British Columbia Hansard — Thursday, August 27, 2009

H0827pm-05

British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)

First Session, 39th Parliament o FFicial rePort o F Debates of the Legis Lative a ssemb Ly (hansarD) the honourable bill bari So FF, SPeaker iSSn 0709-1281 Thursday, August 27, 2009 Afternoon Sitting Volume 1, Number 5

Pro Vince o F britiS h colu Mbia (entered c onfederation July 20, 1871) lieutenant -Go Vernor h is h onour the h onourable Steven l. Point, obc First Session, 39th Parliament SPeaker o F the leGiS latiVe a SSeMbl Y h onourable bill barisoff eXecutiVe council Premier and President of the executive c ouncil ......................................................................................................h on.

Gordon c ampbell Minister of State for intergovernmental r elations ....................................................................................................h on. n aomi Y amamoto Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance .......................................................................................................................... h on. c olin h ansen Minister of State for the o lympics and a ctn ow b.c. ....................................................................................................... h on.

Mary Mcn eil Minister of a boriginal r elations and r econciliation .....................................................................................................h on. George a bbott Minister of a dvanced e ducation and l abour Market Development ............................................................................ h on. Moira Stilwell Minister of a griculture and l ands ...................................................................................................................................h on.

Steve Thomson a ttorney General ...................................................................................................................................................... h on. Michael de Jong, Qc Minister of c hildren and Family Development and Minister r esponsible for c hild c are ............................................h on.

Mary Polak Minister of citizens' Services and Minister r esponsible for Multiculturalism and the Public a ffairs bureau ...........h on. ben Stewart Minister of c ommunity and r ural Development ................................................................................................................h on. bill bennett Minister of e ducation and Minister r esponsible for early l earning and l iteracy ......................................h on.

Margaret MacDiarmid Minister of energy, Mines and Petroleum r esources .....................................................................................................h on. blair l ekstrom Minister of State for Mining ................................................................................................................................................h on. r andy h awes Minister of environment .......................................................................................................................................................h on. barry Penner Minister of State for c limate a ction ...........................................................................................................................................h on.

John Y ap Minister of Forests and r ange and Minister r esponsible for the integrated l and Management bureau ........................... h on.

Pat bell Minister of h ealth Services ...................................................................................................................................................h on. k evin Falcon Minister of h ealthy l iving and Sport ...................................................................................................................................... h on. ida c hong Minister of h ousing and Social Development .................................................................................................................h on. r ich c oleman Minister of l abour ................................................................................................................................................................ h on.

Murray c oell Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General .....................................................................................................................h on. k ash h eed Minister of Small business, t echnology and e conomic Development ................................................................................ h on. iain black Minister of t ourism, c ulture and the a rts ...................................................................................................................... h on. k evin k rueger Minister of t ransportation and infrastructure ...................................................................................................................h on.

Shirley bond leGiS latiVe a SSeMbl Y l eader of the official o pposition ...................................................................................................................................................c arole James Deputy Speaker .................................................................................................................................................................................... l inda r eid a ssistant Deputy Speaker .............................................................................................................................................................c laire t revena Deputy c hair, c ommittee of the Whole .......................................................................................................................................... h arry bloy c lerk of the l egislative a ssembly...................................................................................................................e.

George MacMinn, obc, Q c c lerk a ssistant ..................................................................................................................................................................................r obert Vaive c lerk a ssistant and l aw c lerk................................................................................................................................................. ian D. izard, Qc c lerk a ssistant and c lerk of c ommittees ................................................................................................................................. craig h.

James c lerk a ssistant and c ommittee c lerk .................................................................................................................................... k ate r yan-l loyd Sergeant-at-a rms .................................................................................................................................................................................

Gary l enz Director, h ansard Services ............................................................................................................................................................Jo-a nne k ern a cting l egislative l ibrarian .......................................................................................................................................................... Peter Gourlay l egislative c omptroller ....................................................................................................................................................................... Dan a rbic

alP habetical liS t o F MeMberS a bbott, h on. George (l) ........................................................................ Shuswap a ustin, r obin (nDP) ................................................................................ Skeena bains, h arry (nDP) ....................................................................Surrey-n ewton barisoff, h on. bill (l) ............................................................................Penticton barnett, Donna (l) ................................................................ c ariboo-c hilcotin bell, h on.

Pat (l) ..................................................... Prince George–Mackenzie bennett, h on. bill (l) ...................................................................k ootenay e ast black, Dawn (nDP) ................................................................n ew Westminster black, h on. iain (l) ..................................................... Port Moody–c oquitlam bloy, h arry (l) ......................................................................burnaby-l ougheed bond, h on.

Shirley (l) ...........................................Prince George–Valemount brar, Jagrup (nDP) ................................................................ Surrey-Fleetwood c adieux, Stephanie (l) ...........................................................Surrey-Panorama c ampbell, h on. Gordon (l) .........................................Vancouver–Point Grey c antelon, r on (l) ..............................................................

Parksville-Qualicum c hong, h on. ida (l) ..................................................... o ak bay–Gordon h ead c houhan, r aj (nDP) ........................................................... burnaby-e dmonds c oell, h on. Murray (l) ....................................Saanich n orth and the islands c oleman, h on. r ich (l) ...........................................

Fort l angley–a ldergrove c onroy, katrine (nDP) .............................................................. k ootenay West c oons, Gary (nDP) .........................................................................n orth c oast c orrigan, k athy (nDP) ..................................................... burnaby–Deer l ake Dalton, Marc (l) .............................................................. Maple r idge–Mission de Jong, h on.

Michael, Qc (l) .............................................. a bbotsford West Dix, a drian (nDP) ............................................................Vancouver-kingsway Donaldson, Doug (nDP) ......................................................................... Stikine e lmore, Mable (nDP) ................................................... Vancouver-kensington Falcon, h on. k evin (l) ..........................................................Surrey-c loverdale Farnworth, Mike (nDP) ............................................................

Port c oquitlam Fleming, r ob (nDP) .......................................................... Victoria–Swan l ake Foster, eric (l) .......................................................................Vernon-Monashee Fraser, Scott (nDP) ............................................................a lberni–Pacific r im Gentner, Guy (nDP) .........................................................................Delta n orth h ammell, Sue (nDP) .................................................... Surrey–Green t imbers h ansen, h on. c olin (l) ..................................................

Vancouver-Quilchena h awes, h on. r andy (l) ..................................................... a bbotsford-Mission h ayer, Dave S. (l) .................................................................... Surrey-t ynehead h eed, h on. k ash (l) ...................................................... Vancouver-Fraserview h erbert, Spencer (nDP) ..................................................Vancouver–West end h ogg, Gordon (l) ............................................................... Surrey–White r ock h organ, John (nDP) .......................................................................

Juan de Fuca h orne, Douglas (l) ..............................................c oquitlam–b urke Mountain h oward, r ob (l) .....................................................................r ichmond c entre h untington, Vicki (ind.) ..................................................................Delta South James, c arole (nDP) .........................................................Victoria–b eacon h ill k aragianis, Maurine (nDP) ........................................e squimalt–r oyal r oads k rog, l eonard (nDP) ........................................................................... n anaimo k rueger, h on. k evin (l) ..................................... k amloops–South Thompson kwan, Jenny Wai ching (nDP) ...........................

Vancouver–Mount Pleasant l ake, t erry (l) .....................................................k amloops–n orth Thompson l ali, h arry (nDP) ..........................................................................Fraser-n icola l ee, r ichard t . (l) .......................................................................burnaby n orth l ekstrom, h on. blair (l) .......................................................

Peace r iver South l es, John (l) .........................................................................................c hilliwack l etnick, n orm (l) ........................................................k elowna–l ake c ountry MacDiarmid, h on. Margaret (l) ..................................... Vancouver-Fairview Macdonald, n orm (nDP) ....................................c olumbia r iver–r evelstoke Mcintyre, Joan (l) ..................................................West Vancouver–Sea to Sky Mcn eil, h on.

Mary (l) .................................................Vancouver–False creek Mcr ae, Don (l) ............................................................................. c omox Valley Mungall, Michelle (nDP) ..........................................................n elson-creston Penner, hon. barry (l) ............................................................c hilliwack-h ope Pimm, Pat (l) ..........................................................................Peace r iver n orth Polak, h on.

Mary (l) ...............................................................................l angley Popham, l ana (nDP) ...................................................................Saanich South r alston, bruce (nDP) ................................................................

Surrey-Whalley r eid, l inda (l) .............................................................................r ichmond e ast r outley, bill (nDP) .................................................................. c owichan Valley r outley, Doug (nDP) ............................................n anaimo–n orth c owichan r ustad, John (l) ........................................................................... n echako l akes Sather, Michael (nDP) ......................................... Maple r idge–Pitt Meadows Simons, n icholas (nDP) ...................................

Powell r iver–Sunshine c oast Simpson, bob (nDP) ...................................................................c ariboo n orth Simpson, Shane (nDP) .....................................................Vancouver-hastings Slater, John (l) ..............................................................boundary-Similkameen Stewart, h on. ben (l) ........................................................... Westside-kelowna Stilwell, h on. Moira (l) ...................................................... Vancouver-l angara Sultan, r alph (l) .....................................................

West Vancouver–capilano Thomson, hon. Steve (l) ........................................................k elowna-Mission Thorne, Diane (nDP) .................................................c oquitlam-Maillardville Thornthwaite, Jane (l) .......................................... n orth Vancouver–Seymour t revena, c laire (nDP) .................................................................... n orth island van Dongen, John (l) .............................................................a bbotsford South Y amamoto, hon. n aomi (l) ................................. n orth Vancouver–l onsdale Y ap, hon.

John (l) .............................................................r ichmond-Steveston liS t o F MeMberS bY riD in G a bbotsford-Mission .............................................................h on. r andy h awes a bbotsford South .....................................................................John van Dongen a bbotsford West ...................................................... h on. Michael de Jong, Qc a lberni–Pacific r im ..........................................................................

Scott Fraser boundary-Similkameen .....................................................................John Slater burnaby–Deer l ake ................................................................... k athy c orrigan burnaby-e dmonds ......................................................................... r aj c houhan burnaby-l ougheed ............................................................................ h arry bloy burnaby n orth .............................................................................. r ichard t . l ee c ariboo-c hilcotin ........................................................................Donna barnett c ariboo n orth ................................................................................ bob Simpson c hilliwack ...............................................................................................

John l es c hilliwack-h ope ...................................................................h on. barry Penner c olumbia r iver–r evelstoke .................................................. n orm Macdonald c omox Valley.................................................................................... Don Mcr ae c oquitlam–b urke Mountain .....................................................Douglas h orne c oquitlam-Maillardville...............................................................

Diane Thorne c owichan Valley ................................................................................ bill r outley Delta n orth ......................................................................................Guy Gentner Delta South ...............................................................................Vicki h untington e squimalt–r oyal r oads .....................................................Maurine k aragianis Fort l angley–a ldergrove ...................................................h on. r ich c oleman Fraser-n icola........................................................................................ h arry l ali Juan de Fuca .....................................................................................John h organ k amloops–n orth Thompson .............................................................t erry l ake k amloops–South Thompson ............................................ h on. k evin k rueger k elowna–l ake c ountry ...............................................................n orm l etnick k elowna-Mission .............................................................. h on.

Steve Thomson k ootenay e ast .......................................................................... h on. bill bennett k ootenay West ............................................................................ k atrine c onroy l angley.......................................................................................h on. Mary Polak Maple r idge–Mission .....................................................................

Marc Dalton Maple r idge–Pitt Meadows ........................................................Michael Sather n anaimo ......................................................................................... l eonard k rog n anaimo–n orth c owichan ......................................................... Doug r outley n echako l akes ..................................................................................

John r ustad n elson-creston ........................................................................Michelle Mungall n ew Westminster ..............................................................................Dawn black n orth c oast....................................................................................... Gary c oons n orth island .................................................................................. c laire t revena n orth Vancouver–l onsdale ........................................h on. n aomi Y amamoto n orth Vancouver–Seymour .................................................

Jane Thornthwaite o ak bay–Gordon h ead ............................................................ h on. ida c hong Parksville-Qualicum ..................................................................... r on c antelon Peace r iver n orth ................................................................................

Pat Pimm Peace r iver South ...............................................................h on. blair l ekstrom Penticton................................................................................... h on. bill barisoff Port c oquitlam ..........................................................................Mike Farnworth Port Moody–c oquitlam .............................................................h on. iain black Powell r iver–Sunshine c oast ................................................. n icholas Simons Prince George–Mackenzie .............................................................h on.

Pat bell Prince George–Valemount ...................................................h on. Shirley bond r ichmond c entre ............................................................................ r ob h oward r ichmond e ast ................................................................................... l inda r eid r ichmond-Steveston .................................................................... h on. John Y ap Saanich n orth and the islands ........................................... h on.

Murray c oell Saanich South ................................................................................ l ana Popham Shuswap ...............................................................................h on. George a bbott Skeena .............................................................................................. r obin a ustin Stikine .......................................................................................

Doug Donaldson Surrey-c loverdale .................................................................h on. k evin Falcon Surrey-Fleetwood ...............................................................................Jagrup brar Surrey–Green t imbers ..................................................................Sue h ammell Surrey-n ewton ................................................................................. h arry b ains Surrey-Panorama ..................................................................Stephanie c adieux Surrey-t ynehead ...........................................................................

Dave S. h ayer Surrey-Whalley.............................................................................. bruce r alston Surrey–White r ock ....................................................................... Gordon h ogg Vancouver-Fairview ............................................. h on. Margaret MacDiarmid Vancouver–False creek ........................................................ h on.

Mary Mcn eil Vancouver-Fraserview ..............................................................h on. k ash h eed Vancouver-hastings ....................................................................Shane Simpson Vancouver-kensington .................................................................Mable e lmore Vancouver-kingsway..........................................................................a drian Dix Vancouver-l angara ............................................................. h on. Moira Stilwell Vancouver–Mount Pleasant .........................................

Jenny Wai ching kwan Vancouver–Point Grey .................................................h on.

Gordon c ampbell Vancouver-Quilchena ..........................................................h on. c olin h ansen Vancouver–West end ................................................................Spencer h erbert Vernon-Monashee ...............................................................................eric Foster Victoria–b eacon h ill .......................................................................c arole James Victoria–Swan l ake.........................................................................r ob Fleming West Vancouver–capilano ............................................................. r alph Sultan West Vancouver–Sea to Sky ........................................................

Joan Mcintyre Westside-kelowna ...................................................................h on. ben Stewart Party Standings: l iberal 49; n ew Democratic 35; independent 1

CONTENTS Thursday, august 27, 2009 a fternoon Sitting Page Routine Business t ributes ..........................................................................................................................................................................................65 Gary Doer h on. G. c ampbell c. James r obert Woodhead h on.

P . bell introductions by Members ..........................................................................................................................................................65 Statements (Standing order 25b) ..............................................................................................................................................66 Mars water bomber S. Fraser c ommunity spirit in Pemberton J. Mcintyre Surrey h ospice Society S. h ammell c anada line r . h oward r ainbow trout at l angford l ake J. h organ Stan h agen and c omox Valley Walk of achievement D.

Mcr ae oral Questions ..............................................................................................................................................................................68 impact of harmonized sales tax on seniors care c. James h on. c. h ansen a. Dix impact of harmonized sales tax on seniors b. Simpson h on. c. h ansen impact of harmonized sales tax on restaurant industry and local farms l. Popha m h on. c. h ansen impact of harmonized sales tax on restaurant and tourism industries S. h erbert h on. c. h ansen J. kwan n.

Macdonald Petitions .........................................................................................................................................................................................74 h on. G. a bbott h on. M. c oell

Orders of the Day Throne Speech Debate (continued) ............................................................................................................................................74 h on. G. a bbott M. k aragianis r . Sultan b. r outley D. Mcr ae M. Mungall t . l ake S. Fraser r . h oward n. Simon s

65 thurSD a Y , auGuS t 27, 2009 The h ouse met at 1:33 p.m. [Mr. Speaker in the chair.] Routine Business Tributes Gar Y Doer Hon. G. Campbell: h on. Speaker, today we heard that a truly great c anadian public servant had decided to step down as leader of his province, Manitoba. Premier Gary Doer of Manitoba has not just been a great Premier for his province. h e's been a great c anadian, and he's been a great friend to british c olumbia.

When we launched our new relationship initiative, he was one of the Premiers at the lead of that with us as we tried to build a national consensus across the 14 jurisdictions in c anada. h e joined british c olumbia in the western climate initiative as we launched our initia- tive to deal with the global challenges of climate change. h e's been a leader who has embraced fully the idea of open trade amongst c anadians, free flow of goods and c anadians across this great country of ours. i think that today it's appropriate for us in the prov- ince of british c olumbia to recognize his leadership, his service to the country, and to wish Premier Doer and his family all the best in their future endeavours. i'm sure that he will remain committed to public life, as he has all of his life, since 1986, as a representative in the province of Manitoba. i thought that on behalf of all of us, it would be great for you to send him a note saying that we appreciate the service to his province, to his country and the partner - ship he's had with british c olumbia.

C. James: Mr. Speaker, i'd like to add to the words of the Premier to express appreciation to Premier Doer for his service, as has been said, not only to the province but to all of c anada. i think that one of the distinctions that Premier Doer has in this country is his ability to bring people together in his province. h e really has been known as a leader who has been able to cross over divides to bring people together to work together on behalf of the province.

That's extraordinary leadership. [1335] i certainly am grateful for the personal advice that i have taken from Premier Doer over the years. i thank him, and i certainly wish him and his family well. i think the Premier is quite right. There is no question that Premier Doer is going to have a place in c anadian history as well as in Manitoba over the years. robert Woo DheaD Hon. P .

Bell: it is with great sadness that i rise in the h ouse today on the passing of r obert Woodhead. r obert was the helicopter pilot who lost his life protecting the community of l illooet from the devastating wildfire on a ugust 14. h e was one of more than 4,000 brave men and women who protect our communities on the front lines of our fires across this province. h is job required both skill and courage, which he ably demonstrated. on behalf of the province of british c olumbia and the Ministry of Forests and r ange, i would like to express our sadness on the passing of r obert Woodhead. o ur thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends, who i hope can take some comfort in the deep and sin- cere appreciation of all british c olumbians.

Introductions by Members L. Krog: i want to recognize in the gallery with us today r ev. t im Schendel. a ccompanying him is my Member of Parliament and his spouse. That's Dr. James l unney. r egrettably, he is not of the right party, but i welcome him to this h ouse. h e is seeing today how the Members of the l egislative a ssembly continue to work through the summer, as opposed to the Members of Parliament. J.

McIntyre: i'd like the members of the h ouse to give a warm welcome to the mayor of Pemberton, Jordan Sturdy. i'm not sure where he is. h e's up in the gallery today. i've had the pleasure of working with him over the past four years. h e says that he's here to see what really goes on down here in the l egislature. Mayor Sturdy was re-elected for a second term last n ovember. in his spare time he owns and operates, with his family, the very successful n orth a rm Farm, which is making a significant mark in the agritourism business here in british c olumbia. Please join me in making him feel very welcome. S.

Fraser: t oday in the gallery a good friend of mine is visiting, Dave Thompson. h e's here from Parksville. Please join me in making him feel very, very welcome. Hon. N. Y amamoto: i'd like to introduce a guest, a visitor to b.c ., John Sproule. John is the senior policy director for the institute of h ealth e conomics and a colleague of mine at P n Wer , which is the Pacific n orthW est e conomic r egion, where he serves as chair of the health care work- ing group. in his spare time he's really into theatre. D.

Black: i'm pleased to acknowledge the presence in the h ouse today of visitors from n ew Westminster. baj and n ancy Puri are well-known community volunteers

british c olumbia Debates66 t hursday, a ugust 27, 2009 who support many worthwhile organizations and con- tribute greatly to the quality of life in our city. a few years ago baj was named as the citizen of the year for n ew Westminster, for recognition of his work on community boards, and he volunteers for city com- mittees as well. n ancy also serves on city committees, and she puts in endless hours to ensure that n ew Westminster's May Day celebrations are successfully accomplished each and every year. a ccompanying baj and n ancy is iqbal r andhawa, a visitor from india. i ask the h ouse today to join me in welcoming them to our l egislature.

K. Conroy: it gives me a great deal of pleasure to introduce a constituent today. Francisco c anjura is actually a reporter with the Castlegar News. h e's a very balanced and excellent reporter. h e's here to watch what's happening in the h ouse, and i'd like to ask you to all join me in welcoming him. P . Pimm: i'd like the h ouse to join me in welcoming my mother and my wife, who are here joining us and seeing what question period brings us. [1340] G. Coons: i have a couple of friends of mine in the gal- lery today.

Jamie Scott is a friend and colleague from Prince r upert. h e's a teacher with the technology department. With him is l ois e lliot, my spouse and, up to this point in time, my lifelong partner. Please make them welcome. D. Horne: i'd like you to join with me in welcoming my wife, l arissa, and my daughter Victoria, who are joining us here in the gallery today. J.

Horgan: it's a delight to stand and recognize some- one who just ambled in the door unannounced, a former member of this place who struck fear into the hearts of many when he was issuing fines as the Whip of the gov- ernment caucus in the 1990s. i know the member from a bbotsford recognizes him — Gerard Janssen. Would everyone please make him very, very welcome. D. Hayer: it gives me great pleasure to introduce three special guests: my good friend r ey c oncepcion, who is a very hard-working volunteer in our community, and two of his guests, c ynthia r amos and a nna r ose Mati-o ng.

Would the house please make them very welcome. Statements (Standing Order 25B) MarS W ater bo Mber S. Fraser: The Mars water bombers are a provincial icon and the pride of the a lberni Valley. While the prov- ince chose not to renew the contract this year with the Port a lberni–based c oulson Group for the Mars, they are arguably, sir, the best firefighting tool in the world. The track record speaks for itself.

The Mars have fought over 2,000 wildfires in their 49-year history in british c olumbia, making in excess of 4,000 drops. a nd 65 percent of these fires were controlled in the first day of their deployment, and an additional 20 percent in the next day, the second day, alone. These amazing aircraft are each capable of scooping up 27,000 litres of water in a single load, and they pro- vide an awesome payload for firefighting power.

The modernized Mars, which have been done recently, have the latest state-of-the-art technology, and they are seen as a godsend to communities ravaged by wildfires. n o other aircraft can drop a payload that can cover an area of four acres in one drop.

The Mars have saved whole subdivisions in their history. c hoosing to focus on the age of the Mars rather than their track record, the province decided against utilizing these — their choice — this year, but the fire service in c alifornia had a different idea. l ast year the Mars played a key role in attacking and suppressing the massive grass wildfires in c alifornia. Those fires forced 500,000 people from their homes.

Seeing the amazing results of the Mars in action, the state of c alifornia has once again retained the Mars on standby to ensure that c alifornia communities have access to the best firefight- ing protection possible. The Mars water bombers — a proud piece of b.c. his- tory and a valued life- and community-saving asset for the people of c alifornia. co MMunit Y SPirit in PeMberton J.

McIntyre: i rise today to pay tribute to the vil- lage of Pemberton, whose residents epitomize the great pioneering spirit of this province. it's a rural town with a population of approximately 2,500 at the northern end of the Sea to Sky corridor, with a lengthy history of farming and logging in one of the most — if not the most — scenic valleys in supernatural b .c. Village residents live alongside their first nations neighbours of the l il'wat n ation.

They made history with their Winds of Change document that rallied both communities, in light of a tragedy, to work together — to not turn a blind eye but to resolve some of the social ills and problems that impact their joint societies.

They've made progress on a number of fronts, from the success at Signal h ill e lementary School, where principal Pat Mack enzie mastered creating a safe and welcoming environment for a cross-section of aborig- inal and non-aboriginal youngsters to grow and thrive; from the great trades program i witnessed at the second- ary school, providing both skills training and academic options for the next generation; to the much-needed

british c olumbia Debatest hursday, a ugust 27, 2009 67 community centre and library and the child care centre, and now the prospect of the construction of seniors housing — all valuable infrastructure to meet the needs of a fast-growing community. a year ago over 80 babies were born. [1345] a ll this progress has taken perseverance and sacrifice to bring community dreams to fruition, especially on a small tax base, when the need for public safety essentials, such as diking and wells and wastewater treatment, all have to come first.

So i see active volunteer organizations, such as the r otary, the l ions society, the chamber of commerce, all contributing significantly to the betterment of the vil- lage's quality of life. c ommunity spirit is alive and well — successful annual festivals such as Winterfest, Slow Food c ycle and the unforgettable music festival of summer '08 along with the upcoming torch race events. This is the little town that can. c ongratulations to all, and i'm so proud to represent you in Victoria. Surre Y h oSP ice Societ Y S.

Hammell: in 1986 a psychologist and a group of doctors and nurses recognized there was need for end- of-life care in Surrey. They met around a dining room table, started a charity and then began working out of their homes to provide hospice care. Since then Surrey h ospice has grown to six staff and over 200 volunteers, serving over 2,000 palliative and bereavement clients every year. They provide emotional and spiritual sup- port for individuals and their loved ones as they face life-limiting illness.

The society operates on the belief that no one needs to face a life-threatening illness alone and that no one needs to be alone with their grief. Marion brandner, the executive director of Surrey h ospice, told me about a young woman who reached out for help for her daughter. h er dad had been diagnosed with cancer and did not have long to live. This little girl was very close to her daddy, and the mom didn't know how she could ever break the news to her daughter. Mom and daughter received counselling. Then, inevitably, her dad's condition deteriorated.

This young daughter came to visit him right after her birthday party. She got into bed with her dad. h is eyes were closed, and she went on and on about her party and how she wished he had been there, and while listening to his little girl talk about her wonderful day, her dad slipped away. When she was told her dad was gone, she didn't fear. Y es, there were tears and sadness but not the terror that can come to a child, as she was prepared.

Y ou can see end-of-life care is such an important part of the spectrum of health care needs. h ospice pallia- tive care is about living fully to the very end of life with dignity and comfort. Surrey h ospice contributes to our community in a meaningful way every single day. i'd like to congratulate the workers. canaD a line R.

Howard: The new c anada line opened officially on a ugust 17, on budget and 3½ months ahead of schedule. it is a testament to partnerships, government and private sector. t ravel between r ichmond and Vancouver is now faster and more convenient, and as a direct result, it's easier than ever for people to visit the dynamic and multicultural city of richmond, which i am proud to call home. in my riding alone a berdeen c entre has already seen a significant increase in the number of shoppers.

Joey kwan, a berdeen's public relations manager, says the number of visitors has increased between 20 and 30 per- cent since the c anada line opened. She adds that it is now easier for employees to get to work, and that will greatly help them attract and retain staff.

Joey sums up the c anada line by saying: "We see a very positive impact, and we are very happy that the c anada line is open." a nother person who is very happy about the c anada line is u ni cross, who lives in my riding of r ichmond c entre and works in Vancouver. before, it took her about 40 minutes to get to work in the morning, and it took her about an hour and a half to get back from work in the evening. it now takes her 25 minutes from door to door.

The canada line has considerably strengthened r ichmond's connections with neighbouring cities, par - ticularly Vancouver, and i know that the benefits of this will be considerable. rainbo W trout at lan GFor D lake J.

Horgan: Many members will know that i'm a proud resident of southern Vancouver island. i'm always anx- ious to stand on my feet in this place and speak about the wonders of my constituency and the people who live there. [1350] When people think of Juan de Fuca, they think of fish- ing, and they usually think of big chinooks off of Port r enfrew or the coho and the chum and the pinks as they go back and forth along the coast by Sooke. but today's fish story is a different one. it's a unique story. it started on June 28 with the first annual l angford l oghouse Pub fishing derby held at l angford l ake, in my constituency. on that day the fish were abundant, but one particu- lar fish, captured by my friend Peter Willing, weighed in at 8 pounds 1 ounce.

That's a big rainbow trout. n ow, i understand that the rules prohibit me from showing a picture of that fish in this place, but people will know that an eight-pound trout is about that long and about that fat. it's a very, very, very big fish. An Hon. Member: h ow long?

british c olumbia Debates68 t hursday, a ugust 27, 2009 J. Horgan: it's about that long and about that fat. The interesting thing about this fish story is that it will be immortalized on the walls of the l oghouse Pub. it's at the taxidermist's. it will be there as a reminder to those who are fearful of swimming in l angford l ake because of the o gopogo-sized rainbows. They'll know that one of the large ones is now gone. on the day of the derby my friend Peter Willing was in a boat with k urt Wagner, who had already caught a two-pound rainbow.

When he had the net in his hand, ready to pull in the eight-pounder, he paused just for a moment and thought: "Do i pull this in for Pete, or do i let it go away for the next one, who might be me?" h e pulled it into the boat. Pete now holds the record at the l oghouse Pub. Would all of you in this h ouse please join me in con- gratulating Pete Willing for an eight-pound rainbow trout, which we know is about this big and about that wide. Stan ha Gen an D co Mo X Valle Y Walk o F achie VeMent D.

McRae: in the c omox Valley a group of community- minded individuals had the idea of creating the c omox Valley Walk of a chievement. The idea is to recognize members of the community who have achieved a level of excellence in their chosen field. The walk is meant to be an inspiration to the youth of the c omox Valley and to encourage them to reach their full potential. The committee is made up of four great community leaders: Dave Durant, Jacqueline Green, n eil h avers and erik eriksson.

They received numerous nomina- tions from members of the community and then had the challenge of selecting the deserving candidate. it was my pleasure to attend the induction of the late Stan h agen into the c omox Valley Walk of a chievement on Saturday, august 22. The c omox Valley was fortunate to have an Mla like Stan h agen. h e was first elected in 1986 and then returned to public service in 2001. h e made the c omox Valley a more vibrant place to live, and the projects he supported will benefit the residents for generations to come.

Whether it was support for the airport expansion, helping to build the new gymnasium or getting grants for infrastructure, he worked hard to make the c omox Valley a better place for all. During his time in office Stan served in cabinet for ten different ministries. The central coast land resource management plan was seen by many as Stan's great- est achievement. h e guided an innovative, consensus- based, resource land use plan that balanced the interests of industry, the first nations and conservationists.

This laid the foundation for the creation of 24 new conserv- ancies protecting over 500,000 hectares of land, includ- ing the home of the spirit bear. a s a cabinet minister, Stan conducted himself with pro- fessionalism, honour and integrity. h e served the province well through both exciting and challenging times. l astly, i'd like to express thanks to Stan's family for sharing him with the people of british c olumbia. h e will be missed. Oral Questions iMPact o F harM oniZeD SaleS taX on SeniorS care C.

James: This government's story on the hS t changes every single day, but what doesn't change is the impact of the hS t betrayal on hard-working british c olumbians, on the most vulnerable in our province. a new report by the b.c. c are Providers shows that the hS t will cost care homes hundreds of thousands of dollars in addi- tional costs. Those costs will mean cuts in care to seniors. Villa c arital, a seniors care home in Vancouver, said that they'll have to pay a staggering $200,000 in additional costs because of the hS t . My question is to the Premier.

Does he find it accept- able that seniors will have to pay the price for his hS t betrayal? Hon. C.

Hansen: a s i indicated yesterday, we recog- nize that there are impacts on certain sectors, and we're quite prepared to sit down and talk to those sectors in terms of what mitigating measures we should be considering. [1355] l et's actually look at the impact that h St will have on seniors. a s i go around the province and i talk to seniors, i know that they're concerned about the jobs for their sons and daughters and their grandchildren in british c olumbia. u nlike the 1990s, when young british c olumbians and those grandchildren had to leave this province to find jobs in ontario, this is a government that is going to stand up and make sure that those jobs are generated in british c olumbia, that those grandchildren can stay and work in british c olumbia and that they can pay taxes that will contribute to the health care system and the social services that those seniors depend on.

Mr. Speaker: l eader of the o pposition has a supplemental. C. James: i sat in the kitchen of one of those seniors, who looked across that table at me with her bills in front of her and talked about the impact it's going to have on her budget, when she's not able to make ends meet now. The hS t will be a burden to that senior, and that's what this government is doing to the seniors of british c olumbia. i heard this Premier say during the election that he was actually going to provide more care to seniors. a nd

british c olumbia Debatest hursday, a ugust 27, 2009 69 what did we see after the election? We saw a tax that's going to hurt seniors, brought in without any warning, without any debate and without any discussion. The stories keep coming. c are homes here in Victoria alone. James bay l odge, broadmead, c entral c are h ome, Mount e dwards c ourt c are h ome — all of these care homes are speaking out, saying they face layoffs and impacts on care because of the hS t . So again, my question is to the Premier. For b.c. sen- iors, for families and for small business, will he listen?

Will he today agree to scrap the hS t? Hon. C. Hansen: l et's look at the tax burden on seniors over the last decade. in 2001, under the previous nDP gov- ernment, we actually had low-income seniors who were relying on their basic old age security and their guaranteed income supplement. Do you know what that government did? it charged them provincial income tax. We have eliminated…. interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Minister, take your seat. c ontinue, Minister. Hon. C. Hansen: We have eliminated provincial income tax for low- and middle-income seniors.

We have made a fair Pharmacare program in place that benefits low- and middle-income seniors. We have actually reduced MSP premium costs for low- and middle-income seniors. i can assure the l eader of the o pposition that with the measures we're taking to mitigate the impact of the introduction of the hS t on low- and middle-income seniors, they will in fact be paying less in terms of their total taxes than they do even today. interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. l eader of the o pposition has a further supplemental. C. James: it's $200,000 for one care home alone. James bay l odge, broadmead.

Those care homes are speaking out because this government isn't listening to them. The government is not listening to the concerns that they have. These care homes have valid concerns about huge additional costs with the hS t that will mean cuts in supports to seniors. That's what the hSt will do. There's a very clear reason the Premier didn't bring this forward for debate during the election — because he knew he wouldn't win the debate, and certainly, he wouldn't win it with seniors in british c olumbia. So again, my question is to the Premier.

Will he stand up today, will he apologize to seniors, and will he back off the hS t? Hon. C. Hansen: u nder the new hS t system, sen- iors, along with all other british c olumbians, are going to be the net beneficiaries.

Seniors are going to benefit from the fact that we have a stronger economy in this province, that there are more people working and that we actually have the tax base and the revenues that will support the services that they depend on in the future. [1400] a s i've said before, we are quite prepared to sit down and talk to those organizations that are affected by this, but i'll tell you what i will not do. i'll sit down and listen to them. What i won't do is fearmonger with them, which is exactly what the l eader of the o pposition…. interjections. Mr.

Speaker: i'll remind members to listen to the question and listen to the answer, please. A. Dix: So $42 million in additional costs for care homes, more than 200 layoffs for care homes, and the Minister of Finance thinks they're net beneficiaries of the hS t? That's his position? i wish he would have run for election on that position, because we know what would have happened then. b.c . care home providers repeatedly went to o ttawa. They repeatedly went to o ttawa under the term of this gov- ernment to seek an exemption for health services under the GSt . a nd guess what. These guys supported them.

They supported them. The former Minister of h ealth supported them. b.c . l iberal Mla s supported them. The cabinet supported them. They supported the exemption then. before the election they said they supported a tax cut for b.c. care providers, and after the election — big surprise — a tax increase that will cost jobs and mean layoffs and decline in care. h ow can the minister defend and say that's good news for b.c. seniors? Hon. C. Hansen: What we ran on in the election was that we would continue to create a strong economy, that we'd continue to create jobs in british c olumbia.

That's exactly what was…. i am also very proud that this is a government that has taken a health care budget from $8 billion a year, which it was under the previous nDP government, to over $15 billion a year. i am proud that this is a government that has actually reduced the tax costs that seniors bear in british c olumbia today across the whole array of taxes to the point now that we have the second-lowest personal income tax in c anada for incomes up to $116,000 a year. because of the measures that we've taken over the last years, seniors get more support today than they ever have in the history of british c olumbia.

Mr. Speaker: Member has a supplemental.

british c olumbia Debates70 t hursday, a ugust 27, 2009 A. Dix: Well, hon. Speaker, tell that to seniors in c hilliwack, because their Mla supports cutting off funding to the time-out program, cancelled on 30 days' notice after 17 years. t ell that to seniors in l angley. Their Mla supports cutting $86,000 in funding for the program there. They support cutting that funding on 30 days' notice after 18 years. What incompetence.

The Mountainview care home, run by the Good Samaritan Society in k elowna — what they want to know is where the minister will be when they're going to have to lay off staff and reduce care standards in their facilities. The minister, before the election, said he was against this application. a fter the election he's impos- ing the application. Doesn't the minister think he owes an apology to the Good Samaritan care home and the Mountainview people in kelowna? Hon. C.

Hansen: What the member will know is that in the budget that was tabled in February, we had an almost 20 percent increase in the amount of funding that was going in to help support seniors. i know that wasn't quite enough for the member. interjections. Mr. Speaker: Minister, just take your seat for a second. c ontinue. Hon. C.

Hansen: i know that wasn't quite enough for the member, because he advocated an additional $2 billion a year of increase in the health care budget. a nd lo and behold, a week before the election even starts, their leader and the Finance critic from his party come out with a budget plan that doesn't include any of the additional dol- lars that he had been advocating for, for the health budget. [1405] iMPact o F harM oniZeD SaleS taX on SeniorS B.

Simpson: The Minister of Finance once again uses that word "fearmongering" to suggest that that's all we're doing on this side. i think they used that word when we talked about a deeper and longer deficit and about the state of british c olumbia's finances before the elec- tion. Who do you think seniors are going to believe now when we stand in this h ouse for them? The Finance Minister says that seniors are worried about jobs. They're worried about the economy and their community.

What they're worried about is the state of their own cupboards and their ability to afford to put food on their table, pay their heating bills and have some basic amenities in their lives. My question to the minister is this. This is not about hamburgers and beer, as he so dismissively suggested today. it's about basic affordability for seniors. h ow much will the hS t impact a senior couple on a fixed income? h ow much exactly? Hon. C. Hansen: i will have those tables and charts on t uesday as part of the budget documents, but i can assure the member…. interjections. Hon. C.

Hansen: i can assure the member that, for the majority of seniors on fixed incomes, they will actually see their total tax burden come down as a result of the introduction of hS t . Mr. Speaker: Member has a supplemental. B. Simpson: The Minister of Finance said yesterday he was on the doorsteps during the election. i'm sure the seniors in his riding who were trying to decide whether to vote for him or not would have liked those tables presented to them so they could find out the truth for themselves before the election, so they could make an informed choice about which side to support.

Some of my seniors have done the math already. barry Mortell, a senior on a fixed pension, is worried that he has to absorb a 7 percent increase in his basic costs when he only gets a $3 cost-of-living increase per year in his pension — 25 cents a month to cover inflation and a 7 percent hS t . bill Montgomery, another pensioner, has calculated that he will need another pension cheque each year just to cover the additional burden of hSt . t o the Premier: these seniors were not given an informed choice during the May 12 election.

Will the Premier cancel the hS t and at least allow seniors the opportunity to be consulted before the tax is rammed down their throats? Hon. C. Hansen: a ctually, i have a question for the opposition. it's not a multiple choice. interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Hon. C. Hansen: What do the member for Surrey- Whalley, the member for Skeena, the member for Juan de Fuca and the member for c oquitlam-Maillardville all have in common? Well, the answer is that they were all members… interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Hon. C.

Hansen: …of the Finance c ommittee 2009 budget consultation process around the province, and they

british c olumbia Debatest hursday, a ugust 27, 2009 71 unanimously agreed to this recommendation that came forward: "The Finance c ommittee thinks a cost-benefit analysis needs to be conducted to determine whether a harmonized sales tax may be worth considering." interjections. Mr. Speaker: Sit down. Sit down. Members. interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. The question is: do we want to continue? Minister, continue. Hon. C.

Hansen: in fact, i took the advice of the Finance c ommittee — all of the members, both the gov- ernment members and the opposition members — and that question about the pros and cons, the cost benefits of the h St , was duly considered in advance of the February budget. on balance, we came to the conclusion that it was not a net benefit at that time. i again took the advice of the recommendation of the Finance c ommittee in May when it was obvious that that question had changed fundamentally. a gain, we looked at the costs and benefits and the pros and cons, and it became readily obvious to us that we needed to shift our position. [1410] on t uesday of next week i will set out some numbers for the hon. member that he can share with his senior friend, which will actually demonstrate that the impact on typical seniors in british c olumbia will in fact be a net benefit and nowhere near the magnitude that he's talking about. iMPact o F harM oniZeD SaleS taX on re Staurant in Du Str Y anD local FarMS L.

Popham: by implementing a tax that threatens b.c.'s restaurant industry, this government is slamming the door on a critical market for b.c. farms. r ecently the president of the island chefs c ollaborative, c ory Pelan, stated that the connection between small local farms and the restaurants they supply is a direct and mutually sustainable one. h owever, Mr. Pelan said that because the hS t threatens the restaurant industry, it also threatens b.c .'s small and medium-sized farms, which depend on local restaurants buying their fresh produce. My question is to the Minister of a griculture.

Did you consider the negative impacts on small farms when you supported the hS t? Hon. C. Hansen: l et me tell you what was actually the biggest threat to the restaurant industry that's occurred in the last number of years. it was actually a commitment…. interjections. Mr. Speaker: Just sit down, Minister. Members. c ontinue, Minister. Hon. C.

Hansen: The biggest threat to the restaurant industry in recent years was the commitment that was made by that party that would jack up their wage cost by 25 percent, and the industry itself said it would lay off thousands of restaurant workers and close literally hundreds of restaurants around british c olumbia. t o the benefit of the hon. member, the b.c. a griculture c ouncil, which represents 12,000 farmers in british c olumbia, is in support of hS t because it takes costs out of their costs in producing the food that we depend on. Mr. Speaker: Member has a supplemental. L.

Popham: The Minister of a griculture didn't answer my question. My question is about small farmers and local food production for local restaurants. ian t ostenson, president and ceo of the b.c. r estaurant and Foodservices a ssociation, has stated today that the connection between the restaurant indus- try and local food and beverage producers provides a material boost to the local economy. b.c. r estaurants and Foodservices a ssociation does not support the hS t .

Given the devastating effect hS t will have on the restaurant industry and local farms in b.c., will the Minister of a griculture stand up for these industries and demand the Premier cancel the proposed hS t in british c olumbia? Hon. C. Hansen: a s i pointed out to representatives of the restaurant industry in one of our discussions, even a head of lettuce has embedded PS t built into the cost.

The cost of putting tires on the trucks that move produce from the farms to the distribution warehouses and from those warehouses to the restaurants has embedded PSt in it that gets passed on in terms of the cost of those goods. i can tell you what is the biggest threat to the restau- rant industry in british c olumbia. it's people who are unemployed, and that threat is because people who don't have jobs don't typically go out to restaurants to dine. This is a measure that's going to create jobs.

This is a measure that's going to stabilize the economy and provide for economic growth, and it is exactly that eco- nomic growth that will help benefit a restaurant indus- try in the years to come.

british c olumbia Debates72 t hursday, a ugust 27, 2009 iMPact o F harM oniZeD SaleS taX on re Staurant an D touri SM in Du Str ie S S. Herbert: i have questions for the Minister of t ourism. i'll try again.

The Minister of t ourism said the hS t would be good for all, but there would be exceptions. [1415] What does the minister have to say about hallmark tourist attractions like butchart Gardens, who've said they may have to close because of the hS t , or the fact that the c anadian r estaurant a ssociation says the h St will cost b.c . restaurants $750 million in lost revenue and force businesses to lay off thousands of employ- ees? t ell me how mass layoffs are good for british c olumbia. Hon. C. Hansen: Those are the service industries across british c olumbia and the tourism sector and the restau- rant sector.

They all benefit from a strong economy. Y ou've seen their successes over the last decade, Mr. Speaker. They do well when the economy does well, and they do well when we have the kind of record unemployment rates that we had in this province not too long ago. That is exactly what we accomplish with hS t — stronger economy, more jobs and more benefit from that which flows to the service sector. Mr. Speaker: Member has a supplemental. S. Herbert: Well, certainly nobody on this side seems to believe your make-believe, and nobody in the prov- ince is believing this make-believe.

My question, again, is for the Minister of t ourism. The Minister of t ourism refused to rise today, and he refused to rise yesterday to answer questions about the thousands of tourism businesses in b.c. that will be slammed by the hS t . h e doesn't rise because he knows that it's the employees, businesses and communities that rely on tourism who are the big losers under this tax hike. Minister, is the c ouncil of t ourism a ssociations wrong…? Mr. Speaker: Member, through the c hair, please. S.

Herbert: Through the chair, my question to the minister is: is the c ouncil of t ourism a ssociations wrong when they say the h St will be devastating, catastrophic and ruinous to tourism and tourism jobs in b.c.? Hon. C. Hansen: l et's actually talk about some of the organizations in british c olumbia that are 100 percent in support…. interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. c ontinue, Minister. Hon. C. Hansen: l et's talk about the organizations in british c olumbia that are 100 percent in support of our move to hS t . We've got the business c ouncil of british c olumbia.

We've got the b.c. c hamber of c ommerce, and as the opposition Finance critic will know, the b.c. c hamber of c ommerce representing 52,000 busi- nesses in british c olumbia has made submissions to the prebudget consultation Finance c ommittee hear - ings around the province each of the years that he has been a member of that particular committee of this l egislature. The c oast Forest Products a ssociation is in favour.

Why? because it's actually going to bring jobs back to the forest sector and make our products more competitive. l et's look at the r etail c ouncil of c anada, which represents retailers in every single corner of this prov- ince. They support it because it is a simpler and more efficient tax system.

The c hartered a ccountants of british c olumbia, the accountants that serve all of those companies around this province. a nd it's interesting. i've talked to small business owners who initially may have had some apprehension and who, once they had the chance to sit down with their accountants, recognize that this is a sig- nificant net benefit for those small businesses in british c olumbia. Mr. Speaker: Thank you, Minister. Hon. C. Hansen: The c anadian Manufacturers and e xporters a ssociation. Mr. Speaker, of course, i could go on and on, because the list is extensive. J.

Kwan: i have a simple question for the Minister of Finance. c an he tell this h ouse whether or not the c ouncil of t ourism a ssociations and the r estaurant and Foodservices a ssociation are wrong on their pre- diction that the hS t is going to hurt their industries? Hon. C. Hansen: a s i have said, virtually every business enterprise in british c olumbia benefits from a stronger economy, benefits from the fact that there are more jobs, benefits from the fact that there will be more investment coming into british c olumbia.

This is a measure that actually stimulates the economy, creates jobs which will benefit ultimately all of those sectors. Mr. Speaker: Member has a supplemental. [1420] J. Kwan: a simple question for the minister. Who's telling the truth? ian t ostenson, who says that the hS t

british c olumbia Debatest hursday, a ugust 27, 2009 73 is going to hurt their business, their industry, or is this minister telling the truth? Hon. C. Hansen: i have had the pleasure of meeting with ian t ostenson on several occasions, and we've had a very good discussion. i have indicated to Mr. t ostenson that we are prepared to look at measures that might help mitigate some of the microeconomic impacts on certain companies. but at the end of the day, people in british c olumbia who are unemployed do not have the luxury of being able to go out and enjoy the fine restaurants that he represents.

With this measure we wind up with lower unemploy- ment, more people working. That is the circumstance that allows british c olumbians to enjoy some of those extra benefits and luxuries of being able to dine out at some of those fine restaurants. N. Macdonald: t he question that all british c olumbians have is that if there was a case to be made for this tax, why was it not made during the election? Why was the exact opposite case made during the election? because there is not a credible case.

Despite a written promise during the election to not introduce this new tax, it's now clear that the govern- ment fully intended to introduce a tax that the tourist says is devastating. interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. N. Macdonald: r od k essler from r evelstoke Mountain r esort condemns the h St . h e says it's going to add $750,000 to his business — that big of a hit. Panorama, other ski hills — all the same. i thought we had a Minister of t ourism that was opposed to it. h ow can the Minister of t ourism justify a tax that is going to be devastating? interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Hon. C.

Hansen: i think if we look at that member's own riding, where unemployed forest workers would love to have their jobs back, this is a measure…. interjections. Hon. C. Hansen: i bet those forest workers would love to have an income that would allow them to actually go and enjoy a day of skiing on their day off. This is a measure, the hS t , that will take $140 million of costs out of the forest sector in a way that does not violate the softwood lumber agreement.

This is a member who has constantly rattled on over the last six months about the need to benefit the forest sector in british c olumbia, but every solution that he comes up with would make the problem worse, because it would violate the softwood lumber agreement. This is a measure that supports the forest sector in british c olumbia, helps put those forest workers back to work in his own constituency. interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Hon. C.

Hansen: a nd it is through those increased jobs, the stronger economy, a more competitive environ- ment for our forest sector that we're going to have a stronger british c olumbia. interjections. Mr. Speaker: Member. Members. i would remind the member to wait till the minister is finished answering the question before he stands. Minister, the member has a supplemental. N.

Macdonald: b.c. l iberals have zero credibility when talking about forestry jobs. t wenty-five thousand jobs lost under this government's watch — that's a pretty sorry record. a nd they intend to do exactly the same thing to the tourism industry — exactly the same thing. "The hS t …." interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. N. Macdonald: This is a quote from bob Shafto, president of h eli c anada a dventures. interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Member, just take your seat for a second. c ontinue. [1425] N. Macdonald: bob Shafto, president of h eli c anada a dventures. This is an exact quote.

The minister…. or if there was a Minister of t ourism, he would have received this letter. it says: "The hS t will more than likely put my company out of business, and this is unacceptable." a similar sentiment from r obert Davidson in k imberley, who runs the Village bistro there. The minister is getting the same letters. h e knows this. Mr. Davidson said that his support for this government was not predicated on the introduction of the hSt .

british c olumbia Debates74 t hursday, a ugust 27, 2009 Mr. Speaker: Member, could you pose the question, please. N. Macdonald: When business after business is being devastated, how can the Minister of t ourism sit and say nothing in this h ouse? Stand and speak for tourism. interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Members. Hon. C.

Hansen: it's interesting to see the nDP defending an old and increasingly obsolete form of taxa- tion that we now know as our provincial sales tax, espe- cially when you actually look at the fact that it is a type of tax, a type of consumer tax, that has been rejected by 130 countries from around the world. it's interesting that even in social democratic Sweden… interjections. Mr. Speaker: Minister. Minister. Hon. C. Hansen: …they have had a value…. Mr. Speaker: Minister, just take your seat. interjections. Mr. Speaker: Members. Members. c ontinue, Minister. Hon. C.

Hansen: There are huge benefits in the shift to hS t that are going to benefit individual families in british c olumbia, that are going to benefit in terms of job creation in british c olumbia and that will create a stronger economy for our province. We see $150 million of compliance costs that small busi- nesses in british columbia will no longer have to face.

W e will see increased investment, we will see increased jobs in this province, and we will see an increase in our ability as a government to pay for the health care and education and social services that our citizens depend on in the future. [end of question period.] Hon. G. Abbott: i rise to present a petition. Mr. Speaker: Proceed. Petitions Hon. G. Abbott: i'm presenting a petition from 1,130 residents of the Shuswap, n orth o kanagan and british c olumbia in relation to concerns around a proposed animal waste facility in Grindrod, british c olumbia. Hon. M.

Coell: i wish to present a petition from the Saanich Peninsula Piranhas Swim c lub — 450 signa- tures in support of provincial gaming grants to assist community and non-profit organizations. Orders of the Day Hon. M. de Jong: i call continued debate in response to the throne speech. [1430] Mr. Speaker: Would the members clear the chamber so we can get on with the throne speech debate — mem- bers who have other business. Throne Speech Debate (continued) Hon. G. Abbott: Thank you, Mr.

Speaker, for the opportunity to resume my place and continue my response to the Speech from the Throne. i would like to begin by thanking the member for Fraser-n icola who, in one of the bipartisan gestures that increasingly char - acterize our chamber, reminded me that i've actually served here for 13 years rather than 12 years. So i do appreciate that gesture on the part of the member for Fraser-n icola. An Hon. Member: it's a beautiful thing h arry has done. Hon. G.

Abbott: it's a beautiful thing is exactly right. [l. r eid in the chair.] i did want to reflect on a couple of areas of public policy in my comments today. First, i want to address the issue of health and health care in the province of british c olumbia. it was certainly an exceptional honour to be able to be the Minister of h ealth and h ealth Services in the province of british c olumbia for four years. it was, without question, the most interesting job i'm ever apt to have and probably the toughest job i was ever apt to have as well.

The challenges are very considerable, and we have many, many people in the province of british c olumbia who do terrific, relentless work in terms of trying to meet the demands for health care that exist in the province. i did want to take the opportunity to say thank you, first of all, to staff at my former ministry, the Ministry of h ealth Services. They provided exceptional advice to me and, i'm certain, to the new minister as well.

They work very hard and, i think, provide exceptional service to british c olumbia. i also wanted to say thank you to the six health author- ities in british c olumbia — the Provincial h ealth Services

british c olumbia Debatest hursday, a ugust 27, 2009 75 a uthority and the five regional authorities. a gain, the tens of thousands of people who work in the health authorities across british c olumbia are often, on a day- to-day basis, the unheralded heroes that provide those front-line services to british c olumbians.

The chairs of the boards, the boards themselves, the ceo and administration. i think we are blessed in british c olumbia by the exceptional leadership which is provided by the boards and the senior administration, which implements the policy of the boards and the min- istry and the government of british c olumbia. i also want to take a moment to say thank you to the doctors and the nurses, the front-line care work- ers across the province who, again, get up each and every morning and provide their very much commit- ted service to the british c olumbians that they serve. o n any day of the week we would see something like 140,000 british c olumbians who are engaged in delivering health care to british c olumbians. on any given day there are literally hundreds of thousands of interactions in the health care system.

Virtually all of those interactions go very well, and one never hears of them. i know that as a h ealth Minister, i did hear of some of those interactions from people who wrote just to say thank you for the great service that they received at their local hospital. a gain, those interactions often go unnoted, but the front-line health care workers are hugely important to the province and do a great job each and every day. [1435] We do have a very good health care system in british c olumbia. That is a fact which we should never overlook.

Whether it's the c onference board of c anada that, in its exhaustive analyses of provincial health care sys- tems, found british c olumbia, by a very considerable margin, to have the very best health care delivery in the nation, or the c ancer a dvocacy c oalition, which has in their reports now for several years been saluting british c olumbia for the exceptional cancer care that we enjoy through not only the british c olumbia c ancer a gency but the many hospitals that are linked into the work that's done by the c ancer a gency. e ven the wait-time coalition, which is, i think, part of the c anadian Medical a ssociation.

They look at wait times across the nation, and invariably, british c olumbia comes out very well in terms of wait times. We have some of the best — the best — in terms of cancer, but also whether it's heart, cardiac or cataracts or any number of other areas, almost invariably british c olumbia has some of the shortest wait times in the nation, and we should be very proud of that. We should be very proud that we have a very good health care system that we continue to build day after day and year after year. is the system perfect? n o, it absolutely is not.

There is much room for improvement in our health care system, but that's true of all systems, and we need to work relent- lessly. n otwithstanding the very good reports we've had from the c onference board and others, we need to work relentlessly each and every day to build on what is a very good health care system and continue to drive towards excellence in all aspects of the health care system. i know that at times, because health care is a highly emotional area, it can be an area that comes into harsh treatment from a partisan perspective. often that's unfortunate, because the 140,000 people who provide health care are not partisan.

They provide health care to all regardless of anyone's orientation, and we need to work with those 140,000 people to continue to improve and to excel. in a number of areas i'm very proud of what our gov- ernment was able to do in terms of improving health care. When i look back on the last four years, i'm par - ticularly proud of what we have been able to do in terms of investment in facilities.

Sometimes people say: "What did you do with all those surpluses?" Well, as a matter of fact, a lot of the surpluses that we enjoyed in recent years have been invested in new health care and improved health care facilities across the province. o ur government has invested literally billions of dol- lars in improved health care facilities across the prov- ince, and i won't try to go through all of those facilities. Shuswap l ake General h ospital — about $23 million investment in improving the facilities at Shuswap l ake General. Very proud of that.

Vernon Jubilee h ospital — $180 million invested in a new care tower at Vernon Jubilee h ospital. a gain, enormously important to residents of the Shuswap, the n orth o kanagan and the o kanagan. o ver half a billion dollars invested at k elowna General h ospital, including fulfilling a promise which had been made some 20 years ago but which we have fulfilled, which is to bring cardiac services to k elowna General h ospital to serve the interior region of british c olumbia.

Those cardiac services, i think, had been promised since about 1986, and they are now being provided or very soon will be provided. e arly 2010, i believe, or late 2009 we'll be seeing those expanded cardiac services at k elowna General h ospital. Folks in Salmon a rm and elsewhere in the interior will no longer have to wait in hospital in the interior before typically being flown down to Vancouver or Victoria for cardiac services. We'll be able to get those in k elowna.

So that's awesome. [1440] r oyal inland h ospital in k amloops has also benefited from very considerable investments. but right across the province, some of the huge investments…. Surrey Memorial h ospital, over half a billion dollars invested there. r oyal Jubilee h ospital, not far away in Victoria

british c olumbia Debates76 t hursday, a ugust 27, 2009 — again, well over $300 million invested in a new tower at r oyal Jubilee. The new a bbotsford r egional h ospital and c ancer c entre — again, huge improvements. h uge improvements at Prince George, with the new pediatric centre that's now in place. a lso, we're looking forward in just three years, i believe, to a cancer centre of the north — the first time that residents of Prince George and the north will be able to access cancer care without having to come to other parts.

These are huge investments in cancer care alone. in Prince George, over $100 million invested there — obviously, enormously important to the resi- dents of the north and to Prince George. a new hospital. o ver $200 million in a new hospital at Fort St. John — one of the fastest-growing areas of our province and a facility that needs remediation. Those investments are huge.

They will, for decades, provide benefits to the british c olumbians who will enjoy the care there. a nother area where our government has worked very hard to improve is in the area of programs. one area for which i have a particular passion is the area of primary care — trying to ensure that british c olumbians under- stand the things that can help their health or hurt their health, working very closely with not only physicians but nurse practitioners, nurse educators and many others — pharmacists, physiotherapists, dietitians and others — in a group care setting, to try to ensure that all british c olumbians make the very best that they can of their health opportunities. i want to salute particularly the b.c .

Medical a ssociation, which has been an integral partner with the Ministry of h ealth and with the government of british c olumbia in developing a very robust primary care pro- gram for british c olumbians. a s a minister, i benefited for four years from the exceptional partnerships provided by bcMa, and i do want to thank them for that. on the program area as well, one of the things that we attempted to do, in addition to primary care, was look at, analyze and think about how we could improve every area of health care on the acute care side — right from admissions to hospital through to discharge from hos- pital — to look at all of the processes that occur in an acute care facility and try to look at how we can better provide those. one of the areas where, again, i am particularly proud that this exceptional work was done, begun at r ichmond h ospital with the hip and knee….

Madam c hair, you'd be especially proud of this, being from r ichmond as you are. r ichmond h ospital took the lead in terms of looking at how we can improve the efficiency of sur - gical processes and focus particularly on hip and knee replacements. The pioneering work — and it was very exceptional work that was done at r ichmond h ospital — has now been utilized at the c entre for Surgical innovation at the u niversity of british c olumbia. The improvements that have been continued there now have been imported into most health facilities across the province. Whether it's at St.

Paul's, with some of the work that they're doing now around hand and wrist and foot and ankle, areas where we've had chronic issues with wait times…. n ow we are seeing dramatic improvements in all of those areas, because they're utilizing surgical innova- tions like swing rooms and preparation that have just made a huge difference in terms of the outcome for patients.

Those are not innovations that make news every day, but they are innovations that have had a profound impact on literally thousands of people's lives in the province of british c olumbia. [1445] i'm very proud of what the health care professionals have done to build those programs, to improve efficien- cies and to improve outcomes, because all of that has made a difference in people's lives.

That's why, i think, all of us in this chamber came here as well — to see improvements in people's lives. a third area where, again, we have relentlessly been pressing improvement is in the area of health human resources. one of the things that is often talked about but often too little done about is ensuring that we have a sufficient number of health professionals across the province to meet the ever-growing needs of british c olumbians. i am very proud that — now, i guess, two years ago — we were able to achieve the commitment which our gov- ernment set out in 2001-2002 to double the number of physicians that we were educating annually in the prov- ince. i and the then Minister of a dvanced e ducation went out to ubc and participated in a ceremony cele- brating the fact that what had been 128 in the intake class previously was now 256, a doubling of the number of physicians that we're educating in british c olumbia. n ow, it takes years to educate and train a physician.

The doubling of the classes for physicians was a huge undertaking on the part of the medical school at ubc and elsewhere. a gain, i want to salute the dean of medi- cine and others who worked so very hard to undertake the doubling of the numbers at ubc. but that's only part of the story.

The success of the doubling of the number of medical students was also a product of the expansion of medical programs beyond ubc to the u niversity of Victoria, to the u niversity of n orthern british c olumbia and, effective in 2010, to ubc o kanagan as well. in british c olumbia we benefit enormously from the amazing work that has been done around distrib- uted learning. it's remarkable to go into a class at the u niversity of n orthern british c olumbia and watch stu- dents participate with the medical class, their peers, at ubc, at uVic and elsewhere.

This distributed learning model has been a remarkable success. a gain, students

british c olumbia Debatest hursday, a ugust 27, 2009 77 or physicians who are educated in the north, nurses who are educated in the north, tend to stay in the north, This is having a profoundly beneficial impact on the availabil- ity of physicians in the north and is a great step ahead. a nother area where, again, there was lots of talk for years but there's been more action in recent years is in the utilization of international medical graduates. one of the stories that one used to hear was jumping in a cab and talking to the cab driver and hearing that he was a surgeon from india who had been unable to get accreditation in british c olumbia. h appily, we are hear- ing fewer and fewer of those stories.

We moved in the past few years from two residencies for international medical graduates. We tripled that to six, and more recently we tripled that again to 18 inter - national medical graduates who every year are able to access those positions. That, in addition to some other work, has ensured that iMGs have the opportunity to work, particularly in rural locations in british c olumbia, through incentive programs which have been developed to do that. a lso, members will remember — those who were here, at least, in the spring of 2008 — the legislation for the health professions review board, which is now in place.

This ensures that all qualified medical profession- als, whether they were educated elsewhere in c anada or elsewhere in the world, if they were qualified to work or practise in the province of british c olumbia…. We put in place the health professions review board to ensure that there were no unfortunate, unnecessary systemic barriers to their practising in british c olumbia. i think that was a huge step ahead as well. [1450] in nursing. a s well as doubling the number of phys- icians educated in this province, we have doubled the number of nurses that we are educating in this prov- ince.

That's both registered nurses and licensed prac- tical nurses. r ight across the province we're seeing the benefit of that. We also worked with the b.c. institute of t echnology to put in place a three-year nurse educa- tion program, which is now underway and which i'm sure will be a great success in providing more nurses in british c olumbia.

That was part of our provincial nursing strategy, which involved many components. a mong the com- ponents: utilizing older or retired nurses, whether it's in h ealthl ink or other areas; programs that encouraged graduate nurses to undertake practice in rural or remote british c olumbia with incentive programs.

Those were a couple of the components. creating and then build- ing our nurse practitioner program — again, a hugely important new feature here in british c olumbia. one area that was part of the strategy that i think is particularly important was to encourage more aborig- inal people to undertake careers in nursing. i think one of the interesting linkages between my new ministerial responsibilities as Minister of a boriginal r elations and r econciliation and my former responsibilities in the Ministry of h ealth is that in many ways, i believe there is an opportunity in the aboriginal relations world in terms of meeting what i think is the biggest challenge to not just government but society generally around the provision of health care in the 21st century.

There is no doubt, after spending four years in this area of public policy and public service delivery, that the provision of health care will be the dominant challenge to not just government but society in the 21st century.

There is a fundamental demographic shift — and really an unprecedented demographic shift — that is occur - ring not just in british c olumbia and c anada but across the western world, which is going to profoundly impact the provision of health care. a decade ago about 8 percent of the population of british c olumbia was aged 65-plus. t oday it is about 14 percent, and in the decade to 15 years ahead it will move from 14 percent to somewhere between 25 and 30 per - cent of the population of british c olumbia being 65-plus — including, i lament to say, myself, who will also join that august group. i know i'm profoundly boyish at all points, and it's hard to imagine that i could achieve that august age. a nd perhaps i won't, but i'm looking for - ward to the opportunity to do that. one of the things we know about health care is that although there is always a world of difference between people in terms of their health outcomes, when you take all of the information from all of the people and put it together, generally speaking, the demand for health ser- vices grows as we age. a gain, there are lots of exceptions to that.

My mother, who is 87 this year, enjoys wonderful physical and mental health, but there are lots of people much younger than her who do not. e verybody's cir - cumstance varies, but on an aggregated basis, there is a challenge in terms of british c olumbia and c anada and the western world becoming a much older population. one of the exceptions to that demographic shift is in first nations communities. one of the fastest-growing demographic units is young aboriginal or first nations british c olumbians. i think the opportunity for govern- ment to work to ensure that aboriginal young people have those opportunities is hugely important, so we need to continue that work. [1455] i can't believe that my time has moved so quickly.

We are committed to ensuring that opportunity is there for young british columbians. W e have bountiful resources, wonderful opportunities and an energetic population here. W e need to work very hard to ensure that those boundless opportunities are there for all british columbians, includ- ing aboriginal people in this province. o ur history in british c olumbia over the past 150 years is not by any means a proud one in relation to aboriginal relations. We have much work to do. a lot of

british c olumbia Debates78 t hursday, a ugust 27, 2009 that work is trying to ensure that aboriginal commun- ities in british c olumbia enjoy the opportunities that all british c olumbians should enjoy. We need to ensure that areas, whether it's health outcomes, education outcomes — all of these areas, including economic development…. We need to close the gap. We need to make sure that not only is british c olumbia a great place of opportunity for everyone.

We need to work to ensure that that happens each and every day. a s part of a government that is very much concerned with these matters, i know that we will work with first nations leadership to ensure that we move ahead in british c olumbia with a great and just society. M. Karagianis: c ongratulations, Madam Speaker, on your new position.

Great to see you there. i would like to first say what a great privilege and an honour it is to have been re-elected, to once again take my place here in the l egislature, and to say how very exciting it has been to see so many more women in the l egislature than in the past. i'd like to congratulate all of the communities that elected and sent strong women forward to the l egislature. [a pplause.] That may be the only applause i get from the other side of the h ouse, and i do appreciate it. i would like to speak today to the throne speech that was made the other day, but first i would like to take just a moment to thank the number of people who helped to send me here once again. i know that other members of the h ouse will understand my great debt of thanks to my family for all that they do and for standing behind me here as i have run for office many times and served for many long years in one form or another. i would like to specifically thank each of them for the part that they have played in helping me get re-elected, but also for the great patience that they demonstrate.

Y ou know, my husband, t odd, has worked on all my campaigns but equally spends many nights having dinner with me in front of the television set. When he gets home from work he likes to turn the t V on and see if he gets a glimpse of his wife while he eats by himself. i know that others in this chamber probably share that kind of experience with their mate. My children.

My oldest daughter r ebecca and her husband, r ob, who works out of the province — because, in fact, they were displaced when the mill shut in Gold r iver a number of years ago — lost their home, and r ob has since worked all over n orth a merica in order to provide for his family.

My daughter r ebecca graduated last year from nurs- ing school and is now a practising nurse in c ampbell r iver, for which i'm enormously proud. h er three children, h unter, Payton and r iver. a t various times a couple of them have been down here with their classes. h er youngest child, r iver, was here with his class, in fact, during the election period, so i was unable to attend and speak to his class. h e had a bit of a hard time explaining to his class what it was i did. h e knew i worked here, but he wasn't clear on whether i was one of the cleaners, whether i worked in the c lerk's office, or exactly what i did. h e knew i sat in this big room behind the cage, as he called it, but he wasn't really clear what my job was.

So we've since clarified that, and hopefully, he'll get a chance to watch and understand a little bit more about what the job is here. [1500] My son n igel and his wife, r obin, have been a great help to me on my campaigns. i know there was a great flurry last fall of members talking about recent births of grandchildren and things. i didn't take my place in that, but in fact, my youngest grandchild, Maxine Dacara, who was born last summer, turned one just a few days ago. So we've celebrated Maxine's birthday.

My daughter Devyn, her husband, k urt, and my granddaughter indiana, whom i've talked about in the h ouse before. i know that many of you have shared the support for my daughter Devyn, who battled and won the fight with breast cancer last year and is very healthy and has had her…. She passed her first Mri with flying colours a year later, so we're pretty sure that we're all good there with Devyn and her family.

Then my youngest daughter, a ubrey, and her partner, brendan, who live on Mayne island and who rooted really hard in the election for their n ew Democrat can- didate — who didn't quite make it in Saanich n orth and the islands — but perhaps they'll have better luck next time. t o my campaign team who did just a terrific job. Jayne, who ran my campaign — a young woman, very dynamic, who i expect someday to take her place in here as one of the women who have sat in the l egislature.

She's done a terrific job and continues to be a great friend and supporter. t o l awrence, Jared, Dave, bobbie, barb, Jock, Jaime — all of them who did just an enormous job and terrific job of running a great campaign and getting me here. i owe a great debt of thanks to them. a nd to my good friend r ay r ice, who always stands by me. but mostly to my constituents who have done me the great honour and privilege of having elected me now twice to the l egislature, three times in the constituency as a municipal councillor in e squimalt.

So i think, as the previous speaker said, i have now spent 13 years representing my community in some form or other in elected office, and i do thank my constituents for their continuing support. it's a great privilege to stand here on their behalf. So Madam Speaker, i have a new riding, as you so aptly announced there — the riding of e squimalt–r oyal r oads. That has meant that i've changed the scope and

british c olumbia Debatest hursday, a ugust 27, 2009 79 character of my community considerably. Gone are the rural parts of the community that i enjoyed under the Metchosin municipal community that was part of the previous constituency. i no longer represent l angford as well. b oth those communities are very, very ably represented by my colleague and good friend the member for Juan de Fuca. i have gained in the process the community of Vic West, just over the blue bridge. So now it's pretty easy for me to say everything over the blue bridge that you can see is part of my riding.

That's been a great community to add to my constituency. c ertainly, there are a lot of issues that i'll be raising here in the h ouse on behalf of those four municipalities that i now represent: c olwood, View r oyal, e squimalt and part of Victoria under Vic West. t ransportation, as always, continues to be an issue that we raise here in the h ouse, both the member for Juan de Fuca and i repeatedly, and will continue to do so, because it's a huge challenge for our community.

The West Shore is growing dramatically, exponentially. e ven in tough economic times, huge growth is still going on there. t ransportation. The need for some kind of commuter rail system there — expanded transportation options always on the constituents' minds. Sewage treatment continues to be a very hot topic here in the region, and certainly the community of e squimalt is front and centre of that issue.

The need for replacement of belmont School, which sits in my riding but that both the member for Juan de Fuca and i share, absolutely continues to be an issue we bring up over and over again here in the house. n ow, in the new part of my riding of Vic West, there is a huge issue broiling up there — the continued and very, very strong opposition to a mega-yacht marina, which would completely overshadow and change for - ever the scope and character of the inner h arbour here. i've spent a great number of years working on cleanup and protection of the Gorge waterway and repatriation of the shorelines here.

This would be a devastating pro- ject were it to come forward. So i expect we're going to have some opportunities to talk about that here in the house. [1505] but i wanted to talk a little bit more about what i've learned in 13 years of serving in public office. it's going to be a theme that i think will be familiar in this h ouse. it's the theme about what it takes to stay in elected office, which is hard work and honesty.

That's going to be a theme for me in my comments here and probably in everything i do in the l egislature in the next couple of years, because in fact i raised my family…. i talked about this terrific family i have and what amaz- ing people they are, what amazing, responsible and strong contributing members of their community they all are. one of the things that was the tenet of their upbringing was honesty. They could make all kinds of mistakes. They could fail at things, but they were never allowed to tell a lie.

That was the one solid continuum of their entire upbring- ing, and today my kids are absolutely dead honest about things. i've always believed you're only as good as your word and that it's all about truth and honesty. interesting enough…. a s politicians we make lots of promises. i looked up the definition of a promise here, and in fact, a promise is a declaration of something that will or will not be done, an expression of assurance of what expecta- tion people can have of you. it's a pledge, a covenant. t ruth and honesty, to me, are the real tenets of what we do as politicians. c ertainly, right now in the province of british c olumbia i hear every single day on the streets of this community, of my constituency and wherever i go that british c olumbians are very disappointed that they have not been treated with fair and just honesty by their government that they elected. in fact, the promises that were made by the government, this covenant that was made by the government going into a very import- ant election here, have been in fact untrue, have turned out to be very much the opposite.

Y ou know, it seems to me that we're encouraging more cynicism here in the province of british c olumbia when the people of this province feel betrayed by promises that they were given leading up to this election, choices that they made. They feel now that they have been deceived by a government that has broken those promises — the pledge that they made to the people of this province. british c olumbians voted on an expectation that the b.c. l iberals were telling the truth about what people could expect from them by re-electing a government here in May.

The pledge that the people of british c olumbia expected from this government formed the basis on which they voted. but in fact, now, as it turns out, none of that is true. n one of the things that people in british c olumbia voted for, in fact, are going to be what they get out of the government here. n othing could be further from the truth than the things that they believed they were voting for. i have to say, based on that and my experience…. Y ou know, i'm only as good as my word. So what happens when you have a government that's not as good as its word?

What happens when you have a government that reneges on absolutely every single thing that they said they were going to do leading into an election? We had a Finance Minister that talked about his rev- elations about the budget. british c olumbians heard over and over again an assurance that, in fact, the deficit in this province was going to be $495 million. i mean, we heard that over and over again, an assurance from the b.c. l iberals going into the election and through the election process.

british c olumbia Debates80 t hursday, a ugust 27, 2009 it would seem to me that the Finance Minister must have been the only person — along with the Premier, i guess — who was oblivious to the facts that were unfold- ing before all of us day after day after day in the news- paper.

We talked about it here in this h ouse before we broke and went off to fight the election. it was, in fact, the most compelling topic in every newspaper column for months, both before, during the election and, cer - tainly, after it. [1510] Y ou have to say to yourself: "What in the world are we to believe if the government says, 'We knew nothing about the true nature of the books of british c olumbia until after the election.

We couldn't actually come out with a more factual rendition of what the deficit was going to look like because we didn't know'?" Well, i just don't think it's credible that the Finance Minister and the Premier would be the only people in the province who believed for one moment that the defi- cit was going to stay at $495 million. but i think more than this is the fact that these rev- elations from the government have come out after an election that was fought on a whole different set of prin- ciples. i guess we'll talk about some of those things as we get into the budget, and we'll be debating that.

We'll look at what the facts — we hope the true facts — are. n onetheless, i think that we have a skepticism now in british c olumbia that puts a shame on government, on the fact that the government was in fact so misleading going into the election.

The hS t , which has been the most compelling topic on everyone's lips these days…. i can't go get groceries, walk my dog or put my garbage out by the roadside without people stopping to tell me how very angry they are about the hS t and about the impact it's going to have on them, their families or their parents in some form or other. i want to look again at this idea of honesty within government and how you're only as good as your word.

What happens when you break that? i have a quote here — the facts, in fact, of a ques- tionnaire that was sent out by the c anadian r estaurant and Foodservices a ssociation just prior to the election, where the b.c. l iberal Party said that the hS t would extend the PSt tax base to a broader range of goods and services. "This is a major concern.

The b.c. l iberals have no plans to formally engage the federal government in discussions about potential harmonization." Well, that was in May. in July we have the Finance Minister saying: "The h St is, in my view, absolutely the right public policy for british c olumbia." There is not a person in british c olumbia that does not believe that is a complete failure of honesty with the people of british c olumbia — that in May the b.c . l iberal Party would say "absolutely no" to harmonization tax and then, literally within weeks, would turn around and say: "We're putting in hS t , and not only that, it's a really good idea." if in fact this is the basis on which we go forward here with government, then i would have to agree with what barbara Y affe wrote here in The Vancouver Sun on a ugust 27.

She goes on about the accountability for the hS t . one of the lines she's written here: "The province's actions are certain to yield a loss of trust in the c ampbell government, a loss that will challenge its future legitimacy." That comes down to the basic tenet of "how good are you?" if you're not as good as your word, then what are you? What is your value? i think Ms. Y affe has said it very clearly — that your future legitimacy, in fact, is in question. People are outraged in my community. People are outraged in communities right across this province.

The current reality for many people in my community and in many communities across british c olumbia is that they are struggling from payday to payday. if they are seniors, they are struggling with a fixed income. if they are families, they are trying to raise their children and pay for housing, rented or owned, trying to get through their day, trying to make sure that there's food on the table and that their kids are clothed. a ll of the very essential products that they are required every single day to spend money on so that those things can happen — basic food and shelter; raise your kids; if you're a senior, make sure you can eat, afford your medication — are now, under the hS t , going to go up in price. [1515] There's a Facebook group that has over 100,000 people opposing the hS t .

There are petitions going on everywhere. i love the petition here — the half-page ad that came out, paid for by a group of angry former b.c. l iberals. i love this. There's a whole list here of all of the things that are now going to be coming out of individ- ual people's pockets, from groceries to cable t V , tickets, haircuts, movies, theatres, newspapers, taxi fares, airline tickets, skiing, resort packages, parking, coffee shops, fast food, dry cleaning, repair and maintenance, hydro, natural gas, vitamins, school supplies, home mainten- ance and funeral planning.

These are not the kinds of services that families can choose yes or no. These are essential services that people don't have a choice about spending on. We have a gov- ernment that has now decided that all of these things are going to cost people more, that we're going to make it more difficult for people in this province — for seniors, for families, for young people — to get by. in fact, that's also being imposed in the context of a province that under this b.c. l iberal government has found itself with huge job losses across this province.

The great fiscal managers of the b.c. l iberal government failed miserably to provide any kind of secure environ- ment to stop job losses in british c olumbia. c hild poverty — highest again in c anada, year six. l argest deficit in the history of the province, and i guess

british c olumbia Debatest hursday, a ugust 27, 2009 81 we're going to see exactly how far that's going to bal- loon in the coming days. a forest industry decimated, salmon fishing in crisis, cuts to health care, higher costs for post-secondary education, no raise in the minimum wage. on top of all of that, what do we put as a solution? What's the great fiscal solution to that?

We didn't talk about it during the election, but now suddenly we've got an hS t that is supposed to resolve all of that. i don't buy for one minute, nor do the people in my community buy for one minute, that this is going to make life easier. We all know it's going to make life harder.

Somewhere in a big corporate boardroom, maybe, there's a list of things different from the list i just read out, where they're going to get a tax break. but the list i just read out…. i could go on, because there are many, many more things in there — smoke detectors; fire extinguishers; solar power; helmets, for Pete's sake; c hinese medicine; life jackets. Those are all essential things. Somewhere, i'm sure, there's a corporate list that says: "h ere are all of the things that we are going to gain money back on.

We're not going to pay PSt on this, and this is going to fatten up our bottom line." but for the bottom line of average families in my constituency, it is a cost. it is a cost that in fact could be very dire for seniors and for families. So you have to say: why is it — when the b.c. l iberal government makes decisions like this, which they didn't talk about during the election but which are now appar- ently critical to the economic well-being of this province — that the people who get hurt are the most vulnerable?

They are the working people of this province; they are the seniors of this province. i'm the opposition critic for c hildren and Families. i have yet to even begin to hear the scope of what the impending impact of the hS t and the resulting other cuts in services that this government has embarked on is going to do to those particular individuals. it's fair to say that children in care are there because already they are living in an environment of vulnerabil- ity, because those families are already under enormous stress. if their cost of living goes higher, then that is only going to put more burden on this. i know the children's representative has talked about this, about her concern for children living in poverty, for the children who are in care, for the children who are in foster care, for all of those under the umbrella of the c hildren and Families Ministry.

What's going to be the impact to them of hardship, an economy that is caus- ing hardships in its own right without the addition of an hS t and a government bent on all kinds of cuts? [1520] it concerns me that day after day i see more and more evidence here that the government's way of dealing with this fiscal challenge they have — this huge deficit that we didn't hear about going into the election a few months ago, 90 days ago, but that we're now hearing about — is…. The throne speech indicated there will be more cuts. There will be more loss of programs.

We've already seen many of them shut down — the leaky condo program. We saw a bunch of seniors here. i went out and talked to those seniors. i talked to those seniors in my community who are very concerned about this program suddenly disappearing. Poof! — it's gone. c uts to libraries and schools; 10,000 surgeries can- celled. Some of those have been elsewhere, but we are very fearful about what the impacts will be here in my constituency.

There was a particular week in the Times Colonist where the headlines were remarkable. it would seem to me in lining these up that you'd think these might have been over several months, but this was one day in the Times Colonist: "Premier Defends h St ," "Province Shuts Down t ourism a gency," "l iveSmart Program c ancelled," "Government Sitting on Grants to community organizations." on-line gambling. The government has decided, in the midst of all of the hardship and chaos, that it's okay to now up the ante for on-line gambling so that families will feel the impacts of that.

That was one day in the local paper. n ot a month, not a year. This is program after program being slashed that affect the people in my community and families right across british c olumbia. i attended the town hall meeting for the b.c. restau- rant and food services industry last week and heard from a group of businesses that are normally very supportive of the b.c. l iberals but, in fact, are so deeply angry and outraged by the harmonization sales tax, by the lack of consultation, by the fact that they were told outright by the government prior to the election that this was not on. The hS t was not on.

They are feeling so deeply betrayed by the govern- ment's actions on implementing the hS t that they gath- ered together to talk about ways that they could stop the government from doing that — not how they could sup- port the b.c. l iberal government, but how they could stop the government from implementing this harmon- ization tax.

Y ou've got to say to yourself…. i know for a fact that the letters i've got — and i have a cluster of them here…. i picked just a few of the ones where people's lives are going to be most hurt and devastated, but many of these letters have been cc'd to all of the members of the government, certainly to the Finance Minister and the Premier. it's not like the opposition is the only one hearing over and over again how very unhappy people are about the hS t or about the many cuts that the government has already levied that affect their lives. i know that the members on that side of the h ouse are hearing the same degree of concern that the members on this side of the h ouse are. it was funny, because i heard the Premier say in the last couple of days here that this session….

Why are the

british c olumbia Debates82 t hursday, a ugust 27, 2009 n DP saying all those negative things? Well, it's not the n ew Democrats saying all those negative things. it's the people of british c olumbia saying all those nega- tive things. That's where the angst is coming from. The people of b.c. are standing up and saying: "We were tricked. We were not given all the facts going into the election, and we are mad." i know why my constitu- ents in e squimalt–r oyal r oads elected me: to speak for them, to bring their voice here into this l egislature.

So when the Premier stands up and says, "o h, those n ew Democrats, always just so negative," you know what? it's the voice of the people that he is hearing. [1525] i know that he's had enough letters from the same people who have written to me and to every other member of this h ouse about people's concerns. So you know what, Madam Speaker? The constituents of e squimalt–r oyal r oads elected me to come here and fight on their behalf — to fight for the services that they deserve, to say we don't want to lose our health care ser- vices. We don't want cuts to our schools and libraries.

We don't want our seniors to be without the services that they deserve. Frankly, my constituents have said they want a gov- ernment that is honest. They want to restore honesty and integrity to british c olumbia. u nfortunately, they might have to wait a few years for that again. Frankly, i have heard from my neighbours and my community that they are sick of the l iberal spin, the ineptitude, the manipulation of information and the withholding of facts and details going into the election.

They're fed up with a callous government that just wants more from them, because at the end of the day, it's about taking money out of ordinary people's pockets and giving it to big corporations. i do believe there's some revenue neutrality in this, but that's about ordinary people paying the price and the tax dollars that will be taken out of their households, perhaps out of their food bill if they're a senior, perhaps from their medication bills if they're a senior. or fam- ilies will have to make a hard decision about whether they will take their kids to a movie or be able to afford to pay the hydro bill. a ll of that is at the expense of the people in my con- stituency in favour of big corporations, and i am here to stand up and say, no, no, no, on their behalf.

R.

Sultan: Thank you to the constituents of n orth Vancouver and West Vancouver who have returned me to this l egislature for another wonderful four years. i am very indebted to them, and i pledge my hard work to them over the next four years. i would like to assure these constituents that my brief flirtation with the nDP a couple of days ago, while it was consistent with my "east of Main Street" roots, while it was consistent with my fond memories of my brothers in the international brotherhood of e lectrical Workers, was rather rudely terminated by the deputy clerk, who said it was all a big mistake. but it brought back some good memories. [c. t revena in the chair.] i would like to address the astonishing comments made by the opposition party in response to the Speech from the Throne, in particular, remarks by the l eader of the o pposition.

Y esterday, during question period, what might be termed the warmup to throne, the opposition leader accused this government of turning its back on its elec- tion promises, more particularly, its promise of no cuts to health care or other core services. n ow, maybe she had an advanced peek at the budget. i have not. but the h ealth Minister has already signalled this government's intention to increase h ealth spend- ing by 1⁄5 over the next three years. only in the world of nDP math is a 1⁄5 increase a cut.

The same holds true for education, as a matter of fact. a ccording to the opposition leader: "it really is unbeliev- able to me that the Premier thinks cutting education is a smart thing to do." The reality is that this government has, since coming into office, increased k-to-12 spending on each and every student by an average of 5 percent a year, year in, year out, and i would be surprised if the budget tabled next week departs from that trend line. a s for post- secondary education, since 2001 this government has invested almost $18 billion — a provincial record. once again, the arithmetic skills by which the nDP discovers cuts are on display. [1530] The opposition's unflattering adjectives in response to the Speech from the Throne have so far ranged from the forbidden "l" word to alibi, deceit, distaste, stench, betrayal, bankruptcy and illegitimacy.

So much for ele- vating the tone of this place for the benefit of the school children. on the issue of the hS t , there has been a great pars- ing of the Finance Minister's daytimer. in the spirit of that famous accusation — what did he know, and when did he know it? — if we're to believe the nDP's version of the life of a Finance Minister, budgets are made and broken we

Document details

Collection	British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	H0827pm-05
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	H0827pm 05
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	505a2f8fdfc424213a77eedc9780109ed7bf0cae

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