2009 Legislative Session: Fifth Session, 38th Parliament

HANSARD

The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.

The printed version remains the official version.

official report of

Debates of the

Legislative Assembly

(hansard)

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Afternoon Sitting

Volume 41, Number 3

CONTENTS

Routine Proceedings

Page

Introductions by Members

Statements

Purple Day proclamation

Hon. G. Abbott

Introductions by Members

Tributes

B.C. Junior All-Native Basketball Tournament champions

G. Coons

Introductions by Members

Statements

Message from Daniel Jarvis

Hon. L. Reid

Statements (Standing Order 25 b )

Sustainable communities

D. Routley

Cassidy Megan and Purple Day

R. Hawes

Moratorium on private power projects

N. Simons

B.C. Women's Institute

V. Roddick

Creston Valley wildlife management area

C. Evans

Racism awareness

R. Lee

Oral Questions

Role of Patrick Kinsella and Premier's office in B.C. Rail sale

M. Farnworth

Hon. M. de Jong

J. Horgan

R. Fleming

L. Krog

N. Macdonald

B. Ralston

Role of Patrick Kinsella in Accenture contract

B. Ralston

Hon. M. de Jong

Role of Patrick Kinsella and Premier's office in B.C. Rail sale

S. Simpson

Hon. M. de Jong

J. Kwan

Petitions

D. Thorne

B. Simpson

R. Austin

N. Simons

K. Conroy

D. Routley

Throne Speech Debate (continued)

M. Karagianis

H. Bloy

D. Routley

Hon. G. Hogg

D. Chudnovsky

J. Nuraney

Hon. G. Campbell

C. Wyse

Hon. B. Penner

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THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2009

The House met at 1:36 p.m.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Introductions by Members

Hon. M. de Jong: Purple Day is a global day for promoting epilepsy awareness, and all of us are thrilled that today we are joined by a number of representatives who have a passion and belief in promoting that awareness for epilepsy. I'd like to introduce some of them to the House.

The executive director of The Center for Epilepsy and Seizure Education is Laura Yake. Mary Clare Legun is the acting executive director of the Victoria Epilepsy and Parkinson's Centre. Dr. Alex Moll, Susan Ward, Terri Beaton, Russ Morton, Jeannie Mogg, Margaret Pfluger, Brad Arnold, Joan Lawrence, Roxeanne Humble, Isa Milman and Lise Anthony with her seizure-responsible dog India are all in the gallery, and I know everyone in the chamber will want to make all of them feel most welcome.

S. Fraser: On behalf of the member for North Island, I would like to make several introductions. Three of her constituents visiting us today in this gallery are Leanne Pohl, Jamie Pohl and Jacob Pohl. Please join me in making them feel very, very welcome today.

Statements

PURPLE DAY PROCLAMATION

Hon. G. Abbott: As the Government House Leader mentioned earlier, we have representatives from the epilepsy association with us, and I had the pleasure of meeting with them just a little bit earlier today. One of the things that I am pleased to advise the House of is a proclamation from the province of British Columbia which reads in part:

"Whereas Purple Day is a global effort dedicated to promoting epilepsy awareness in countries around the world; and

whereas Purple Day was founded in 2008 by Cassidy Megan, a nine-year-old girl from Nova Scotia who wanted people with epilepsy to know they weren't alone; and

whereas epilepsy is the most common serious neurological condition; and

whereas epilepsy is estimated to affect more than 50 million people worldwide and more than 300,000 people in Canada and 40,000 in British Columbia; and

whereas the public is often unable to recognize common seizure types and to respond with appropriate first aid; and

whereas Purple Day will be celebrated on March 26 annually during Epilepsy Awareness Month to increasing understanding, reduce its stigma and improve the quality of life for our communities in British Columbia, and now know ye that we do by presence proclaim and declare that March 26, 2009, inclusive, shall be known as Purple Day for Epilepsy Awareness."

This document is personally autographed by the Attorney General of British Columbia, so we know it's real.

Introductions by Members

C. Wyse: It is indeed my pleasure today to welcome a constituent from Cariboo South to come down here. It's not often I get the opportunity to introduce members from as far north as where I'm from. I know that Margaret Brown is very interested to look at how the House looks after the interests of people from the Interior, and I'm sure she will enjoy the business that she watches today. I would ask the House to join with me in welcoming Margaret Brown to us.

[1340]

V. Roddick: There has been serious discussion — competition, if you will — over the introduction of grandchildren in the House over the past couple of months. I had truly planned to have my grandson, Lochlan Harvey, here in person with his mother, our daughter, Kate. But unfortunately, as anyone who is a parent…. It has proved to be a logistical nightmare. Consequently, I ask that the House enthusiastically recognize this marvellous, soon-to-be-four, true boy from Pemberton, B.C., who walks — no, he runs — everywhere.

Tributes

B.C. JUNIOR ALL-NATIVE BASKETBALL

TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS

G. Coons: Last week the B.C. Junior All-Native Basketball Tournament was hosted in the Alberni Valley by the Ahousaht Wolfpack, where 48 boys and girls teams arrived to come home with the bragging rights. Fortunately, the Wolfpack were great hosts as the Prince Rupert Friendship House Tribesmen came home with first place, as they beat the Wolfpack 90-62. Adrian Robinson and Dave Stewart were the Tribesmen's top scorers. As well, Adrian was named MVP. Glen Blandov earned the best six-man player award and Daniel Haldane was named the tournament all-star.

Congratulations to all the team members and especially to the coaches, Jerrett Faithful and George Sampson and to my good friend who accompanied them, Elder Leonard Alexcee. Good wishes to those guys.

Introductions by Members

Hon. T. Christensen: I'd ask the House to please join me in welcoming two guests today, two individuals who work in the Public Affairs Bureau shop for the Ministry of Children and Family Development. I think, as many members can understand, that can be a challenging role from time to time, particularly keeping a minister on track in terms of issues of the day and potential responses. So please join me in welcoming Darren Harbord and Katie McLaughlin from the MCFD PAB shop.

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J. Yap: I have two guests in the gallery that I'd like to welcome today. First of all, a good friend and constituent, Bruce Rozenhart, is here with us, and visiting the Legislature for the first time from Guelph, Ontario, John Challinor, who works with Nestlé Waters is here. I'd ask the House to please join me in giving both these gentlemen a warm welcome.

Hon. T. Christensen: I have, as well, a further introduction. I would ask the House to please join me in welcoming Eric Foster to the House. Eric is a constituent and friend of mine. He is the mayor of the Village of Lumby and does that job very capably. He is the chair of the North Okanagan regional district, but soon I am certainly hoping he will be taking on a new role. That will be as the new MLA for Vernon-Monashee. So would the House please join me in welcoming Eric.

J. Kwan: I just noticed in the gallery a good friend of mine, someone who has worked hard for the city of Vancouver for probably three terms now, I believe. He's the chair of the finance committee. Would the House please welcome Raymond Louie, councillor from Vancouver.

Statements

MESSAGE FROM DANIEL JARVIS

Hon. L. Reid: I am honoured today to enter into the record of this House the remarks of the MLA for North Vancouver–Seymour. In his words:

"I would like to thank you all for the nice get-well wishes of a few weeks ago. It cheered me up considerably. I have had the honour and the pleasure for the past 18 years to serve as the provincial representative for North Vancouver–Seymour in Victoria and would not have traded this experience for anything.

"This May 2009 I had hoped to have the opportunity to serve four more years to see the riding through the current economic uncertainty to the other side and continue to fulfil the many requests of my constituents. This is, indeed, a resilient and radiant province. As some of you may know, four weeks ago I underwent a quintuple bypass. I am extremely grateful that I live in a country where such a surgery is routine, and the success rate is so high. But the recovery now requires my full attention."

As he says:

"I must now turn the page. My spirit is willing, but my heart has other plans, and the riding deserves 100 percent attention and dedication from their MLA. I have now made a decision with my wife and family not to seek re-election in May.

"Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank you and your staff for all your assistance over the years. Also, I cannot say enough about the Clerks of the House — George MacMinn, Ian Izard, Robert Vaive — and their staff, who have been invaluable to me and this House as a whole. I want to thank both Craig James and Kate Ryan-Lloyd, who have gone above and beyond the call and made my life here much easier.

[1345]

"To the Sergeant-at-Arms. The dedication and patience that he and his staff exhibit on a regular basis to the visitors to this building is commendable. From the dining room staff to the maintenance crews, who all show such a positive face to those who visit and work in the Legislative Assembly, I will miss you and wish you all the best in the future.

"Mostly, I want to thank all the voters in North Vancouver–Seymour for their dedication in always getting out to vote and the continual support for all my constituents over the past two decades.

"To my fellow Members of the Legislative Assembly, I thank you for your kindness and consideration, providing me with such an invigorating work environment over the years. My only sage advice I would like to leave with you is to be continuously mindful of the people you are responsible to serve. We can all lose perspective at times. Our work is hard, the hours long, but what we accomplish makes a difference each and every day.

"It has been my great pleasure and honour to serve this great province, and I salute you all."

[Applause.]

Mr. Speaker: Thank you, Dan.

Statements

(Standing Order 25

b) SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

D. Routley: I rise today to give a two-minute statement, two minutes worth of words, and words, indeed, are our business. Sustainable communities are the two words that I'd like to use, and they form a phrase that begs definition.

The definition is that a sustainable community is much more than clean air and clean water, sustainable use of energy. A truly sustainable community includes excellent human rights, adequate and affordable housing, exceptional health care, exceptional education and, above all, healthy democratic rights. Nowhere on this planet are there excellent environmental standards but poor standards for human rights, for public services and of democracy.

Finally, back to

definitions. What defines words are actions and results. What gives meaning to a promise is its fulfilment. Words like sustainability and reconciliation disappear as does the mist of a breath on a cold day if they are betrayed by action.

The world needs sustainability. It needs it to mean clean air. It needs it to mean clean water. It needs it to mean sustainable energy use. But it also needs it to mean real human rights, excellent public services and real democracy. Real words, to be defined, require real action.

CASSIDY MEGAN AND PURPLE DAY

R. Hawes: Cassidy Megan is ten years old, and she has epilepsy. She's one of the more than 50 million people worldwide who have this neurological disorder. Last year, wanting to raise awareness about epilepsy, Cassidy started Purple Day. She wanted to spread the word that people with epilepsy can lead normal lives and that those

[ Page 14697 ]

witnessing seizures do not have to be afraid. She wanted kids with epilepsy to know they're not alone.

All over the world, people are now turning purple. The word is spreading with the help of epilepsy organizations around the globe. Cassidy's dream is coming true. In British Columbia in 2007 epilepsy was the second most frequently reported medical condition in children, with almost 5,900 diagnoses or 14.4 percent of children's chronic disabilities.

The sad thing is that most of us still know very little about this disorder and, worse, people with epilepsy are often stigmatized. Organizations like The Center for Epilepsy and Seizure Education in British Columbia are helping educate the public with great public service messaging.

Maybe, Mr. Speaker, you've seen the ad that starts in a crowded boardroom with the boss asking: "Can I have a final report on candidates for the new position?" An employee responds: "I think we should go with this one." "And why have you chosen this one?" "Well, the other candidate has epilepsy." "I have epilepsy," says the boss. The camera then pans to the stunned look on the employee's face. This is a very, very meaningful ad.

Because of the tremendous efforts of Abbotsford's Dr. Lionel Traverse, Laura Yake, Ted Downy and others, this and a number of other highly effective ads can be seen by googling the website for The Center for Epilepsy and Seizure Education British Columbia.

Only through education can the full extent of Cassidy Megan's dream be realized. Let's all get behind that dream and help push out the word on Purple Day.

[1350]

MORATORIUM ON

private POWER PROJECTS

N. Simons: Today is the day that thousands of British Columbians are contacting their members of this assembly, calling for a moratorium on private power projects. The 10,000 Voices campaigners want projects to be regionally planned, environmentally appropriate, acceptable to first nations and publicly owned.

The debate over private run-of-the-river projects has been characterized by claims from both sides about clean versus dirty power, about self-sufficiency, the sale of water and the damming of rivers. The debate has led to misunderstandings and entrenched positions. It's time we went back and applied one of the first lessons many of us learned when we were taught how to cross the street, and that lesson is stop, look and listen.

First, stop. Find the safest place to cross, then stop. British Columbians are saying: "Stop. We want to know what our electricity needs really are." If it's self-sufficiency we're after, explain why we're net exporters. If it's for export, shouldn't that be clear? We need answers before proceeding.

Second, look. Give yourself a lot of time to look around. British Columbians want to look at the facts. They want to know what diverting so many rivers and streams and building so many roads and bridges and transmission lines will look like to our ecosystem. We need to look at what the cumulative impacts are on our environment, and we need to look at who's saying what. Look before you proceed.

The third lesson is to listen carefully, because sometimes you can hear traffic before you see it. Are we listening to first nations? Are we listening to the people of the regions? We need to hear from impartial scientists and fully informed public.

What will the economic impacts be on other sources of revenue to the province? Have we heard why these projects are privately owned and why Hydro is cut out of the process? Today at least 10,000 voices of British Columbians are simply asking that we be cautious.

B.C. WOMEN'S INSTITUTE

V. Roddick: The Pacific dogwood as our provincial flower, yellow lines on our highways, 911 number. The Dower Act of 1947 was rewritten to declare that a husband actually had to ask his wife's consent to sell the family home.

This group established B.C.'s Children's Hospital and Queen Alexandra hospital as well as had the foresight to get behind the fabulous proposal of agriculture in the classroom. As you well know, Mr. Speaker, we still all have to eat to live.

These are just a few of their many, many accomplishments, and I had the terrific honour, along with my colleague from Kamloops, of presenting a century farm award to the B.C. Women's Institute. Too often the very existence of the Women's Institute goes unnoticed by the public. However, over the last century a great number of men and women and children in this province have had their lives touched by the important work from this dedicated group.

It was an organization that started by doing the little things that mattered most to ordinary people and went on to do some of the big things that would define our province. I, at the time unknowingly, started my life in agriculture by addressing my future mother-in-law's women's institute in Cheshire in England when I was travelling abroad at the age of 22. So I was delighted to close my career by addressing the B.C. Women's Institute some 37 years later.

Let me say, on behalf of British Columbians, a heartfelt thank-you for all that you have done and continue to do, and here's to another hundred.

CRESTON VALLEY

WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA

C. Evans: The Creston Valley wildlife management area, a 17,000-acre piece of land in the Creston Valley, is

[ Page 14698 ]

not a park. It is not a wilderness. It is land managed to provide habitat for 280 species of migratory birds.

It became necessary when Canada and the United States signed the Columbia River treaty and British Columbia began to construct the Duncan and Keenleyside dams in the late 1960s. As the water behind the dams rose in 1967, citizens suddenly realized that we were flooding hundreds of thousands of hectares of natural wetland habitat critical to the Pacific Flyway.

[1355]

So hastily, here in this room in 1968, the B.C. government wrote the Creston Valley Wildlife Management Act and set aside the land required to artificially sustain this

section of the flyway. It was to be a great experiment in trying to use intensive management techniques on a tiny piece of land to make up for industrial disturbance of entire river valleys.

Unfortunately, the grand experiment is showing signs of impending failure. The Ministry of Finance has done a risk assessment on the site and identifies that the physical buildings are falling down, that the dikes and the pumps have not been maintained and constitute a flood risk.

They identify mistakes inherent in the founding legislation that leads to conflict in the way the board of directors is constituted, and they identify risk to the Crown should lawsuits ensue from neighbours, visitors or workers. If the management of the wetland was to fail, they identify huge environmental risks to wildlife.

This is not a partisan statement. This is a call to action. I ask that whoever governs after May 12 takes action to save the site and to bring fairness to its workforce. I ask that whoever forms the official opposition after May 12 makes darn sure that it happens.

RACISM AWARENESS

R. Lee: I rise today to talk about an important subject to all of us in British Columbia: eliminating racism. It's a job for all British Columbians, and there's still a lot of work ahead of us. With the exception of the first nations, all British Columbians are immigrants. Every year B.C. welcomes 40,000 newcomers.

For me, this is the big reason why B.C. is "The best place on earth" — the diversity that's evident all over our province. It's only through recognizing B.C.'s history, especially in the context of immigration, that we can truly appreciate each other.

This is why education is so vital to eliminating racism. By having our young people study and learn a curriculum that acknowledges our history, both the bad and the good, are they able to further understand our differences and our many more similarities.

The Ministry of Education has developed the Making Space teachers guide which impacts teaching and learning of diversity and respect through the K-to-12 curriculum. Throughout the social studies curriculum the K-to-12 students are taught anti-racism awareness, through the lens of human rights and lessons of history — for example, the internment of Japanese Canadians, the Chinese head tax, the first nations residential schools and Komagata Maru. By understanding our history, we will better understand each other.

Racism is a challenge to be overcome every day, in spite of the advancements we see around us. Eliminating racism is a priority for everyone in our society, yet it still affects so many.

I look forward to the day when we can fully achieve Martin Luther King's dream of a world where people are recognized not for the colour of their skin but for the content of their character.

Oral Questions

ROLE OF PATRICK KINSELLA AND

PREMIER'S OFFICE IN B.C. RAIL SALE

M. Farnworth: One week ago today we learned that B.C. Rail and Mr. Kinsella released a statement saying that Mr. Kinsella had been paid $300,000 by B.C. Rail to interpret the government's core review. It wasn't credible a week ago, and it's looking like a cover-up today.

We've learned that Mr. Kinsella was hired to smooth the way for the B.C. Rail deal. He was in on the RFP. He was working the back rooms. He was at the centre of the plot to sell B.C. Rail to CN. He was working directly with top political staff in the Premier's office.

My question is to the Deputy Premier. When will we know what Mr. Kinsella was doing, what the Premier's chief of staff was doing and what the Premier of British Columbia was doing out of their office in the sell-off of B.C. Rail?

[1400]

Hon. M. de Jong: The hon. member chooses to make allegations that derive directly from information and material that are squarely before proceedings at the Supreme Court of British Columbia. It is therefore inappropriate to answer.

Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental.

M. Farnworth: The opposition has been asking these questions of the Premier and the Attorney General for a number of weeks now, and we have failed to get any answers. It's clear today we're not going to get any answers from the Premier and the Attorney General again, and that is shameful to the people of the province of British Columbia.

We know that Mr. Kinsella was paid almost $300,000. We know that he was working for CN Rail and for B.C. Rail. I'd like to quote from an e-mail from B.C. Rail. "Progressive Holdings is Patrick Kinsella, a McLernon-

[ Page 14699 ]

retained lobbyist and Liberal backroom guy. He provided a great deal of backroom support."

Can we get, finally, confirmation from this government that that is the real reason Mr. Kinsella was hired by B.C. Rail — because he's an insider friend of the Premier and backroom guy, and that's how this deal was put together in the back rooms of the Premier's office?

Hon. M. de Jong: The fact that the opposition choose to ignore a principle as important as the independence of the judiciary makes the questions no less out of order and answers no less inappropriate.

Mr. Speaker: The member has a further supplemental.

M. Farnworth: This is about the principle of accountability in this House — of a Premier and a government who made a commitment and then broke it; of a Premier who said this would be the most accountable and open government in the history of British Columbia. What we're seeing is a sordid chain of backroom interference and backroom deals from a backroom guy, friend of the Premier.

I'll read another e-mail just to drive home how important this issue is and why transparency and answers to these questions are so key. "Patrick Kinsella received a call from David McLean, who in essence told him the deal was at risk. Anything they could do now would be appreciated and, in CN's view, needed now. Kinsella is talking to Martyn for immediate support."

That has been the pattern of this government right from the beginning in this affair. It has been a catalogue of backroom interference by one of the Premier's closest friends, one of his closest confidants, working with his chief of staff around the sale of one of this province's Crown assets.

Yet we get no answers from this government. None. We have an Attorney General who will say one thing outside in the halls and a completely different thing inside the House. So there is a stain on this Premier's office. There is a stain on this government.

When will this government stand up and tell the truth about what happened with the back rooms of the Premier's office regarding the sale of B.C. Rail?

Hon. M. de Jong: I have a quote also. It is the oft-quoted passage from a couple of years ago from the member for Nanaimo. "It is essential to the rule of law that the integrity of the judicial process not be interfered with. High-profile prosecutions have failed in the past because politicians felt compelled to make comments in public that were later deemed prejudicial."

[1405]

The member for Nanaimo's colleagues may choose to ignore the wisdom of that advice. We will not.

J. Horgan: The issue at play today in this Legislature and right across this province is the integrity of the Premier's office itself. We've learned that Patrick Kinsella — the campaign manager in 2001 when the Liberals promised not to sell B.C. Rail, the campaign manager in 2005 after they had sold B.C. Rail — was in direct contract with Martyn Brown in the Premier's office, trying to salvage a deal with CN.

The question is: if Patrick Kinsella is the conductor and Martyn Brown is in the caboose, where was the Premier when all of this was going on? How can it be that his chief adviser, ten feet away from his office, is working with CN to close a deal to sell a Crown asset, and the Premier won't answer to the people of British Columbia?

Simple question, government members. Where's the integrity? When will the Premier be accountable to the people of B.C. and clear the air on this cover-up?

Hon. M. de Jong: On the very day when the Supreme Court of British Columbia is in session considering matters relating to certain events, the member stands in this chamber in violation of all the tenets that are supposed to guide proceedings in this chamber and, for nothing more than political purposes, chooses to ignore those principles. I think that speaks volumes about the desperation that exists on the opposition side and how little regard they have for something as basic as an independent judiciary.

Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental.

J. Horgan: Getting sermons from the minister of defence on integrity and accountability is absolutely laughable. If it wasn't so funny…. If it wasn't so serious, we wouldn't be in here today. We'd be out doing some of the people's business. Not so. They want to sit in here. They want to shield the Premier from the corruption.

He should stand in this place and speak to British Columbians. It's hilarious. It's a joke. Integrity is a joke to every single member on that side of the House — every single member. The tracks go right through the Premier's….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Member, just take your seat for a second.

Members.

Minister.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Continue, Member.

J. Horgan: The Globe and Mail today, end of a column by Gary Mason, a reputable columnist here in British Columbia: "British Columbians deserve answers. The integrity of the Premier's office is at stake."

[ Page 14700 ]

The integrity of the Premier's office is at stake. It may be a joke to members on that side of the House, but the people of British Columbia deserve an answer. Why is it that friends and insiders are benefiting from government policy not just across the board but right in the middle of the Premier's office? When will the Premier stand and be accountable?

Hon. M. de Jong: One day the members opposite want to be in this chamber; the next they are complaining about being here. One day they are baying for a chance to go to the polls; the next day they're asking the government to postpone the election.

The matters to which members continue to refer are being considered by the Supreme Court of British Columbia. It is appropriate that they be considered by the Supreme Court of British Columbia. It is inappropriate for this chamber to interfere in those deliberations.

[1410]

R. Fleming: You know, it was only the other week that we learned for the first time that the Premier's friend, his campaign manager, his chief fundraiser was being paid by B.C. Rail for a number of years — the years in question. This was new information. We asked questions about it in the House. We got no answers. Then came the news releases from B.C. Rail and from Mr. Kinsella's firm itself. The news releases said Mr. Kinsella only worked on the core review.

Well, it's clear it went further than that. Now it's clear that Mr. Kinsella was the fixer on the privatization deal for B.C. Rail. He was the go-between guy for B.C. Rail, for CN Rail and for the Premier's office.

So the question today is: what instruction did the Premier, through Martyn Brown, receive to "give support to Patrick Kinsella and CN Rail"?

Hon. M. de Jong: It was actually also, as I recall, two weeks ago that defence counsel in a criminal trial in the courts of British Columbia commented specifically on the potential for prejudice to accrue as a result of comments made by politicians. The opposition may choose to play fast and loose with the fundamental principle of independence of the judiciary. We on this side of the House will not.

Mr. Speaker: Member has a supplemental.

R. Fleming: There is widespread public concern that the deal to sell B.C. Rail was tainted right from the start, and now the public concern is about what the involvement of the Premier's office was through his friend Mr. Kinsella. We know from several years ago that the deal had problems to begin with, because we had complaints lodged to this government from Burlington Northern, from CPR, from Omnitrax. They all pulled out of the process because they believed the Premier's office and Mr. Kinsella were working hand in glove with CN Rail and giving them a leg up in the deal.

My question for the government is: when will they stop stonewalling and come clean on Mr. Kinsella's role in the whole B.C. Rail deal? When will the Premier finally tell British Columbians about Mr. Kinsella's work with Mr. Brown to make the deal happen and sell off B.C. Rail?

Hon. M. de Jong: If the question from the hon. member is, when will this government abandon the principle of an independent judiciary? the answer is never.

L. Krog: Well, it's just a bit rich in this House for the Government House Leader to talk about principle when it was this government that broke its major campaign promise not to sell B.C. Rail. As that member well knows, the law is both a shield and a sword, and they've stretched that shield a little too far. Sub judice does not apply to every tiny aspect of information available to the public about B.C. Rail.

What we know today is that the major backroom boy of the Liberal Party was working both sides of the track on this one. So my question to that member is: if he's got an answer, let him stand in this House today and explain why is it that the taxpayers of British Columbia paid $297,000 to Mr. Kinsella and his company? Why was CN paying Mr. Kinsella, and what did they get for it, and what did the Liberal Party get out of it?

Hon. M. de Jong: On this day when this hon. member of the House stands up, a member of the bar, and poses these questions and makes these allegations, I am curious how he would reconcile his behaviour and his commentary with what he himself said just a few years ago about the impropriety, about the inappropriateness of putting judicial proceedings at risk by commenting for no other reason than political convenience. He has chosen to do it. We will not.

[1415]

Mr. Speaker: Member has a supplemental.

L. Krog: I can tell this member I'm acutely aware of my responsibilities as a member of the bar. I wonder if that member is acutely aware of his responsibility to the people of British Columbia. He swore an oath, as did every member of this chamber, to uphold the law, to do the right thing by the people who elected us to this chamber.

I want to hear today from that member, from someone in this government: why was this deal tainted from the start, what was the political motivation, what did the Premier's office do in this deal, and why can't the people of British Columbia have an honest answer for once in this chamber?

[ Page 14701 ]

Hon. M. de Jong: That oath and that commitment included and includes a commitment to ensure that the independence of the judicial process is respected. That is a commitment that those of us who sit on this side of the House believe applies 365 days of the year. That is a commitment and a principle that we do not shed merely because it might be politically convenient to do so and an opportunity to score political points.

I think the discussion that has taken place today, which has taken place in this chamber over the past number of weeks, speaks volumes for which group of political leaders will stand by the principles that are at the root of our democratic processes.

N. Macdonald: We see it again today. We have a Premier that hides from accountability when the Premier's office is stained by what is going on. There is no question that that's how people see it. The Attorney General is gagged, and instead we come here, and we hear again and again a refusal to talk about something that is of core importance.

The people of British Columbia deserve to know how Patrick Kinsella, the B.C. Liberal campaign manager in 2001 and 2005, made hundreds of thousands of dollars as a lobbyist for B.C. Rail and apparently with using his direct access to Martyn Brown. The Premier's office is under…. Its integrity is questioned. We need to know: when will the people of British Columbia get the answers they deserve on this issue?

Hon. M. de Jong: I guess, according to the member, we don't need courts.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Hon. M. de Jong: Another, perhaps, policy pronouncement from the opposition.

Because why would we? The hon. member and his colleagues are apparently well equipped to act as judge, jury, executioner if necessary. The principle of judicial independence requires certain things. One of those things is that we respect that process. That's what we're doing, and we'll continue to do it, notwithstanding the kind of irresponsible questioning we're getting from the opposition.

Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental.

N. Macdonald: Let's just understand the history here. Patrick Kinsella, in 2001, sat down and put together the New Era document. All the members that were there and ran in 2001 ran on those promises.

We are well familiar with the promise not to sell B.C. Rail, and we are well familiar with the fact that as soon as that promise was made, you have Mr. Kinsella and the Premier's office intending to do the exact opposite and sell it. The same sits with B.C. Hydro and the secret deal to Accenture. You have a promise and Mr. Kinsella there breaking that promise as a lobbyist.

[1420]

It's the same with our rivers, the same with gambling, the same with alcohol. All of those point to a culture of corruption that needs explanation from this government to the people of British Columbia — a culture of corruption. When are British Columbians going to get the answers that they deserve?

Hon. M. de Jong: Well, Mr. Speaker, clearly the member is in the wrong venue. He should ask the member for Nanaimo for his robes and get over to the courtroom. He seems so intent on interfering in that judicial process that maybe that's where he should take his arguments.

He and his colleagues seem not to understand one basic, fundamental principle — that we have courts with judges who are independent of the political process, independent of the executive branch, independent of the legislative branch. They are charged with the task of adjudicating matters that are in dispute.

The member may feel himself qualified to pass judgment and render a verdict. We aren't. We will not substitute. We will not interfere. We will respect the independence of the judiciary.

B. Ralston: We are raising a serious question that concerns the very integrity of the highest office in this province, the Office of the Premier. The question is a very simple one. What did the Premier tell his political chief of staff, Martyn Brown, to tell his campaign manager, Patrick Kinsella, about the CN bid for B.C. Rail?

Hon. M. de Jong: The matters referred to by the member are before the courts.

Mr. Speaker: Member has a supplemental.

ROLE OF PATRICK KINSELLA IN

ACCENTURE CONTRACT

B. Ralston: Will the member opposite explain: what was the respective role of Martyn Brown in the Premier's office and Mr. Kinsella in the Accenture deal, the awarding of a contract of $1.4 billion to Accenture and the sale of one-third of the operations of B.C. Hydro?

Hon. M. de Jong: I'll take the question on notice.

ROLE OF PATRICK KINSELLA AND

PREMIER'S OFFICE IN B.C. RAIL SALE

S. Simpson: Hon. Speaker, the matters that are before the courts will be dealt with by Justice Bennett there. The matter that is before….

[ Page 14702 ]

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Take your seat.

Members. Members.

Continue, Member.

S. Simpson: The matter that is before this chamber is the integrity of the Premier's office, the highest office in this.… We know that the Premier's chief adviser, Mr. Kinsella, is now up to his knees in this. We now know from today that Martyn Brown was a key adviser on this. We have to believe that the Premier knew about this.

So the question to the government is this. If this government cares one whit about its integrity, if it cares one whit about the integrity of the Premier's office, it will tell us today: what was the role of the Premier's office? What was the role of Martyn Brown, and what was the role of Patrick Kinsella? Anything less is more cover-up by the Liberals trying to cover up their past.

[1425]

Hon. M. de Jong: The member may choose to be selective about what aspects of an independent judiciary he chooses to respect. I will not.

Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental.

S. Simpson: Last time I checked, the Premier wasn't under investigation by the courts, unless somebody over there wants to tell us different. This is about the Premier's office. This is about the conduct of the government.

You've been hiding and hiding from this, hiding behind this court case, refusing to talk to British Columbians. It's time for some honesty on that side — just once, an honest statement, an honest answer. This borders on corruption. Where is it? Answer the question.

Mr. Speaker: Member. Member.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Member, I'm not going to allow those statements again. Will you please withdraw those words that you just said.

S. Simpson: I withdraw.

J. Kwan: The issue of integrity and public trust may not matter very much on the government side, but it matters very much to British Columbians.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members.

Continue, Member.

J. Kwan: British Columbians deserve answers. The integrity and trust of the Premier and the Premier's office are in question. Today we learned that the Premier's friend and insider, campaign manager for the Liberal Party, Patrick Kinsella, was working with the Premier's chief of staff, Martyn Brown, to assist CN in this corrupt deal.

What instructions from the Premier did Martyn Brown give to Patrick Kinsella? Will the government now tell British Columbians the real truth?

Hon. M. de Jong: I realize that it may be inconvenient for the opposition, an opposition increasingly desperate at this point in time, to await the proper unfolding of a judicial proceeding. I realize that that may not fit within…

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Hon. M. de Jong: …the narrow scope of their political agenda. But respect for concepts and principles as basic as an independent judiciary require us to do just that, and await the outcome of a trial that is before the Supreme Court of British Columbia. That's what we intend to do.

J. Kwan: What's inconvenient is for this government to tell the truth to British Columbians on what exactly happened between Patrick Kinsella, Martyn Brown and the Premier and the CN-B.C. Rail deal. That's exactly what's inconvenient.

The fact is that the integrity and public trust of the Premier's office, of this government and of the Premier ought to be paramount. That should be the guiding principle which this government should use to lead their answers.

Let me just quote again, Mr. Speaker. "Patrick Kinsella received a call from David McLean, who in essence told him the deal was at risk. Anything they could do would be appreciated and, in CN's view, needed now. Kinsella is talking to Martyn for immediate support." That's a direct quote.

What support was given to CN through Patrick Kinsella? Tell this House and tell British Columbians the truth.

[1430]

Hon. M. de Jong: The opposition's persistence in pursuing this line of inappropriate questioning is surpassed only by the vigour with which we on this side of the House will defend the principle of an independent judiciary.

[End of question period.]

[ Page 14703 ]

D. Thorne: Leave to present a petition, Mr. Speaker?

Mr. Speaker: Proceed.

Petitions

D. Thorne: I have a petition here with 1,440 signatures to add to the almost 13,000 already presented regarding the Riverview lands — to keep the Riverview lands in public hands, with no market housing added.

B. Simpson: I seek leave to present a petition.

Mr. Speaker: Proceed.

B. Simpson: I am presenting a petition on behalf of logging contractors and residents of logging roads in Cariboo North asking that the government do not allow wider logging bunks to be permitted on our forestry roads and the public roads in north Cariboo.

R. Austin: I seek leave to present a petition.

Mr. Speaker: Proceed.

R. Austin: On behalf of the Pacific Coast Wild Salmon Society, I have here 9,758 signatures from people all over British Columbia requesting that the government of British Columbia work with the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans to apply the Fisheries Act to the salmon-farming industry here in British Columbia.

N. Simons: I have a petition which I'm presenting from residents of Gambier Island, Keats Island and a number of other islands in the Howe Sound and area who are asking that route 13, the Stormaway dock be available for people to use for business, tourism and residential use.

K. Conroy: I, too, have a petition from over 100 constituents from Trail — low-income constituents who are disabled that are asking for an increase to their housing allowance.

D. Routley: I rise to present a petition.

Mr. Speaker: Proceed.

D. Routley: This is a petition signed by dozens, in fact, a couple of hundred residents of Honeymoon Bay — which is pretty much all of Honeymoon Bay — to have the government act to stabilize the water course of both Sutton Creek and Ashburnham Creek in Honeymoon Bay to protect them from flooding and protect their drinking water.

Mr. Speaker: Another one?

D. Routley: Also, Mr. Speaker, another petition signed by constituents demanding that they have the right to know what's in their food and what toxic substances are in their communities.

Orders of the Day

Hon. M. de Jong: I call throne speech debate.

Throne Speech Debate

(continued)

M. Karagianis: I am pleased today to stand and take this opportunity to speak to the throne speech that was made here in the House.

I anticipate that this may be the last opportunity I have before this House is dissolved and we go to an election to speak to both my staff and my constituents to thank them very much for the great honour that it has been to serve as the MLA for Esquimalt-Metchosin for the past four years.

I have had the great good fortune to have some amazing staff working with me over the past four years, and I would like to offer a special thanks to them today.

[K. Whittred in the chair.]

Lawrence Herzog in my constituency office is not only a tremendously close friend but an amazing staff person, and I know for a fact I could not be doing this job without him.

I would also like to thank Jayne Ducker, who also works in my office — my constituency assistant. She is the other component of my constituency work that is essential to my success. Both of them are tireless, hard workers. They do an exceptional job, and I know that my constituents also would offer the same accolades to them. I hear often from constituents on what a really tremendous job they both do on behalf of me in the community office.

I'd also like to thank Teresa Scambler, who's my legislative assistant and who assists me daily, with great good humour, and offers friendship as well.

[1435]

Those three people are pretty critical to my day-to-day life, and I really do count myself fortunate that they are friends, that they are fun, that they are smart and savvy people. That helps me do my job in a better way.

I would like to just reiterate to the constituents of Esquimalt-Metchosin what an enormous honour it has been for the past four years to serve you. As we move forward into the election, I will certainly be talking with you on your doorsteps and, hopefully, will have an opportunity to represent you in the future again here in this House.

I think that together in Esquimalt-Metchosin we have over the last four years done some really terrific things.

[ Page 14704 ]

We have had a great number of opportunities to stand up on behalf of the issues that concern all of us in my community.

We've had some great success with things like preserving the first nations midden in View Royal. The government was gracious enough to give me some supportive funding there to help with that.

Craigflower Manor. I know that the government has acknowledged my request for some funding there to help further protect Craigflower Manor in the future, after its fire. I have thanked the fire department in View Royal and the various partners there. I recently had an opportunity to talk with them, and I know that they appreciated acknowledgment of their role in saving that building.

We've had some other terrific opportunities here, as well, to stand up for the community.

It was a great pleasure for me to submit a private member's bill on behalf of the first nations across the lower Island and, in fact, across British Columbia here and to offer up a legislative policy and bill that would help protect not only the sites that are identified currently but sacred sites and caves and many of the other cultural components that have not been protected well under current government policy. Hopefully, we'll have a chance to put that through into real legislation at some point in the future.

I also would like to thank those members of my community that fought so hard to save Lampson School, and I was happy to stand with them. They are a courageous group of parents. I regret that we weren't as successful there as we could have been, but we at least have the school still remaining on that property. It hasn't been sold off, and we will perhaps live to fight again on that.

I think that we've had some limited success, as well, with getting audits on our hospital and on some of our seniors facilities. We've drawn attention to the outcome of privatization here in our facilities in our community — the cleanliness issues, the poor food. That continues to be an issue that plagues the community.

When I looked at the throne speech and its foreshadowing of what the budget would hold, I realized that once again we in Esquimalt-Metchosin would be somewhat disappointed by the things that had been left out for our community. You know, we've had eight years now of this government, and we have seen what the priorities of the government have been. They've been very clear. Consistently, the communities that lie within my constituency have been overlooked and have been ignored by the government, and that's sad to say.

When the throne speech was read this year, again I looked for some of the things that my community has consistently asked for, that I've stood in this House and asked for, that I've stood up in community forums and talked about — the things that we very much need. Once again those things were missing from the throne speech and subsequent budget. So it seems to me that there is still much work to do in order to get for my community the kind of attention that they need and to get the kinds of facilities that they need.

Clearly, we need two new schools in the Western Communities. This has continued to be an issue that has plagued us over and over again. When I hear discussion within the throne speech and budget about what can be promised for communities for the future, I just have to look in my own community to say that the lack of these schools is a hardship that my community is very concerned about and once again is mounting a very, very concerted campaign to try and lobby for a successful outcome of building those two schools.

[1440]

The E&N Railway continues to be a topic that I know has been brought up in this House time and time again — sadly, no mention in the throne speech and no indication that there would be the kind of investment, small and very effective investment, that would go to the heart of what my community wants in the way of commuter rail options here on the south Island. For eight years we've been waiting for some kind of acknowledgment of some transportation solutions. Sadly, again, that was not forthcoming in this throne speech.

It's the same with the kind of transit expansion that is needed here in the lower Island. I can't help but stand with my community and sympathize with their views and very real feelings that things like the E&N commuter corridor and expanded transit here have continued to be overlooked by the government, while my community has watched announcements of megaprojects across the Lower Mainland — huge Olympics projects, very expensive cost overruns on things like the convention centre.

The community looks at the kind of investment that would be required to get the E&N transportation corridor up and functioning as a commuter rail option. It seems like such a small, inconsequential number compared with what the government has spent on things like the convention centre or the new roof on B.C. Place. That leaves an eight-year impression within my community that somehow, here on the south Island, we will continue to be overlooked by a government that is really out of touch with what my community needs.

I hear over and over again on the doorstep from families that affordability is their number one concern and that things like child care, a raise in the minimum wage and a change in fee structure for things like B.C. Ferries would go a long way to making their lives a lot easier.

Instead, we have a government that has continued for eight years to refuse categorically to raise the minimum wage. We couldn't, apparently, raise it in good times here in the province of British Columbia. Now, as we head into some economic turmoil and some difficult times, again the government has got an excuse for not raising the minimum wage. My community knows what kind of effect that has on them, on their families

[ Page 14705 ]

and on their ability to feel comfort in getting from payday to payday.

Instead, my community continues to have great concerns about the cost of shelter, about the cost of child care, about the availability of child care so that two parents can get out and work, and generally about the government's lack of attention to the things that are most meaningful to them.

Instead, they have now been given a gas tax to add to the cost of their lives. Everywhere they turn, things are more expensive. There are more fees. Over and over again the government has found more ways to reach into the pockets of my constituents. Whether it's increased ferry fares, whether it's the growing cost of B.C. Hydro, whether it is this gas tax, clearly the constituents here in my community — and, I guess, across the entire south Island, and perhaps across British Columbia — are seeing that for eight years the priorities of this government have played out and have just cost families more and more.

I know that I hear regularly from my constituents, as well, the concerns that they have about the budget and about the throne speech, about what was laid out in the throne speech here. They simply don't address in any real way the concerns and needs and issues that they have in their daily lives. They saw nothing in the throne speech that said and spoke to them about their growing concern about affordability, about their growing concern about things like education, opportunities for their children.

We continue to see crowded classrooms. I spoke earlier about the fight to save Lampson School. That was closed down, in the heart of my community. Over and over again I hear from families that as well as the issue of shelter and affordability — the costs of living in their daily lives, with hydro and extra fees and all of that — there is the growing concern about affordability for post-secondary education.

[1445]

I think every family raising a young person here in British Columbia has the same hopes and expectations for their children that we all do — that our children will be able to take the opportunities offered to them, get the education that they are entitled to and go on to live enriched lives, become the economic driving engine for the future and be able to live fulfilled and happy lives.

Over and over again I hear from families that say the burden of post-secondary education tuition costs are leaving more and more young people burdened for so many years into their lives that it either discourages them from getting an education or it takes them longer to get an education or else families have to think about that as yet one more cost that they need to cover in order to ensure that their family gets the opportunities that they are entitled to.

There is this continued impression and, I believe, a very real impression across my constituency that the priorities of government have not represented the people in my community who are struggling every day to make sure that they can look after their parents, that they can get from payday to payday with some ease, that their kids can have a good opportunity for education and for post-secondary education.

We know that the lack of home care in my constituency has continued to be a huge issue for my constituents. The lack of publicly owned and run affordable long-term care for seniors is very much an issue that I hear about very often in my community.

Within the throne speech there was not much comfort for my constituents that those things would be addressed that concern them the most.

I do also hear a very real and growing concern about the giveaway of the resources of British Columbia through the government's continued privatization of our resources. Often I hear from people a very real concern about how much of our future is going to be given away long before our children have an opportunity to have their voice heard in it.

This privatization that has gone on for the past eight years and continues to carry on, creeping across all aspects of our water, our hydro, our forest lands and certainly things like the privatization of MSP premiums. Today we see once again some very real concerns about how this privatization has been carried out, about what the implications are for how the government has done its business in secret behind closed doors.

So when my constituents stand up and say they have a real concern about the resources that have been either privatized, sold off or given away over the last eight years, those are very real concerns. Those are bona fide concerns, and there is enough evidence available here to make everyone very concerned.

I hear from my constituents, and they say that it's time to take back B.C. and make sure that the resources of British Columbia are here for the residents and citizens of British Columbia, for the future, for young people growing up in British Columbia, so that we don't end up with no future at the end of the day.

Nothing in the throne speech here indicated in any way that this government is going to give up this pursuit of privatization schemes or its continuing to whittle away at things like our water resources through independent power projects and through, I think, really rash decisions around how they are allowing B.C. Hydro to manage our future resources.

Certainly, one of the things that continues to be a huge concern for my constituents — and, I guess, will continue to be a mystery for some time — is, of course, the B.C. Rail corruption trial that's ongoing right now and what the implications have been in that.

One of the largest giveaways of a resource here in British Columbia was the B.C. Rail sell-off. It continues to be in the news daily, and I expect it will be for some

[ Page 14706 ]

time. Certainly, constituents in my community want to know what that's all about. I get asked all the time: "When is that going to be resolved? When are the citizens of British Columbia going to know exactly what that was all about?"

We watched, here in British Columbia, several really monumental events take place that we did not think we would see in the history of this province. Yet in the past eight years we have had two very, very monumental events take place.

[1450]

For one, we had a government that got itself elected saying they wouldn't sell off one of the major resources here in this province, the B.C. Rail, and then promptly, within a very short time, broke that promise and sold B.C. Rail off at a premium.

As it turns out, Madam Speaker, often you look back in history and realize how cheaply a thing was sold off. We saw that happen. So a huge broken promise here to the citizens of British Columbia, and then hot on the heels of that a few years later, what do we see but again something unexpected and unanticipated and historic, which was a raid on this very place — this Legislature, the seat of government. That's sort of the highest pinnacle of governance here in the province of British Columbia — I guess the place where you expect to uphold the laws.

We make the laws. This is the place where it all stops. The buck ultimately stops here. What did we see? We saw a raid on the Legislature, and we saw police taking boxes of files out of this place. We have yet to see what, in fact, was at the heart of that raid. We have yet to find out and have revealed to us the full ramifications and issues lying at the heart of the sale of B.C. Rail.

Citizens have a right to know. They have been asking that question, and rightfully so. They do have the right to know what has occurred here when one of the primary resources of this province was sold off despite a promise that it wouldn't be. Then there was a raid. Now there's a huge trial that's been going on for year after year after year.

My constituents ask often: "What's going to happen with that trial? What is going on there? What's at the heart of that? What really happened? Will we ever hear? And more importantly, will we ever get back that huge resource that we basically gave away?"

I've talked often in this House about what I believe is the squandering of resources here under the privatization schemes of this government. I have certainly talked often about the things that I know my community wants and has not received from a government that has demonstrated clearly that they're out of touch with the needs of my community, that they're not interested.

They're prepared to completely neglect the needs of my community, such as long-term care beds, such as a rail corridor that is used for commuters. We see consistently over and over again that the government has demonstrated that they are prepared to just let those things be left unanswered and unfulfilled.

Instead, the focus has been on Olympics projects, on the Lower Mainland, on megaprojects and privatization, much of which I think is highly questionable. You only have to look at the recent news articles as they've appeared.

I read today in the Globe and Mail all kinds of questionable evidence coming forward about privatization, about how it is failing and why it is failing, about the ties of privatization and private borrowing and corporate borrowing policies and how they are intrinsically involved in and tied to the recent economic crash in the U.S. economy.

Many of the things that are at the heart of the current economic turmoil are the things that this government has consistently put forth and continued to adhere to, such as privatization, such as deregulation. All of these things now I believe are being found to be, in fact, not in the public interest.

I absolutely believe in, as do the constituents that talk with me regularly, public ownership of public resources here in the province of British Columbia. In the throne speech I saw no indication whatsoever that the government was prepared to go back to a time when we had great pride in British Columbia. We owned the resources. They were used for the welfare and best interests of the residents of this province, and they stayed in the hands of the public so that generation after generation could in fact benefit and enjoy the fruits of those resources.

[1455]

I'm taking an opportunity to stand up for my community, Madam Speaker, and this is the last opportunity for me to talk here in this House about the things that I think are most important, which I hear daily from my constituents are most important. I think it's very clear. The government has shown us eight years of what they've been up to and what they think is important. It's not the things that my community has been asking for. It's not the things that my community and constituents think are important. In fact, the things that they think are important have been overlooked and ignored.

I cannot help but say that if the government is too arrogant to listen to its people, then, in fact, they will probably hear from voters here in a couple of weeks about what it is that voters really have felt and thought. I know the government often stands up and talks with great pride about its success, of things like its privatization, with great fanfare about the megaprojects that it's been involved in — although I don't hear as much bragging about the convention centre anymore, as we used to.

It would seem to me that we have an opportunity here in British Columbia to move forward after eight years of a government that is arrogant and out of touch with people's needs. We have an opportunity now to look towards a better future, to make some determining steps here on a way to take back British Columbia for

[ Page 14707 ]

British Columbians, to make sure that we take back our resources, that we bring back into public hands those things best managed by the public.

That is, things like our water. A very vital part of the privatization battle that's going on in this province right now is about water.

Certainly, B.C. Hydro. It has been a hugely successful model, the envy, I think, of governments across the world. We've watched it be dismantled and now undermined by independent power projects that will force us in the future…. In our lifetime and certainly in our children and grandchildren's lifetime, if they are allowed to run free as this government would have them, we'll be buying back our power from foreign owners at a premium. That's just wrong. That is just fundamentally wrong.

Again, I speak to the fact that British Columbians would like to take back their province and ensure that our resources stay here in British Columbia for ourselves, for our future generations.

We need to make sure that we have a government that is in touch with what people need and want in their communities and is willing to stand up for that. That includes such things as public health care.

We've watched the slow erosion of our health care system here and much privatization that's crept in. We've seen some fairly, I think, lame arguments against it. We've seen some fairly lame attempts to halt it. Every day we see it creeping in more and more, and I expect that we're going to see the topic of privatization in health care be played out in the coming election. This government has not stood up for public health care, and I think it's time that the citizens of British Columbia had someone who would stand up for health care.

This government has not stood up for affordable education. Far from it. We have raised tuition fees. We have made it more and more difficult for young people to get an education and come away without a huge burden of debt. I think it's time that this province and the citizens of this province had a government that would stand up for affordable post-secondary education and make sure that every young person had the opportunity to fulfil their dreams and to fulfil their educational opportunities and to make sure that they will be financially successful in the future by having a good education.

I believe that it's time for the citizens of British Columbia to have a government that would stand up for seniors care, for affordable seniors care and home care. The erosion of home care has continued to be a barrier for so many seniors staying at home, living healthier, longer, more productive lives before they are forced into the health care system as either patients through emergency or needing a much more intensive form of long-term care, because we haven't got those kinds of resources there.

This has not been a government that's stood up for seniors in that way. I think it's time for seniors to have a government that would stand up for them and say: "We believe in health care. We believe in long-term care. We believe in actually putting those provisions in your community where you need them so you can stay living in your community."

We don't believe in separating seniors so that in their last years they are forced to live outside of their community, away from their family. We've seen more and more of that from this government over the last eight years, and I haven't seen a government ready to stand up and say: "We are going to stand up for seniors. We are going to stand up for home care." Those are things that are really important to my constituents.

[1500]

I talked about privatization, about taking back British Columbia. We need to have a government here that will stand up for British Columbians and for our future resources and say: "Yes, we believe in keeping the resources of British Columbia in British Columbia, in British Columbians' hands, and making sure that we benefit first and foremost."

The models that we have had for B.C. Hydro and even for ICBC and treating our ferry system like part of the highway system have served us well in the past. They have made part of the backbone of this province based on that — that we believe those resources are ours, that they should benefit us first. But we don't have a government that's prepared to stand up for that.

In fact, this government has allowed B.C. Hydro to be dismantled piece by piece. They took very effective steps to do that. They've allowed independent power producers to come in now and begin to create power that will be sold back to us at a premium. No longer will British Columbians benefit from having affordable hydro costs because they own those resources and those are public and kept in public hands. The government has not stood up for that, and I think it is time to have a government that would stand up for that.

I think it's time, in fact, that the people of British Columbia had a government that would stand up for them first and foremost — not for corporations, not for friends and insiders, not for the big corporate agenda of privatization. I think it's time that British Columbians had someone that would stand up for them, that would listen to them, that would listen to their needs and make sure that in fact they're the first consideration here in government policy and government action. We haven't had that for eight years.

I believe it's time for a change here in British Columbia. I know I hear from my constituents that it's time. It's been a great privilege to serve them for the last four years. I hope to be able to do that again. I know I'll stand up for my community. I'll continue to do that in this House.

Madam Speaker, it's been a great privilege and pleasure to have this last opportunity to address my constituents. I look forward to May 13.

[ Page 14708 ]

H. Bloy: Thank you, hon. Speaker, for allowing me the opportunity to stand up and reply to the throne speech today.

I can say that it's been truly an honour, as I've heard many members from all sides of the House talk about serving the people in their communities. I have truly enjoyed my eight years here. I'm looking forward to another four years. But none of this could ever be done without the support of family and friends and extended family, and I'm no exception.

I wouldn't have been able to do this without the support of my wife Anita and our children — my son Jeremy and his wife Jennifer and now our grandson James, who is quite an amazing little boy at 11 months of age. He's walking and running. Not quite, but we're working on it, anyway. I have my daughter Katie and Travis and my daughter Candice and Dave.

There's all the extended family that come to support you, which only allows you to do this. Many people don't realize the hours that all MLAs put in to do this job. It's pretty horrendous. I kind of split up my hours by telling people that I spend one-third of the time in Victoria. You spend one-third of your time in your constituency office, and you spend one-third of your time out at social events. Sometimes we get lots of food. It's not always the food we need, but we do get lots of food at different times.

This was really expressed by the member for Okanagan-Vernon when he talked about his family and his eight years in the House, when he spoke the other day. I would like to acknowledge all the people who won't be coming back, who have decided to step down. There's always a time to move on, and there's a time for family.

We have the members for Kamloops, for Bulkley Valley–Stikine, for North Vancouver–Lonsdale, for Delta South, for Kelowna-Mission, for Richmond Centre, for Okanagan-Westside, for Okanagan-Vernon, for North Vancouver–Seymour and for Kelowna–Lake Country — people who have dedicated the last number of years to serving all British Columbians, not just the people in their riding.

[1505]

A lot of people find that hard to believe. They say that you're elected from a riding, so you should only be there. But you have to make decisions that are based on what's best for the whole province. That's what I like to do, because I feel very proud to be part of the team for the last eight years and to be part of this team in government that has brought economic stability to the province of British Columbia. I consider that a real honour.

What the government is doing to protect people and services during these trying economic times…. We are working to ensure that we can do our best for the people of Burnaby and the province. This means creating jobs, stimulating local economies, protecting the services that individuals and families need most, embracing the diversity of the province while moving into the future.

While doing this, I could only have done it with the support from my constituency office. I've had different people work for me over the last eight years — Lesley, Richard Geddo, Jennifer Duke — and now I have Mike Lee as a constituency assistant. I have Sahara Jerome, who is a co-op student from SFU. I've had a number of co-op students from SFU. A few of them are Amy Ng, Chanel Jen and Christina Jung. In Victoria I've had the assistance of Katy Fairley to help me stay on track.

Part of my riding was Coquitlam. With the boundary changes, I'll just be in Burnaby. But in Coquitlam I've met a number of people that I've felt I've been able to work with over the years. I've had an open-arms reception from all of them.

I hope and believe that the work I've done with many groups has made the community better, from the new renovated library that's opening, and from working with Joanne Granek at SHARE Family and Community Services, who provide such a vital link to the citizens most in need in the city of Coquitlam. It's been an amazing experience to work with them and be able to assist them, but they're the ones that do all the work.

Then there are some business people in the community that have a huge heart and a pretty good pocketbook, and they help out at lots of events. We have Bill Dick, Jim Allard, Colleen Talbot and Ken Woodward. I'm sorry that I've just mentioned a few names, because there are hundreds of names of people that come out and support every day. I can see lots of the people. I don't always remember all their names. But when I go to the different events, whether it's the regular hospice event or for the hospital or for the emergency phone lines, the same people are there supporting their community day in and day out.

One of the things with the city of Coquitlam that I've been working on over the last few years, and a really receptive one, is setting up a twinning relationship with the city of Coquitlam and the city of Paju in Korea. I first met the delegation about two and a half years ago. The mayor came over to Coquitlam when Maxine Wilson was mayor. Now with Richard Stewart, the new mayor of the city of Coquitlam, Paju is coming again this May. I believe that we're at the point where they're going to sign an agreement, a recognition between the two cities.

I find this exciting, because in Coquitlam is the largest concentration of Koreans in British Columbia. In British Columbia we have over 60,000 Koreans now living here and 30,000 students at any one time, nearly a hundred thousand Koreans. The centre of their shopping universe is the centre of my old riding on North Road.

So I'm really excited. I know the people of Coquitlam are excited. I'm asked on a regular basis: "When is this twinning going to happen? We're so proud that the city of Coquitlam is moving ahead with this." I'm proud of it too. I'm looking forward to it. It will be later in May when that will happen.

[ Page 14709 ]

The throne speech is more than just goals and more than just a vision. It will be a reality for British Columbians. We will emerge from the economic downturn faster and stronger than others, and we have all the pieces to make it happen. I can say that British Columbia in particular, along with Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, is best suited in this downturn to recover faster than anyone.

[1510]

It's the strong economic presence and leadership that we've shown through the last eight years that will allow us to take this next step. But there is no denying that the economy is the number one issue for the residents of Burnaby and British Columbia. It's the economy, the economy.

Along with Budget 2009, the throne speech for 2009 provides relief and security for all British Columbians. The government has committed to protecting basic services, and in demonstrating that commitment, we have made immediate investments in infrastructure now. This means jobs and economic stimulus as British Columbians need it now.

This is about jobs and families — the economy. In times of economic downturn, we look to the projects which provide families…. These come from more than just government. We have agencies like Burnaby Family Life that supports individuals and families through Burnaby with counselling work and child development programs that help individuals in these tough economic times. The Burnaby Family Life Institute led by Jeanne Fike, her board of directors and all the people that work there is an amazing department.

We have international programs like the Red Cross, whose efforts in China after the Sichuan earthquake not only provided $2 million for children; they demonstrated to the world what a difference working together can make. I've worked with the Red Cross over a number of years. I was able to bring $500,000 from the government as part of a $3 million fundraising program for their new office in Burnaby, which was able to stabilize it. They stabilized the building — seismic upgrades.

They were able to put in computers, and they were able to have large meeting rooms where in times of emergency the wires literally dropped out of the ceiling and were hooked up to computers and phone lines. This is thanks to Telus Corp., who led the way with a $1.6 million donation of this technology to make it work. It's pretty amazing — the work that the Red Cross does. On that fundraising campaign, it was great to work with Peter Simpson, Peter Legg and Susan Borthwick, who is the executive director of the Red Cross.

Getting back to the throne speech of 2009, it upholds the idea of community service and development by supporting families, creating opportunities and injecting much-needed stimulus into the economy. This comes from projects such as the Evergreen line, which I have supported from the very beginning. I've been there for the Evergreen line from the talking — before I was elected — about the route that it should take and where it should go. We've let the professionals do that. It is certainly working now.

This 11-kilometre line will run from Lougheed Town Centre in Burnaby to Coquitlam town centre and Douglas College in Coquitlam. Douglas College came to me early in the process, and they said: "You know, we have this brand-new building, the David Lam building at Douglas College in Coquitlam, but we can't get all the students there where every other place is filling up." They said: "It's too far away. Our New Westminster campus is full. We need this Evergreen line to go right to Douglas College so students can split some of the courses."

They were trying everything. I was able to work with TransLink and the president of Douglas College to make that happen. It's one of the neat achievements that happens — that really happens — which creates a real meaningful difference in what goes on in our communities, and what they want.

This new line — they've already opened the project office for it. It's ready to go. It will create 8,000 new direct and indirect jobs.

As we talk about the downturn in the economy, it's the government that has come forward with this economic plan, with this investment in the infrastructure — with 8,000 good-paying new jobs in British Columbia direct and indirect. This is a commitment for moving people and goods fast or reducing travel time, connecting people, taking cars off the roadways so commercial traffic can move.

In addition to investing in the infrastructure, we are investing in people. So $18 million has been invested for the Royal Canadian Legion in South Burnaby No. 83, their housing society. This will create a 70-bed care facility.

[1515]

There's one individual from the South Burnaby legion who I've gotten to know over the years through my connections in scouting. His name is Tom Stewart. He's an amazing person. He's a veteran. He goes out to the schools to talk to children about the war and his experiences. I see him pop up at Stoney Creek Elementary School. There was an old mural that was first put up to have the name of the school and the creek that runs behind it, and here he is working with a number of students to revitalize this mural.

Tom has been everywhere, and I just have total respect for what he has done in the community — not only for what he gave us by serving in the Armed Forces and for allowing me the opportunity to stand here and speak today, but what he's done for the citizens.

This new project will create jobs now and provide care in the long term. Creating jobs and supporting families and stimulating the economy is more than all of this as well. It comes from innovation — innovation like the project I brought to the attention of the House on

[ Page 14710 ]

February 9, the introduction or the thought process for a gondola going to Simon Fraser University. So you may go out on a sightseeing tourist trip around the city, and you'll be able to take a SkyTrain, a boat and now a gondola up to the top of Burnaby Mountain where Simon Fraser University is situated; where UniverCity, the new community up there, is situated; and where Burnaby Mountain park with Horizons Restaurant is situated — all just a short few steps away.

The gondola was developed by Gordon Harris, the president and CEO of UniverCity. I can tell you it's going through an economic review right now with engineers and that. So I'm looking forward to the final results and being able to ride up to SFU on the gondola.

The previously budgeted increase for health and education will be protected. We said that, and 90 percent of all new dollars that this government takes in, in revenue goes towards health care.

Health care is so vital. I'll be 63 next month, but I guess that's really 43 in the new element of the world. I certainly don't feel my age. I remember when someone told me that they were 63; I didn't know how old that was. I was so young. But now, what can you do?

As I said yesterday in the House, we're going to benefit in Burnaby from a $4.85 million investment in a new MRI at Burnaby Hospital through the Life Can't Wait campaign. This funding came from the community. There were Keith and Betty Beedie, who donated $1.35 million to the campaign in the first dollars, and they wanted it matched. We went to $2.65 million, and the rest of the community came up with $2 million. It was led by Robert Bosa, the builder who went out, and whatever he did, he was able to help raise the money.

There are not only people like Robert Bosa in Burnaby, but there are people like that in every community around the province. We do truly live in the best place on earth. Since I've been elected, I've met people that are just amazing. They don't want their name in the news or the public. They are out there fundraising and supporting their communities. There are no political ties. They don't want the building named after them. They want a community that they're proud to live in and that their family will be proud to live in. This happens in every corner of this great province.

The Burnaby Hospital Foundation is led by Rahim Rajan, a local business person in Burnaby who donates so much time to the hospital. Besides running his business, he has a young family. I think he has two children. I've seen pictures of them on his desk. This isn't the only fundraising event or the only charity that he supports. He supports many charities in the province, so it makes you proud.

I'm fortunate I've been elected and have been in this beautiful building and the history that's here. But I get to say thank you a lot, which I truly mean, to the people of this province, the people who volunteer and who really make our communities what they are.

[1520]

So 90 percent of all new budget dollars coming in goes to health care, but this includes developments for nursing programs and science facilities promoting research and training. This happens because we've added 3,000 new nursing spaces since 2001 — eight years. Now we're starting to see the benefits of this, where they're starting to graduate nurses.

We're starting to see some of the benefits from doubling our investment in training new doctors from the University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria. It's now been expanded to the University of Northern British Columbia, and it will soon be going to the Interior, where we're going to have more medical schools.

Wasn't it great in Prince George when some of the first doctors graduated a few years ago? I can't remember the exact number who graduated, but I heard someone say to me: "How come only half of them stayed there?" It wasn't quite half.

I said: "Wow, isn't that fantastic? We got eight new doctors who just graduated in Prince George and want to live there." It's the positive side and the way that you look at it.

Something else that I've been proud to be part of over the last few years is working with the Association of International Medical Doctors. When we first came to power, there were only six residency spaces a year. We've had that tripled to 18. I'm still working to triple that again, because I believe that residencies should be opened up more and more. We have such talent in British Columbia that's not always put to best use.

I'm pleased that I was part of that committee, and I worked with a former colleague of mine in the House, Lorne Mayencourt. We worked with the association, and we worked with the Ministry of Health. A couple of years ago we were able to also announce that any British Columbian here that goes to a foreign medical school and comes back will get a chance to go into residency.

We also announced that if you have a medical licence anywhere in Canada, you'll now be able to practise in British Columbia. This never happened before, because of unknown reasons. I'm proud to say that I was part of this — that we're starting to open up more ways of bringing people into British Columbia. We've started a new three-year nursing program, and there have just been so many benefits.

As we move on, it's not only health care. It's in education from K-to-12. We've increased the per-student funding basically every year since we've been elected, and now it's over $8,200 — the highest ever in the history of British Columbia. This all comes at a time when student enrolment is decreasing in most of British Columbia. When you look at that decrease, the individual boards of education are all getting more money today.

[ Page 14711 ]

We're opening up more spaces in education. In my riding alone, we built one brand-new school, Alderson Elementary School. We replaced the old wooden structure that had been there for the 80 years before. We are building a new school on top of Burnaby Mountain. We're building a new high school in Burnaby, the second new high school that's been there. We've done seismic upgrading on so many buildings.

But it's not only the investment. It's not just about funding students. It's about reinvesting in our schools, creating jobs and benefiting the local economy. These investments in infrastructure and schools create jobs and build opportunities.

I've spoken before about the $102 million to seismically upgrade or replace Coquitlam schools. This translates into approximately 650 jobs through the life of these projects. It goes directly to benefiting Coquitlam schools like Maillard, Porter and Miller Park.

It's all about the economy. It's all about jobs and families, and that's what we're creating by this investment in infrastructure. In Burnaby there are six schools slated to receive seismic upgrading — Cariboo elementary school.

There's the new school I've spoken about quite a bit at UniverCity. I have to say the new school at UniverCity was a cooperative approach.

[1525]

I was getting lots of calls and e-mails from new families that had moved into UniverCity and from some of the people who work up on top of Burnaby Mountain, saying: "We need a school up here." Something like 165 to 185 students were being driven off the hill every morning.

I went to the school board. I went to the Ministry of Education. We talked, and we were able to come up with a cooperative approach. The Burnaby school board agreed that they needed a new school up there. The funding wasn't always there, but they chipped in $1.25 million. The developers at UniverCity put in $1.25 million. Then the university gave the land on a 99-year lease, and then the province of British Columbia came in with over $6 million to make it a reality.

I will be there in September 2010 when this new school opens. It has space for 275 elementary students, including 40 kindergarten students. It was great to see a project, and it's by working cooperatively. I believe that's the benefit of our government — how we have worked in the community with all the cities around the province to make things happen. It shows the leadership that we have in our government here.

Funding for advanced education will be increased. New capital investments will create jobs and provide essential upgrades and new space for B.C. colleges and universities in partnership with the federal government. I can tell you from firsthand experience of what's happened at Simon Fraser University and the investments that we've made up there in the health sciences.

A number of years ago we promised 25,000 new seats for advanced education in the province of British Columbia. But we didn't just announce the 25,000 new seats and say: "Wow, that's great. They can get 25,000 more." We actually built the buildings so we could house them, so that they could sit down.

The latest building to open at Simon Fraser University was Blusson Hall in the health sciences, just an amazing new building that opened this past September. A year ago we opened a new residence up at Simon Fraser University — a new cafeteria and new benefits for students up there.

As we go on, the province will expand supportive housing to combat homelessness and to shelter those with mental illness. That housing will be supported by a new integrated personalized homelessness intervention strategy and a new community safety strategy. This includes Burnaby Centre for Mental Health and Addictions, which just celebrated its one-year anniversary, and $1.2 billion in one-time capital investments with $14 million annually.

That's a lot of money, but we're doing this to help the homelessness and the addiction in Burnaby. It's a step at a time. This 100-bed facility promotes education, health and medical care and training. Patients can receive dual treatment for health and addiction. One of the problems with addiction and homelessness is the multiple barriers.

We've done lots of work in the province, and I have to thank our Minister of Housing for coming out and supporting projects like Habitat for Humanity. They finished the third of four phases of the Habitat for Humanity project in the city of Burnaby, and I've been there from the very beginning. I can tell you I haven't swung a hammer yet. My wife is afraid when I get a hammer, but I've been there. I've seen the work that they've been doing. I've met the people living in them.

Just in the last six months the Minister of Housing came out and said: "This is a viable alternative to housing in British Columbia." He was able to assist Habitat for Humanity for the province, not just for this one riding, for this one city and this one project. He is helping the whole province. He has a plan to make housing affordable and attainable for all the people in British Columbia.

B.C. has identified $2 billion worth of infrastructure projects for the next three years and has submitted proposals for nearly 400 projects to the federal government for cost-sharing.

[1530]

A further $10.6 billion is approved. Capital projects are scheduled for construction in the next three years. That's $10.6 billion of approved projects in construction for the next three years, and an additional $1.4 billion worth of local infrastructure projects also will be built.

This represents a total of $14 billion in new and ongoing public capital construction and 88,000 jobs

[ Page 14712 ]

throughout the province — 88,000 jobs for British Columbians and for their families. That's because we want British Columbians to stay here and to live here and not to look elsewhere.

These projects include the Gateway program. This not only invests in jobs and moving people and goods, but it opens up the province to all of Canada and the world. The Gateway project…. If you've seen the big tractor-trailers, that's what we're talking about — bringing goods and services to British Columbians. Well, Vancouver, British Columbia — the Pacific Ocean — is the gateway to all of Canada.

I see that my time is starting to run out. There was so much more that I wanted to talk about — the honour I've had of serving the citizens of Burnaby, the $2.9 million in traffic-fine revenues I was able to deliver along with my colleagues just a couple of weeks ago.

I wanted to talk about what a great job all our teachers are doing in British Columbia. There's one teacher in particular, the new senator, Yonah Martin, who was just appointed a little while ago. She was just somebody that was loved by everybody.

I wanted to talk about the books I've given to kindergarten children every year for the last six years for literacy. I wanted to talk about the great care my dad had in his last little while. He lived on his own until he was nearly 95, and for a while he was at Parkwood Manor and then at Madison — what a great time.

I want to thank you for the real opportunity to stand up here and for allowing me to express my opinions and to be able to represent the citizens of Burnaby-Lougheed and to be able to represent the citizens of all of British Columbia and to work with everybody in the House to make British Columbia the best place on earth.

D. Routley: It's indeed an honour every time we rise in this House to speak on any issue, particularly the throne speech, because we have the latitude to really talk about what we believe in. But this is a special moment for everyone in the House, particularly members who aren't coming back because they are retiring, but all of us, because none of us should assume that we're coming back. We go back to the electorate and ask for their support again, and stand on our record. So we need to thank those people.

But we need to thank, most of all, our families, and I would like to thank a couple of people who aren't with us anymore for their public service. It was an example to me. My grandmother Florence Routley was a very devoted volunteer in the Coquitlam area, and she was an organizer of the annual May Day parade and did many other things in the community for which she was bestowed the honour of having Routley Avenue named after her. That's just off of Pitt River Road, for people in the province.

My dad, George Routley, who passed from ALS before I became involved in politics, was a devoted public servant in the school system. For his devotion to our public education system, a playing field in our school district, the Cowichan Valley district, was named after my dad. That's Routley field.

I want to thank my mom, Edna Woods, and my

stepdad Bill for their great support over these years, and my

sisters Beth Hayes and Alane Lublow for their love and support and constant willingness to listen to me. I want to thank my stepsisters Shannon and Gayle Woods. I want to thank my friend Leanne Finlayson for her love and acceptance, and her son Matthew and her daughter Brooklynne for their love and acceptance and their support through difficult times.

Most of all, I want to thank my daughter Madeline, which is difficult. Madeline is a wonderful person. I had the great honour, when she was growing up in her early years, of being a stay-at-home dad, working afternoon shifts.

[1535]

So Maddy and I — thank you, Maddy — did everything together. Every day we hiked and climbed and went to beaches. Really, those were the best years of my life. I knew at certain times — walking behind her with the light shining through the trees and the green on her back, with her blonde hair waving across her back — that I would remember those days with fondness and miss them. And I do miss them.

Those were the best days of my life, and they taught me a great deal about what's important and why we're here. So I especially want to thank Madeline. Thank you, Maddy.

The business of what we do is words. As I said earlier in a statement, we use words to represent ideas. We use words to defend people. We use words to seek just resolution to problems that our constituents, British Columbians, face. We use words to bring promise and hope to people. We use words to communicate their struggles, their beliefs.

Those words, for those reasons, become sacred. Not to us only, but more to them, because they entrust us to take to this place their interests — what they care about, what they need to have heard, the words they need for us to say.

So by that trust, words become precious. The only way words have meaning, the only way they're defined, is through action. If we believe what we say, and we do what we say, then we honour the words. If we betray what we say and betray what is hoped through those words, then we bring not only dishonour to the words, but cynicism to the people who believed in them. It's easy for us to stand here and use words in the most eloquent way we can to represent people's interests. What's more difficult is following through on the promise that is contained in those words.

It's particularly important when we examine the throne speech. When it happens, there's this pomp and ceremony, and it seems rather antiquated when a person

[ Page 14713 ]

first views it. But when you realize that it's a precious moment when the responsibility of governing our province is handed from the Crown to the people elected by the citizens of British Columbia — their government and the loyal opposition — those words, just like the words I just talked about, take on a precious and sacred meaning. They're not just empty words.

The ceremony isn't just pomp and ceremony. It's important. It goes to the core of what this place means. It goes to the core of why we should expect to be trusted by British Columbians.

So it's disappointing, often, to read the words of throne speeches and to see how they raise up hope of principles — like seniors, the interests of seniors, when we have a throne speech that's directed towards seniors and seniors care and that entrusted…. That honour that is given to us, that legacy, that we inherit from our seniors, is held in our hand, and we extend to them a promise. When that's not met, when that promise is not met, we have betrayed something most sacred, and I've seen that happen in my constituency.

I've seen the interests of seniors trampled by the interests of policies gone wrong, promises made and promises broken — the seniors of Cowichan Lodge and the community of Cowichan Valley, who were promised in words by their government that that facility would not be closed. Well, I saw many old eyes that were very sad at the breaking of that promise.

[1540]

It's not just a case of "well, we couldn't quite do what we promised we'd do." Often the promises that are made in this House result in life-and-death decisions. Learned people have examined what happens to our seniors when they're dislocated in a way that doesn't consider their frailty and their vulnerability. They die. A certain percentage will not survive that transition. So the words that promise not to do that bring so much disgrace to the words of this parliament and the words of the people entrusted by our communities.

This throne speech did nothing to right that broken promise, did nothing to restore any faith my constituents might have that the words that they send me here to say and that they hear back from their government would be honoured. It builds a cynicism, the cynicism we hear throughout our communities when people say that they don't trust politics, that they don't want to be involved, that they don't want to pay attention. Well, it's because words are thrown out in this place. Promises are made in seeking power that are never meant to be fulfilled.

But the people who entrust us expect those promises to be met. They understand that often mistakes might be made or there are limitations that weren't foreseen, but they expect us to try to honour our word. That is the worst disgrace that I've witnessed as an MLA — the fact that people entrusted by those very vulnerable, honourable people that we represent would betray a promise.

In health care we see an effort to privatize. We've heard the previous speaker talk about how 90 percent of all new dollars are going into health care. Well, I don't think the measurement of health care efficiencies or performances is simply in how much we spend. If it were, the American system would far outperform us. In the United States, in a privatized system, they spend 16 percent of their gross domestic product on health care. Yet over 40 million people have no health care, and the number one cause of bankruptcies in the United States is the cost of health care.

I think the better measure is one that would assess whether needs are being met. You have surgery cancellations that lead to not only the discomfort and health results for patients but to the loss of our professionals, the loss of doctors, as has happened in Cowichan Valley. Doctors become so frustrated with the cancellation rates that they leave.

There's one anaesthetist who travels to Edmonton to a community hospital three weeks out of the month because he has a more consistent life doing that than he did working at the Cowichan Hospital just down the street from his home, because of the number of cancellations and the disruption that caused in his life and the life of the people he served, our people.

We see mental health funding inequities in our area, in rural parts of Vancouver Island, that aren't even touched by the throne speech. Kevin Edwards, a young man who attempted suicide with a gun and was charged with a gun crime, ended up avoiding jail time by promising to seek treatment for his issues, some of which were substance issues, but he couldn't afford a bus pass from Chemainus to his programming in Duncan.

It took him going public with his most personal tragedy and me doing interviews in the media about his personal story. It is not very nice for anyone to have to have that happen to them. It took that embarrassment card pulled out of a pocket to make the government act — not by doing what was clearly the ethical thing to do but just to avoid a headline. This throne speech does nothing to address the issues that Kevin Edwards faced.

Beds per thousand. In the Cowichan Valley there's one bed per thousand. In Victoria there are two beds per thousand. These are inequalities that this throne speech doesn't address. Rural British Columbia's interests are left out. This throne speech doesn't mention rural B.C. and those problems.

[1545]

There are other problems in health care in our constituency — the emergency room staffing, the closure of those seniors beds. There are 83 empty beds in the Cowichan Lodge, while seniors suffer the dishonour of being called bed-blockers because they're being transitioned through our hospital and taking up hospital beds, causing surgery cancellations. Those beds were closed because of that broken promise.

[ Page 14714 ]

Families struggle. The whole community struggles to save that lodge. The government will only hear if it listens. It can't hear if it doesn't.

Private operators who did provide support to seniors in our valley are starving. They're meeting in the coming weeks to discuss whether or not they'll end up having to declare bankruptcies, many of them, because they have empty beds because of commitments made by the government to the new private operator, their private operator, that now starve these others who have served our community for so long.

So it's more of the same. It's more of the same theme. Words should mean something. Words, once promised, should be followed by deed.

Our first nations. The Cowichan First Nation is the largest first nation in the province — not by land, because most of their land was privatized in the E&N land grab, but by population, almost 4,000 members.

[H. Bloy in the chair.]

They struggle with high unemployment rates, and they struggle with poor housing. They struggle with federal social programs overloaded, because so many have been driven back to the reserve by urban cuts to social programs that were made in previous decisions by this government. None of that was addressed in this throne speech.

They struggle, but they offer great hope, because they are the mirror opposite of our demography. Over 70 percent of the Cowichan First Nation are 26 or under. There's a great potential if they're supported, if they have the kind of support that the words that were offered by the government allowed them to hope for. But they also have the promise of great disappointment and cynicism if those words aren't acted upon, and they're not being.

They were promised more and more treaty negotiations, yet the budget for treaty negotiations was cut. That wasn't promised in this throne speech, but it was delivered by the subsequent budget. They struggle to deal with development proposals and environmental assessment requirements that they can't meet, as they're overwhelmed with deadlines they can't meet. If those deadlines aren't met, their acceptance is assumed.

What a terrible position to be put in, especially when those promised words were words like "reconciliation." That's a big word and a big concept, one that offers promise and one that offers hope. But the breaking of a big word like that offers a great deal of cynicism to the people who received that promise — vulnerable people, people who have waited for a decent partner on the shores of our communities for generations, only to have their hopes dashed against the rocks of despair by broken promises. And that was not dealt with in this throne speech.

We have a Premier who engaged in a lawsuit against the Nisga'a agreement. His assistant, Martyn Brown, was the executive director of an anti-treaty group called Citizens' Voice on Native Claims. We saw the referendum on first nations rights and then suddenly, when deals were required, when commerce demanded it, a flip and a flop to this new promise — empty words, words that evaporate like breath on a cold winter day, unless you put meaning in those words. If this government fails to do that, they will continue to build cynicism in a people already bereft of hope but willing to invest in promises that were made solemnly.

[1550]

The child care. We see facilities closing, people who work practically on a voluntary basis with the most crucial element in our society, our young people. Early childhood educators who earn next to minimum wage, and their facilities barely able to cope with underfunding, with a process that's impossible to navigate, with bills being starved because of process that doesn't meet their needs.

This throne speech didn't deal with any of those issues. There's an economic benefit to child care. There's an obvious social benefit. In Quebec they have the largest participation of women in the skilled trades, and it has been directly attributed to the fact that they kept investing in child care. They have the best child care system in the country. That has freed up women to invest their time and energy in training themselves.

That is a huge achievement, and promises that have been made by the government surrounding child care spaces and funding of child care that aren't met are another dishonouring of solemn words, more of the same.

Our environment. This government that came to power in 2001 as one of its first acts abolished the Environment Ministry — cut the whole ministry — then proceeded to deregulate our province and take away regulations that, if they had been maintained, would have kept us on track. Right now we would be ahead of California in emission standards, in protection of watersheds, but instead, all of that was torn to pieces.

Then another flip and a flop when political expediency demanded it. What have we been offered as that green veneer? A punitive carbon tax that has fed nothing into a real change, offering the choices that British Columbians need to really live in a sustainable way.

Transit choices. This has all been augmented by things like school closures, courthouse closures and service withdrawals so that people who live in rural B.C., if they want the service that they deserve in an equitable society, need to travel great distances to get to that. How green is that?

How green is a government that seeks to lift the offshore moratorium on oil and gas exploration? This throne speech makes no promise not to do that. We know that the Premier has promised to lobby for that measure to be taken.

We live in fear on the coast of B.C. of oil on our shores. We hold precious our marine environment. It

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is part of the soul and the culture of British Columbia — the wild salmon, the coast and its diverse and rich resource. A resistance to bring endangered species legislation. There's nothing in the throne speech that talks about protecting the endangered species of B.C. — the Vancouver Island marmot, only a few dozen left.

We've seen a Transportation Minister who, when questioned about the rising ferry fares…. I asked the Transportation Minister what he thought of an elder who shared a story with me. She told me about after…. She lives on Kuper Island. The residents of Kuper Island were displaced to Kuper Island from the foreshore of Chemainus in order to make way for mills and industry many generations ago. They depend on that ferry. They live an impoverished life.

This elder had to collect pop bottles to get back home. She didn't have enough money, so she offered what she had in change to the ferry worker. It wasn't enough, so they said no. She refused to leave the ferry, so the RCMP came to escort her off. Thankfully, someone in the ferry lineup gave her enough money for her fare, so she made it home, but she made it home without her dignity. It was a direct result of their ferry fares increasing by over 80 percent under the watch of this government.

So promises to reconcile with first nations that are met with answers like that bring another level of cynicism and another dashing of those hopes against the shores of our island.

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We see in forestry the workers of Harmac struggling to take over the mill. They put their lives on the line, they put their futures on the line, and they bought the mill. Now they can't get financing because they face a huge, unfunded liability for cleanup for past environmental wrongs.

This government has refused to act. Nothing in the throne speech for them. It has refused to act to remove those liabilities, even though they did in Port Alice for their friends who bought that mill, and even though in Mackenzie, when the pulp mill there closed down and the owners went bankrupt so there could be no reclaiming of the costs…. They are stuck — our province, our taxpayers, our citizens — paying the bill to keep that operation from polluting the environment and endangering their health.

So in the end, if the workers at Harmac aren't supported and the whole exercise fails — an exercise that the Forests Minister has called the model for the future of forestry — we'll end up taking it over, but we'll have lost those jobs. There's nothing in the throne speech for them.

There's nothing in the throne speech to deal with the monopoly on fibre on the coast that allows companies to export our raw logs without protecting our manufacturing base — exporting our jobs, exporting the future of our children, exporting the opportunity for British Columbians with entrepreneurial ideas to answer a very key question. Why Ikea? Why not "B.C.ea"?

Why aren't we producing end products with our raw materials? Why are we allowing this exporting of our future? Because of a privatization interest, because global corporations have a larger pull with the government than do the communities they represent. That led to a disintegration of our industry, so that the integration between the many levels — the logging, the sawmilling, the pulp milling — was broken, along with the social contract that those industries supported.

That was deregulation, and look how well that worked for the U.S. banking system. Well, it's mirrored in our forests and the collapse of an industry. It's mirrored when the workers who work in that industry faced calamity in terms of safety. So 47 workers died in one year. The coroner in Duncan, looking into the death of logger Ted Gramlich, pointed directly at that deregulation as the severing of the safety chain of responsibility. So no one took responsibility, and he and many like him paid the price for that. His family live without him.

TFL, tree farm licence, removal on Vancouver Island. The Auditor General called it a failure to protect the public interest. How did the government respond? The Forests Minister picked a fight with the Auditor General. The Auditor General is dismissed, just as he was around the Olympic spending.

We had the minister stand in this House repeatedly and promise $600 million, not a penny more, even though previous Auditor General van Iersel pointed to the fact that it would probably cost $2.5 billion. That was before we knew that the security costs were — what? — eight times greater than was promised by this government.

More words that aren't matched with deed. More meaning lost. More cynicism built in the minds and souls of British Columbians when they consider who represents them, why they should care. Why should they care if what they say doesn't matter and what is said to them doesn't matter one whit?

Our agriculture industry had meat regulations brought to it that devastated the small producers — devastated them, drove them out of business. Why? Because we had to satisfy larger traders. We had to satisfy bigger players. We had to satisfy friends of our government. Food security was sacrificed. Again, the government that paints itself green causes greater transportation of our food and causes environmentally responsible small producers to vacate the field.

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Housing. No commitment to social housing, no commitment to make housing affordable for British Columbians. Housing is a human right. Throughout the '90s the federal government didn't contribute money to housing in this province, but the government of the day kept building social housing. They supported social housing cooperatives that flourished in this province and offered options to families.

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Interjection.

D. Routley: That was the NDP.

Now that the federal government is contributing money to housing, what does this government do with that money? It diverts it towards assisted living in order to paper over another broken promise — more words that didn't mean anything. All this contributes to the fact that, for the sixth year running, we lead this country in child poverty.

Children who live with their families in poverty, gaps that are growing, previously unseen examples of poverty and homelessness and tragedy on our streets — all this in just a few short years of policy gone wrong. For 17 years straight, poverty rates declined in this province, until 2001.

A $10 minimum wage? "No, we won't have that. We'll take the $8 minimum wage, and we'll reduce it to $6 for trainees. In the province with the highest cost of living, we'll reduce the minimum wage."

You know, in the Maritimes the Nova Scotians raised the minimum wage. Legislators there said: "Well, we did it partly because we're sick of being last." Who's last now? B.C. Again, broken promises contributing to the gaps that grow in our communities. More of the same.

Apprenticeships and training in chaos by an idealistically driven set of policies that drove out stakeholders and created chaos, as pointed to by the Auditor General. But again, the Auditor General doesn't have much sway with this government, because he, like others, is critical of the results of their policies. Nothing in the throne speech addressed that chaos or helped those students at a time when this province needs to invest in its future.

Well, British Columbians deserve the truth, not a litany of broken promises. B.C. Rail….

Deputy Speaker: Thank you, Member.

D. Routley: Let's not sell our common wealth.

Hon. G. Hogg: Thank you for this opportunity to speak to the throne speech that was provided at this session of the 38th parliament. Many of my colleagues have spoken about people who've inspired them, who've been involved in and a part of what has helped them to come to this place.

As I was hearing the speaker from the opposition talking, I was reminded of the influences that my family have had on me and, in particular, with reference to my father, who has now passed away. He was a doctor in White Rock. Since his passing away, they have named a park after him and a new building for extended care. Certainly he, I think, symbolized many of the themes which are prevalent in the throne speech.

My mother is currently in extended care. My mother was the person who told me in grade 11 that it was time to go out and start coaching Little League and get involved in the community and do things. Some years later when I was going to university, I was coaching a Little League team that had the right to go to Edmonton to represent White Rock in the western Canadian championships. So I went to my very first city council meeting, my first political meeting, and sat through the lengthy agenda.

As fate would have it, my agenda item with respect to this Little League team was last on the agenda, and I was able to get a small amount of money for this group of kids. I went back home and was sitting at the kitchen table having a glass of milk and a peanut butter sandwich, and my mother walked into the kitchen and said: "How did it go, son?" I said: "Mom, it was old people making stupid decisions."

She now reminds me, in fact, that I am one of those old people making similar decisions. But she stopped in the kitchen and looked at me as I think only a mother could do, and she said: "Son, you know, I'd always hoped that I'd raise you to be the kind of person that if you don't like something, you wouldn't complain but you'd get involved and try and make a difference."

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I had many sleepless nights after that, hearing my mother's voice echoing in my head, and I thought: "I'll show you, Mom, I'll run for city council."

I did that while still going to university and was elected. I think many people thought it was my father that was running, and they were surprised when I turned up at the council meetings. Somehow they allowed me for 20 years to be on that council — ten of them as mayor — and subsequently have given me the privilege of coming to this place. I want to thank the people of Surrey–White Rock for the opportunities that they have given to me and for the foibles that I've made.

I remember one person saying to me…. I think it was the second or third time that I was running for mayor. They said: "You know, I'm not sure I can vote for you. I don't agree with all of your decisions." I said: "You know, I've been here for 14 or 15 years now. As I look back, I don't agree with all of my decisions either." There are lots of things we have to look at and manage as we move forward.

The throne speech started out, as tradition has it, by remembering a number of people who have made significant contributions to British Columbia who had recently passed away, people who've made significant diff