great goals and our true potential as

the best place on Earth to raise a family; to live and play; to work, invest and

get ahead. We will act today to welcome the world to British Columbia. We will

act today to reach beyond our borders to open up our province and proclaim its

place as a global leader at home and abroad.

The 2010 Olympics and Paralympics will help connect us all within

our province and to other nations around the world. It has helped launch us

forward into a decade of unsurpassed promise. The Spirit of 2010 is the spirit

of British Columbia. It is the spirit of global harmony and pride of place and

heritage. It is the spirit of aspiration and human endeavour. It is the spirit

of achievement and possibility that now burns bright within our province and

that will light the golden decade ahead.

Look ahead to 2010 and beyond to the province that we will build

together. Look ahead to a British Columbia that offers the best in education and

literacy, healthy living and physical fitness, and support services for those in

need. Look ahead to a province that is leading the way in environmental

stewardship and job creation, to a new British Columbia that is renowned as a

centre of research, learning, trade and culture.

The time is here for us to reach higher and push open the gateways

to opportunity that await the next generation. The time has come for us to move

boldly forward to test the limits of our potential. The key to that potential

has never rested with government. It lies in the hearts and minds of individual

citizens bold enough to pursue new answers to meet the needs of a changing

world. It is the strength of the people that will fulfil the spirit and promise

of British Columbia. It is our spirit of adventure, discovery, drive and

determination that has always marked our progress throughout our proud history.

The way forward is the road we are travelling.

Today we stand on the threshold of B.C.'s golden decade, a decade

of boundless choice and unbridled potential limited only by will and

imagination. This is the decade that will determine the possibilities that our

children will inherit in the years to come.

Let us seize this moment to dare, to dream and to venture forth

for our children and for our province.

[1500]

Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor retired from the chamber.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Mr. Speaker: Hon. members, in order to prevent any

mistakes, I have obtained a copy of Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor's speech.

Introduction and

First Reading of Bills

AN ACT TO ENSURE

THE SUPREMACY OF PARLIAMENT

Hon. G. Plant presented a message from Her Honour the

Lieutenant-Governor: a bill intituled

An Act to Ensure the Supremacy of

Parliament.

Hon. G. Plant: I move that the bill be introduced and read

a first time now.

Motion approved.

Hon. G. Plant: The introduction of Bill 1 prior to the

consideration of the throne speech expresses the established right of

parliament, through its elected members, to deliberate independently of the

Sovereign. As such it is an important part of our parliamentary democratic

process. It is a right that was first asserted by the Parliament at Westminster

in the year 1603, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the bill be placed on orders of the day

for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

Bill 1 introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed on

orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after

today.

[ Page 11734 ]

APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY SPEAKER

Hon. G. Bruce: I move, seconded by the member for

Vancouver-Hastings electoral district, that John Weisbeck, member for

Kelowna–Lake Country electoral district, be appointed Deputy Speaker for this

session of the Legislative Assembly.

Motion approved.

APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY CHAIR,

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

Hon. G. Bruce: I move, again seconded by the member for

Vancouver-Hastings electoral district, that Harold Long, member for Powell

River–Sunshine Coast electoral district, be appointed Deputy Chair of the

Committee of the Whole for this session of the Legislative Assembly.

Motion approved.

PRINTING OF VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS

Hon. G. Plant: I move that the Votes and Proceedings

of this House be printed, being first perused by Mr. Speaker, and that he do

appoint the printing thereof, and that no person but such as he shall appoint do

presume to print the same.

Motion approved.

APPOINTMENT OF

SELECT STANDING COMMITTEES

Hon. G. Campbell: I move that the select standing

committees of this House for the present session be appointed for the following

purposes:

1. Aboriginal Affairs;

2. Education;

3. Finance and Government Services;

4. Health;

5. Public Accounts;

6. Parliamentary Reform, Ethical Conduct, Standing Orders and Private

Bills;

7. Crown Corporations;

which said committees shall severally be empowered to examine and

inquire into all such matters and things as shall be referred to them by this

House and to report from time to time their observations and opinions thereon,

with power to send for persons, papers and records; and that a special committee

be appointed to prepare and report, with all convenient speed, lists of members

to compose the above select standing committees of this House under standing

order 68(1), the committee to be composed of the Hon. G. Bruce, Convener;

Messrs. Hogg, Krueger, Manhas, Nuraney, Penner, K. Stewart and Wilson; Ms. Orr

and Ms. MacPhail.

Motion approved.

Hon. G. Bruce: On this very fine day in February, I would

now move that this House be adjourned.

Hon. G. Bruce moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

Mr. Speaker: The House is adjourned until 2 p.m. tomorrow.

The House adjourned at 3:05 p.m.

[ Return to: Legislative Assembly Home Page ]

Hansard Services publishes transcripts both in print and on

the Internet. Chamber debates are broadcast on television and webcast on the

Internet.

channel guide • Broadcast

schedule

Copyright ©

2005: British Columbia Hansard Services, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

ISSN: 1499-2175