British Columbia Hansard — Wednesday, February 27, 2008

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British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)

Fourth Session, 38th Parliament OFFICIAL REPORT OF DEBATES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY (HANSARD) Wednesday, February 27, 2008 Afternoon Sitting Volume 27, Number 3 THE HONOURABLE BILL BARISOFF, SPEAKER ISSN 0709-1281

PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Entered Confederation July 20, 1871) LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR His Honour the Honourable Steven L. Point, OBC FOURTH SESSION, 38TH PARLIAMENT SPEAKER OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Honourable Bill Barisoff EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Premier and President of the Executive Council ............................................................................................................Hon. Gordon Campbell Minister of State for Intergovernmental Relations .......................................................................................................... Hon.

John van Dongen Deputy Premier and Minister of Education and Minister Responsible for Early Learning and Literacy...................... Hon. Shirley Bond Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation ........................................................................................................ Hon. Michael de Jong Minister of Advanced Education and Minister Responsible for Research and Technology ........................................... Hon.

Murray Coell Minister of Agriculture and Lands.......................................................................................................................................................Hon. Pat Bell Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Multiculturalism............................................................................... Hon. Wally Oppal, QC Minister of Children and Family Development ................................................................................................................Hon.

Tom Christensen Minister of State for Childcare ........................................................................................................................................................Hon. Linda Reid Minister of Community Services and Minister Responsible for Seniors’ and Women’s Issues........................................... Hon. Ida Chong Minister of Economic Development and Minister Responsible for the Asia-Pacific Initiative and the Olympics.................Hon.

Colin Hansen Minister of Employment and Income Assistance ...........................................................................................................Hon. Claude Richmond Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources .......................................................................................................Hon. Richard Neufeld Minister of State for Mining......................................................................................................................................................Hon.

Kevin Krueger Minister of Environment and Minister Responsible for Water Stewardship and Sustainable Communities ...............Hon. Barry Penner Minister of Finance.......................................................................................................................................................................Hon. Carole Taylor Minister of Forests and Range and Minister Responsible for Housing ............................................................................. Hon.

Rich Coleman Minister of Health ......................................................................................................................................................................Hon. George Abbott Minister of Labour and Citizens’ Services ......................................................................................................................................Hon. Olga Ilich Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General................................................................................................................................Hon.

John Les Minister of Small Business and Revenue and Minister Responsible for Regulatory Reform............................................ Hon. Rick Thorpe Minister of Tourism, Sport and the Arts ......................................................................................................................................Hon. Stan Hagen Minister of State for ActNow B.C. ............................................................................................................................................ Hon.

Gordon Hogg Minister of Transportation...........................................................................................................................................................Hon.

Kevin Falcon LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Leader of the Official Opposition .........................................................................................................................................................Carole James Deputy Speaker ....................................................................................................................................................................................Sindi Hawkins Deputy Speaker ...........................................................................................................................................................................

Katherine Whittred Assistant Deputy Speaker.....................................................................................................................................................................Sue Hammell Deputy Chair, Committee of the Whole................................................................................................................................................. Harry Bloy Clerk of the Legislative Assembly .........................................................................................................................E.

George MacMinn, OBC, QC Clerk Assistant.........................................................................................................................................................................................Robert Vaive Clerk Assistant and Law Clerk .......................................................................................................................................................Ian D. Izard, QC Clerk Assistant and Clerk of Committees ....................................................................................................................................... Craig H.

James Clerk Assistant and Committee Clerk ..........................................................................................................................................Kate Ryan-Lloyd Sergeant-at-Arms............................................................................................................................................................................. A.A.

Humphreys Director, Hansard Services ...................................................................................................................................................................Jo-Anne Kern Legislative Librarian ..................................................................................................................................................................................Jane Taylor Legislative Comptroller...............................................................................................................................................................................Dan Arbic

Party Standings: Liberal 46; New Democratic 33 ALPHABETICAL LIST OF MEMBERS Abbott, Hon. George (L) .................................................................... Shuswap Austin, Robin (NDP)............................................................................. Skeena Bains, Harry (NDP).................................................................. Surrey-Newton Barisoff, Hon. Bill (L)..........................................Penticton–Okanagan Valley Bell, Hon.

Pat (L) .............................................................Prince George North Bennett, Bill (L) ........................................................................ East Kootenay Black, Iain (L) ............................................................ Port Moody–Westwood Bloy, Harry (L)................................................................................Burquitlam Bond, Hon. Shirley (L).....................................Prince George–Mount Robson Brar, Jagrup (NDP).....................................................Surrey–Panorama Ridge Campbell, Hon.

Gordon (L) .........................................Vancouver–Point Grey Cantelon, Ron (L)..............................................................Nanaimo-Parksville Chong, Hon. Ida (L) .................................................... Oak Bay–Gordon Head Chouhan, Raj (NDP) ...........................................................Burnaby-Edmonds Christensen, Hon. Tom (L) ................................................. Okanagan-Vernon Chudnovsky, David (NDP) ......................................... Vancouver-Kensington Coell, Hon.

Murray (L) .....................................Saanich North and the Islands Coleman, Hon. Rich (L)...........................................Fort Langley–Aldergrove Conroy, Katrine (NDP) .......................................... West Kootenay–Boundary Coons, Gary (NDP) ....................................................................... North Coast Cubberley, David (NDP)............................................................Saanich South de Jong, Hon.

Michael (L) ...................................Abbotsford–Mount Lehman Dix, Adrian (NDP) .........................................................Vancouver-Kingsway Evans, Corky (NDP).................................................................Nelson-Creston Falcon, Hon. Kevin (L) .......................................................

Surrey-Cloverdale Farnworth, Mike (NDP) ...............................Port Coquitlam–Burke Mountain Fleming, Rob (NDP) ..............................................................Victoria-Hillside Fraser, Scott (NDP) ..............................................................Alberni-Qualicum Gentner, Guy (NDP).......................................................................Delta North Hagen, Hon. Stan (L) ................................................................ Comox Valley Hammell, Sue (NDP) ................................................... Surrey–Green Timbers Hansen, Hon.

Colin (L) ..................................................Vancouver-Quilchena Hawes, Randy (L).......................................................... Maple Ridge–Mission Hawkins, Sindi (L) ............................................................... Kelowna-Mission Hayer, Dave S. (L) ................................................................ Surrey-Tynehead Hogg, Hon.

Gordon (L).....................................................Surrey–White Rock Horgan, John (NDP)......................................................Malahat–Juan de Fuca Horning, Al (L)........................................................... Kelowna–Lake Country Ilich, Hon. Olga (L)...............................................................Richmond Centre James, Carole (NDP).......................................................Victoria–Beacon Hill Jarvis, Daniel (L)..................................................

North Vancouver–Seymour Karagianis, Maurine (NDP) ........................................... Esquimalt-Metchosin Krog, Leonard (NDP)......................................................................... Nanaimo Krueger, Hon. Kevin (L) .....................................Kamloops–North Thompson Kwan, Jenny Wai Ching (NDP)........................... Vancouver–Mount Pleasant Lali, Harry (NDP)........................................................................

Yale-Lillooet Lee, Richard T. (L)....................................................................Burnaby North Lekstrom, Blair (L).............................................................. Peace River South Les, Hon. John (L)............................................................... Chilliwack-Sumas Macdonald, Norm (NDP).................................... Columbia River–Revelstoke MacKay, Dennis (L)....................................................

Bulkley Valley–Stikine Mayencourt, Lorne (L).......................................................Vancouver-Burrard McIntyre, Joan (L).................................................West Vancouver–Garibaldi Neufeld, Hon. Richard (L) .................................................. Peace River North Nuraney, John (L).............................................................Burnaby-Willingdon Oppal, Hon. Wally, QC (L).......................................... Vancouver-Fraserview Penner, Hon. Barry (L)...........................................................

Chilliwack-Kent Polak, Mary (L) ....................................................................................Langley Puchmayr, Chuck (NDP)...................................................... New Westminster Ralston, Bruce (NDP) ............................................................. Surrey-Whalley Reid, Hon. Linda (L) ................................................................ Richmond East Richmond, Hon. Claude (L).............................................................

Kamloops Robertson, Gregor (NDP) ................................................Vancouver-Fairview Roddick, Valerie (L).......................................................................Delta South Routley, Doug (NDP)..................................................... Cowichan-Ladysmith Rustad, John (L) ........................................................

Prince George–Omineca Sather, Michael (NDP).........................................Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows Simons, Nicholas (NDP) ...................................Powell River–Sunshine Coast Simpson, Bob (NDP)..................................................................Cariboo North Simpson, Shane (NDP) ....................................................Vancouver-Hastings Sultan, Ralph (L) ....................................................West Vancouver–Capilano Taylor, Hon.

Carole (L).....................................................Vancouver-Langara Thorne, Diane (NDP) .................................................Coquitlam-Maillardville Thorpe, Hon. Rick (L).......................................................Okanagan-Westside Trevena, Claire (NDP) ..................................................................North Island van Dongen, Hon. John (L)............................................ Abbotsford-Clayburn Whittred, Katherine (L)........................................

North Vancouver–Lonsdale Wyse, Charlie (NDP) .................................................................Cariboo South Yap, John (L)...................................................................Richmond-Steveston LIST OF MEMBERS BY RIDING Abbotsford-Clayburn....................................................Hon. John van Dongen Abbotsford–Mount Lehman .......................................... Hon. Michael de Jong Alberni-Qualicum..........................................................................

Scott Fraser Bulkley Valley–Stikine ...........................................................Dennis MacKay Burnaby North ...........................................................................Richard T. Lee Burnaby-Edmonds........................................................................Raj Chouhan Burnaby-Willingdon................................................................... John Nuraney Burquitlam.......................................................................................Harry Bloy Cariboo North..............................................................................

Bob Simpson Cariboo South..............................................................................Charlie Wyse Chilliwack-Kent ..................................................................Hon. Barry Penner Chilliwack-Sumas...................................................................... Hon. John Les Columbia River–Revelstoke................................................. Norm Macdonald Comox Valley........................................................................ Hon.

Stan Hagen Coquitlam-Maillardville..............................................................Diane Thorne Cowichan-Ladysmith ................................................................. Doug Routley Delta North ...................................................................................Guy Gentner Delta South ............................................................................. Valerie Roddick East Kootenay................................................................................

Bill Bennett Esquimalt-Metchosin.........................................................Maurine Karagianis Fort Langley–Aldergrove ..................................................Hon. Rich Coleman Kamloops.....................................................................Hon. Claude Richmond Kamloops–North Thompson ............................................Hon. Kevin Krueger Kelowna–Lake Country.................................................................. Al Horning Kelowna-Mission ......................................................................

Sindi Hawkins Langley ...........................................................................................Mary Polak Malahat–Juan de Fuca .................................................................. John Horgan Maple Ridge–Mission ................................................................ Randy Hawes Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows ..................................................... Michael Sather Nanaimo......................................................................................

Leonard Krog Nanaimo-Parksville .....................................................................Ron Cantelon Nelson-Creston .............................................................................Corky Evans New Westminster .................................................................. Chuck Puchmayr North Coast....................................................................................

Gary Coons North Island ...............................................................................Claire Trevena North Vancouver–Lonsdale................................................Katherine Whittred North Vancouver–Seymour..........................................................Daniel Jarvis Oak Bay–Gordon Head ........................................................... Hon. Ida Chong Okanagan-Vernon......................................................... Hon. Tom Christensen Okanagan-Westside..............................................................Hon.

Rick Thorpe Peace River North.......................................................... Hon. Richard Neufeld Peace River South..................................................................... Blair Lekstrom Penticton–Okanagan Valley .................................................Hon. Bill Barisoff Port Coquitlam–Burke Mountain ............................................Mike Farnworth Port Moody–Westwood.................................................................... Iain Black Powell River–Sunshine Coast ...............................................

Nicholas Simons Prince George North.................................................................... Hon. Pat Bell Prince George–Mount Robson ............................................Hon. Shirley Bond Prince George–Omineca................................................................ John Rustad Richmond Centre......................................................................Hon. Olga Ilich Richmond East........................................................................Hon.

Linda Reid Richmond-Steveston...........................................................................John Yap Saanich North and the Islands ............................................ Hon. Murray Coell Saanich South ........................................................................ David Cubberley Shuswap............................................................................Hon. George Abbott Skeena.......................................................................................... Robin Austin Surrey-Cloverdale............................................................... Hon.

Kevin Falcon Surrey–Green Timbers ................................................................Sue Hammell Surrey-Newton............................................................................... Harry Bains Surrey–Panorama Ridge.................................................................Jagrup Brar Surrey-Tynehead ....................................................................... Dave S. Hayer Surrey-Whalley...........................................................................Bruce Ralston Surrey–White Rock ............................................................Hon.

Gordon Hogg Vancouver-Burrard..............................................................Lorne Mayencourt Vancouver-Fairview.............................................................Gregor Robertson Vancouver-Fraserview .................................................Hon.

Wally Oppal, QC Vancouver-Hastings .................................................................Shane Simpson Vancouver-Kensington.......................................................David Chudnovsky Vancouver-Kingsway ......................................................................Adrian Dix Vancouver-Langara ........................................................... Hon. Carole Taylor Vancouver–Mount Pleasant........................................ Jenny Wai Ching Kwan Vancouver–Point Grey ................................................Hon.

Gordon Campbell Vancouver-Quilchena.........................................................Hon. Colin Hansen Victoria–Beacon Hill...................................................................

Carole James Victoria-Hillside ...........................................................................Rob Fleming West Kootenay–Boundary........................................................Katrine Conroy West Vancouver–Capilano...........................................................Ralph Sultan West Vancouver–Garibaldi ........................................................Joan McIntyre Yale-Lillooet..................................................................................... Harry Lali

CONTENTS Wednesday, February 27, 2008 Afternoon Sitting Routine Proceedings Page Statements..................................................................................................................... .......................................................... 10017 Anti-Bullying Day Hon. G. Campbell Tributes ....................................................................................................................... ............................................................ 10017 Grant Roberge Hon. G.

Abbott Introductions by Members ....................................................................................................... ............................................ 10017 Introduction and First Reading of Bills........................................................................................ ....................................... 10017 Ministerial Accountability Bases Act, 2007-2008 (Bill 5) Hon.

M. de Jong Statements (Standing Order 25B) .............................................................................................................................. ........... 10018 Bullying C. James L. Mayencourt Campbell River community dialogue on inclusion C. Trevena Japan-Canada Chamber of Commerce career fair at UVic H. Bloy Kaylanna Erica Lipinski M. Sather Electronic stability control in vehicles J.

Rustad Oral Questions................................................................................................................. ....................................................... 10019 Koksilah Elementary School closing D. Routley Hon. S. Bond J. Horgan Hon. G. Campbell S. Fraser M. Farnworth A. Dix Funding for Evergreen line M. Karagianis Hon. K. Falcon D. Chudnovsky Disclosure of documents in B.C. Rail court case L. Krog Heli-skiing in Purcell Wilderness Conservancy Park N. Macdonald Hon. S.

Hagen Reports from Committees........................................................................................................ ............................................. 10025 Special Committee of Selection, report Hon. M. de Jong

Budget Debate (continued)............................................................................................................................... ...................... 10025 V. Roddick M. Sather R. Sultan N. Macdonald J. Nuraney D. Chudnovsky H. Bloy C. Trevena J. McIntyre

10017 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2008 The House met at 1:32 p.m. [Mr. Speaker in the chair.] Prayers. Statements ANTI-BULLYING DAY Hon. G. Campbell: Hon. Speaker, today has been declared Anti-Bullying Day in the province of British Columbia. It highlights our province's commitment to safe and inclusive neighbourhoods. I want to thank all the members of the opposition who joined with MLAs on the government side to say that all of us want to stop bullying now in British Columbia.

We want to stop the aggressive behaviours such as bullying, harassment and intimidation that are unaccept- able in safe, caring and orderly societies — whether they're our schools, our workplaces, our communities or the province generally. It is important, I think, fo r us to recognize that there are things that are above any political disagreement. This is one of them. Our an ti-bullying activities, the t h i n g s t h a t w e d o a s i n d i v iduals, are important to all British Columbians.

Again, I'd like to say thanks to the opposition and the government members for standing up to say we're going to stop bullying here. Tributes GRANT ROBERGE Hon. G. Abbott: It is with much regret that I rise to advise the House of the passing of Mr. Grant Roberge, our executive director of Chilliwack Health Services since 2005. Mr. Roberge had been seriously ill of late and passed away Tuesday night. Throughout his career Mr. Roberge has contributed greatly to health care across the province, working on Vancouver Island and at Vancouver General Hospital prior to taking up his position in Chilliwack. Mr.

Roberge will be missed by everyone who has worked with him, and his contribution to this province will be forever appreciated. Mr. Speaker, if you would, on behalf of all members of the House, please extend to Mr. Roberge's family our condolences. [1335] Introductions by Members Hon. M. de Jong: If he were just a Cariboo media baron, I would feel no particular compulsion to intro- duce him to the House, but he is also the mayor of Williams Lake and a young man whose leadership and enthusiasm for public servic e I have admired for some time.

I hope all members will welcome and extend greetings to Mayor Scott Nelson. Hon. L. Reid: I have the absolute pleasure today of welcoming to this chamber Alanna Hendren, who is executive director of the Developmental Disabilities Association and who does wonderful work. She's joined by Bruce Sandy, who is the provincial advocate on behalf of the B.C. Association of Child Development and Intervention. Both of them do amazing work on behalf of special needs youngsters and adults with developmental disabilities. I'd ask this House to please make them very welcome. K.

Whittred: Each year the public education and outreach division of this organization sponsors a par- liamentary procedure workshop. The first workshop is being held today, and the participants are in the gallery. I would ask all members of this House to welcome them and, of course, wish them well as they learn how to be experts in parliamentary procedure. Hon. R. Thorpe: Mr. Speaker, you will recall that five years ago today as we travelled back to our ridings, my journey was diverted to the north shore of Vancouver, and our family was blessed with the arrival of our grandson.

Today is Eben's fifth birthday, and I would ask the House to please join Papa in wishing Eben a very happy fifth birthday. Introduction and First Reading of Bills MINISTERIAL ACCOUNTABILITY BASES ACT, 2007-2008 H o n . M . d e J o n g p r e s e n t e d a m e s s a g e f r o m H i s Honour the Administrator: a bill intituled Ministerial Accountability Bases Act, 2007-2008. Hon. M. de Jong: I move that Bill 5 be introduced and read a first time now. Motion approved. Hon.

M. de Jong: The Ministerial Accountability Bases Act, 2007-2008, provides for an increase in the amount of operating expenses for the Ministry of Advanced Educa- tion, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Forests and Range, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, and the Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts for purposes of ministerial accountability under the Balanced Budget and Ministerial Accountability Act.

The additional amounts for the Ministers of Advanced Education, Environment, Finance, Health, and Tourism, Sport and the Arts were included in the supplementary estimates that have been debated and, I'm happy to say, passed unanimously in this Legislature. Additional amounts for the Minister of Forests and Range and the Minister of Pu blic Safety and Solicitor

10018 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES W EDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2008 General are to account for statutory costs related to forest fire fighting under the Wildfire Act and flood costs and disaster relief under the Emergency Program Act, respectively. I move that Bill 5 be placed on the orders of the day…. We should first put the question on first reading, I expect. Motion approved. Hon. M. de Jong: I move that Bill 5 be placed on the orders of the day for consideration by the House at the next sitting after today.

Bill 5, Ministerial Accountability Bases Act, 2007-2008, 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. Statements (Standing Order 25

B) BULLYING C. James: Today all members of the Legislature joined together with people across this province in a campaign to end bullying. It's a campaign that's very close to my heart as a parent and as a former school trustee. The Wear Pink campaign began last year in Nova Scotia after two exceptional students took a stand. They came to school wearing pink after a fellow student was harassed and bullied for wearing pink. The bullies used homophobic slurs to taunt and to hurt their victim. Unfortunately, that kind of bullying happens far too often in our schools and in our communities.

Any steps we can take to put an end to that hurtful behaviour are steps that we must take. [1340] That's why I was so proud when the opposition introduced amendments to the government's safe school legislation, amendments that were designed to protect students from discrimination and harassment based on the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sexual orienta- tion. I was pleased to see the government adopt those amendments in October. It was a welcome and necessary step, especially for students in our schools who are facing sexual discrimination. Any kind of bullying is wrong.

It has significant im- pacts on the victims, on their families and on our commu- nities. By taking a stand together in this Legislature and in our communities, we're sending a very clear message. It's time now to end bullying and harassment. L. Mayencourt: I couldn't agree more. I want to thank the Leader of the Opposition for raising the Safe Schools Act and all of the work that has happened as a result of members on both sides of this House. As a matter of fact, Mr. Speaker, today there is so much pink in this room I can almost see it reflected in your own skin tone. You're looking really healthy today.

The students that actually started this campaign are David Shepherd and Travis Pr ice. They took a stand in Nova Scotia. They said to their classmates, "Let's wear pink to school tomorrow," and everybody did. That sent a signal that was much, much better received than if it had come from any adult. I want to tell you I'm very proud that our province has adopted the elements of the Safe Schools Act, and I want to thank especially the Premier and the Minister of Education for their leadership on this issue.

I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the other members of the Safe Schools Task Force, MLAs Wendy McMahon and Brenda Locke, and the Education Minister at that time, Christy Clark. I also want to thank two very, very wonderful women, Nasima Nastoh and Cindy Wesley, who have given their lives and their time to make sure that schools in British Columbia will always be safer. CAMPBELL RIVER COMMUNITY DIALOGUE ON INCLUSION C. Trevena: I rise today to talk about an event in Campbell River, a community dialogue on building an inclusive, diverse and welcoming Campbell River for all.

In a packed community ce ntre on a sunny Saturday, people came together to listen to one another — people from different backgrounds, different cultures and differ- ent countries. The issue they talked about, around tables and in panel situations, was inclusion: how to make a community inclusive for everyone — for young people and seniors, for first nations, for people of colour, for peo- ple with disabilities, for people who are gay or lesbian. There was music, poetry, art, drumming and a celebration of diversity.

There were also tears as people were jolted out of their complacency that everything is okay in the community. Th e questions posed seemed simple: what does inclusion mean to you, and when have you felt genuinely included? The answers were not always that clear-cut. People opened up about growing up gay in the city, about being aboriginal, abou t being disabled, and peo- ple listened. The community dialogue came together after five months of pla nning, coordinated by the Campbell River and Area Multicultural and Immigrant Services Association and funded by the Ministry of Attorney General.

It was part of SFU's continuing stud- ies dialogue program. The dialogue encourages people to give and take in the mutual search for meanin g. It encourages listening and sharing stories rather than opinions. The people who attended Saturday's event learned a lot about themselves, about their community, and embraced difficult questions. But as with so many such events, the feeling at the end of the day was that the commu- nity would benefit with more opportunities for people to come together in the true spirit of dialogue. JAPAN-CANADA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CAREER FAIR AT UVIC H.

Bloy: I rise today to take this opportunity to bring attention to a unique job fair at the University of Victoria taking place this weekend. The Japan-Canada

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2008 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES 10019 Chamber of Commerce is organizing this worthwhile event to provide valuable information about the Cana- dian and Japanese job markets. [1345] As MLA for Burquitlam, I recognize that many of us straddle two cultures. I have the pleasure to speak at the Japan-Canada Chamber of Commerce job fair and highlight many of the programs available to students wanting to enter the B.C. job market.

Our Skills Connect program is of particular interest to many students, and our provincial nominee program where almost 4,000 skilled workers have entered the workforce since 2001. I want to thank Atsuko Umeki for spearheading the event and organizing what I know will be a certain success. I also want to than k these students from the University of Victoria, who helped organize it, and I hope I pronounce their names correctly: Sei Ishii, Hideyuki Imaizumi, Shotaro Fukuhara, Yamagami Takao, Asami Mori and Eiichiro Yanagimura.

These young Japanese students have great role models to look up to: Kazuko Komatsu, Angela Nakamura-Holinger, Laura Saimoto and Sy Saimoto. Our estimates show that we need to attract 3,000 workers with specific skills from outside British Colum- bia each year. This job fair is helping students fulfil those needs. Please join me in wishing the Japan-Canada Chamber of Commerce great success this Saturday at their job fair. KAYLANNA ERICA LIPINSKI M.

Sather: Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, more common in younger children, is a cancer of the connective tissues attached to muscle tissue wrapped around organs, the head or the neck. The cells resemble those of a six- to-eight-week-old embryo, thus the name embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma. Treatment for embryonal rhabdo- myosarcoma consists of chemotherapy, radiation therapy and sometimes surgery. In my community Kaylanna Erica Lipinski, four y e a r s o l d , i s s u f f e r i n g f r o m t h i s r a r e c a n c e r . I t i s a t - tacking her stomach and liver.

She has endured 38 chemotherapy sessions and 20 blood transfusions since her diagnosis last year. On December 29, 2007, Kaylanna, along with her mo ther Meranne Steves and grandmother Patty Schultz, le ft for Boston to receive special radiation treatments not available in Canada. Kaylanna is scheduled to be there into March, and I have some more updates on that. As one can imagine, the fi nancial burden placed on Kaylanna's family is heavy. Although medical treatment is covered, food, lodging and travel for her mother and grandmother are not.

Months of driving back and forth to Children's Hospital will continue when they return as well. The family has gone into debt in an effort to save the life of this precious child. I have spent time with Kaylanna. She is bright and happy. Even though she has lost her hair and suffered a great deal, nothing gets her down. She remains an engaging presence when you meet her. I received news from Boston this morning telling me that Kaylanna is in remission and returns home on Tuesday. I ask this House to join me in sending our prayers and good wishes to Kaylanna for a full, happy and long life.

ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL IN VEHICLES J. Rustad: I rise today to talk about a life-saving innovation that could also provide significant financial savings for our province. If I told you that you could make a small investment in your vehicle that could potentially reduce your risk of being in an accident by 25 to 40 percent, would you be interested? Electronic stability control, or ESC, is just such an investment. Science shows that ESC provides outstanding improvements towards helping drivers avoid accidents.

Some countries in Europe have recognized these benefits and are now making it mandat ory that all new vehicles have this life-saving device. The U.S. is also making it mandatory, but unfortunately not for another decade or so. ESC works by measuring th e direction of the vehicle and comparing it to the direction the driver is steering. If there's a difference, it automatically applies a brake to the appropriate wheel to help the driver gain control of the car. This fantastic device comes as standard equip- ment on higher-end vehicles, but manufacturers have been resisting equipping all vehicles with the device.

The cost of an accident to individuals and families is beyond measure. But for the province, it's estimated that accidents account for 15 percent of our total health budget, and in northern B.C. it's as much as 20 percent of NHA's budget. Just imag ine what 25 to 40 percent savings of that cost could be if everyone was driving vehicles equipped with ESC — not to mention the in- surance, legal costs and other related savings. [1350] Sadly, most people aren't aware of the potential life-saving benefits that electronic stability control can provide.

Most people haven't heard about it, and even some people that own vehicles equipped with ESC don't know what it is. Please join me in helping to raise the level of awareness of the benefits of ESC and also engaging the federal government to consider stepping up efforts towards making it mandatory for all new vehicles. Oral Questions KOKSILAH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CLOSING D. Routley: O n t h e v e r y s a m e w e e k t h a t P r i n c e George is considering an ab original school of choice elementary school, an aborigin al school that serves my community may be forced to close because of this gov- ernment's policies.

Over 95 percent of the students at Koksilah Elementary School are aboriginal. The school has been developing groundbreaking language and cultural programs for many years. Enrolment is in- creasing. But they're being forced to close their doors.

10020 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES W EDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2008 What will this minister do today to save the first aboriginal elementary school , Koksilah, from closing down? Hon. S. Bond: I think the most disappointing part of this question is that the member opposite knows full well that the locally elected school trustees are making difficult decisions based on the fact they've had signifi- cant declining enrolment.

This is not in any way about ending the program or the excellent services, but on this side of the House, we're actually going to pay attention to what locally elected school trustees are saying to us. In fact, they're grappling with this decision as we speak. Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental. D. Routley: In fact, those very trustees just last night, in a meeting with the member for Malahat–Juan de Fuca and myself, pleaded to us to help them bring some sense to this government and have them turn around from this decision and this funding formula which is forcing these things to happen.

In fact, enrolment number s in this school are up. There are 140 students. That's up 40 percent. There are ten on a waiting list, and they are being told there's no room. Yet the board, because of the policies of this ministry, are forced to consider closing th is excellent school. If the minister really cared about closing the education gap for first nations students, she would not be allowing this school to close, and neither would this Premier. So again I ask the minister what she will do now to help the people of Koksilah and the Cowichan Nation who are served by that school to keep that school open. Hon. S.

Bond: Perhaps what we need to do is put some facts on the record for the member opposite. It's not an easy discussion to have in a school district where they're grappling with declining enrolment and a number of things. I want to reiterate for the member opposite that it is not about offering those services to students in that district. But let's look at the fact s. Enrolment in that school district has decreased by 15 percent since 2000. In fact, per-pupil funding in that district is $1,588 higher than it was in 2000 and 2001.

In fact, the district is receiving more money this year — $630,000 more this year — than it received last year. It's grappling with difficult issues, and we're going to be supportive of locally elected school trustees. [1355] D. Routley: In fact, I should inform the minister that elders from the Cowichan Tribes and the PAC chair of Koksilah are here, and I'm sure they'd like to meet with the minister after question period to have her explain exactly how she's going to support that school. In fact, in Cowichan school district, we've already closed close to 25 percent of the schools.

There are eight schools out of the 30-odd schools targeted in the past five years by policies forced on our board by this gov- ernment. So it does no good to offer us these pat and standard answers. The answer s of the minister go no- where near the question. The question remains: what will she do to protect these valuable cultural programs that bring truth to the language of reconciliation and fly in the face of the actions of this government? Hon. S.

Bond: I am always amazed by the fact that somehow it seems negative that we have the highest level of funding in education that the province of British Co- lumbia has ever had. I'm not certain how that is negative. What's really disappointing about this discussion is that this problem, in terms of the change in demo- graphics in British Columbia, didn't start yesterday. In fact, it started in the 1990s. This is the tenth year in a row that we've seen decline. In fact, the Leader of the Opposition, as a respected locally elected school trustee, knows full well that that's true.

The only difficulty with that is what has happened since she's become the Leader of the Opposition. Let's look at the comments by the Leader of the Opposition. "There are some schools that have been closing because of dropping enrolment, and you're always going to see that in this province." There were schools that were closed under the New Democrats because of declining enrolment. What's changed? J. Horgan: For the minister's benefit, the problem for first nations learners in this province began about 150 years ago.

We are on the brink now in the Cowichan Valley of restoring some reconciliation and of creating a new relationship that the Premier speaks so eloquently about, but that eloquence falls on deaf ears in the Cowichan Valley. Tonight there will be a large public meeting in Duncan to discuss another round of school closures as a result of inadequate funding from this government. My question specifically is to the Premier. How does closing a 98 percent first na tions school, eliminating the spectre for elders of residential schools in this province…?

How do we reconcile and create a new relationship by closing the only school south of the Cowichan River that teaches aboriginal languages? Hon. S. Bond: To the member opposite: having a successful program for aboriginal children in British Columbia is not determined by the building that they're in. What it's determined by is a conscious effort by school districts and educat ional leaders to make a difference for aboriginal children. Under the leadership of this government, in fact, we've seen aboriginal completion rates in British Co- lumbia rise from 42 percent to 48 percent.

That's the highest they've ever been. We've made no secret of the fact that that is completely unacceptable, but we are working closely with first nations leadership. We are providing record levels of funding, and we are com- mitted to making a difference for first nations children in British Columbia. Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2008 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES 10021 J. Horgan: The Premier will be joining us in the Cowichan Valley this summer for the North American Indigenous Games where we will be celebrating ath- leticism, culture and language just months after a school district is forced, because of an inadequate fund- ing formula, to close a first nations school. Again my question is to the Premier.

When you come to the Cowichan Valley for the photo opportunity, when you come to the Cowichan Valley to bask in the Cowichan culture, what will you say to the students and parents at Koksilah Elementary when their children are dispersed to other schools in the district? Hon. G. Campbell: I think we all know that there's nothing more important than education for young people across this province, aboriginal and non-aboriginal alike. The fact of the matter is that our province has estab- lished the first-ever educational agreement. It was done with first nations.

It provides for first nations to take control over the education of their kids in keeping with the standards that we've set across the province of British Columbia. [1400] We've signed 36 aboriginal enhancement agreements across the province to encourage aboriginal funding. We've increased funding for aboriginal language pres- ervation. But there's one ot her thing that we do; and that is, we respect the responsibilities of locally elected school boards. We're not pr etending these are easy decisions to make, but we have increased funding in education to the highest level in the history of British Columbia.

Per-student funding is at the highest level ever in the history of the province. We are working with aboriginal communities to focus on their needs and the needs of their children. We are developing aboriginal curricula. We are developing aboriginal languages. We are working to protect aborigi- nal languages. And we will continue to work with school boards across this province to protect and preserve the kinds of quality aboriginal educational programs that are critically essential to the long-term future of the province. S.

Fraser: Well, these answers from the minister and the Premier are somewhat evasive, and I think it explains why first nations le adership recently had to propose their own legislation to this Premier to fill a complete vacuum in leadership on this file. The question was about the Koksilah school and its shutting down — so a great answer to a different ques- tion. Maybe the minister an d the Premier should dust off their copy of The New Relationship .

The first goal says: "To restore, revitalize and strengthen first nations and their communities and families to eliminate the gap in standards of living with other British Columbians, and substantially improve the circumstance of first nations people in areas which include education…." There's a waiting list for th is school. To the minister responsible: ducking the issue makes a mockery of the new relationship.

Will she respect the spirit and intent of the new relationship, and will the Premier respect the spirit and intent of the new relationship and maybe go to the meeting tonight an d actually consult with the elders? Hon. S. Bond: I'm not sure what part of the answer that the member opposite actually missed. This is not about a building, and locally elected school trustees have made it clear that the services and programs that are excellent for these students will continue. They will continue to excel and to do well in the school district.

I'm just really disappointed that the members opposite continue to, in fact, not pay attention to the important decisions that school trustees are making in British Columbia. We're not prepared to ignore the role that locally elected school trustees have in this province. Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental. S. Fraser: The minister's response again makes a mockery of the Premier's new relationship.

Goal No. 4 is, "To revitalize and preserve first nations cultures and languages and restore literacy and fluency in first nations languages to ensure that no first nation language becomes extinct" — and to make B.C., of course, the best-educated and most literate jurisdiction on the con- tinent. Remember that slogan, Minister? Will the minister agree to meet with the members from the Cowichan Tribes here today and/or go to the meeting tonight and actually consult? The minister said she's working closely with first nations. Well, they're here, and they'll be here tonight. Put some meat on the bones of those words.

Hon. G. Campbell: You know, I appreciate the fact that members of the opposition have discovered the importance of the new relationship that we're trying to build with first nations. That member should remember this: you voted against expanding the first languages program in British Columbia. We voted to put it in place and to enhance it. [1405] That opposition has been a roadblock in the way of building the new relationship ever since they were elected. The fact of the matter is we're expanding edu- cational agreements.

We're expanding opportunities to keep living languages of first nations languages across the province. We've got a new relationship trust, which is $100 million, to help firs t nations themselves decide what's best for them in the province. All of that is building, and it's successfully working towards closing the gaps and transforming the lives of first nations across this province. M. Farnworth: I'd like to remind the Premier that it was the Premier, when he was opposition leader, who voted against the introduction of first language skills and first language education for aboriginal people in this province.

I'd like to remind the Premier that he had to be dragged kicking and screaming to this table, to this province and to this Legislature to advance

10022 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES W EDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2008 aboriginal issues in this pr ovince. It was that opposi- tion leader who voted against the Nisga'a agreement. The question — what we have been dealing with here today — is about the Cowich an. It's about this government's educational policies and how they're impacting on a Cowichan sc hool, the first aboriginal school in this province that teaches aboriginal languages. This government's policies ar e resulting in that school being closed. At the same time, there's a school that will teach aboriginal langua ges opening up in Prince George.

The question is simple: how does closing Koksilah advance the preservation of aboriginal culture and aboriginal languages in British Columbia, and why won't the Premier act to protect it? Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Hon. S. Bond: The member opposite can character- ize this however he chooses, but the fact of the matter is that services will continue for aboriginal children in that school district. They will continue to excel at what they do.

This government has made a commitment to close the gap that was absolutely unprecedented, and these members opposite supported not one of those initiatives, on the other side of the House. From our perspective we're going to continue to work with locally elected sc hool trustees. We're going to ensure that aboriginal ch ildren have the opportunity to take courses that are designed to meet their needs. In fact, we are the government that created "First Peoples 12" for the first time in this province, which is seeing outstanding outcomes for aboriginal children. Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental. M.

Farnworth: Up until the religion of the reconcilia- tion was discovered in the last couple of years, this gov- ernment, when they were in opposition, did nothing but create division in this province around aboriginal issues. For the minister now to stand and somehow say that they are responsible for everything that's great in this province happening for aboriginal people is outrageous. What is outrageous is that this minister stands here and says that somehow their programs are working. Well, they will only work when you have aboriginal students together, not dispersed throughout a school district.

You need critical mass. You need aboriginal students learning with abor iginal students and elders able to impart that wisdom. My question, again to the minister: how is shutting down a 98 percent aboriginal student body school going to help to protect culture and aboriginal heritage in the Cowichan Valley in British Columbia, and when will this minister wake up and smell the coffee and realize that she needs to make chan ges to ensure that we are protecting, not hurting, aboriginal culture? Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. I remind members, through the Chair. Hon. S.

Bond: I hope the member opposite will take the time to review his transcript, because I think he suggested that the only way in British Columbia that aboriginal students will be successful is if they are in a separate school of their own. That is not what British Columbia's principle is about. [1410] Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Minister, take your seat. Minister, just take your seat for a second. Continue. Hon. S.

Bond: In fact, that well may be an option that is chosen and selected after much consultation and thought by some school districts in British Columbia, in consultation with first na tions people, but in British Columbia we stand on the principle of inclusion, and we also want to look at choice. There isn't a one-size- fits-all model for any child in British Columbia. A. Dix: Directly to the Premier. The elders are here today. They're having a public meeting tonight. The school is closing, if he doesn't step in and take some action here. So it's directly to the Premier. It's not about rhetoric.

It's not about calling out the opposition. This is about students and teachers and parents and a community. Will he intervene to keep Koksilah school open? Will he do that today? Will he commit to that today? Hon. S. Bond: First of all, we regularly meet with groups and parents and people who are concerned. It would have been incredibly important if the members opposite would simply have, even yesterday, let us know that it might be something they would like us to have done. Doing it here on the floor of the Legislature is probably not the most effective way to do that. Let's be clear.

Perhaps th e method of operation by the members opposite, despite the fact they have a Leader of the Opposition who was once a school trustee, is to tell locally elected school trustees how to do their job. We're not going to do that on this side of the House. In fact, I understand the member for Malahat–Juan de Fuca was at the meeting. That's what one of the members opposite said. Perhaps he should go back to his quote in The Vancouver Sun on September 24: "I sup- port local autonomy for school boards — absolutely." What happened? Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Members. FUNDING FOR EVERGREEN LINE M.

Karagianis: We've listened in the House while the Minister of Transportation has bragged repeatedly

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2008 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES 10023 about the influence he has at the federal level and about how they were going to deliver $400 million for the Evergreen line. Yesterday we actually saw the budget come down. Despite the minister's brag that "I'm actually very confident that the federal govern- ment will ultimately be there," in fact the federal government has announced just $67 million for the Evergreen line, a fraction of what the minister said he was going to be getting. Hon. Speaker, $67 million will build about 522 metres of the Evergreen line.

My question, then, to the minister is: will he stand up and admit today that he has failed to deliver for the Evergreen line? Hon. K. Falcon: I have to say that even in this House it comes as a shock when we get $67 million from the federal government and the NDP find a way to figure out that that's somehow a negative for the people of the Tri-Cities and the province of British Columbia. Mr. Speaker, what you will find…. I would encourage the member, even with the shoddy research department they have, that if they go back and look at the previous projects we've been involved with, you will hear a common theme.

The common theme from the NDP is exactly what they're saying today: "Oh, it's never enough money. They don't have enough. It will never get done." Let me just check the record. They said that on Kicking Horse Canyon. It's getting built. In fact, the member opposite from Columbia constantly shows up and praises that project, ev en though the whole time they said it would never get done. Canada line. They opposed that project, even though it's now getting done. Gateway program. They said it would never have enough money, even though it's well on its way. Convention centre, same thing. Interjections. Mr.

Speaker: Members. The member has a supplemental. [1415] M. Karagianis: I'm sorry you shut him down before he could mention the convention centre and the $400 million overrun on that. Hon. Speaker, the Evergreen line was pushed off the table by this government for their P3 Canada line, and the Tri-Cities have been waiting ever since for something to happen on the Evergreen line. Let's be realistic about what the minister says here about $67 million. That's over two years. That's $33½ million a year. That will actually build 275 metres a year, 11 kilometres.

Let's see: 44 years for the Tri-Cities to be waiting for the Evergreen line to be built. Is that what he's saying to us today — that it's going to take 44 years for him to deliver this line to the Tri-Cities? Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Hon. K. Falcon: Well, Mr. Speaker, that is so typical of the NDP — negative, destructive, pessimistic and wrong. I'll tell you this. Just as they opposed the Can- ada line and said it should never get done and we shouldn't build it…. Guess what. It's under construc- tion, on

schedule and on budget. It's getting built to the benefit of British Columbians. I'll also say this. The member, as usual, has not done her homework. If the member looked at federal budgets, you would know that the federal budget also includes something called the Building Canada Fund. It also includes something called the national P3 fund. We will be getting the balance of the dollars from those funds working in cooperation with the federal government, something that that opposition does not understand, and we will get the Evergreen line built to the benefit of the Tri-Cities by 2014. Interjections. Mr.

Speaker: Members. D. Chudnovsky: Mr. Speaker…. Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Wait a second, Member. Continue. D. Chudnovsky: For all the bluster, after all these years the minister has still failed to put into place the resources necessary to build the Evergreen line, which has been promised to the people of the Tri- Cities. The federal commitment is wholly inadequate. The provincial commitment is hundreds of millions of dollars short. The Evergreen line was planned in the 20th cen- tury. It was the first priority of the GVRD. It was post- poned in the 21st century because of this government.

Are the people of the Tri-Cities going to have to wait until the 22nd century for the Evergreen line? Hon. K. Falcon: You know, Mr. Speaker, one can only shake their head. First of all, the member should under- stand that TransLink made the decision to build the Can- ada line and decided that it was a priority. The member ought to understand at least how things operate. The second thing the member needs to know is that unlike the members opposite, who had not just a failed record of trying to get cooperation or dollars out of the federal government but a disastrous record….

They not only were not able to repatriate any dollars back into British Columbia, but they actually lost money. The federal government in Ottawa so did not want to do business with them that th ey actually pulled money out of British Columbia — Nanoose Bay, for example, comes to mind — because of their disastrous dealing with the federal government. I would put our record of delivering federal gov- ernment dollars into projects for the benefit of British Columbia against their record any day of the week.

10024 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES W EDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2008 I will say this to the member opposite: you are wrong on Canada line. You were wrong on the Kicking Horse Canyon. You were wrong on the Gateway pro- gram, and you're wrong again on the Evergreen line. Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. DISCLOSURE OF DOCUMENTS IN B.C. RAIL COURT CASE L. Krog: The B.C. Rail corruption trial continues to be mired in scandal.

The Premier refuses to be held accountable to the Legislature, but he is more than happy to talk with the Vancouver Province editorial board, with columnist Mike Smyth and with the Deputy Attorney General about the case. Now, the Deputy Attorney General, Allan Seckel, has confirmed that there has been more than one process for vetting documents related to the B.C. Rail corruption trial. Mr. Seckel sa ys he cannot tell us how many documents are being withheld due to parlia- mentary privilege. Will the Attorney General tell this House how many document s are currently being held…? Mr.

Speaker: Member, could I remind you that this is before the Speaker at this present time. The question is before the Speaker. You have made a presentation. The Government House Leader has made a submis- sion, and it's under advisement by myself. Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. L. Krog: A new question, hon. Speaker. Mr. Speaker: Member for Nanaimo, have you got a different question? [1420] L.

Krog: The Attorney General has advised this House many times that he doesn't wish to answer questions on this, but we know that for at least three years it was senior staff in the Premier's office that decided to keep evidence in the B.C. Rail trial secret. Last May the Premier told this House that Allan Seckel…. Mr. Speaker: Member, you're going along the same lines. It's the same question on a decision that I haven't made yet. It is under advisement with the Speaker. If you have a new question, proceed, but if you don't, please sit down. Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. L. Krog: I will sit down, hon.

Speaker. Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Members. HELI-SKIING IN PURCELL WILDERNESS CONSERVANCY PARK N. Macdonald: I particularly appreciate the opportu- nity. A very straightforward question to the minister responsible: will the minister confirm that the government is negotiating with a heli-ski operation to have them exchange their existing heli-ski tenure in the Purcells for a tenure in the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy Park? Hon. S. Hagen: I'll take the question on notice. [End of question period.] J. Horgan: I have an introduction. Mr. Speaker: Proceed. Introductions by Members J.

Horgan: Joining us in the gallery today are Chuck Seymour, the first nations education assistant, an elder and traditional speaker for Koksilah Elementary School, as well as Hannah Seymour, the PAC chair of Koksilah Elementary. Would the House please make them welcome. R. Hawes: I seek leave to make an introduction. Mr. Speaker: Proceed. R. Hawes: In the House today is Mr. Mike Shandalla, who is one of my constituents and a very good supporter, and I'd like the House to please make him welcome. D. Routley: I seek leave to make an introduction. Mr. Speaker: Proceed. D.

Routley: I would like to ask the House to help make welcome two elders from Cowichan Tribes who have come to visit us today. They are very special people to the Cowichan people, and I'd like us to give them a special welcome. They are William Seymour and Albie Charlie. Orders of the Day Hon. M. de Jong: I call continued debate on the budget. Budget Debate (continued) Hon. M. de Jong: Mr. Speaker, can I adjourn the debate on the budget in order to make the committee of selection report to the House regarding committees?

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2008 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES 10025 Hon. M. de Jong moved adjournment of debate. Motion approved. Reports from Committees Hon. M. de Jong: The Special Committee of Selection has met and has come to agreement on the appointment of members to the various se lect standing committees. That report includes the following: Select Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs: Mr. Mayencourt, Convener; Mr. Horning; Mr. MacKay; Ms. McIntyre; Ms. Roddick; Ms. Whittred; Mr. Coons; Mr. Lali; Mr. Fraser; Mr. Chudnovsky. Select Standing Committee on Children and Youth: Mr. Cantelon, Convener; Mr.

Rustad; Mr. MacKay; Mr. Bennett; Ms. Polak; Ms. Roddick; Mr. Krog; Ms. Karagianis; Mr. Brar; Mr. Simons. Select Standing Committee on Crown Corporations: Mr. Rustad, Convener; Mr. Cantelon; Ms. McIntyre; Mr. Yap; Mr. MacKay; Mr. Black; Mr. Evans; Mr. Horgan; Mr. Lali; Mr. Simpson. Select Standing Comm ittee on Education: Mr. Nuraney, Convener; Mr. Jarvis; Mr. Lee; Mr. Mayencourt; Ms. Polak; Mr. Rustad; Mr. Routley; Mr. Fleming; Mr. Cubberley; Mr. Macdonald. [1425] Select Standing Committee on Finance and Gov- ernment Services: Mr. Bennett, Convener; Mr. Bloy; Mr. Hayer; Mr. Lee; Mr. Hawes; Mr. Black; Mr.

Ralston; Mr. Austin; Mr. Horgan; Ms. Thorne. Select Standing Committee on Health: Mr. Sultan, Convener; Mr. Hayer; Mr. Jarvis; Mr. Nuraney; Ms. Roddick; Ms. Whittred, Mr. Dix; Mr. Gentner; Mr. Chudnovsky; Mr. Chouhan. Select Standing Committee on Legislative Initiatives: Mr. Horning, Convener; Mr. Bloy; Mr. Hawes; Mr. Sultan; Mr. Hayer; Mr. Mayencourt; Mr. Farnworth; Mr. Simpson; Ms. Conroy; Ms. Kwan. For the Select Standing Committee on Parliamentary Reform, Ethical Conduct, Standing Orders and Private Bills: Mr. Horning, Convener; Mr. Bloy, Mr. Hawes; Mr. Hayer; Mr. Mayencourt; Ms Roddick; Mr. Farnworth; Mr.

Dix; Ms. Kwan; Ms. Conroy. Lastly, the Select Standing Committee on Public Accounts: Mr. Fleming, Convener; Ms. McIntyre; Mr. Black; Mr. Hawes; Ms. Polak; Mr. Rustad; Mr. Sultan; Mr. Yap; Mr. Bains; Mr. Ralston; Mr. Simpson; and Ms. Trevena. I move that the report be taken as read and received. Motion approved. Hon. M. de Jong: I ask leave of the House to permit the moving of the motion to adopt the report. Leave granted. Hon. M. de Jong: I move that the report be adopted. Motion approved. Hon. M. de Jong: Now I call continued debate on the budget. Budget Debate (continued) V.

Roddick: Other exciting steps that we are put- ting forward in putting the pa tient first is that we are expanding the roles of nurses, pharmacists, paramedics, midwives and naturopaths. Th is is great news for both my constituents in Delta and all British Columbians and will provide more choice for patients. [H. Bloy in the chair.] A new British Columbia agriculture plan was intro- duced on February 15 — another milestone for British Columbia to add to the mining plan, the transportation plan and the energy plan.

As Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture Planning and chair of the of Agricultural Planning Committee I was delighted to take

part in the building and release of this plan, titled Growing a Healthy Future for B.C. Families. This plan provides a strong foun- dation to ensure that farming continues to have a bright future in our province. Its strategies focus on meeting and benefiting from environmental and climate changes and ensuring innovations drive a competitive and prof- itable agricultural sector.

To help reduce B.C.'s greenhouse gas emissions by one-third by 2020, the budget includes a revenue-neutral carbon tax, providing $440 million for a one-time climate action dividend of $100 to every resident and over $1 billion for a broad range of climate action programs and tax incentives to help encourage the adoption of greener lifestyles. This budget also allocates $25 million to establish a bioenergy network to encourage research and invest- ments in such areas as wood waste; co-generation; biofuels from wood, agriculture or waste biomass; anaerobic digesters; and wood pellet production.

With this budget we are also providing $30 mil- lion for B.C. green ports initiative, which will reduce emissions from commercial truck and ship traffic — extremely important for Delta South. Furthermore, $33 million is allocated to provide tax relief for the purchase of conventional fuel -efficient vehicles and to meet the fuel efficiency criteria set out in the federal government's ecoAuto rebate program.

We're provid- ing PST exemptions that include Energy Star–qualified residential large appliances — freezers, fridges, dryers, etc. [1430] Comprehensive air and water stewardship strate- gies will be released this spring as new steps are taken to combat global warming. With its ports, roads, rail- ways and ferry terminal, Delta South will certainly be interested in these strategies. A big step that has been taken recently in Delta South is new signs on Highway 17: "Trucks use right lane only." I have been consistently lobbying — I think the Ministry of Transportation would refer to this as

10026 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES W EDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2008 nagging — since 2000 for this particular issue. Now we need to make sure it is strictly enforced. New investments will be made in plug-in hybrid electrical vehicles, hydrogen-powered buses, clean retro- fit of dirty diesel trucks an d the electrification of truck stops. An example of zero-emission electric vehicles can be seen at ferry terminals. Currently, at Tsawwassen terminal the GEM e6 electric vehicle, a six-passenger shuttle, is being used as a passenger shuttle between the long-term parking and departure.

The B.C. government is moving forward with a pilot project to enable the broader use of zero-emission electric vehicles across B.C. Delta South would be the perfect place to try out this pilot project because of the many commutes between, in and around the communities of Ladner and Tsawwassen. A new "brown fields to green fields" redevelop- ment strategy will target existing dirty sites for the creation of well-treed, green, livable communities. Delta is troubled by many land-filled brown fields, so this redevelopment strategy is most welcome.

In fact, the Delta millennium committee, of which I was a member, has a tree project that was started in the year 1999-2000, and the municipality is carrying this project forward. This government has also shown dedication in expanding the PST exemptio n on bicycles, including electric-assisted, two- and three-wheel cycles and non- motorized adult tricycles. It has added $15 million and will expand and refine the Scrap-It program province- wide to get older, less efficient vehicles off the road. This is particularly importan t to our air quality in the lower mainland, Delta — in fact, the entire Fraser Valley.

The budget of 2008 includes $3 million for a new food miles initiative, which will increase public aware- ness of the distance food products are transported, to encourage the purchase of local agricultural products. We need to bridge the urban agricultural divide and continue to produce the best, safest, most nutritious products available. Buy loca l, Mr. Speaker, because we all still have to eat to live. This budget provides PS T exemptions for farmers on purchases of qualifying all-terrain vehicles used solely for farm purposes.

Delta South farmers will bene- fit from the implementation of allowing all licensed vehicles to use coloured fuel when travelling for farm purposes or on the highway. This is huge for farming provincewide. Prime farmland, hundreds of thousands of people plus extensive service indust ries are on our floodplain. This budget is dedicating $30 million as part of a ten- year $100 million program for flood protection and planning. Sustainable planni ng and this flood protec- tion are imperative for our communities and our food supply. Mr.

Speaker, $438 million over four years on pro- grams and services will be available to strengthen social services. This funding will support persons with developmental disabilities as well as children and youth at risk and with special needs. Delta South is a destination community due to its marvellous ameni- ties. This provincial funding will also be most wel- come. [1435] We believe in people, in families.

Budget 2008 provides an additional $104 million over four years to implement new and expanding measures to help break the cycle of homelessness, including emergency shelters, homeless outreach services, homeless rent supplements, predevelopment costs. For opposition members to say we don't care and aren't doing any- thing about this issue is factually incorrect. School boards are working tirelessly to deliver solutions in an era of terrific challenges and changes. Education is more important than ever in this era of technological revolution.

Therefore, we are increasing K-to-12 funding by 2 percent, even though enrolment is expected to decline by an average of 1 percent per year. Budget 2008 increases our investment in Strong- Start early learning centres in communities throughout B.C. This excellent program has grown from a pilot project started in Delta, where I attended a very exciting opening. With the booming art community in Delta, my constituents will be happy to hear about $24 million generated from the $150 million endowment for the B.C. 150th birthday cultural fund to support new arts and culture activities across the province.

Members, we all know tax rates affect us. We strongly believe in leaving more money in taxpayers' pockets. By 2009 every taxpayer in B.C. will see their personal provincial income taxes reduced by 5 percent on the first $70,000 earnings. By 2009, B.C. will pay the lowest personal tax in all of Canada for individuals earning up to $111,000. British Columbians will see an increase in the home- owner's grant threshold to $1.05 million in assessed prop- erty value, up from $950,000. This ensures that more than 95 percent of B.C. homeowners continue to be eligible for the full value of their grant.

This certainly helps the price- challenged housing in areas like Delta South. In addition, to help ease pressure faced by first-time homebuyers, Budget 2008 increases the first-time- homebuyers exemption to $425,000 from $375,000. This can save up to $6,500 in property transfer tax. A s t r o n g e c o n o m y i s r e q u i r e d t o e n a b l e u s t o p a y for necessary social services. The general corporate incom e tax rat e wil l be redu ced t o 11 per c ent from 12 percent, with a future reduction planned to 10 percent by 2011. This will make B.C. on par with the lowest corporate tax rates in Canada.

Small business tax rates will be reduced to 3.5 percent from 4.5 percent, with furthe r reductions to 2.5 percent b y 2 0 1 1 . C o m i n g f r o m a s mall family business back- ground, I know how valuable these reductions are. It's great, it's encouraging, it's entrepreneurial, and it's common sense. B.C. is the gateway to Asia. Together we can posi- tively and sensibly develop it so that everyone can benefit, especially communities like Delta South, who are on the front lines.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2008 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES 10027 I've been listening for the last couple of weeks to members of the opposition stating that we're not doing anything for health care, seniors, the issue of home- lessness, people in need. Fr om where I stand, this is just not the case. There is a list as long as your arm of initiatives, whether it be agriculture, first nations, our children and families, health care, education or the environment. This is British Columbia's time to lead. [1440] Where do the opposition members stand on impor- tant issues?

This year's ba lanced budget asks and, most importantly, answers the question: what kind of legacy do we want to leave for future generations? The NDP's answers are inconsistent, negative and regres- s i v e . I a m p r o u d t o b e p a r t o f a g o v e r n m e n t t h a t i s making the right decisions for the future generation of British Columbians. We have the lowest unemployment rate in over 30 years, the highest average wage, and we are working to deliver for children and families. How can the NDP vote against this budget and throne speech? Opposition benches, join with us.

We all need to be optimistic and positive, and have confidence in our province and our people. We will act with speed and purpose because we're confident in our endeavours. We are definitely the government to lead the province into this exciting time. Happy 150th birthday, British Columbia. M. Sather: It's my pleasure to respond to the budget. Before I begin, though, I wanted to thank my staff, who have done such a capable job for me over these almost three years now. In my constituency office there's Sheryl Seale, who is the foundation of our crew there.

Sheryl is exceed- ingly organized — a very political person doing a wonderful job. Donann Kinar has been with me almost since the beginning and provid es a really inviting at- mosphere for constituents that come in, and that's a great thing. Carly O'Rourke is a young woman that I've just hired recently. She's a graduate from SFU and has a great and bright future ahead of her. Here in the Legislature, Brian Kowalski, my legisla- tive assistant, does a great job of keeping me going technologically and organizing things for me. Brian is a real outdoor guy too, which I really like.

Cara McGregor is my communications officer, and Cara is always bright, helpful and willing to provide the communica- tions information that I need. Paula Gunn is my research officer. I can only hope that all the members opposite, including the Transportation Minister, have such a capable research person as Paula. We've heard the budget. We've heard the Premier provide us with what is hailed as a green budget, com- plete with the Finance Minister wearing the green shoes and what have you. There are things in the budget that we approve of and that I approve of. We approve of a carbon tax.

I think that's a move that we have to go toward. I certai nly have some difficulties with the way that it's unbala nced with regard to big oil and big banks. What I want to see, and what I want to talk about today, is if the green rhetoric really matches the on-the- ground reality of being green. One of the areas that the government talks about is providing green energy. I want to talk about an area that's near and dear to me — and to many British Columbians, the more they know about it — and that's the Upper Pitt River area at the north end of Pitt Lake.

The other day I heard the member for East Kootenay talk about Fernie being the most beautiful place in British Co- lumbia. I had the opportunit y to go to Fernie not long ago, and it is a truly spectacular viewpoint from Fernie. But it's rivalled equally, I can tell you, by go- ing up to Pitt Lake and looking up that valley on a beautiful day with the snow-clad mountains of Garibaldi. It's a tunnel that is absolutely spectacular on all sides. It's a fantastic area. [1445] Although it's only 50 k ilometres from Vancouver, to get there is difficult.

You have to fly in, or you have to take the long boat ride up Pitt Lake. Having visited last year again during the summer, I renewed my acquaintance with it and just how spectacular it is. The area has been logged, but tr ees are growing back. It's an ongoing operation there, but the wilderness feel of the place is very tangible, very real. Back in the '90s this river, due to a gravel operation that was proposed there, wa s actually on the list of B.C.'s most endangered rive rs. I'm hoping that's not going to happen again.

I'm hoping that the government is going to look long and ha rd at what's happening in the Upper Pitt with regard to the so-called run-of-the- river operations that are being worked on there. There's a plan there by Run of River Power Inc., through their subsidiary Northwest Cascade Power, to dam and divert eight streams in the Upper Pitt. On the west side of the Pitt you have Boise, Homer, Pinecone, Steve and Bucklin Creek, and then on the other side, the east side, Corbold Creek , ZZ Creek and then Shale Creek north of that. Now, it's not that I think all of these kinds of projects are bad. I don't.

I haven't had a chance to look at all of them by any means, but I understand the one at Furry Creek, for example — off the Sea to Sky Highway — is a good operation and not environmentally damaging. That certainly can't be said for the Upper Pitt. One of the problems with this whole process around these dam-and-divert projects that are going on is that there has been no reasonable access to the public in terms of decision-making around this.

It's not only Bill 30, which has been talked about — how local govern- ment decision-making has been pushed aside — but the fact that the land use planning process that we used to have with the local resource management plans is not there. There's no way for the public to have a say in the formative parts of any project like this. When it comes to the environmental assessment office, they form working groups. Non-profits that want to find out can't even find out who's on those working groups. So it's extremely difficult for the pub- lic to feel involved in this, and that is one of the reasons

10028 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES W EDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2008 — certainly not the only reason — why there is so much concern. The Upper Pitt is an absolutely spectacular fishery as well. Not only is the scenery magnificent, but we have all five species of Pacific salmon there — the sockeye, the pinks, the chinooks, the coho and the chum. In addition, we have a species of trout there as well. The largest population of coho in the lower Fraser Valley is there in the Upper Pitt. The coho salmon is a fishery that's very much un der duress.

There's a recent report from the department of Fisheries and Oceans last October that said: "The conservation of Georgia Basin coho has been an issue since at least 1989, and a major concern in the decline of coho is the loss and degrada- tion of freshwater habitat due to increasing economic and development pressures in the Strait of Georgia." That's exactly what we're concerned about here — the environmental pressures that these projects are going to put on the coho and other salmon there, other fisheries there. The coho in the Upper Pitt are also threatened. They're at their lowest leve ls ever.

We get information there…. I get it from talkin g to folks who live there, particularly Dan Gerak and his wife, who run the Pitt River Lodge up there. It's an excellent facility. [1450] We have, as well, the cutth roat trout, rainbow trout, Dolly Varden, bull trout and steelhead. Steelhead, of course, are a highly prized fishery. I think the member opposite is a steelhead fisherman and has spoken in the House about that. They, again, are under duress. Dan Gerak tells me they may get as few as 50 steelhead returning this year, so that's of great concern.

I want to talk a little bit about what is the problem specifically with the dam-an d-divert projects for the fish — looking at an 80 to 95 percent reduction in the flow of these streams, and it's over a long area as well. In the Upper Pitt, those eight streams would be dammed from 3.2 up to 4.6 kilometres. The salmon and the trout in that system depend on these streams for both spawning and rearing. It's ex- tremely important habitat. The river itself is glacial. It's very cold, and as such, it's not that productive in terms of the food that the salmon and trout eat.

So the streams are kind of the lifeblood of the whole system there. The reduced flows in these streams that are going to result mean that the wetted width of these streams is reduced. Some of that wetted width is not very deep, so you're losing the productivity of the aquatic inverte- brates upon which those fish depend. These are kind of the basic nuts and bolts of how a fishery works, how fish survive. I think we all, on both sides of the House, want to ensure that our salmon are not put in further jeopardy.

When you reduce the flow on a stream as well, to that extent in particular, the water is more shallow, and it warms to temperatures that are often fatal to fish. A stream is also a living entity in terms of its habi- tat. You need to have a cons tant recruitment, as they call it, of boulders, gravel and rocks as well as the woody debris. The rocks are brought down, and they provide shade for the fish when it's hot. The gravel of course provides substrate for spawning.

That material, the woody material as well, provides not only organic nutrients to the stream but also some of that cover I already mentioned with regard to the rocks. When we get this kind of a reduction in flow, you're making the river sterile. That's of great concern to everyone who is familiar with that situation. The time of year when that material gets washed down is in the spring, duri ng the spring freshet. But that, unfortunately, is also the time when the run-of- river projects are in operation because they depend on that heavy flow in the spring.

So that's the time of year when the diversion of the water is going to have the greatest negative impact. There will also be increased risk, and I'm certain there will be additional siltation, from landslides due to the work that will be done to lay all these pipes and to make the dam. I know that when I looked at the Ashlu up in Squamish, I saw heavy equipment right in the stream. There's no doubt that th e detrimental effects are considerable. We can get complete failure of the tech- nology, as well, in terms of letting the water through the creek.

That happened in Miller Creek near Whistler not long ago. [1455] Sometimes I hear government members or propo- nents of these systems say: "Well, don't worry about it, because all the water is going back into the stream." But there are a couple of problems. One of the things is that the fish, certainly in this system, are above where the water goes back into the stream. They're affected directly by the negative aspects of the reduced water.

So we have coho, chinook, steelhead, cutthroat and rainbow trout spawning and/or rearing above the gen- erator site — that's where the water goes back into the river — in Boise, Homer, Pinecone, Steve and Bucklin creeks. Boise Creek has fish-b earing waters not only to the fish barrier above it but all the way up. The threat, however, is not confined simply to the area above the intake because, as I mentioned, with the recruitment of debris and rocks, that's a problem below the intake as well.

All eight streams, with the possible exception of Shale, are fish-bearing stre ams, and 3,000 sockeye have been observed spawning in Boise Creek. Boise contains about 1,500 rare Dolly Varden, a bull trout cross which…. Apparently, they're above the fish barrier. It's interesting. It's thought that they've been there and developed a separate strain since the last ice age. In Homer Creek 5,000 sockeye have been observed spawning, and up to 40,000 sockeye returned to Corbold Creek. Coho and pink salmon also spawn in the lower reaches of Corbold Creek.

The sockeye in the Upper Pitt are unique in being on a six-year return cycle. They return every si x years to their spawning beds — or redds, as they're called — which in the normal cycle is four or five years for sockeye. As in other areas, salmon and trout in the Upper Pitt are threatened, so the threat is throughout.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2008 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES 10029 Steelhead and bull trout. Another species at risk. Coho — I already mentioned their precarious situation. Populations in the Upper Pitt are at their lowest levels ever known. I also wanted to talk for a few minutes about the precedent-setting application that's now in place to sever the Pinecone Burke Park to put the transmission line through. This will be precedent-setting if it should happen; I certainly hope it doesn't.

There was another additional line put through Mount Robson, but it was in an area where there was already a right-of-way beside a railway and highway, so it's quite different. This line would go up Steve Creek, over a pass, by a wetland and down into the creek on the other side, going down into the Mamquam River. There are at least five species at risk in the study area, one of which is the grizzly, which is a blue-listed species of concern. I mentioned the wetland in Steve Creek, and it's one of two significant grizzly areas in the Upper Pitt.

The draft management plan and the back- ground report for Pinecone Burke Provincial Park noted that subalpine wetland habitats in Steve and Pinecone Creek watersheds provide valuable spring/summer forage for grizzly bears and that spring/summer forage is a limiting factor for grizzly bear conservation in the Pitt River watershed. What they're saying, in fact , is that this is critical habitat, the destruction or disturbance of which could limit the viability of the grizzly population there. It's a serious issue.

Documents on the integrated land man- agement bureau site show that the intake on Steve Creek and the dam that will be built there are very close to that wetland. This may very well flood the wetland. But even without flooding, the construction of the dam, the transmission line and the ongoing maintenance threaten the ability of grizz lies to use this habitat. They're very sensitive to human disturbance. [1500] It's disturbing to me to read the consultant's reports downplaying the negative impact that this could have on grizzlies. In fact, it's downplaying whether or not grizzlies even are there.

The consultant says in the re- ports: "They did not locate any critical wildlife habitat." Yet what else is this wetland if not critical wildlife habi- tat? It's hard to understand how they could say that. The study area that the consultants looked at falls within the Garibaldi Pitt grizzly population unit, which is considered threatened by COSEWIC, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, with an estimated population of 18. Wildlife habitat for griz- zlies to the east of Pinecone Burke is "based on habitat suitability and not on evidence of grizzlies," they said.

Yet Dan Gerak from Pitt River Lodge told me that he saw tracks of grizzlies in Blue Creek just three kilo- metres from Steve Creek, the study area. He showed that to the consultant's biologist, yet they say there is no evidence of grizzlies in th e area. It really brings into question the integrity of the work that's been done up there, and certainly they're trying to minimize the negative effect on a vulnerable species, the grizzly bear. That's of great concern. Marbled murrelets are anothe r species at risk in the area. In this case a red-listed species has been docu- mented in the Upper Pitt.

The northern spotted owl is a critically imperilled species that's likely found in the Upper Pitt — or it was before the government allowed a lot of logging of their habitat. We know there is an active nest-site ten kilometres northeast of the study area . The consultant's report admits there is a potential that dispersing juveniles may use Crawford Creek–Steve Pass to move between the watersheds. So there is a very real possibility that they will run into power lines and be killed. Other species at risk in the area are coastal tailed frogs and red-legged frogs. So the access to this area is a huge issue.

The pro- ponent suggests that they're going to use helicopters to build the transmission line, but what kind of access is that going to open up to increased fishing and hunting? A reputable source from one of the fishing organiza- tions in British Columbia said to me that opening that up to access would essentially kill that fishery within ten years. There is a newly developing predator-prey system in the Upper Pitt with the Roosevelt elk that have been transplanted there and the wolves that have moved into the area. It was on the front page of The Vancouver Sun not long ago.

They're at risk from increased access. This whole project also puts in jeopardy the tourism values of the area. There are going to be power lines all over the place. As Dan Gerak said, his clients would not be particularly interested, unfortunately, in going up there if the values are degraded in that manner. This development, along with that of the related Pamawed Resources development on Crawford Creek, which is a related company to Run of River, would bring driveable roads 6.5 kilometres closer on the Pinecone Burke Park side and on the west side eight kilometres closer.

So they're going to br ing the access a lot closer. That's of great concern. Putting up the power line through there might keep hikers out, but it's not go ing to keep out folks on snowmobiles, and it's not going to keep out people on ATVs — the all-terrain vehicles. The proponents' con- sultants themselves say it would be desirable to have snowmobile access in there, so we are really concerned. A lot of folks are really concerned. I hope the government will look at this carefully and recognize that there may be appropriate places for these projects, but the Upper Pitt is definitely not one of those places.

The proponents' consultants also say that road improvements associated with the construction of the proposed hydropower project at Crawford Creek will re-establish culverts at stream crossings and improve access to upper Crawford Creek. So they are admitting they are improving the acce ss there, but it's not im- proving for the wildlife, and it's not improving for the fish. [1505] I haven't had the opportunity to be there in person, but looking at a topographi cal map, where the intake for the power development on Crawford Creek would

10030 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES W EDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2008 be is pretty flat wide-open country. So it would be very difficult, if they put the road up there to the intake, to not allow increased access to the Upper Pitt. What about the dam that would be built with road access along Steve Creek? They're going to push that road in there another nine kilometres into the wilder- ness. I don't think they're go ing to be constructing and bringing all that heavy equipment in there by helicopter. I doubt it very much. The proponent says: "Well, don't worry about all this potential destruction to a pristine area.

We'll give you compensation. We'll add a piece onto the Pinecone Burke Park on the east side of the park." I don't get it. This is Crown land. It's not theirs to give. I don't quite under- stand how that would be compensation on their part. What about the hazards that exist up there in the Upper Pitt with regard to snow and landslides? Looking at the consultant's report, they have hazard ratings that are moderate to high in many areas along where that power line would go through. I don't see anywhere any assessment of the dangers of rock and mudslides.

Those are just the hazards on Steve Creek, where they've done some of the work around this park severance adjustment application that's before the government now. I understand that the Environment Minister…. I h a v e i t o n g o o d a u t h o r i t y t h a t h e f e e l s s t r o n g l y a b o u t wilderness, that he is a proponent for wilderness and that he is a proponent for maintaining those kinds of values. So I can't fathom how he could possibly be in favour of this project. I'm fearful, however, that he is.

I'm hopeful that he's not and that he's prevailing upon his colleagues to say: "Let's look at this through the lens…." You know, it's supposed to be a green budget, a green time that we're operating in now. Let's make sure that we truly are looking at these projects through an environmental lens. If we are, there's no way that the Upper Pitt projects that are on the books right now could be approved. I'm really hopeful that this govern- ment will have a hard look at that and will turn it down.

Just in the time I have remaining, I want to make a few comments about agriculture and the agriculture plan that the Minister of Agriculture talked about the other day. He talked about the hundred-mile diet and that it was a key fundamental principle on which this plan was written — about eating locally. Well, those are good idea s , o n e s t h a t I s u p p o r t . However, I want to see that the government is actually acting to protect the land itself. Without the land, we can't be eating locally beca use we won't have any land on which to grow the food.

The member for Delta South is always talking about how we have to eat to live, but we also have to have land to produce the food which we eat to live. When I look at what's happening with transporta- tion, for example, I see the South Fraser perimeter road taking 500 acres or 300 acres — a large number of acres — out of the agricultural land reserve, and there's another route possible. I see in my constituency the Abernethy connector that has gone through two heritage farms and an organic farm. [1510] The minister doesn't seem to have any concern about that and says that's TransLink's problem.

Now I see another road being prop osed through agricultural land in my community. Gateway tells me that it's not their project, but they're providing all the data on what would be the effect of this road in terms of traffic. It's not very convincing data, by the way, but that's supposed to be the rationale for this road. Also, the district of Pitt Meadows say that if they build this road, they're going to have to get funding from the province. I look at an order-in-council that this government passed recently, making it easier to get land out of the green zone.

All our agricultural land in Maple Ridge is in the green zone. So this simply is a way to make it easier to develop agricultural land. Where does the government come down on that? On the one side they're saying they're green, but on the other side the Agriculture Minister says they've got a great agricultural plan. But when you look at the pro- tection for the land base, it's simply not there. What we see is erosion of the land base, and that's of great con- cern to me and to my constituents. Finally, some points on the fees in B.C. parks. Fees are between $9 and $50.

They introduced the parking fees for day use — very unpopular — and as of April 1, they're going to increase again by a dollar per night. R. Sultan: I wanted to just respond for a moment to the remarks by the member for Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows, because he said the magic word, to my ears — steelhead. He immediately grabbed my attention with his, I think, sensitiv e, passionate and thoughtful remarks about the beleaguered species of fish, including steelhead, in our local watersheds.

I must say I would want to associate myself with many of his concerns, because those concerns are broadly felt, I think, in the enviro nmental community and also among the thousands of other British Columbians who treasure the steelhead, our salmon, the bull trout, the cutthroat and all the other species which are part of our tradition. There's no question that the impact of humanity in its many forms is not friendly to the future of many of these species.

About 200 feet from my office, in the Capilano River — for which my riding is named — I have a living pilot test of the impact of dam building, of urbanization, of lack of recruitment. As the member for Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows pointed out, the lack of addition to gravel and sand over the years, the change in the very contour of the watershed affecting the beaches we have in West Vancouver–Capilano…. The effects of mankind over a century of development are not always very friendly to the steelhead, not to mention many other species. So I share many of his concerns.

In the same breath, I would hasten to add my sup- port of the independent po wer producer industry. I think this is among the many energy production alter- natives, one of our friendliest sources of electricity for the future. But I do agree th a t i t m u s t b e d o n e w i t h great care. I intend to take a greater interest in the

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2008 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES 10031 Upper Pitt project that he described, because I must confess that I'm quite ignorant on that subject. The budget itself addres ses one of the other major factors that scientists suggest to us is causing distress to, among many other things, fish populations. I refer to climate change. I wanted to quote the remarks of Dr. Andrew Weaver on what I guess many would call, justifiably, the central theme of this budget that we are debating today. [1515] Dr. Weaver is a professor and Canada research chair in atmospheric science at the University of Victoria.

His contribution to the In tergovernmental Panel on Climate Change won him the Nobel peace prize in 2007. Just a mile or so away from these chambers, one of our UVic scientists won the Nobel prize. I wasn't really aware of that. So we have a local expert on atmospheric science holding forth. He said on the Bill Good Show, our very popular CKNW commentator that many of us listen to frequently…. It's always on as background in our office in West Vancouver–Capilano. I guess I could attribute that to one of the former producers of an NW show who works for me, Patti Hamilton.

Here's what he said to Bill Good the other day, on February 26: "Frankly, why I like it" — referring to the Finance Minister's budget — "is that it puts more money into the pockets of British Columbians to allow them to make choices in more energy-efficient ways. That's the way to deal with it. Use the marketplace to find solutions. Don't tell the marketplace what the solu- tions are. Give people the money to actually assist the market in making those moves." Later in the interview with Bill Good, Dr. Weaver went on to say: "Success will be measured by emissions reductions. There is no other means of success.

That is why it's being introduced. It's not being introduced as a tax grab. It's being introduced to guide society towards carbon reductions. So there's your measure of success." Here's a final comment and quotation from Dr. Andrew Weav er to Bi ll G ood on F ebru ary 26: " I don't buy the argument that this is going to put people into poverty. I think you see in the budget that there's all sorts of tax relief specifically aimed at low-income people." So that's Dr. Weaver, and he speaks to some of the comments I have heard.

Adjectives that have been used to describe this budget are "sophisticated," "deft" — not daft, but deft with an "e" — "smart" and "surprising." I would admit that it caught me off guard because I was speculating, along with many, that what we were going to see was a carbon tax, but the revenue was going to be spent on buses or mass transit or something else. It was, in fact, a Quebec-style — and having lived there for a decade, I think the government in Quebec is very good at this — tax grab to be used under the banner of some noble cause just to raise government revenues for some other purpose.

Of course, the members, I think — private members certainly on this side of the House and I suspect many, many members on the other side of the House — were surprised to see that in fact it was as the Finance critic in the opposition said: taki ng money out of one pocket and putting it in the other. That was his very graphic description of a tax-neutral program, and that is in fact what the Finance Minister delivered to our pleasure and to our surprise.

We have seen on display on ce again a very intelligent, motivating, tax-cutting, friendly-to-low-income-people, business-friendly, friendly-to-children, conservative, not- in-deficit, debt-reducing budget applauded by the credit agencies. That's a tough act to follow. Will we ever see again in this House a budget that accomplishes so many things on so many dimensions? My compliments to the Finance Minister and to the government who carefully crafted these measures. But what I wanted to talk about in the main was another dimension of the budget — namely, its impact and ramification in the fore st industry.

A significant proportion of government re venues in the budget de- rives from the forest industry. It is, after all, our largest British Columbia industry. Members on the benches opposite have denounced the government for creating hard times in this industry. [1520] About two weeks ago, on February 7, the Leader of the Opposition, speaking to the Western Silviculture Association, accused the government of ceding govern- ment control of this resource — I'm using her words — tearing up the Forest Act and gutting the social contract. Those are her words.

The leader conveniently over- looked the ruinous policies imposed on this industry by her own party when it constituted the government of this province during a quite disastrous experiment in central planning and socialism during the 1990s. The NDP philosophy vis-à-vis forestry was brought home to me vividly when I attended the Truck Loggers Association convention in the early '90s shortly after they came to power. I was accompanied by my brother-in-law, Pete Holmquist. I mention him because he's struggling in hospital right now, and I hope he recovers.

He was one of our notable fallers on the coast — I worked with him as a faller's helper one summer, a wonderful and in many ways scary experience — and a North American hand- bucking champion. Now, that's an accomplishment. With Peter, we went there with the truck loggers and the place was bustling with athletic loggers like my brother-in-law, chainsaw salesmen, massive equipment and so on. The NDP government of the day had erected a giant tent in the centre floor of the Canada Place convention centre. In the tent, handbooks and panels on the wall explained how loggers must conduct themselves in the future.

Now, to illustrate, I hold in my hand a sharply pointed yellow pencil, a Dixon Ticonderoga 1388-2HB pencil, and it's identical to the one that you all have on your desks in front of you. The government of the day, in that tent with the truck loggers, specified the brand, the stocking number, the le ad weight and the hue of the various coloured pencils which the truck loggers were ordered to use when cross-hatching their harvest- ing maps prior to submitting them to the government for approval.

10032 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES W EDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2008 Let's say a cherry red Dixon Ticonderoga 1469-3H or whatever, for areas to be cut to a certain specifica- tion; another specification for the apple green, to be applied to another cutblock of a different type, and so on up the mountain and down the gullies, in all colours of the rainbow. Now, I ask: was there a run on col- oured pencils of the specified brand at the local art stores? I don't think so, beca use I was the only person brushing up on the crayoning rules in that tent.

Under that previous government's rule in the '90s, petty rule-making and government interference ramped up aggressively. The forest industry reacted by cutting back on its investment spending and hunkering down, hoping for a change in government, which eventually happened. In the meantime our global competitors had been given another window of opportunity to leapfrog ahead of us. Now fast-forward 15 years to now. Once again, the NDP has busied itself with plans and proposals for the forest industry. A fundamental fact of life for all of us is the softwood lumber agreement between Canada and the United States.

On February 7 in that same speech, the Leader of the Opposition repeated a charac- terization of the softwood lumber agreement as being "a serious mistake" which must be "renegotiated or dumped." Her suggestion was for the federal and pro- vincial government to take this agreement to hearings to determine what steps should be taken, up to and including abrogation.

By prescribing such policies, I am sad to say — and I'm genuinely sad to make this observation, because these are fine people on the opposite bench — Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition has again demonstrated that seven years in the political wilderness have not yet qualified them to be trusted again with the governance of this province or the st ewardship of this industry. That's really my considered view, and I say that with some regret. To be fair, the Leader of the Opposition would merely start with a review of the treaty.

But in the current environment and given the opposition's clearly stated intention if returned to power, one must conclude that their review of that treaty would inevitably lead to their attempt to withdraw from the agreement, even though British Columbia is hardly in any position to exit unilaterally from an international agreement entered into by the federal government. [1525] Let's look at a few of the other pesky details. This agreement between two nations, Canada and the United States, runs for a minimum of 18 months, from October 2006 until April 2008 — only a couple of months away.

Then the parties can give six months' notice of their desire to get out, which would carry us forward to October 2008. Under the terms of the ag reement, if the United States terminates, there's a st andstill agreement. If the U.S. gives six months' notice in April, there would be one year of free trade, and I put free trade, again, in quotation marks. On the other hand, if it was Canada which abrogated, as happened in the period 1986-87 through 1991, we could conceive again the possibility of the Americans levying a border tax which could be multiples higher than the current 15 percent.

Let us simply say that if Canada abrogated, Washing- ton might not be amused, but the American softwood industry might be delighted. Draw your own conclusions. Under free trade conditions, since lumber prices have nosedived 60 percent off their high, there's little doubt that our American friends would cry "dumping," and we would be into a litigation scenario. Pick your own coun- tervail percentage. It seems unlikely to be modest. Under litigation, there would be no cap on the maximum duty payable by the Canadians, unlike un- der the current agreement.

If you think the current U.S. presidential contest is spilling over with the milk of free trade kindness, you haven't been paying attention. We should not overlook that the last litigation period helped fatten the wallets of the lawyers, not to mention armies of economists, lobbyis ts and travel agents on both sides of the border. Legal bills on the Canadian side of the border alone are estimated to have been in the $200 million range, of which British Columbians paid about half. There's no reason to believe that American legal bills were significantly lower.

It's my personal observation that the American bar tends to live rather handsomely. Therefore, under the NDP's abrogation scenario, B.C. mill netbacks, already insufferably low, would in all likelihood be further reduced by American duties. Indeed, I would say it's anybody's guess whether there would be any netback at all.

But if somehow we carried on exporting regardless, we should keep in mind that last time under somewhat parallel conditions, the Americans sequestered $4 billion U.S. — equivalent to about $5 billion Canadian at the exchange rate of the day — of which ultimately, and only after strenuous hard bargaining, about half was returned to B.C. shippers. It was no sure thing that we would ever see a single red cent. To sum up, therefore, the Leader of the Opposition's proposed adventure in international diplomacy would impose huge costs on our forestry companies and huge penalties on our forest communities.

The Canadian industry back east is already in arbi- tration over alleged Quebec and Ontario subsidies to their forest industries. The Leader of the Opposition would have us join Quebec and Ontario in that process — more Bay Street lawyers, more bar bills at the May- flower Hotel in Washington, D.C. [K. Whittred in the chair.] In truth, the solution to our current industry dilemma is to get unwanted lumber, which is pushing prices down to unheard-of levels, off the market so that more sustainable pricing can be restored.

In this regard, the interests of the Canadian softwood industry and the interests of the American softwood industry should dovetail neatly. We are already seeing additional mill closures in B.C., and our industry is being restructured with a

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2008 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES 10033 vengeance — inevitable, of course, but of absolutely no comfort at all to the millworkers pushed into the street. [1530] What is overlooked by th e Leader of the Opposition is the growing appetite of American lumber producers to reduce supply on their ma rket, as they view it, by virtually halting Canadian exports at the border. So if you think things are tough now for forestry workers in Port Alberni or Williams Lake, just contemplate that NDP scenario.

The wood industry on both sides of the border is being pummelled by the combined forces of the U.S. sub-prime mortgage mess, declining U.S. home prices, a 50 percent collapse in U.S. house construction and the consequent oversupply of softwood lumber. In a confer- ence call with analysts on February 21, Hank Ketcham of West Fraser Timber Co. described it as "a bloodbath out there." We have not even gotten around to mentioning the beetles. The Canadian industry is also being penalized by the unprecedented strength of the Canadian dollar climbing to levels not seen in 35 years.

The U.S. dollar weakness is driven by American profligacy in things fiscal and monetary, and in that regard Canadian virtue becomes our penalty.

Until stamina returns to the U.S. housing market, until certainty returns to the U.S. mortgage market, until there is some further restructuring of those packages of IOUs — bundled, sold, rebundled and resold by those clever mathematical chaps in red suspenders from the University of Chicago business school who we used to admire for being so smart — and until the U.S. dollar shows some sort of recovery, which may depend on the presidential election, it's hard to foresee any quick recovery for Canadian softwood lumber.

We could perhaps take some comfort from the United States history of responding to their mistakes: diagnose the problem, take the awful-tasting medicine quickly, don't spend too much time in bed, and bounce back quickly. Let's hope American history repeats itself. Meanwhile, the situation of our B.C. forest industry, for reasons beyond our contro l, is not pretty. Let us, therefore, thank ourselves th at the opposition party in this province does not have its hands on the policy levers. Surely they would, in short order, make a tough situation in our forest industry much, much worse. N.

Macdonald: A s a l w a y s , i t ' s a p l e a s u r e t o s p e a k and to respond to the budget speech on behalf of the people of Columbia River–Revelstoke. I'll begin by saying that some odd things happened yesterday — two things. One was that we had unani- mous agreement in this Hous e on an issue, and it was to do with spending. That is not something that hap- pens very often. There was a supplementary bill that came in. It was for $1.2 billion or in that neighbour- hood.

The interesting part of it is that it was tacked onto the previous, or this year's, budget even though they were items that were talked about in the throne speech and, in fact, even ta lked about in the budget speech. So it was a bit of an odd thing that way. We voted for it, and I was happy to do that for one reason in particular. There was within that supplemen- tary budget $262 million for an endowment for the arts.

That is something that is, I hope, going to be adminis- t e r e d i n a w a y t h a t i s g o i n g t o b e v e r y b e n e f i c i a l f o r something that is important to me, which is the arts, the arts councils and heritage. That's something in there that I'm really happy about. Like I say, there were two things that were kind of odd, and the other part of it is the $1.2 billion that the general public is going to imagine is from this year's budget. It properly should be in the budget that we are debating now.

I did not hear any minister explain why i t w o u l d b e t a k e n f r o m l a s t y e a r ' s b u d g e t o t h e r t h a n what is the obvious answer — that they didn't want it to show up in the 2008-2009 budget. In fact, the budget that we are looking at and the one that I'm now going to turn my attention to is a budget that forecasts a $50 million surplus. But if you put in that $1.2 billion worth of spending, it really would not have been a surplus.

So we can call this the not-quite-balanced budget 2008 — a bit of smoke and mirrors with it. [1535] In fact, the other claims that are made about this budget — of it being a green budget — are the same sort of smoke and mirrors. Th ere's very little in here that you could look at and say is going to be effective in what the Premier has said is

Document details

Collection	British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	H0227pm-03
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	H0227pm 03
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	31f1c7e9a2d57b3d9a8d0d719ba8a11e4380f705

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