First Session, 41st Parliament

(2017) OFFICIAL REPORT

OF DEBATES

(HANSARD)

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Afternoon Sitting

Issue No. 6

ISSN 1499-2175

The HTML transcript is provided for informational purposes only.

CONTENTS

Routine Business

Introductions by Members

Statements

(Standing Order 25B)

Tom Oshiro

R. Fleming

Greenways Trail Alliance project from Invermere to

Fairmont

D. Clovechok

Rochester Elementary School team at Odyssey of the Mind

competition

S. Robinson

Coquitlam Search and Rescue volunteers

J. Isaacs

Graduates of Lax Kw’alaams Coast Tsimshian

Academy

J. Rice

Jeff Devins

M. Lee

Oral Questions

Softwood lumber negotiations and forest industry

jobs

J. Horgan

Hon. C. Clark

Affordable housing and protections for

renters

J. Darcy

Hon. E. Ross

Cooperation in Legislative Assembly

A. Weaver

Hon. C. Clark

Seniors care

R. Kahlon

Hon. M. Polak

Conditions at Prince Rupert Middle

School

J. Rice

Hon. M. Bernier

Supports for students in Burnaby school

district

J. Routledge

Hon. M. Bernier

Orders of the Day

Throne Speech Debate (continued)

D. Ashton

J. Martin

Hon. N. Letnick

Hon. E. Ross

Hon. T. Stone

G. Kyllo

Hon. A. Wilkinson

M. Hunt

TUESDAY, JUNE 27, 2017

The House met at 1:33 p.m.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Routine Business

Introductions by Members

J. Tegart: I’m very

pleased to see in the precinct today Gordon Swan. Gordon is currently the

president of the B.C. School Trustees. He follows a long line of past

presidents, including a few in this room. I’m very pleased to have him here

today, and I ask the House to join me in making him welcome.

J. Darcy: It gives me

great pleasure to welcome two guests to the gallery today: Danita Adams, who

is a constituent of mine from New Westminster; and my constituency

assistant, Nadine Nakagawa, who does an awesome job every single day helping

constituents in our community. I’d ask all members of this House to make

them feel very welcome today.

Hon. M. Bernier: It’s my

pleasure today to introduce in the House Jim and Johanna Koolsbergen, who

have come all the way from Ontario to not only visit us but, more

importantly, they say, to visit their children Andrew and Nick, who work in

the precincts. They’ve also shared some great stories of the time that

they’ve shared spending a month here on Vancouver Island touring around and

the beauty we have here in British Columbia. I’m hoping everybody in the

House will please make them welcome today.

S. Robinson: I would like

to welcome to the House today Floyd Monssen, who has decided to join us

here. He is a constituent of mine from Coquitlam-Maillardville, and I want

to thank him for coming all the way to Victoria to come on by and say hello

and see the activities here in the House. I hope everyone here will make him

feel very welcome.

[1:35 p.m.]

S. Simpson: I’d like to

welcome a past member who has come back to join us here: Colin Gabelmann, a

past member of this House. Colin was first elected in 1972. He has served,

over time, in two constituencies — in North Island and North

Vancouver–Seymour — and spent about 20 years in this House over that time,

including, in that distinguished career, four years as the Attorney General

for British Columbia. It’s always good to have past alumni members of this

place come back and visit us. I hope everybody will welcome Colin back to

the Legislature.

J. Horgan: I’d like to

add to the introduction from my colleague from Vancouver-Hastings and

introduce Colin’s venerable spouse, Robin Geary, who’s with us somewhere in

the gallery. There she be. Robin is a friend of this place and has been,

with Colin, a fixture in our circles and one who has provided great

inspiration and strength to the many policies we’ve put in place to lift

particularly women to the place they see today, which is almost a majority

on our side of the House. I know she’ll be very, very proud of

that.

Joining Robin

and Colin are Colin’s cousin Ann Singleton and her spouse, David, who are

here from England to watch what a minority parliament looks like. I know

they’ve got one back home, but there is one here that’s still dragging

on.

C. James: A very good

friend who is no stranger to this place is in the gallery today. She has

visited us a number of times. She’s a very strong advocate for people with

diverse abilities. She is a Thrifty Foods employee. She is a volunteer at

the Beacon Hill Park petting zoo and a number of other areas. She is a

Special Olympics athlete and a recent award winner of the Norman Davy award,

which is for someone who is involved actively in their community and shows

good spirit in being involved. So it’s a very well-deserved award. Would the

House please make Sheenagh Morrison very, very welcome.

Statements

(Standing Order 25B)

TOM OSHIRO

R. Fleming: Last week

Victoria said goodbye to a great friend to all in this community, a

tireless helper and advocate for the poorest among us in Victoria. Rev.

Tom Oshiro passed away at the age of 89. While he lived a long,

fulfilling life and achieved so many things, his passing seemed sudden

for someone who retired just three years ago as the executive director

of the Mustard Seed. But Tom came out of retirement more than once to

help those who needed our help the most.

Tom’s

Canadian roots began with his mother and father immigrating to Canada in

the early 1900s from Okinawa, Japan. His dad worked on the Canadian

Pacific Railway, and Tom grew up in Kenora, Ontario. He said he was a

typical immigrant kid who loved to play hockey and football, and he said

that to compensate for his small size, he adopted a rougher style of

play, which seemed odd for such a gentle guy.

He was 12

when the Second World War broke out. His family was deeply patriotic

towards their adopted country. Two of Tom’s brothers enlisted, one

seeing action in the Allied invasion of Italy. Tom joined the army and

air cadets. But for Japanese Canadians, loyalty and patriotism to Canada

could not erase the racism and prejudice that were

prevalent at that time, and this left Tom, by his own account, an angry

young man.

But the

sting of discrimination turned him towards compassion and a lifetime

fighting for the underdog. His family were not regular churchgoers, but

Tom’s adversity became part of his deep faith and a devotion, over 57

years, to the Baptist Church of Canada and, finally, the Royal Oak

Baptist Church, which brought him to Victoria.

One of his

first post-retirement projects in 1991 was to join the Mustard Seed Food

Bank and Street Church. He later called this is an interesting mistake.

Originally planning two to three years with that organization, he led it

for 18 years. By 2011, the food bank fed 7,200 people per month, 1,700

of whom are children.

[1:40 p.m.]

Rather

than face turning people away when the food bank’s shelves were getting

bare, Tom built support and capacity to feed the hungry by tapping local

businesses, labour unions and philanthropists. You couldn’t say no to

Tom when he asked you for something because it was so

important.

His life

will be remembered on July 8. All are welcome in this

community.

GREENWAYS TRAIL ALLIANCE PROJECT

FROM INVERMERE TO

FAIRMONT

D. Clovechok: I rise

today to speak about a community-driven legacy in the making. The

Greenways Trail Alliance has started construction on the legacy trail

that will run from Invermere to Fairmont.

It is a

project that has generated widespread support from 837 donors, raising a

grand total of $4 million — $2 million from private donors and $2

million from public grants. I’m pleased to say that, from this

government, the project has received $1 million from Bike B.C. and

$500,000 from the rural dividend.

The trail

marks the creation of a safe, off-the-highway, health-enhancing amenity

free of usage charges and open to everyone and will be

wheelchair-accessible.

One-half

of the land for the trail was donated by private landowners, which

created a wave of philanthropy, where projects and people have also

donated time and material to this initiative. With support from the

province, the regional district of East Kootenay has incorporated the

trail into the regional park system, providing liability coverage and

maintenance. The project will be created with no debt and low operating

costs and has brought together the community in a goal of building a

community asset that will be an economic driver for all the

area.

All

services and materials are being sourced locally. The project has

heightened awareness of the benefits of trails and outdoor places to

spend time with family and friends and will provide access to this type

of recreation to a wide range of users.

The

project has been recognized by Rick Mercer, congratulating the

Windermere grade 5 and 6 students for raising money for the project.

Their Run for Dreams will take place on October 12, 2017, where over

1,000 young people will run in this event. They’re raising money through

the community pledges. In turn, they’ve invited Mr. Mercer to join them

in the race. Let’s hope he can make it.

Congratulations to all for this initiative.

Mr. Speaker: I

recognize the member for Coquitlam-Maillardville, and I apologize for

the mispronunciation on the first introduction.

ROCHESTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEAM

AT ODYSSEY OF THE MIND

COMPETITION

S. Robinson: Mr.

Speaker, I invite you and everyone in this House to think of a school

team. You’re likely thinking about a basketball team, a soccer team,

perhaps even a lacrosse team. But there are other kinds of teams taking

shape in our schools across British Columbia, Canada and around the

world.

In January

of this year, Rochester Elementary in Coquitlam-Maillardville put

together an amazing team of seven students from grades 3 to 5 to form an

Odyssey of the Mind team to tackle a challenge to build small vehicles

that could overcome a series of obstacles. With only ten weeks to come

together as a team and to complete their project, these seven students

practised weekly and spent professional days, even their spring break,

working on their goal to be ready to present their completed vehicles to

a panel of judges at the provincial tournament in early

March.

At this

tournament, they did well enough to qualify to compete at the world

finals in Michigan, and they were excited to represent their school,

their province and their country. Knowing they only had six weeks to

fundraise for the cost of the trip, they threw themselves into

fundraising. It was wonderful to learn that the Coquitlam Sunrise Rotary

Club provided considerable financial help to get this first-year team to

Michigan.

The

Rochester Elementary team was proud to represent Canada and British

Columbia in the Odyssey of the Mind world championships last month in

Michigan. Our local team of problem-solvers competed against 79 teams

from 14 different countries and placed ninth in the world — in the

world.

Congratulations to students Brody, Ean, Ellis, Evan, Taylor, Theodor

and Trevor, and to their local coach, Evelyn Moi. Well done.

COQUITLAM SEARCH

AND RESCUE

VOLUNTEERS

J. Isaacs: Every year

search and rescue volunteers put themselves in harm’s way to help those

who find themselves lost or injured in British Columbia’s back country.

They respond to an average of 1,400 incidents each year, and in 95

percent of the cases, subjects are found or rescued within the first 24

hours.

In my

riding of Coquitlam–Burke Mountain, Coquitlam Search and Rescue covers

an area of 1,762 square kilometres of some of the most rugged and

inaccessible terrain in British Columbia. They also dedicate a great

deal of time to public education and actively engage in local schools,

Scouts and Guides or any interested group that wants to learn more about

trip planning, wilderness orientation, how to navigate back country

without getting lost and how to survive until help arrives.

[1:45 p.m.]

Coquitlam

Search and Rescue also monitors popular hiking spots like Buntzen Lake

and checks the parking lots at sundown to make sure that day hikers get

out safely before dark. Just this past weekend there was a near drowning

in the Coquitlam River that search and rescue volunteers

attended.

This month

longtime Coquitlam Search and Rescue volunteer Ian Cunnings was honoured

with the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers. Ian followed in the footsteps

of his father and joined Coquitlam Search and Rescue when he was still a

high school student at Centennial Secondary.

Thirty-five years later, Ian is still an active member of Coquitlam

Search and Rescue. In fact, Ian’s father, Don, was one of the very first

members of the Coquitlam Search and Rescue team when it was formed in

I would

like to extend my congratulations and my gratitude to this

father-and-son team, who have no doubt participated in countless

rescues.

GRADUATES OF LAX KW’ALAAMS

COAST TSIMSHIAN

ACADEMY

J. Rice: Leaving

home for college or university can be difficult at the best of times,

but imagine having to leave home in the middle of high school because

the community you live in doesn’t offer schooling after grade 10. That’s

what life has been like for students in Lax Kw’alaams, or Port Simpson,

a First Nation community of 800 or so people near Prince

Rupert.

Up until

recently, young students have had to go to Prince Rupert or as far as

Terrace or even Vancouver to stay with family and friends to get a high

school education. Families have been uprooted or split apart, but this

is no longer the case. The students from the Coast Tsimshian Academy are

the first to graduate without having to leave their home

community.

I had the

pleasure of attending Lax Kw’alaams’ first-ever grade 12 convocation of

high school graduates last weekend. The Coast Tsimshian Academy, which

previously went from preschool to only grade 10, has been housed in a

stunning new building since September of 2015. Last year they

implemented grade 11 and this year, grade 12.

Two of

the graduates, Nikita Wesley and Steve Reece, welcomed a new baby girl

into their lives in April. The couple also have a three-year-old

daughter. Now, child care for the young family has been made possible by

staying in Lax Kw’alaams, where they have family supports.

For

Steve, who came back to school after dropping out in grade 7, getting a

diploma feels pretty good. He says: “I had to get my life back on track,

and I came back to school so I could get a better job for me and my

little family that I created.”

School

principal Kelly Rambeau said: “No matter where they go, the grads won’t

forget where they came from. Whether they’re working in Prince Rupert or

whether they’re working in downtown Toronto, these young folks are very

proud of where they come from.”

Teacher

Ms. Barak says: “Graduating from their own certified grade 12 in their

own village is a pretty big deal. This has been a dream come true for

the Lax Kw’alaams First Nation.”

JEFF DEVINS

M. Lee: I rise

today to recognize and pay tribute to a leading community volunteer in

Vancouver, who passed away suddenly in early January of this year — Jeff

Devins.

Jeff was

a dear friend and a mentor to many in the community, including myself.

He set an example to us all with his thoughtful and practical approach

to challenges and with his dogged determination to work through those

challenges with a positive and encouraging spirit.

He was

always generous with his time and advice on personal, business,

professional and community levels and was a true connector of people in

our community.

Since

moving to British Columbia from Alberta over 20 years ago, Jeff had a

longtime association with the YMCA of Greater Vancouver, serving on its

operational board for 15 years and more recently chairing the YMCA

foundation board. Among the many initiatives that Jeff was involved in

with the YMCA, he was a Queen’s supporter of the Nanook House and its

child care programs on the east side of Vancouver.

He served

on the board of directors for Science World British Columbia, which is

how I first met Jeff when we worked together on an outdoor science

experience project.

Jeff also

served on the boards of a wide range of companies and organizations.

These included Hemmera Envirochem, as well as Atira Property Management,

with the supportive housing projects.

He was

also serving on the advisory board for Salt Spring Coffee Co. It was

Jeff’s vision of seeing a broader community over the longer term that

was truly remarkable. He touched so many in our community with his

compassion and wisdom.

[1:50 p.m.]

Even for

this House, Jeff was wise to see the need to bring together individuals

on both sides of this House because of their character and judgment over

and above their politics. There is a lot to be said about that approach.

He very much shared in a common vision that we need to collectively

improve the trust and confidence in our political process for the

greater benefit and the future of our province. Thank you,

Jeff.

Oral Questions

SOFTWOOD LUMBER NEGOTIATIONS

AND FOREST INDUSTRY

JOBS

J. Horgan: We all

now know that the forest industry, forest-dependent communities and,

most importantly, forest workers will be facing border taxes as high as

30 percent as a result of the softwood lumber dispute between Canada and

the United States. We also know that it’s going to be a serious blow for

rural communities, particularly in the north, in the Cariboo and in the

Kootenays. A year ago, the Premier said this was her highest priority,

yet over the past 16 years, we’ve seen 30,000 fewer people working in

the forest industry, as a result of B.C. Liberal choices.

question is to the Premier. We know we’ve got a fight on our hands. We

know we need a stable government. Will she do what she said she would do

almost a month ago and test the confidence of this House so that we can

have stable leadership to take on the biggest fight the forest sector

has seen?

Hon. C. Clark: Well, we

can certainly see that the Leader of the Opposition is preparing for a

change in role, now that he’s asked his very first question in question

period about softwood. Congratulations. But of course, he hasn’t been

entirely uninterested in softwood.

Just

about a month and a half ago, he argued that the government should have

accepted a deal from the Americans that would have cost one in three

jobs in our forest sector. He thought that was a good deal. What I would

advise him is if there is a transition in this House to a new

government, I hope he changes his thinking about softwood. We need to

fight hard for British Columbia. That doesn’t mean rolling over for a

deal that will cost one in three jobs in the province. We need to fight

hard and use every lever at our disposal to make sure that we can keep

forest workers and forest communities growing.

British Columbia, we have gained more forest jobs than any other place

in the country, by a long shot. Forest workers in this province know

that this government has stood up for them. We will continue to stand up

for them — not with a lousy deal. We won’t take the scraps from the

Americans’ table. We are going to fight to make sure that we get the

right deal for the B.C. workers that support so many hundreds of

communities across the province.

Mr. Speaker: The

member has a supplemental.

J. Horgan: Again,

the facts are often elusive for the Premier: 30,000 fewer people working

in the forest industry. Maybe the math — the 44-43 thing — is a problem,

but 30,000 fewer people working in forestry and 150 fewer mills is not a

sign of success. It’s a sign of failure when it comes to

forestry.

Last week

I was just outside of Cranbrook at the Galloway mill, operated by the

Nelson family since the Second World War, operating….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members,

the Chair will hear the question.

J. Horgan: Thank

you, hon. Speaker.

The mill

has been operated by the Nelson family since the Second World War. It

has been in operation, providing family-supporting jobs to people in the

East Kootenay for over a hundred years. The family is not political.

They’re not green. They’re not red. They’re not blue. They’re not

yellow. They’re not orange. They’re just hard-working people that put to

work another 50 people from their community, in the forest industry,

creating family-supporting jobs. All those jobs now are at risk because

this government has not taken decisive action to make sure the softwood

lumber deal is in fact the highest priority.

Instead,

while families in the Kootenays, families in Cranbrook, families right

across British Columbia are concerned about the softwood lumber

agreement, the only thing that Premier is concerned about is hanging

onto her job.

question, again, is a fairly straightforward one. We took her at her

word that she would recall this House and test the confidence. Will she

do that today, in the interest of a whole host of issues that are left

wanting because of her negligence?

[1:55 p.m.]

Hon. C. Clark: I think

what forest workers and forest communities and owners of forest

businesses across the province want to know is that their Premier,

whoever that is, is going to be someone with the backbone and the plan

to stand up for forest communities.

Everything that we have seen from the Leader of the

Opposition about softwood — which, by the way, has been precious little,

having today asked his very first question on softwood in the

Legislature…. Everything else that we have seen has been an approach to

just roll over to the Trump administration and accept any deal, no

matter how bad it would be for workers in our province.

The same

party that voted against the last softwood deal, which has benefited

British Columbians from corner to corner in our province and forest

communities…. There have been 10,000 jobs added in the forest sector

since we started the jobs plan, part of creating the strongest economy

anywhere in the country, that’s added 88,000 new jobs just in the last

year alone.

Forest

workers, no matter where they are in British Columbia, want to know that

it’s not just any deal. We need a good deal for British Columbia.

Accepting a deal, as that member proposed, that would have cost one in

three jobs in the forest sector, would have been a disaster for forest

workers.

British

Columbians don’t just want a stable government. They want a government

with a Premier at its head who is going to stand up for them, who has a

record of standing up for them and fighting for them. That is the record

that I stand on very proudly today with the members on this side of the

House. Should the government change, I certainly hope that member will

change his tune and decide that it’s finally time for him to start

delivering with backbone for forest workers in British

Columbia.

Mr. Speaker: The

member has a further supplemental.

J. Horgan: I

appreciate that the Premier is practising to be the Leader of the

Opposition. I’m sure that will come soon enough. But again, British

Columbians took her at her word that she would come to this House and

test the confidence of this place. That’s what happens after an

election, and the Premier refuses to do that. She continues to carry on

as if everything is just fine. We had an opportunity….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members,

the Chair will hear the question.

Members.

J. Horgan: In a

futile attempt to get the Premier to stand by her word, will she today

call a confidence motion so the people of British Columbia can have a

government in place that’s going to be working for them, worried about

their jobs, not Liberal jobs?

Hon. C. Clark: I know

the member likes to make up the rules, and I certainly know they’re

looking forward to making up more rules if they get the chance. But the

rules in this House mean that we’ll be taking a vote on Thursday, as

planned, on the throne speech. The member will get his chance in due

course, as set out in the rules in this Legislature, to make sure that

we face a test of confidence in the Legislature.

But let

me just finish with this, because forest workers in the last election

were very, very clear about who it was they thought was going to be

standing up for them. That’s because our government has worked so

diligently and passionately in support of making sure that we protect

those jobs: 10,000 new jobs added in the forest sector, more than any

other province by a long shot, since we introduced the jobs

plan.

That’s

part of 88,000 jobs added in the last year and 190,000 jobs added in the

last two years. Our employment is growing by 3.5 percent. Forest workers

are very much a part of that. They know and they remember that this

member and others who sit with him were part of what helped shut down

the forest industry, virtually, in the 1990s.

[2:00 p.m.]

They know

that this member stood up during the election and argued for a deal with

Donald Trump that would have meant costing one in three forest jobs.

That is not what forest workers need. They need a leader who is going to

stand strong, who understands the issues in those communities; a leader

who believes in free trade; a leader who supported the softwood deal

last time, one who believes that we should strengthen our trade

relationships with countries over in Asia that can buy our products —

not a leader who’s opposed to free trade, not a leader that was opposed

to softwood and not a leader that is opposed to jobs.

I hope

that should he get the chance to be Premier, he will prove to those

forest communities, who have so far shown not a lot of confidence in his

policies, that he’s willing to change his tune and start standing up

with vigour and determination for hard-working people across our

province.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND

PROTECTIONS FOR

RENTERS

J. Darcy: In the

gallery today is Danita Adams. She’s a renter who lives in an affordable

apartment building in New Westminster. Danita and her neighbours

recently learned that their building has been sold and that they’re all

being evicted due to renovations, otherwise known as renovictions.

Danita and her neighbours cannot afford to pay skyrocketing market

rents. Many of them are desperate because they have nowhere to

go.

For

years, this Premier and the B.C. Liberals ignored the affordable housing

crisis and refused to support stronger protections for renters in the

event of renovictions.

question is for the Premier. Why won’t she face a

confidence motion and let a new government get to work for renters like

Danita?

Hon. E. Ross: This is

an issue that the B.C. government has taken seriously and that they’ve

committed to addressing. In B.C., though, we have rules we have to

follow. That’s what B.C. intends to do — make sure that the landlords

follow the specific rules before issuing a notice to end a tenancy due

to extensive renovations or repairs that require the unit to be vacant

in the first place. They have to have all the necessary municipal

permits and approvals in place before they can issue a notice to

tenants.

As well,

the provincial government further commits to work with all of the

stakeholders as well as the municipal governments in relation to the

renovictions issue.

Mr. Speaker: The

member has a supplemental.

J. Darcy: With the

greatest of respect to the new minister, this Liberal government has had

16 years to fix the problem, and they refused to do so.

The

building where Danita lives has 54 affordable rental apartments. It’s

home to families with young children; to new Canadians; to persons with

disabilities, like Danita; and a lot of seniors who thought this would

be the place they would live out their lives. All those renters are

losing their affordable housing. Why? Because for 16 years, this B.C.

Liberal government refused to fix the renoviction loopholes in the

Residential Tenancy Act. Now the Premier wants us to believe that she

supports renters’ rights and that she’s going to do something about it —

about the very problems that she created.

Again, my

question is to the Premier. Why won’t the Premier face a confidence

motion today in this House so that a new government can get on with

fixing the problems that are meaning that people like Danita are out on

the streets?

[2:05 p.m.]

Hon. E. Ross: In

addressing these issues, the provincial government has to respect the

jurisdiction and duties of municipalities as well — and other

stakeholders, including the tenant and the landlord. If the tenant

thinks a landlord has ended a tenancy without a valid reason, the tenant

has 15 days to dispute the notice to the residential tenancy

branch.

By the

way, we commit to do more. This provincial government wants to do more

in terms of renovictions, and the solution is easy. Support the throne

speech.

Mr. Speaker: The

member for Oak Bay–Gordon Head. [Applause.]

COOPERATION IN LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

A. Weaver: I’m not

used to that, hon. Speaker.

The NDP

and the B.C. Greens have already demonstrated their willingness to work

across party lines. The Premier has stated….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Members. The Chair will hear the question.

A. Weaver: It’s good

to see the government acting like an opposition party right

now.

The

Premier has stated that she’s willing to do the same. Last week the

Liberals even adopted 30 B.C. Green and B.C. NDP policies, most of which

we now have all-party agreement on. If the B.C. Liberals are being

honest with British Columbians when they say they want to avoid an

election and make this Legislature work, then the issues that the

Minister of Finance raised today in his letter to you, hon. Speaker,

will be the exception, not the norm, since we should all be able to

cooperate to advance good public policy in the best interests of British

Columbia.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Members.

A. Weaver: My

question is to the Premier. Will she reiterate to this House and to

British Columbians her party’s commitment to work constructively across

party lines to ensure stability regardless…?

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Members. The Chair will hear the question.

A. Weaver: Again,

will she reiterate for this House and to British Columbians her party’s

commitment to work constructively across party lines to ensure stability

regardless of where she and her party sit in this chamber?

Hon. C. Clark: Thanks to

the member for the question. Yesterday our government introduced

legislation which all three parties campaigned on supporting, on

campaign finance reform, and the members of this House….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Members. The Chair heard the question. The Chair will also hear the

answer.

Hon. C. Clark: In an

effort to put forward legislation, again, that demonstrated that this

House could work and work across party lines — campaign finance

legislation — which all parties and British Columbians agree it’s time

for…. Members of this House voted against it, including

that member, before he’d ever even seen it.

addition to that, yesterday in this House, this government introduced

another piece of legislation which all parties, I understood, agreed on

— a one-page piece of legislation that would have changed something like

two words, legislation that would have given him official party status.

That member also voted against it. So he should be careful about talking

about working across party lines. He doesn’t want to be a party. I guess

we’ll only be able to work with one of them in this House.

Mr. Speaker: The

member has a supplemental.

A. Weaver: Well, the

B.C. Liberals continue to act like that belligerent child going into a

hissy fit, kicking and screaming as they’re put in a time-out that they

don’t want to go into.

I didn’t

hear the B.C. Liberals campaigning on the election campaign to give the

B.C. Green Party status. I certainly did not hear them campaigning to

ban big money on the election campaign. This is revisionist

history.

[2:10 p.m.]

If the

B.C. Liberals are truly sincere about their desire to collaborate across

party lines and work to implement legislation on the priorities outlined

in their throne speech, the question raised in the Minister of Finance’s

letters would be of limited relevance. After all, with all the policy

agreements that we have in the last few days, there shouldn’t be many

tied votes. The Liberals support both of our platforms.

Yet, the

government….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

A. Weaver: This is

remarkable. They truly are getting ready to sit in opposition. It’s

remarkable.

Yet the

government appears to unnecessarily be delaying the confidence vote,

creating uncertainty and using every opportunity to raise the spectre of

a possible election, which only the governing party seems to

want.

Hon.

Speaker, did you know that the idea of another election has a lower

approval rating than Donald Trump?

question is this. Assuming you are sincere, assuming….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

We’ll hear the question.

A. Weaver: Assuming

that the government is sincere about their intention to work

constructively across party lines, why are they so focused on the games

that they are playing to create uncertainty in British Columbia

today?

Hon. C. Clark: What I

understand from the member from Oak Bay is he thinks that the way to

demonstrate that we are working across party lines is for him to vote

against the things he campaigned on, because it didn’t come from his

preferred party in the Legislature.

campaigned on campaign finance reform. And then he voted against it. He

campaigned in favour of his party and asked very clearly for his party

to have third-party status. And then he voted against it — in both

cases, without even wanting to see the bill before it was

introduced.

That is

not demonstrating that you can work across party lines. That’s shown

that the member opposite has put himself in an ideological box he can’t

find his way out of. He isn’t willing to work across party

lines.

If he

does change his mind about that, though, I would be delighted, if he’d

be willing to give leave for it, to offer those two bills to the House

again so we can conduct the vote again and demonstrate that we can all

work across party lines on issues where we all agree…

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Hon. C. Clark: …because

there’s no reason that the leader of the Greens should be working so

hard to defeat legislation that he campaigned on.

SENIORS CARE

R. Kahlon: In North

Delta, the B.C. Liberals are failing our seniors. The seniors advocate

has documented that B.C. Liberals refuse to provide our senior homes

care staff the resources they need.

A family

with a senior citizen named Eddie Johnson, who’s staying at the

Northcrest Care Centre, brought me heartbreaking photos of their

grandfather. He had been left out in the sun, resulting in sunburns that

left significant scars all over his body. The staff there are trying

their hardest to care for residents like Eddie Johnson, but this

government simply is not helping.

The

question is simple. To the Premier: will the Premier call a confidence

motion in this House today so that a new government can end the 16 years

of letting down our seniors, their families and the people who are

trying to care for them?

Hon. M. Polak: It is

always heart-wrenching to hear the stories of tragic suffering that

occur in places where people who are running those facilities are doing

their level best, and mistakes are made. Those mistakes have those kinds

of consequences. They hurt people that we love. My dad’s 88. I look

after him a lot. Fortunately, he’s still healthy enough to live on his

own.

But what

I’m pleased to know about our system is not only that

we have incredible people who work in it every day and do their best to

provide the best care, but we’re also able to provide more and more

resources for them.

[2:15 p.m.]

We have

already invested $500 million that will be part of the Ministry of

Health Home and Community Care action plan. That plan includes ensuring

that we are up to the standards for the hours of direct service that

those residents deserve and that we are hiring about 1,500 additional

staff in care facilities.

I can

hear that the member asking the question cares very deeply about this

issue, and assuming he does — I’m sure he does — I hope that he will

also vote to support a throne speech that then will add additional care

beds, additional supports for seniors, to those we love, that we can

give them the very best. I hope that means that he will be voting in

favour of the throne speech.

Mr. Speaker: The

member has a supplemental.

R. Kahlon: Yes. With

all due respect to the minister, we’ve heard all these arguments before.

Last year the Premier said: “Every senior citizen who requires that kind

of care deserves to have as much care as they need and to be able to

live in dignity.” But a year after she made that promise, our seniors

and the staff that care for them are still waiting for that help that

the Premier promised.

So my

question is very simple: will the Premier call a confidence motion in

this House today so the new government can give seniors, like Eddie, the

support they deserve?

Hon. M. Polak: Again, my

heart goes out to the family that have had to deal with such a terrible

circumstance for their loved one. We don’t want that ever to happen for

any of our loved ones, for any seniors in the province.

addition to the investments that I’ve already mentioned — over and above

that $500 million — health authorities are also going to be increasing

their budgets to the tune of approximately $200 million above current

levels. That is something that Daniel Fontaine from the B.C. Care

Providers Association has said: and I’m quoting: “By making these

significant investments in home and community care, B.C. seniors and

their families can have greater confidence that the right care will be

there at the right time and in the right place.”

If the

member wants to support that continued investment, there is a proposal

in the throne speech that is there to support, that will allow a

government to do even better work for our seniors in this

province.

CONDITIONS AT

PRINCE RUPERT MIDDLE

SCHOOL

J. Rice: The

Minister of Education knows about ongoing problems at Prince Rupert

Middle School, and he knows this because his ministry wrote a report on

it. The report documented asbestos insulation in tiles. It documented

lead in the plumbing. It documented major seismic problems that can’t be

fixed.

Elaine

Hupman, who is sending her twins back to the Prince Rupert Middle School

this fall, knows the school is a problem. The school district knows it’s

a problem. The minister knows it’s a problem, but he refuses to

act.

Again:

will the Premier call a confidence motion in this House today so that a

new government can get to work fixing schools across this

province?

Hon. M. Bernier: One of

the things I’ve done while I’ve been Minister of Education is I’ve

toured almost all 60 school districts. Yes, I’ve actually been to rural

parts of British Columbia, parts that most of the NDP haven’t been to or

supported at all.

I did go

to that member’s riding and to her school. And she’s absolutely correct,

which is why that school is part of our seismic mitigation plan, which

is why it’s on the list to be replaced, and which is why, I assume, the

member opposite is going to be supporting what our government’s doing.

Because that is how her school is going to get fixed, replaced, or

whatever needs to be done in that specific issue.

Our

government has put forward $2 billion in capital over the next three

years to do exactly what the member opposite is asking for. Again, I

assume she’s going to support that to make sure it takes place, unlike

what the NDP government has always done, which is nothing when it comes

to seismic. In fact, they were unable to have a seismic mitigation

program when they were in power. They were unable to do seismic work,

because they said and the Education Minister in the ’90s said: “We are

unable to do seismic, because we can’t afford it. The economy is not

good enough here in British Columbia.” Guess what? That’s changed. We

can afford all of these things.

[2:20 p.m.]

I assume

the member opposite has now had an epiphany, realizes it and is going to

support what we’re doing.

SUPPORTS FOR STUDENTS

IN BURNABY SCHOOL

DISTRICT

J. Routledge: Over the

last few weeks, I’ve gotten to know a little boy by the name of Landon.

Landon is very active. He has lots of energy, but he doesn’t know what

to do with it, and as a result, he’s struggling in school. His parents

want to get him the help that he needs, but there’s been no assessment,

no support, and he’s not getting the education he deserves.

Landon’s

parents just want their son to have a chance. When will the Premier and

her government put Landon’s interests before her own and let a new

government get on with fixing the schools in Burnaby?

Hon. M. Bernier: Thank you

to the member opposite for her question. It’s something that our

government has been working very diligently on with all of the school

districts. In fact, if you look at the recent negotiated settlement with

the Supreme Court of Canada decision with the BCTF, there is almost $350

million that’s going to the 60 school districts around the province of

British Columbia.

It’s a

negotiated settlement that the BCTF has agreed on. The Burnaby school

district is very well aware of their allotment and are going to be

making decisions on how they want to spend that money. A lot of that

money will be: enrolling and non-enrolling teachers to help students

just like the member opposite has asked for.

On top of

that, we have spent every single year a learning improvement fund… We

spend almost $1 billion right now within our budget to support students

with special needs to ensure they get the education they need, the

support they need.

We have

offered and we’ve said we’re going to do more — not only in our throne

speech but also within our budget. Again, it’s something that we’re

committed to doing and something that I assume the member opposite is

now going to support.

[End of question period.]

Orders of the Day

Hon. M. de Jong: Mr. Speaker,

continued debate on the throne speech.

Throne Speech Debate

(continued)

Mr. Speaker: I recognize

the member for Penticton. And if people can clear the House quietly and

efficiently.

D. Ashton: Thank you,

Mr. Speaker. It’s always a bit disconcerting when you’re going to speak and

everybody leaves the room. So it doesn’t start off on a….

It’s a

pleasure to rise today and support the Speech from the Throne. On behalf of

the citizens that I’m so proud to represent in Penticton, Summerland,

Peachland, Naramata and the regional district, I really would like to thank

them very much for exercising their democratic right in voting in the

previous election.

[R. Chouhan in the chair.]

It’s a great

privilege once again to represent the citizens of the Penticton and

Peachland riding in this people’s house of democracy and to be able to

respond to the Speech from the Throne.

I will

continue to make sure that Interior British Columbians have a voice in this

building and support the economic prosperity for the communities that I am

so fortunate to represent.

[2:25 p.m.]

I would like

to take just a brief moment to thank many of the people that allotted me and

allowed me to be here. Having a young family and being away — first of all,

in our family business and then being involved in municipal and regional and

then provincial government — having to leave the spouse at home who took the

onus and raised those kids — and did an awfully good job of doing it…. Many

of us in this House have came up under the same circumstances that I have,

and it’s difficult.

I’m

incredibly proud to say that my son, Coleton, has just finished his third

year at University of Victoria here, with some wonderful instructors and

wonderful professors, and is doing exceptionally well. My daughter has just

graduated and wants to take the honourable step towards, tentatively,

becoming a police officer in the RCMP, much to the chagrin of her father,

who has been nipping at his nails for the last month or so debating if

that’s the direction for a young girl who you’ve watched go from ballet

slippers into boots to be a proud member of Canada’s finest. I’m sure hoping

that it’s the right direction for her, but it is her choice.

Also, we all,

on both sides of this House, had the incredible privilege of working with

people that allowed to us get here, the campaign teams that we had. Those

people volunteer their time and make a huge difference, not only to help us

get here but also in the community, because they’re continual community

activists.

I would be

very remiss in not mentioning a couple of the individuals — Dick and Derek

and the staff they had assembled that is doing an absolutely phenomenal job.

Also the legislative staff that we have the pleasure of working with here in

Victoria, and the constituency staff. They’re really the backbone that

allows us to perform our duties in here, for the citizens that we represent.

It doesn’t matter what side of the House you’re on. They do an absolutely

incredible job.

I would also

once again like to thank the people of the riding that I represent for

stepping forward and making sure that democracy prevailed. I run under the

Liberal Party banner, but when we get elected, as for everybody in this

House, we represent each and every one of the citizens in our riding. It

doesn’t matter what political flag they fly. We’re there to offer assistance

on a continual basis to ensure that the issues they need brought forward are

addressed to the best of our ability.

I would just

like, at this point in time, to thank a whole bunch of individuals that have

made an exceptional difference in the Okanagan over the last month and a

bit. Those are the people that make up our emergency services and the

incredible volunteers that have stepped forward to help and give aid in our

flood-affected communities.

The losses

are going to be substantial. Thank God there were no lives

involved in it — a terrific amount of property damage. I know that the

government has heard and is listening, and I applaud those communities that

have really stepped forward, along with some very good government

assistance, to protect the homes that they could and to ensure that there

wasn’t any more damage.

I’m also very

determined to find out why this was caused and how to prevent it from

happening in the future. I’ve asked the minister responsible for a review of

the incident. And the incident isn’t to chastise anybody or the likes of

that; it’s just to ensure that every effort possible is made in the future

so that this never happens again.

Through

several terms as a councillor and two terms as the mayor of Penticton, I’m

now on my second term as an MLA. Previous, also, to that was as a chair for

numerous years at the regional district of Okanagan-Similkameen. I’ve had an

incredible privilege to serve British Columbians on a multitude of levels of

government.

I’ve said

this in the House before, and I’ll continue to say it. My dad always taught

me that if you look after the pennies, the dollars will follow. But he also

said to me that you cannot spend $1.05 when you’re only taking in $1 because

that’s where troubles and issues will present themselves. I can say that

this government has done an incredible job of ensuring that the fiscal and

financial responsibilities they’ve been charged with have flowed down to the

people of British Columbia. We worked incredibly hard to control government

spending while growing the economy of the province of British Columbia to be

No. 1 in Canada.

[2:30 p.m.]

We are in

this position, at this point in time, having recorded five consecutive

balanced budgets, something that very, very, very few provinces have ever

accomplished — and especially during some of the uncertain economic times

that have prevailed over the tenure of this government.

I can stand

here all day and talk about this incredible fiscal track record and

financial responsibility that this government has shown, but it’s also

incredibly important that we reflect on how we care for the people of our

province. Many people in this House and many people from the area that I

represent know that I’m not a very strong political person. I have always

had issues with politics. I am a strong believer in good governance, and I

do my best at all times to practise good governance.

I’m very well

known as a fiscal conservative. Through my parents, I and my two sisters

were always brought up to have a very strong social conscience. I believe

that we really have a duty to take care of those that are not as fortunate

and those that we are charged to protect, whether it’s in municipal,

regional, provincial and/or federal government.

By sticking

to core values, we’re able to afford that. It was very well indicated in the

throne speech. It shows that there are opportunities, when you have

additional funds, to ensure that these vital programs that families need the

most are able to be provided. As we all know, that makes a huge difference

to many, many people unfortunately in those situations in this province. The

Speech from the Throne puts forward a vision for our province that better

balances supporting economic growth, strengthening our social programs and

improving and protecting our environment.

British

Columbia’s economy has grown more than expected. You’ve heard the numbers

floating around here. As many know, I sit as a secretary to the Minister of

Finance. Having a career in business all my life, literally, and trying to

project future sales in our family business or future sales in the

provincial business and future tax revenue is difficult, to say the

least.

There’s a

phenomenal team at Treasury Board and the Finance board in the province of

British Columbia, but there are a lot of uncertainties. When you do a target

and you’re able to go through because the economy keeps on growing…. People

look at stability. They look at opportunities in a province like British

Columbia — with so many aspects that people would really like to have in

their lives — and what we are able to offer here. The migration coming into

B.C. and how the economy is functioning so strongly in B.C. have made a

substantial difference.

This

opportunity presenting itself gives us an opportunity to spend more on

social programs while living within our means and watching how all members

in this House want to continue to ensure that the people of British Columbia

have what we can provide.

However, you

have to continue to have a balanced budget to do it, and there are a lot of

external circumstances that can come into play when we don’t watch how we

look after the treasury of the people of British Columbia. When that

happens, one doesn’t need to look any further than our bordering province

and see what’s transpiring.

Let’s take

the politics out of it. When an economy has a tendency to roll over the top

and start heading down in those logarithms and those signs, like the sign

equations that you could see from physics, and when you’re down at the

bottom of the bell curve, it doesn’t take much to see what can happen. The

people of British Columbia can nay afford the opportunity of having to pay

more in interest payments to those outside of not only our province but

those outside of our country that hold a lot of the debt for the

province.

It’s been

said on numerous occasions…. I hope that people realize — some of my friends

not only on this side of the House but on the opposite side of the House —

that I really think there’s an opportunity for all of us to work together.

To me, it’s imperative, and I think it’s something that the people of

British Columbia want to see.

You know, the

electorate, or the citizens of B.C., are actually pretty

smart. They sent a message not only to the government; they sent a message

to the two other parties represented in this House that they want to see

more mutual cooperation and they want to see this province go

ahead.

[2:35 p.m.]

So it’s not

damn the torpedoes; it’s damn the politics. Let’s just get on with it and

ensure that we can continue to have an incredibly strong province and have

opportunities not only for ourselves but for our children and our children’s

children.

Like most

members in this House — or, I’ll have to say, all members in this House — I

have listened over the years to families’ concerns with affordability in

their communities. My constituents want to live and they want to work in

their communities, and that goal is becoming less and less affordable as our

economy grows and more people move into our beautiful province.

Our

government has acted on housing affordability by investing almost a billion

dollars in affordable housing. Just in Penticton and area, there are 179 new

units that have been constructed, have been acquired or are under

construction, and that’s going to make a huge difference to families that

need that roof over their head. That’s one of the major things, when a child

can come home to a roof over their head and come home to the security of

having a place to “call their own.” It can make a huge difference in their

lifestyle.

The

single-largest investment, as we all know, has been affordable housing,

within one calendar year, within Canadian history, in this province — and to

protect consumers’ interests. We heard some questions today from the

opposition about the regulation of the real estate industry and speculation

and issues with people getting evicted because renovations are taking place.

I know that this government will continue to introduce measures to not only

fight real estate speculation but also ensure that it’s done

properly.

As was

pointed out, there are two sides to that equation. There are the people that

actually own the properties, the landlords, and then the renters, and there

has to be that balance. Both sides, again…. Maybe like in this House, what

many of us are driving for is…. You have to try and work together on those

situations.

But we also

know that we can do more, and we have to do more, to ensure that housing

prices are sustained so that people can have that roof over their head.

You’ve heard that we’re prepared to build over 50,000 units of new housing

across this province in ten years, which will go on a rent-to-own program. I

think it was absolutely brilliant that the former Minister for Housing — and

a Penticton boy and a graduate from Pen High — has brought it forward to

make housing more affordable and more available to those that need that

assistance.

This program

will ensure that renters can grow their equity through monthly rent payments

until they’re able to have that equity and that nest egg saved up so that

they can put it towards either buying those premises or being able to take

that money and be able to buy something.

Support from

other levels of government is incredibly important, not only the federal

side, but our peers here in the province, whether it be a regional district

or a municipal one. We have to take a look at all that. Coming from

municipal government, like many of my peers here in this House have come

from, there are things that we have to continue to look at, and I challenge

— I absolutely challenge — councils and regional districts these days to

take a look. Are you doing everything possible to ensure that people have

that opportunity? Are you standing in the way? Are there things that you can

do differently to make things happen a lot quicker?

The last

thing you want is an application coming in that sits on the corner of

somebody’s desk for months because they’re too busy or they’re not available

to get at it right away. That’s something that really should change, and it

takes that cooperation that is spoken about in this House so often. But it

has to protrude outside of our walls to include all levels of

government.

I hope, and

I’m sure, that we will continue to work with our municipal partners to

eliminate that backlog of construction of new housing supply and to remove

those obstacles that really strain the permitting process. You know, those

good, hard-working people that work at these levels of local government are

constrained sometimes with rules and regulations.

My analogy is

maybe not the best one, but there is an advertisement for impaired driving

here in British Columbia, where there’s one glass of beer and another glass,

and pretty soon, when you’re looking through it, you can’t see where you’re

going. Well, I use that analogy for regulations.

With the best

of intentions, municipalities, regional districts, provincial governments

and federal governments bring in regulations, but sometimes they don’t look

at that layering effect that takes place, and pretty soon, those

hard-working individuals that work for municipalities and regional districts

or the province or the federal government are challenged by those

regulations. I really think that we have to take a look at these things

collectively.

[2:40 p.m.]

Housing

affordability is a priority for all parties in this House. I really look

forward to working with everybody in this House so that all the citizens

that we represent will have an opportunity not only to work but also to live

in their communities and to have that roof over their head.

While our

province is leading the nation, it’s important we recognize how other

provinces lead in the country. We know that more has to be done through

political and democratic reform. As we’ve heard, there have been two pieces

of legislation that were brought forward regarding comprehensive reforms.

These included banning corporate, union and third-party

donations, including donations in-kind to political parties; imposing

maximum donation limits for individuals; banning donations of a foreign

nature to political parties; restricting the role of money influencing

elections through third parties; and banning loans to parties by an

organization other than by a chartered bank or a credit union.

We want to

continue to reform and ensure that our institutions, in the spirit of

cooperation, will be acted on by all members of this Legislature. We want to

ensure that…. We know that if there is a reform that takes place in the

future on how people are able to govern out of this wonderful building….

There is a promise that has been put forward for electoral reform no later

than November 30, 2018.

I hope we

work together, through that extensive consultation that should take place,

to develop a clear question that British Columbians can understand and can

see that it is 100 percent in its meaning and depth and, also, that not only

protects urban areas but also protects the rural areas of British Columbia.

I think that’s really important because sometimes rural British Columbia is

forgotten. Rural British Columbia is a phenomenal supplier to urban B.C. of

many, many of the things that the people in larger municipalities hold so

dear, but they forget where it comes from.

Health care

is incredibly important to each and every one of us. Having a strong economy

has given the opportunity to reduce the costs of MSP for families without

moving that burden over to the income tax. It’s taking it away. There’s no

transfer of costs. Do you know that more than two million British Columbians

right now pay no payments to MSP?

Our plan is

to cut the premiums by 50 percent for households making up to $120,000 a

year. This plan is going to save families as much as $900 a year. It’s a

direct saving — $900, my gosh, in your pocket. There’s so much that families

can have that opportunity to do with that money. You know, again, raising

two kids — it’s expensive. We all know it, and it’s only getting more

expensive in today’s costing for children and for families.

Seniors. My

mom is 92 years old, and she’s in a home. She gets incredibly wonderful

care. I know that there are examples…. We heard of an example again today,

and these things do happen. I think they’re a very, very small portion of

what transpires. My mom, having gone through three seniors homes because of

transfers to try and get her back closer to home and then as her abilities

declined….

I have seen

nothing but the most incredible care given by these people that work,

whether they are in facilities that are government — i.e., hospitals, etc. —

or in private care. I have seen nothing but the best of care for these

people that are our parents. I look at these folks that work so hard during

the days and at night for our parents and then go home and address their own

issues.

But I can

tell you, having somebody in the system and being able to see it is a heck

of a lot of a difference than just talking about it. Those people helped

build this province, and they built an incredible province for all of us to

enjoy — each and every one of us in here. And with that, we need to give

back.

Government

has committed to providing an additional 500 care beds with strong and

enforceable standards and doubling the home-renovation tax credit to help

keep seniors in their homes as long as they can.

[2:45 p.m.]

We did that

with my mom. Mom wanted to be home. She wanted to be close to the horses.

She wanted to be close to the farm. She wanted to ensure the animals got fed

first. As a kid growing up, we all worked really hard in the mornings and at

night to ensure that the animals were fed first. If we didn’t get them fed,

we didn’t get fed until they were fed, so it was quite an

incentive.

Creating a

new respite tax credit to help families care for elderly family members. All

I can say is that it’s one thing to talk about it, but it’s another thing to

go through it.

here to ensure that communities are accessible for all British Columbians.

B.C. is a real leader in barrier-free living, and we’re going further to

make sure that we continue to be leaders. We’re going to increase the

spaces.

As I

mentioned, I was in our family business. We owned a chain of stores in

British Columbia. Our demographics were 39-plus in females. A lot of our

customers were matronly and needed assistance, and we made sure that all of

our fitting rooms were literally double the normal size, and some were

triple the size to ensure that wheelchairs and walking mobility accessories

could get people into the fitting rooms. I think it’s long

overdue.

But coming

back to the homes, we’re going to increase the minimum number of suites

features. We have to ensure that these suites are distributed through the

building and that they represent all types and all sizes so that people

actually have a choice. These changes, along with continued investments in

our community, really make B.C. much more of an accessible

province.

MSP. As our

economy continues to grow and we continue to balance our budgets, we are, as

I said, going to be reducing the cost of MSP. We have to continue to find a

way to do so as our health care budget grows with our population, which is

aging, by committing to cutting MSP premiums by 50 percent for households

making up to $120,000 a year, and saving that $900-plus a year. Members of

this House all share the view that MSP should be eliminated. It’s just how

we can eliminate it. Again, I think if there was more of a cooperation and

collaboration…. We don’t need to roll it over into taxation. We need to get rid of it as quickly as possible and completely get

rid of it.

Early

education. Families are continuing to change in our province, with

households requiring both parents to work. We have to listen to the families

and the employers call for improvements to our child care and early

childhood education in the system and to ensure that the growing demand they

face on their finances and their time is addressed.

The budget is

going to be amended for 2017 to make room for a $1 billion investment in

child care and for early childhood education over the next four years. To

make this investment, we are going to continue to fully expand the

prosperity fund over the next four years for its intended purpose of an

intergenerational transfer of wealth.

You know,

children are our most important resource. We have to continue, on a

continual basis, to invest more and more and more. I grew up in a family. As

I said, both of my parents worked. I had caregivers. I know how difficult it

was, even for somebody like our family, to ensure that, number one, there

was somebody to look after myself and my sisters, but also to ensure that

was the right person. I really think there’s an opportunity here.

While we do

disagree in this House, investing in children’s education is a priority for

this government. We’re going to continue to invest so our children and our

students can continue to be global leaders in reading, science, math and

every other curriculum in education, in K to 12, and further on if they go

into post education facilities, and hiring of the teachers across this

province to ensure that the students receive the quality of education they

deserve.

We all know

education is changing. My god, you know, when I was a kid growing up, we had

a 19-inch, black-and-white portable. That’s all we had. We didn’t even have

cable. We had those darned rabbit ears that, halfway through…. The channel

would fade and get ziggly lines across it. Somebody had to run over. Dad

would say: “A little bit this way. A little bit that way.” It’s

changed.

[2:50 p.m.]

I watch my

kids. The communication is instant, these days, between them. It’s a pain to

me to watch my daughter and my son sit in the family room and talk to a

bunch of different friends. But then I realize that they’re actually talking

to numerous friends all at once. I’m a bit envious sometimes of how

technology has actually made their lives a lot better and, in a lot of ways,

a lot more efficient.

We’re also

not going to forget the rural districts and the districts with declining

enrolment. I was an example of that, as was my peer from the South Okanagan,

as there are some people on the opposite side of the House that are also

challenged with this. As the demographics of our province change, some of

our schools are really challenged.

In my little

neck of the woods, Trout Creek School, when I started going to school there

in grade 3, had four rooms, no gym and no offices. It was just literally a

little four-wall bungalow, to be honest with you. I’ve watched it grow and

watched how much it means to the community. It means so much.

Schools are a

lot more to smaller communities than just places of education. I think there

needs to be a real realization of that, for everybody in this House, to

ensure that we continue to put money into and support these smaller

institutions of education — which, again, mean a lot more to these

communities than just a place for their kids to go to school and get an

education.

Collectively,

we have to be able to work not only with the municipalities but also with

the school boards. In my opinion, education is changing, and there need to

be opportunities to work with that.

We’ve all

heard that there’s a royal commission on education that we would like to

convene, the first in three decades. To build on the success of the last

commission, what has taken place, we would like to lay a foundation for the

future. This commission will shape the future for the next generation of

students and teachers as we prepare these kids for their next jobs that

they’re going to take in the future.

I cannot say

enough about teachers and about what they do for these kids. There were some

trials and tribulations over the last period of time, but I cannot say

enough about what those teachers do for getting our children prepared for

the future.

Once they

leave elementary school — or K to 12, as it’s known now — and post-secondary

school, growing up in the opportunities that British Columbia can present to

the rest of the world, we have to find ways to make sure that these young

people have continued success. There’s a promise to create 2,000 STEM

graduates from institutions across our province and to fully fund adult

basic education and ESL — something that was brought forward, something that

has been agreed to, and something that we can work collaboratively for,

going forward — and also to expand the credit recognition for these

students. These investments are going to make a huge difference.

Coming

quickly to mental health and addictions, I, as many people in this House,

hear about what happens in our communities. It’s absolutely terrible. We’ve

just lost another individual as recently as last week. It’s something that

we have to take a look at.

As a parent —

and my kids will probably tell you that I go overboard — the dangers of

these new drugs that are floating around this province and floating around

North America keep me up at night, and I’m paranoid. Whenever I have the

opportunity to speak to kids in a group, I’m always telling them: “Be damned

careful. Be very, very careful when you’re in a situation, because you just

never, never know what somebody can give you or slip you

something.”

We have to

address this, and we have to start talking, in my opinion,

about stronger enforcement. We have to make sure that our RCMP officers have

the opportunity to continue to address it.

I see I’ve

run out of time. I would just like to say I’m in full support of the throne

speech, and I would like to thank each and every one of you in the House for

the hard work that you have done and that you’re going to do in the

future.

J. Martin: I’d like to

welcome back the returning members and especially welcome the new members in

this House, on both sides of the House, and yourself, Mr.

Speaker.

[2:55 p.m.]

On the way

over here, when the session resumed, it kind of dawned on me that this is my

second term. Despite the emotional roller-coaster that we go through, the

hours and the different types of tasks we take on — some more personally

appealing and pleasant than others — every time I sit in this room, I’m

reminded what a special opportunity I’ve been given by the constituents in

Chilliwack.

understanding is there are about 940 or so people that have ever been

elected to this House. That’s a pretty small group in history, since British

Columbia became a province. For those of us who do have that opportunity to

serve in government, in opposition — to debate in this House, to sit on the

all-important committees and, above all, to represent the people that sent

us here from our respective ridings — it’s a very special privilege. I think

the saddest day for me would be to come in here and take it for granted and

not realize and not cherish, every time I look up at the ceiling, what a

privilege it is to be here. I am very, very happy to be back.

It’s an

exciting time. It’s an historic time. It’s one that few people predicted,

but that’s what we signed on for. At the end of the day, it’s all about

respecting our constituents. It’s about serving the people of British

Columbia and about doing the right thing for the province despite….

Obviously, there are going to be disagreements on the best route to go

there.

Again,

welcome back, and welcome, for the first time, the new members. I haven’t

had a chance to shake hands or greet one-on-one. I hope that I’ll be able to

do that very shortly.

Above all,

I’m humbled and thrilled and ecstatic to be back in this House. I mean, I

never had a trajectory, a path, to become an MLA. I was never someone that

went into civic politics, municipal politics. I’ve spent most of my adult

life in the University of the Fraser Valley in a teaching capacity. I had

done some other things prior to that that really wouldn’t indicate any

long-term route of ending up in this place.

We all have

our different roads that we took to get here. Some people have been involved

in public life for many years, many decades. Other people came about this

through a variety of different scenarios. We each have our own story to

tell, and over the course of a parliament, we’ll learn more about each

other.

Just looking

across, sir…. My colleague, who you defeated, told me: “You’ve to go and

speak to this guy. He’s a great person. You’ll love him.” So, hopefully,

we’ll have that opportunity soon enough.

I can get

back to being myself here. Voting is the foundation in our democracy, and we

take that for granted sometimes. There are so many jurisdictions where

people don’t have the right to vote. It’s ecstatic to see people getting

excited about elections and to work on elections or to volunteer for

Elections B.C.

Above all,

the people in each of our respective constituencies — the ones that did

support us at the polls and sent us here to take on an enormous

responsibility — are the people that I want to thank.

She doesn’t

get a chance to come over here very often, but my wife, Margaret, is

basically responsible for pretty well every good thing that’s happened to me

over the last 30 years. Without her support and her carefully editing

certain parts of my speeches, saying: “No, you can’t say that, John. You

can’t say that. Take it out….” She used to do that for me for over ten years

when I had a newspaper column in the Province newspaper and other

Black Press papers. She, thankfully, took on the same responsibility when it

came to putting stuff on the public record in Hansard . Thank you,

Margaret, and I hope you get to come over with me shortly.

[3:00 p.m.]

As many of

you know — or if you don’t, you soon will — I am the proud owner of the two

most famous shelties associated with the Legislature, Blue and the Dude. I

miss them terribly every time I’m over here. To be able to run back to

Chilliwack to my wife and my pups — that’s why Thursday, at six o’clock, I’m

kind of making a beeline to get out of that parking lot, to make sure I

catch that 7 p.m. ferry.

Last Thursday

the Lieutenant-Governor officially opened the first session of the 41st

parliament, laying out the government’s priorities to continue to grow our

economy and to create jobs for British Columbians, and that’s jobs for

British Columbians in every part of the province.

Our economy,

and I’ll never get tired of saying this, is number one in the country. We

have the lowest youth unemployment in Canada. And just this past month we

confirmed that the B.C. jobs plan has created a quarter-million jobs since

its creation and has surpassed even the most optimistic expectations. We’ve

done this while putting forward five consecutive balanced budgets. That is a

feat that has only been accomplished a couple times since Confederation. One

of the things I’m most proud of having been part of as government is the

balanced budgets and the fiscal discipline that has allowed us to invest in

British Columbia and British Columbians.

Our economic

success is not by accident. It doesn’t just happen on its

own. We fulfilled our commitment to control spending, we’ve ensured that we

continue to balance those budgets, we make those hard decisions, we’ve been

cutting red tape, and we’ve been doing so, all of the time putting British

Columbians first.

Thanks to the

province’s economic strength, thanks to having diversified our economy,

diversified our trading partners, we expect a larger-than-projected

budgetary surplus this year. This surplus, which will be quantified in the

coming days, will mean we can spend more on the social programs that British

Columbians need and deserve the most, regardless of where they might reside

in the province.

Right here,

right now in B.C., we are the strongest province in the country. We have the

strongest economy. For the two previous years, we led the nation in economic

growth for the first time in decades. And we performed much better than

other provinces in 2016. As such, most forecasters predict that British

Columbia experienced the strongest growth in real GDP among provinces last

year.

This isn’t

something that we’re just talking about ourselves among the government side.

Recently RBC said that British Columbia will once again lead the country in

economic growth for a third consecutive year, revising the forecasted growth

rate for our province from 1.9 percent to 3 percent. That’s a revision of

more than a full percentage point, and that is something that is very

significant.

There’s a

quote in that report that I think sums up the economic situation here in

beautiful British Columbia quite nicely, and that is: “It has become

repetitive but still nice to say. The majority of economic indicators in

B.C. continue to paint a vibrant economy that carries a lot of momentum.”

The report goes on further to add: “The labour market is on fire. Employment

growth, at 3.6 percent, is spectacular — far, far stronger than any other

province.” On fire — that’s a pretty nice summation of how well the labour

market has been performing.

The Economic

Forecast Council, an independent body, has adjusted their estimates as well.

Like RBC, they forecast an entire percentage point in additional economic

growth.

We are also

the only province in Canada with a triple-A credit rating, and that makes us

an anomaly in the country. That triple-A credit rating gives us, in British

Columbia, lower borrowing costs than any other province.

[3:05 p.m.]

If we instead

had the credit rating some of the other provinces, we would be paying more

than $2 billion in annual debt-servicing costs — $2 billion you might as

well set on fire and let the wind blow away. That’s $2 billion of money that

would be used to just pay down the costs of borrowing, $2 billion that we

here in British Columbia can instead put toward programs and services rather

than debt costs — to schools, hospitals, infrastructure and social programs

instead of debt costs. That is significant.

The thing

that is most troubling sometimes when we have these discussions in the House

is that I don’t know that everybody appreciates how important it is to have

a stellar credit rating. We do see policies and platform pieces being pushed

that would have a very negative effect on our credit rating.

Look next

door. Our neighbours in Alberta, under their government, have seen five

consecutive credit downgrades in two years — five in just two years. A

similar thing happened in British Columbia when a different government was

in charge of the economy. We had six or seven consecutive credit downgrades.

There’s a price to pay for that. It’s the difference between having a credit

card with a low interest of maybe 2.9 percent and having 22 percent interest

on your credit card. At the end of the day, that is significant. That eats

into the things that are most important for families, just as it limits a

government’s ability to provide the programs and the services that its

citizens deserve.

We don’t want

to see billions of dollars flushed away to pay for debt rather than

programs, so we need to be very responsible in what pieces of the platform a

party wants to finance, what programs they want to finance, what projects

they want to invest in. None of this can be taken for granted.

Despite new

promises and new policies in our throne speech, we have not compromised on

our core principles. We have not compromised on balanced budgets. Thanks to

our prudence, future generations do not pay for the spending of today. We

have not compromised on growing the economy. We still believe in having the

strongest economy in Canada, and we still believe in supporting the

industries and the communities that have brought us here. Regardless of

where those communities or those industries may be located in British

Columbia, we support them.

We have not

compromised on creating jobs — good-paying, family-supporting jobs in all

corners of the province. Not everybody gets a government job. Not everybody

works in the public sector in the Lower Mainland or the capital region.

There are other types of jobs in other parts of the province that matter.

Those people matter, and those communities matter. They all matter. And

we’re committed.

We committed

in the throne speech to doubling the rural dividend from $25 million per

year to $50 million. This is one of the pieces in the throne speech I was

most happy about. The wealth of our province has always depended on the

understanding that the future of urban and rural communities is linked. One

cannot succeed without the other.

If anyone has

had an opportunity to spend time in a rural part of British Columbia — maybe

you’ve lived in one, or maybe you live in one now — one thing that becomes demonstrably clear very, very quickly is that rural

communities punch above their weight in the contributions they make to the

rest of the province. It’s critical that government helps to diversify their

economies through changing economic times and shifting of the different

sectors.

We’re

providing funding through this program in four different categories:

community capacity-building, workforce development, community and economic

development, and business sector development. The government, through its

throne speech and through other commitments and other investments, has made

it very, very clear that rural northern British Columbia drives this

province.

[3:10 p.m.]

It has always

been the backbone, the resource economy. There are communities that have

seen ebbs and flows, highs and lows, and those communities have always

supported the rest of British Columbia. And when there’s an opportunity for

other British Columbians to assist them, then it’s incumbent on us to do

so.

By helping

rural communities diversify, we help all British Columbia diversify, and we

keep our economy from being dependent on just a few industries. I mean, this

is something that you see not just within British Columbia but when you look

at British Columbia vis-à-vis other parts of Canada. Because we diversified

our economy so dramatically from where it might have been 20, 30, 40 years

ago and because we diversified our trading partners, we were able to weather

the storm much better than other jurisdictions.

When you had

the housing crash south of the border, we felt it the least, even though we

had a huge export market of investment in housing in the United States. Over

the years, we had come to rely less and less on the big economy south of the

border. We have opened up trade offices throughout Asia. We’re having a

constant opportunity to help and assist growing companies in British

Columbia to do their trade and to do business in other

jurisdictions.

Unlike

Ontario and Alberta, whose economies were literally welded at the hip to the

Americans, when the housing crunch happened and the recession kicked in, in

2007-2008, their economy took a hit far, far in excess of what happened in

British Columbia. We weathered that. We had tough times too; let’s not kid

ourselves. We weathered that because we understand and this government has

understood that communities and the province overall needs to

diversify.

This is

really the emphasis of the rural dividend program: to assist British

Columbia rural communities to be able to diversify so that those economies

are not dependent on the traditional limited industries that may, over time,

not be as successful as they once were.

We also have

had an opportunity to strengthen investment in our children. We will invest

$1 billion in child care and early childhood education programs over the

next four years. This is tantamount to the single largest investment and the

single largest increase in British Columbia’s history. There has never been

an announcement of a more significant investment in this area.

Our plan

will, among other things, create 60,000 new child care spaces, and that is

in addition to the 13,000 we have already committed to. Our plan will offer

middle-class families full or partial subsidies to help pay for their

children’s care. Our plan will assist families earning up to $60,000, who

now will be eligible for full subsidies. And those who make up to $100,000

will be eligible for partial subsidies. It will also offer $10 million in

grants and bursaries for people who wish to become early childhood

educators. And we will work with school districts to co-locate new child

care spaces at elementary schools.

These

investments, among others, will make life more affordable for working

British Columbian families. British Columbians have spoken, and they want

affordable and accessible child care. It’s our obligation, it’s our duty, to

provide that for them. That is specified in the throne speech as clear as

can be.

Probably no

single issue drives British Columbians’ concerns more than health care. I

don’t think that’s going to be anywhere different in any part of the

country. Now, we’re in a unique situation. British Columbians are among the

healthiest people anywhere in the world. Our health is due, in part, to our

lifestyle. People are active. People take more care of themselves here. The

climate allows for more activities that get people out of the

office.

[3:15 p.m.]

But it’s also

in part due to our province’s increasing investments in one of the best

health care systems in the world. Our strong economy, our diverse economy,

means that we can continue to improve our world-leading health care system.

Despite challenges within the health care system, let’s make no mistake

about it. The health care system in this province is the best health care

system in the world. Our strong economy means that we can continue to invest

in that.

As our

revenues increase, we can use government surpluses to invest more in the

health care programs that British Columbians want, we can modernize the

health care programs, we can expand, and we can innovate. We can do that

because we have the revenue stream that allows us to do that. We can do

that, or we can go down a road of reckless abandon. Instead of investing in

innovation and expansion and modernization, we can cut the cheque to the

banks to pay for increased credit costs for servicing of our

debts.

We can ensure

that British Columbians continue to have the best health care system in the

world. We have the greatest life expectancy, the best survival rates for

heart disease, the lowest incidence of cancer. Among those who do get

cancer, we have far and away the very best survival rates in the country.

There is no one that even comes second. We are so far ahead of the

pack.

However, as

our population continues to age…. And it is going to continue to age, not

just from within our own demographics but we’re going to continue to see

more and more retirees from all parts of the country relocating to British

Columbia to spend their golden years in this province. It makes perfect

sense. If I was living anywhere else in Canada and I hadn’t had a chance to

relocate to British Columbia, I assure you that upon retirement, I would

certainly make the move here. I might have wanted to buy my place a few

years ago, but in any event, this is absolutely the place to be.

We see the

influx of retirees continues in all parts of British Columbia, and that will

put a strain on our health care system. We’ll be serving more people, and

we’ll be servicing more elderly people. That lays out its own set of unique

challenges.

So as our

population continues to age, we must do more to reduce wait-lists for

patients and for their families. We must do more to meet those challenges

that are surely coming to British Columbia, and many are already

here.

We are

committed to improving our health care system through numerous undertakings.

One is to increase the scope of practice for nurse practitioners and

pharmacists. Another is to establish wait-time guarantees. Another is to

speed up access to MRIs. Another is to decrease wait times for knee and hip

operations. Another is to train 112 more GPs. Many communities will be very,

very welcoming to that news.

Investing in

our health care system today will help our province cope with an aging

population and keep British Columbians the healthiest people in the world.

Our health care system is predominantly important, of course, to the

province’s senior citizens, an ever-growing demographic. This government

remains committed to increasing the number of residential care beds by 500

and to ensuring measurable daily care, our standards, are enforced and

monitored in every organization and institution.

We are

doubling the home-renovation tax credit. This is to help families who care

for their aging family members at home. This will enable seniors who want to

live at home. This will enable seniors who want to stay at home for as long

as they want and will be less of a financial undertaking for their families

and loved ones that are supporting them.

We’re

creating a respite tax credit for families who care for other family members

with disabilities. Our parents, our grandparents — they worked hard to build

British Columbia, and it’s our obligation to work just as hard to provide

the services and the care they need most, when they need it.

[3:20 p.m.]

Boasting five

straight balanced budgets and boasting Canada’s far-and-away leading

economy…. That gives us some opportunities to do things that no other

province is able to do. It’s time to reduce the cost of MSP for families in

our province. We need to do this transparently and with careful forethought

as to where the revenue will come from to replace MSP.

We’ve already

taken action to reduce the number of people who pay this premium. Right now,

before doing anything else, approximately 40 percent of British Columbians

are paying reduced MSP premiums or no premiums at all. That’s an estimated

two million British Columbians, including children. We’ve already taken

action to eliminate MSP for almost half of the people in this

province.

We’ve taken a

further step in the process recently to eliminate MSP altogether. What we

have pledged, what we have committed to and what we have reiterated in the

throne speech is to cut MSP premiums by 50 percent for households making up

to $120,000. This has the potential, has the capacity, to save a family of

four as much as $900 per year. Every one in this Legislature can agree that

MSP should be eliminated. We can work together to review how that should be

done as soon as possible and to do it in a way that is not going to have

adverse impact on other parts of the province.

Our

province’s natural resources are the backbone of our economic growth. They

help pay for these services and programs. Health care, education, mental

health, seniors care, infrastructure — each of these are paid for by revenue

from resource industries. The throne speech has reaffirmed and restated and

reiterated our commitment to our province’s natural resource industries but,

more importantly, to our natural resource workers.

Right now we

are working toward opening eight new mines by 2022. And we’re working toward

investing $18 million to improve mine permitting, oversight, compliance and

enforcement. These mines will provide thousands of jobs. They will provide

families across British Columbia with income and enable them to enjoy

prosperity — for them to be able to enjoy time with their loved ones, with

their families; to pursue their dreams; and to experience being a British

Columbian to its fullest.

We will

protect forestry workers from U.S. protectionism by continuing to promote

the use of B.C. wood abroad. In the interim, B.C. will prepurchase wood for

construction of public housing at home. Without forestry, without mining we

wouldn’t be able to reduce wait-lists, we wouldn’t be able to build

hospitals, we wouldn’t be able to build child care spaces, and we wouldn’t

be able to pay for any of the other health care improvement our province

needs.

When I think

about things like that, I flash back to one of my first full-time jobs

pulling veneer at the old Canfor mill in New Westminster. I never had any

idea of the scope of what the natural resource sector was contributing. My

family was always supported by a paycheque from the mill. That’s what I grew

up with. I just thought it was us. I didn’t know that it went beyond a few

other kids I knew whose dad or another family member

might work in a mill.

It’s kind of

ironic, years and years later, having that sense of: “Wow, being a part of

the forestry sector, working in the mill — that’s something that all British

Columbia benefits from.” We want to make sure that we’re able to continue

doing so.

Agriculture.

I hope that I have a bit of an opportunity here. I see the green light come

on.

Deputy Speaker: Thank you,

Member. The red light has come on.

J. Martin: I come from a

riding rich in agriculture.

Respectfully,

hon. Speaker, I see that I do not have the time. I know the Ag Minister is

able to…. I think he’s speaking fairly shortly, so I hope that he picks up

right from there.

[3:25 p.m.]

Hon. N. Letnick: Thank you to

the member for Chilliwack for the segue to agriculture, but I think I’m

about 20 minutes on other things first before I get into ag. And thank you,

hon. Speaker, for the privilege of being here one more time to talk about

important things — obviously the throne speech, but we do have some latitude

to talk about our ridings and how we got here in the first place.

Let me make

it very clear. I will be supporting the throne speech, and I ask all members

to do the same.

First, I’d

like to thank the constituents of Kelowna–Lake Country. It’s a wonderful

place. If you haven’t seen it lately, you have to come. It keeps changing

every year. Our lakes are very high this year, obviously. A lot of flooding

happened, unfortunately, to many homes and to some of our streets. We look

forward to the water continuing to recede and to people getting their

properties fixed and back to normal, if we can get there sooner than later,

so that we can enjoy the summer season and so that our tourists can come

back to the Okanagan and spend more money, which drives the

economy.

Again, my

thoughts go out to all of those impacted through the floods.

The riding is

amazing, from a true community of Rutland to wonderful places up in

Dilworth, all through Glenmore and over to Quail Ridge and Ellison and Lake

Country — just wonderful communities and wonderful people. I want to thank

all of them for their trust in me to present to this Legislature their

priorities.

I’d like to

thank, of course, my friends and my family, without whom I could not do this

work, for their support. In particular, Helene, my wife of 36 years this

summer; my wonderful children, who are all living in Kelowna now. They are

well established, working. My eldest daughter, Melanie, is a French

immersion teacher, and that makes for interesting discussions sometimes. My

son is a realtor, which makes for more interesting discussions, and he and

his wife have given us our first and only grandchild so far. We just love

Luna to bits. Thank you to Joanna and J.P. for that. And of course, Naomi is

working in Kelowna as well, as a civil engineering technologist and making

us really proud.

I’d also like

to thank Katja Maurmann and Lesley Driscoll, who are my constituency

assistants over in Kelowna–Lake Country. They are the first line of support

for our constituents. Usually they handle the vast majority of issues and

opportunities that constituents have when they come to the office. I could

not do this job, obviously, without them. And of course, all of the

volunteers who helped during the last election campaign, I would say locally

as well as provincewide — all the volunteers that helped all the MLAs on

both sides of the House get elected. In particular, those, of course, on the

B.C. Liberal side, which allowed us to get more seats than any other party

in this Legislature.

And the

volunteers that helped in the campaign through the election that allowed us

to come in with a 60 percent voter support, a 55 percent turnout. That’s the

highest turnout that we have seen in my three terms. And we came out with

the second-highest plurality of any riding in the province, second to the

member for Vancouver–Mount Pleasant, who had the highest plurality in the

province. So something to look forward to. I don’t know if she knew that,

given the expression on her face. I thank all the volunteers who helped us

get to that position.

Of course,

congratulations to Mr. Speaker, my colleague and friend from

Kelowna-Mission, who is now, of course, the Speaker of the House. He and the

Premier and I form Team Okanagan, representing the Central Okanagan. I’m so

proud of him and what he has achieved, with the support of all members of

this House.

And of

course, to our Premier, making history one more time on being the first

woman Premier of British Columbia re-elected into office.

[G. Kyllo in the chair.]

Our riding

crosses the urban and rural divide. We have all kinds of wonderful places,

including very, very urban locations in the riding as well as very rural

farming communities, which I’ll talk about in a little while. I have the

pleasure of representing and working with two municipal governments, the

Kelowna city council and the council for the district of Lake Country —

wonderful people, very cooperative. We meet on a regular basis and share

ideas as to how we can advance the needs of our joint constituencies

further.

[3:30 p.m.]

I think that

has gone a long way to answer the question as to why such a high plurality

in our area — a high voter turnout, a high voter confidence — year after

year, election after election. It’s the relationship

that we’ve built between the local MLAs and the local governments, working

together, collaboratively, with our federal government to deliver on

priorities for people in our district.

We are a very

multicultural community. Take for example, my family. My wife is French

Canadian. My daughter is Filipino. My other daughter is a French teacher. My

daughter-in-law is Chinese. And that seems to be typically what’s going on

in Kelowna now. It is moving even further towards a multicultural community

— lots of people from different ethnic backgrounds. It’s a privilege to be

serving all of them throughout the community.

It’s

fast-growing. I think the latest numbers show it’s the fastest-growing area

in Canada. If it’s not this year, it was very recently. And of course, it’s

very entrepreneurial. This attitude of let’s get down to work, let’s fix

things and let’s look for new opportunities is very clearly demonstrated on

the innovation side in the high-tech sector, which is booming in the Central

Okanagan, thanks to many parts, many people, but in particular, I would say,

to the forward-looking city councils in both Lake Country and Kelowna and,

of course, our Okanagan College, UBC Okanagan, and all the people that work

at the innovation centre and Accelerate Okanagan. They are looking forward

to making sure that we continue to grow high tech in our area.

Lots of

things have happened over the last few months. I’d like to talk about the

throne speech, of course, and the benefits about the throne speech to

British Columbia and my constituents in particular. I’m going to use that

lens of my constituents because that’s who I’m here to represent. So I’m

going to use that particular lens in this and show howthe government’s

throne speech aligns with my local campaign platform that we recently placed

in front of the people.

One of the

first things that we saw in the throne speech is it accentuates our strong

fiscal plan. Of course, full credit goes to our Premier and Finance Minister

for getting us to this position, especially after we all experienced the

2009 recession after the sub-prime mortgage crisis. It took us a while to

get ourselves out of that deficit situation, but compared to other

jurisdictions in Canada and around the world, I must give them kudos for

where we’re at today, with triple-A credit ratings and five consecutive

balanced budgets. We are scheduled to pay off our operating debt — since

1976, the first time that it’s been paid off — in just a few

years.

And of

course, the focus on job growth and creation: I understand 88,000 new jobs

last year — 109,000 if you include the year before. Hon. Speaker, you’re

probably even more in tune with this than I am, given your role, but we also

have to continue to increase that. And the key is: no increase in income

tax. I think it’s really important to reinforce that message. You don’t

attract people and organizations to a community or a province if you’re

going to tell them: “Yes, come over. And by the way, when you come, we’re

going to raise your taxes. We’re going to raise your taxes on property

transfer, on carbon, on income, on PST. We’re going to even tax your homes

if you sell them and you get a capital gain of over $750,000.”

These are the

kinds of things that will scare businesses and people out of the province.

But what you won’t see are those people and businesses who don’t come here

in the first place. They’re not going to take ads out and say: “Hey, we’re

not coming to British Columbia anymore because you’re raising taxes.”

They’ll just go somewhere else, quietly, unfortunately. But over time, once

someone has spent all the money and once the tax revenue starts to go down

because of the increase in taxes, that will, of course, impact jobs and the

future of our children.

So I’m really

thankful that our Premier and Finance Minister, with the support of caucus,

of course, continue to look forward to a throne speech that does not

increase those income taxes.

Another thing

that’s in the throne speech that I support is campaign funding reform. Our

Premier committed to a committee of eminent people to review the whole issue

of campaign funding reform and to have those recommendations brought back to

government.

[3:35 p.m.]

With the

throne speech, we have now clearly made a proposal to ban corporate, union

and third-party donations, including donations in-kind to political parties,

imposing a maximum donation limit for individuals to political parties

comparable to other Canadian jurisdictions, and a number of other important

measures.

Locally,

during the election, I put forward the opinion that the issue of campaign

funding reform should be resolved prior to the next election. I was pleased

to hear that this is exactly what the throne speech supports, in the

comprehensive set of reforms that have been proposed.

Thanks to our

strong fiscal plan and good working relationship between all three levels of

government in our area, we have been able to accomplish many things over the

last few years. As examples, we have investments in Okanagan College and UBC

Okanagan, money for tourism, replant money for the Okanagan tree fruit

industry, money for the Okanagan innovation and high-tech sector.

There are

billions of dollars in government construction, creating many jobs,

construction of a new highway between Winfield and Oyama; concrete medians

between Kelowna and Vernon, saving lives; thousands more handyDART and

conventional bus service hours; money to help buy and prepare the CN rail

for use; millions for critical local water infrastructure; millions for a

new Kelowna General Hospital cardiac surgical centre and so many other

important health care initiatives; Foundry, a new hub for youth and young

adults with mental health and substance abuse challenges; a new integrated

team approach to seniors health, located at Cottonwoods. The list goes on and on.

All these

things have been accomplished thanks to a balanced-budget approach and

growing the economy, which is evident in our throne speech, but we have more

to do. That’s always my theme in any election: “Lots done; more to do.” Here

are just a few of the areas where my platform commitments align with the

government throne speech.

In the throne

speech, the government has committed to continued investing in road

infrastructure. This aligns well with my commitment to work with all levels

of government to see the completion of the six-laning of Highway 97;

intersection improvements through Kelowna; the completion of John Hindle

Drive, connecting Glenmore with Highway 97 at UBC Okanagan, helping all

commuters at Highway 97; continue to expand and improve our local public

transit; fix the bottleneck at Beaver Lake Road, Glenmore Road and Highway

97; help Kelowna extend the Clement Avenue expressway from Glenmore Road to

Highway 33, taking more traffic off Highway 97, with fewer intersections,

helping all commuters, but especially residents of Rutland, Glenmore and

Dilworth in particular.

The throne

speech also commits to improving the delivery of health care services in the

province. Of course, that aligns with my particular campaign in the Central

Okanagan: accelerating access to hip and knee procedures, extremely

important; establishing wait-time guarantees; speeding up access to MRIs;

increasing the number of family doctors being trained; increasing the scope

of practice for professionals, such as nurse practitioners and pharmacists;

increasing support to health care teams delivering comprehensive service for

patients; increasing the number of residential care beds by 500 and ensuring

that clear and measurable daily care hour standards are in place, monitored

and enforced; continuing to shift our system to more preventative care;

doubling the home-renovation tax credit for seniors and providing a respite

tax credit for our seniors.

These

continue to align extremely well with the local priorities, including the

nurse and practice program that will help deliver over 3,000 local people to

family doctors in our area and helping to create a multidisciplinary health

hub for residents of Lake Country.

One area of

health care delivery that has garnered great public attention is that of

mental health and addictions. Mental health challenges have impacted

families everywhere since the beginning of humanity. We are making progress

on tackling many of the challenges presented with mental health and

addiction issues, but more must be done. That’s why I was pleased to see, in

the throne speech, the government’s plan, including a plan to expand the

successful provincewide Foundry program, a single point of entry for young

people who are experiencing mental health issues. The Foundry program will

soon be underway in Kelowna, and I look forward to it being expanded across

the province.

Another area

of commonality between the throne speech and our platform is affordable

housing. In my local platform, I committed to use the experience gained as

president of a non-profit housing corporation with our local governments and

offer an increase to both rental and owner-occupied housing supply. I was

very pleased to see that the throne speech contained new initiatives, in

addition to the $900 million invested last year, into building new,

affordable, supportive housing across the province, thanks to the leadership

of our Deputy Premier. People will begin to move into these 5,000 units over

the coming months.

[3:40 p.m.]

We will see

new initiatives if the throne speech is passed, with government committing

to work with the private sector to build 50,000 units of new housing across

the province over ten years. Government also has further committed to bring

together and welcome the ideas of all parties and participants at a housing

summit.

Should the

throne speech not pass, it’s still my intention to fulfil my local platform

commitment and seek out willing partners to repeat the success in the

Okanagan that we had with that non-profit housing corporation that I spoke

of previously.

Another area

that’s not economic directly but also fundamentally impacts communities and

families is that of child care. And if I may, in a related matter, I would

like to thank the Minister of Children and Families for her unwavering

commitment to some of B.C.’s most vulnerable children, in her role as

minister.

In my local

platform, I committed to work hard to see a sizable number of the

then-promised new 13,000 additional child care spaces located in our region.

I was heartened to see the commitment expand in the throne speech to over

60,000 new child care spaces, a 50 percent increase over the last four

years.

Education is

another key sector that received attention in the throne speech and in my

local platform. The throne speech calls for a review of the funding formula

for school districts. The review will focus on supporting districts with

declining enrolment, as well as ensuring fast-growing districts can keep up

with growing demand — this at the time with the continuation of record

investments in new school construction and seismic upgrades.

These

commitments are important, as some in my school district believe the current

formula disadvantages our area. Also, we have worked together on the capital

side and are close to funding requests for the replacement of the middle

school in Rutland and a new middle school in Lake Country.

Post-secondary education is also seeing major investments in the Central

Okanagan. The throne speech calls for the creation of 2,000 more graduates

in science, technology, engineering and math from institutions across the

province. I know both Okanagan College and UBC Okanagan are

ready to do their part to help the government achieve this target, should

the throne speech pass.

While there

may be other points of intersects between the throne speech and local

priorities, my time is limited, and I would like to focus a little bit on

agriculture, if I may. So I will move on. I understand that there are points

of commonality with First Nations, environment, clean tech, high tech,

welfare management, B.C. Parks and others. I would be happy to discuss

those, perhaps after the opposition puts in their motion to amend. That

would give me an opportunity to speak again, as it would be a new

motion.

Firstly, I

would like to thank the 350 or so staff in the Ministry of Agriculture, led

by the very professional Deputy Minister Derek Sturko; the minister’s

office, led by the very capable Karen Bill; all the members of both my

agrifood advisory committee and the advisory committee on finfish

aquaculture; and especially, all the farmers, producers, processors, sellers

and everyone else involved in B.C.’s outstanding food industry. Our

province’s food security is in great hands.

Agriculture

is a vitally important sector of our province and my riding. Not only are

the food and drink we grow, produce and sell important to our province’s

security; the business of agriculture is also a great economic generator and

a job creator. Both the throne speech and my local platform recognize and

celebrate that.

In the throne

speech, the government is committed to doubling the Grow Local program and

making it permanent; bringing an additional 91,000 hectares of agricultural

land into production by 2020; activating an all-party select standing

committee to study how British Columbia’s agricultural land can be used and

stewarded; and also ensuring that the high-quality farmland lost as a result

of the Site C project is replaced with comparable land in other parts of the

province.

I am proud to

announce, on behalf of B.C.’s ag sector, that the sector has grown by more

than $3.5 billion since 2010, reaching a record $14 billion in agrifood

revenues since 2016. We have also seen a record growth in our agrifood

seafood exports, reaching a record of $3.8 billion, setting a new record for

the fourth year in a row.

Employment in

the sector grew to nearly 63,000 British Columbians in 2016, from about

55,000 the year before. It has one of the largest manufacturing sectors in

the province. There are currently more than 31,000 hectares in the land

reserve than was the case in 2001, and the land commission has seen its

funding more than double since I became minister just over four years

ago.

[3:45 p.m.]

B.C. seafood

is respected and desired worldwide as great-tasting, sustainably harvested

food. It employs more than 3,400 British Columbians, many in rural and

remote communities of British Columbia. Our seafood sector accounted for

about $1.3 billion in exports, and Atlantic salmon has been the top food

export for the past five years.

B.C. is

committed to the socially and ecologically responsible management of our

fisheries, including an environmentally and economically sustainable

aquaculture industry for the benefit of all British Columbians.

The 2015

B.C. Agrifood and Seafood Strategic Growth Plan identifies the

next steps to achieve the goal to grow the B.C. agrifoods industry to a $15

billion industry by 2020. Since I just announced a record of $14 billion

already in 2016, I would imagine that we should increase that goal of $15

billion by 2020 as soon as possible. The plan supports the building of

domestic markets and maintaining a secure food supply.

The B.C.

government has invested $8 million into the Buy Local program since 2012 to

help B.C. companies find new customers locally. That $8 million has

leveraged almost $30 billion in total investment — a great program. Starting

in 2017-2018, the Buy Local program is receiving long-term, stable funding —

a total of $6 million over the next three years. That is an increase in the

ministry’s budget starting in 2017-2018.

To help build

export markets for B.C. foods, the B.C. government released a number of new

initiatives, including our new international market development strategy,

hiring two B.C. agrifood and seafood trade and investment representatives —

one in Hong Kong and one in South Korea — and an on-line, searchable,

export-ready business catalogue that profiles about 100 ready-to-export B.C.

products in many different languages.

B.C.

producers continue to receive support through our Growing Forward 2 program,

as the federal and provincial governments are investing about $420 million

in B.C. through this program from 2013 to 2018. We’re currently negotiating

— with our federal, provincial and territorial partners — the framework for

the next program.

I really want

to emphasize that we can’t take this growth for granted. This growth to $14

billion — a record year. This growth in exports — again, a record year. This

growth in employment — again, a record year. The growth in profits for the

agrifood sector. All this growth that we’ve been seeing over the last four

years can easily be kiboshed if the wrong policies are put in place —

policies that do not support growing trade, as we saw when the opposition

voted against the Trans-Pacific Partnership right here in this House.

Policies that would see our minimum wage increase quickly to $15 an

hour.

I asked a

farmer: “What would you do with a $15-an-hour minimum wage?” The answer was

very quick: “I would fire a whole bunch of people and mechanize my

crop-picking.” That scares me, that kind of reaction, but that is the

reaction of the economics of farming. So I would caution any government to

be very careful when they look at questions like supporting trade agreements

with other countries — they should be supporting them — and

caution them on how they deal with questions that have a direct impact on

taxation, wages and other cost inputs for our agricultural

sector.

It is

frequently said that all politics is local. Over the past eight years, as

the representative for the people of Kelowna–Lake Country, I’ve worked hard

to deliver to my local constituents services and investments that they need

and that taxpayers can afford, while at the same time making decisions at

the cabinet table that serve all British Columbians, wherever they may live

in this beautiful and diverse province.

There is no

money tree in Victoria, and no government can be all things to all people.

So the question remains: does this throne speech provide my constituents

with the right balance of services and investments for the citizens of today

without unduly limiting the choices that our children and grandchildren will

need to make tomorrow?

I’m not a

constitutional expert. There appear to be enough of them around these days

anyway. I am but a former businessman, a former teacher and a lifetime

community volunteer. But it seems to me that the government has met the test

with the throne speech and proposed legislation to bridge that urban-rural

divide and avoid the risk of the Lieutenant-Governor calling for another

election.

We are

certainly living through historic times for British Columbia. If the

Lieutenant-Governor does send us all door-knocking on Thursday, I will

remind voters of the lengths that this government went through to avoid that

outcome and the actions of the members opposite, including the call by some

members opposite to increase personal taxes with their MSP shift. To apply

property transfer tax with the transfer of beneficial ownership. To

introduce a new speculation property transfer tax. To introduce a new tax on

lifetime capital gains in excess of $750,000 on personal residences. To add

a surtax on the property transfer tax.

[3:50 p.m.]

To increase

both personal and corporate taxes. To increase taxes all through their

platforms. People just have to look it up.

In my nine

years as a municipal councillor, eight years as the MLA for Kelowna–Lake

Country and four years as the B.C. Minister of Agriculture, I’ve always

tried to work with people, with both like and divergent minds on both sides

of the aisle, with respect for the common good.

This throne

speech is a good attempt to provide a stable option for governing British

Columbia — not one that will see either a Speaker who is no longer impartial

and the dangers that bestows on parliaments everywhere or one that will

result in a parliament that is deadlocked from the start and can’t survive

long.

Our House

Leader has sent some important questions to the Speaker on voting. I have

the same concerns on what the impact will be on our democracy. I also am

concerned about the impact if the throne speech is defeated and the

opposition forms government — the impact of moving from a party that allows

free votes to a party that does not.

We’ve seen

that over and over again over the last few years, where on this side of the

House