2005 Legislative Session: First 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)

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2005

Afternoon Sitting

Volume 1, Number 2

CONTENTS

Routine Proceedings

Page

Speech from the

Throne

Introduction and

First Reading of Bills

An Act to Ensure the Supremacy of

Parliament (Bill 1)

Hon. W. Oppal

Appointment of Deputy Speaker

Appointment of Assistant Deputy Speaker

Appointment of Deputy Chair, Committee of

the Whole

Printing of Votes

and Proceedings

Appointment of

Select Standing Committees

[ Page 3 ]

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2005

The House met at 2:06 p.m.

Mr. Speaker: Please rise. Bishop Gagnon from Victoria will

lead us in prayer.

R. Gagnon: Let us pause for a moment of silent

prayer, asking God's assistance in our proceedings.

God, our father, creator and shepherd, you guide everything in

wisdom and love. Accept the prayers we offer for our province. By the wisdom of

our leaders and the integrity of our citizens, may harmony and justice be

secured, and may there be lasting prosperity and peace.

Loving God, all earthly powers serve you. Help your servant Queen

Elizabeth and her representative in our province to fulfil their

responsibilities worthily and well. Look upon this assembly of our provincial

leaders, and fill them with the spirit of your wisdom. May they always act in

accordance with your will, and may their decisions be for peace and for the

common well-being of all, especially the most wounded and vulnerable. Bless

their families and loved ones, and watch over them during this year of

responsibility and service.

Dear God in heaven, may all those in public service be channels of

your peace. Where there is hatred, let them bring your love. Where there is

injury and woundedness, let them be people who forgive. Where there is doubt,

anxiety and heavy burdens, let them have recourse to you.

Blessed are you, our God, maker of the universe and father of all.

Guide the members of this Legislature, and help them to serve the people of our

province. Help them to make laws that unite and strengthen our communities —

laws that are just, laws that are equitable. Bring success to their work, and

reward them for the good they do. Help them to realize the importance of your

service. Blessed and very great you are, Lord God. We ask this in our Lord's

name.

Amen.

Mr. Speaker: The Lieutenant-Governor is in the precinct. If

the hon. members will please remain seated, we'll wait for her arrival.

[1410]

Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor entered the chamber and took

her seat on the throne.

Mr. Speaker: May it please Your Honour, the House of

Assembly has elected me as their Speaker, though I am but little able to fulfil

the important duties thus assigned to me. If in the performance of those duties

I should at any time fall into error, I pray that the fault be imputed to me and

not to the assembly whose servant I am and who, through me, the better to enable

them to discharge their duty to the Queen and country, humbly claim all their

undoubted rights and privileges, especially that they may have freedom of speech

in their debates and access to Your Honour's person at all seasonable times, and

that their proceedings may receive from Your Honour the most favourable

interpretation.

Hon. W. Oppal: Mr. Speaker, I am commanded by Her Honour

the Lieutenant-Governor to declare to you that she freely confides in the duty

and attachment of the House of Assembly to Her Majesty's person and government,

and not doubting that their respective proceedings will be conducted with

wisdom, temper and prudence, she grants upon all occasions, and will recognize

and allow, their constitutional privileges.

I am commanded also to assure you that the assembly shall have

ready access to Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor upon all seasonable occasions

and that their proceedings, as well as your words and actions, will constantly

receive from her the most favourable construction.

Speech from the Throne

Hon. I. Campagnolo (Lieutenant-Governor): As this

parliament begins, it is right for us to remember the contributions of fellow

citizens who have passed away since parliament last sat.

We have lost those who took public service into the political

realm: Robert Bonner, who was our longest-serving Attorney General; former

members of this assembly Jeremy Dalton and Larry Guno; and Member of Parliament

Chuck Cadman.

We join our friends in first nations in mourning the loss of their

leaders: Grand Chief Archie Jack of the Penticton Indian band and George Watts

of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council.

We share the loss felt by everyone touched by Sister Mary Alice

Danaher's lifelong work making post-secondary education accessible to the first

nations people of Canim Lake with exceptionally positive results.

We mourn the passing of Lilian To, whose extraordinary and dynamic

efforts made life better for people who came from across the globe to make a new

life in British Columbia.

In this Year of the Veteran, we were reminded of the great

sacrifices made by earlier generations when we lost Ernest "Smokey" Smith,

Canada's last surviving recipient of the Victoria Cross for his bravery in the

Second World War.

On my way to the chamber this afternoon I offered a wreath of

remembrance from all of us at Victoria's cenotaph in salute to all those whose

service to our society ensures the continuance of the parliamentary democracy

that we celebrate here this afternoon.

In recent weeks the hearts and prayers of all British Columbians

have gone out to the victims of Hurricane Katrina in the U.S. Gulf Coast,

especially those still struggling in and around New Orleans.

We can all take pride in the compassion of the countless British

Columbians who stepped forward to

[ Page 4 ]

help, including the members of Vancouver's urban search and rescue team who

did an exemplary job rescuing more than 100 hurricane victims in St. Bernard

Parish in Louisiana.

[1415]

Your government has pledged its continued support for the people

of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi as they begin the long process of recovery

and rebuilding. Their suffering is a sobering reminder to us all of the awesome

power of nature and the need to constantly prepare for the unexpected to protect

and preserve the many blessings that we enjoy here in our province.

I'm pleased to open the 38th parliament of British Columbia and to

congratulate all new and returning members on your electoral success.

On behalf of your government, I wish to thank every-one who

participated in the recent provincial election. From the many thousands of

volunteers who supported the 412 candidates who ran for office across B.C., to

every-one who worked on the election in our 79 electoral districts, to the more

than 1.76 million registered voters who cast a ballot, you all deserve our

gratitude. Your involvement reminds us how fortunate we are to live in one of

the world's most peaceful and prosperous parliamentary democracies.

Once again, the people have freely elected their representatives

to form a responsible government that is accountable to them through this

assembly. It is an achievement and an honour for which all members and their

families should be especially proud. You are 79 of only 854 Members of the

Legislative Assembly to have ever been chosen to serve in this Legislature since

our first provincial election in 1871.

The task before you now, as it was for your predecessors, is of

vital importance and consequence. It is the chance to build upon the legacy of

achievement that has marked our province from its inception, to help all British

Columbians realize their full potential. It is the opportunity to reach for the

full promise of British Columbia and to reinforce this province's reputation as

the best place on Earth to raise a family, live, work, visit and invest.

Your government wants to involve all members in that endeavour. It

congratulates the new official opposition and welcomes its stated desire to

serve as a constructive force for positive change.

Today British Columbians are confident in their future and buoyed

by the cresting tide of opportunity that is lifting British Columbia higher. The

people have given this government a new mandate to lead British Columbia forward

and to make real progress on its five great goals for the golden decade ahead.

They have elected a strong opposition to help accomplish that task and to hold

your government accountable for its actions.

All members of this Legislature have an opportunity to elevate

public confidence through a common commitment to constructive debate, marked by

civility, dignity and decorum. That is a fitting goal for this new parliament as

your government seeks to advance its election platform and commitments. That

platform document will serve as the central policy framework and work plan for

the term ahead.

It is a long-term plan that looks beyond the next four years to

set out five great goals for the next decade that were outlined in some detail

in the last throne speech. Briefly, those great goals are as follows. First, to

make B.C. the best-educated and most literate jurisdiction on the continent.

Second, to lead the way in North America in healthy living and physical fitness.

Third, to build the best system of support in Canada for persons with

disabilities, special needs, children at risk and seniors. Fourth, to lead the

world in sustainable environmental management with the best air and water

quality, and the best fisheries management bar none. Fifth, to create more jobs

per capita than anywhere else in Canada.

These are far-reaching and long-term objectives. They oblige your

government to reach beyond the status quo in the delivery of health care,

education, support services, environmental management and economic development.

The government has established these key goals in response to the

demands of today's world. We can no longer let institutional inertia and the

fear of change hold back our children. Nowhere is that more true than with

respect to education. There is much more that can and will be done to improve

education for students at all levels, as your government's platform suggests.

When we speak of lifelong learning, we must remember that from the

moment a child enters the world, they are learning. Already major efforts have

been launched to improve access to early childhood development. Those efforts

will be expanded.

B.C.'s children deserve the best, and every effort will be made to

establish public education services that celebrate excellence in teaching and

excellence in achievement. In British Columbia every child should know the joy

of reading and revel in the discovery of new knowledge and the excitement of

learning.

[1420]

Your government intends to capitalize on new knowledge to give our

children the best education possible. The annual teachers' congress will create

an exclusive forum for teachers to join with parents, school trustees and

educators to examine approaches that focus on the needs of children as we pursue

our goal.

Education will move beyond our schools and into our communities.

Literacy programs will open new doors of opportunity to provide students of all

ages the foundation skills in literacy and numeracy that are essential in

today's world.

Your government will aggressively pursue new initiatives in trade

and skills development in concert with our colleges in the private sector. It

will add new opportunity for skills development by building on the successes

that have seen a 30 percent increase in apprenticeships in the last two years.

It will work with other provinces and the federal government to development a

new pan-Canadian skills partnership aimed at maximizing educational

opportunities for all citizens.

[ Page 5 ]

These are just some of the steps that will be taken to advance

your government's goal on education. Others highlighted in the Real Leadership,

Real Progress platform will be taken, as well, to increase accountability,

access, achievement, parental involvement and student health.

As your government moves forward to improve access, choice and

quality in public education, it will likewise act to make real progress on the

other great goals. For example, the government has committed to building the

best system of support in Canada for B.C.'s seniors. Several steps will be

announced to advance that great goal and build on initiatives already announced

that are today benefiting seniors, children at risk, and persons with special

needs and disabilities.

The five great goals are deliberately far-reaching objectives.

They aspire to put British Columbia at the top in education, health care, social

support, environmental management and job creation. They are, by definition,

comparative goals that will be important to be defined by clear and consistent

measurements. In the months to come, your government will invite the official

opposition, the B.C. Progress Board, first nations and others to help identify

the most appropriate targets, benchmarks and indicators for measuring progress

on each goal.

The five great goals cannot be achieved overnight or even in one

term. They are goals to guide government's strategic focus for the next decade.

They will be as difficult to attain as they are worthy of aspiration. Each goal

is dependent on the others. Meeting them will require unprecedented

cross-ministry coordination and relentless resolve.

Several overarching strategies will be crucial to that enterprise.

Your government has already piloted successful innovative approaches in

cross-ministry coordination. These will be expanded to include a permanent

policy secretariat to work on cross-government priorities that will report to

participating ministries through a deputy ministers committee.

The provincewide Act Now B.C. program will unite strategies in

education, health, transportation and the environment to meet your government's

great goals on health. Strategies recommended by advisory bodies such as the

Premier's council on aging and seniors issues, the task force on homelessness,

mental illness and addictions, the Premier's Technology Council, the B.C.

Competition Council and the Asia-Pacific trade council will all help to advance

these goals.

The Asia-Pacific gateway initiative will play a crucial role in

opening up every part of our province to new opportunities. The initiative will

include the establishment of an Asia-Pacific museum of trade and culture to

showcase our Pacific history and to tell our story to Canada and the world.

All of the great goals will be advanced by the 2010 Olympic and

Paralympic Winter Games. The Olympics offer a once-in-a-lifetime chance to

showcase the best of B.C. to the world as we reach out to one another with

common pride and purpose. The games will be a Canada-wide catalyst for

excellence in athletics, a flourishing of artistic talent and untold economic

opportunity.

Meeting the five great goals will also demand a new emphasis on

citizen-centred service delivery from government. It will require a strong

British Columbia to exercise strong national leadership on several fronts.

Your government is committed to strengthening our country by

leading the way in pursuit of a national Pharmacare strategy and by developing

national strategies for literacy, wait-time reductions and skill training. It is

committed to leading a new national transportation strategy that will open up

Canada's Asia-Pacific gateway as never before.

As British Columbia leads in these endeavours, we will be crossing

new ground. Mistakes will be made. Learning from them and building on our

successes will be essential to our achievement.

[1425]

Leadership requires an ongoing commitment to social innovation in

addressing the large societal challenges of our times. Bold, new, collaborative

steps are needed to tackle the social challenges of housing, addictions, mental

illness, poverty and literacy and skills development, and community safety.

Fresh, creative actions are needed to cope with the societal challenges of fetal

alcohol syndrome disorder, child protection, and women escaping abusive

relationships.

British Columbia is leading the way in Canada with novel

innovations in many of these areas. Most involve partnerships with other levels

of government and with private sector organizations working shoulder to shoulder

to make real progress.

Your government will build on that work with new measures this

fall, including the establishment of a new Pacific centre for social innovation.

The centre will serve to stimulate social innovation and the development of best

practices reports from across the country and around the world. It will engage

governments, academics and experts in various social disciplines to identify

groundbreaking innovations now working in other jurisdictions to improve social

outcomes and to successfully address contemporary socioeconomic challenges.

The centre will be asked to initially focus on three pressing

social imperatives. One is the question of what might be done to better serve

the needs of today's families at home, in the modern workplace and in our

changing communities. The recognition of these changes and a response to them

will enhance the quality of life for all British Columbians.

The second priority will be to look at creative approaches being

employed around the world to foster environmentally sustainable communities and

other innovations to promote sustainable use of natural resources. In British

Columbia we're already recognized for the quality of our cities and towns. As

our population grows, we must find ways to maintain and improve air and water

quality and maintain our natural landscapes for future generations.

The third focus of the Pacific centre for social innovation will

be the issue of how to improve voter participation in elections. Voting is the

most fundamental act of citizenship, and it is on the wane. We must

[ Page 6 ]

search for the mechanisms of revitalization. The health of our public life

depends on it. None of the goals that have been laid out will be accomplished

unless all British Columbians share in our achievements and the success.

The government will work tirelessly to establish a new

relationship with first nations. Allied with first nations and aboriginal

leadership, it will build upon and hopefully assist the work that aboriginal

leaders are leading with provincial and territorial governments across Canada.

Innovative strategies are required to reverse the trends that have left too many

aboriginal people behind in education, health and economic opportunity.

There have been huge institutional and systemic impediments to

progress in aboriginal communities. We need to better understand those

impediments and act with aboriginal leaders to overcome them. Rampant poverty,

inadequate housing, chronic unemployment and notoriously low high school

completion rates are measures of our collective failure. They should not be the

fate of first nations. High suicide rates, lower life expectancy, high infant

mortality and intolerably high levels of substance abuse should not be the

plight of Canada's aboriginal peoples and cannot be allowed to continue.

Portable, accessible, universal, comprehensive, publicly

administered health care should not be just words in the Canada Health Act that

apply to Canadians who live off reserve. They should be principles that apply

equally to aboriginal people and to all citizens in rural communities and in

urban communities alike.

Your government will also continue to press this point as a

national imperative for a stronger Canada. Later this fall first ministers will

meet with aboriginal leaders to act on a ten-year vision and plans for first

nations, Inuit and Métis communities. The goal will be to eliminate within ten

years the inequities that have plagued first nations and aboriginal people

throughout Canada's history.

Your government is committed to forging a new relationship of

reconciliation with first nations in British Columbia and to working with first

nations and aboriginal leaders across Canada to accomplish this ambitious goal.

This new relationship with first nations will help define Canada and will help

to shape our country's future. The new relationship must be based on mutual

respect and recognition of aboriginal Canadians' constitutional rights. It must

recognize the Crown's legal and moral duty to consult where decisions impact

constitutionally protected aboriginal rights and title. It will require all

governments to build capacity that will enable aboriginal people to fully

participate in the multiple bounties of British Columbia.

[1430]

The path to prosperity does not lie in the denial of aboriginal

rights or in the discredited approaches of the past. The way forward is not to

be found through confrontation or endless litigation that has held us back as a

people and as a province.

The future we all seek for our families and communities must not

be won through the uncertain path of denial, resistance and shortsightedness. It

is ours to claim together through a new relationship that is honourable,

constructive and grounded in immediate and practical progress for all British

Columbians. Your government will push to extend that vision from coast to coast

to coast. It will seek to build a new national relationship of reconciliation

that brings first ministers together with aboriginal leaders as never before.

For too long Canadian federalism has been viewed through the

The story of Canada has largely been how those two distinct cultures have

existed and have thrived together. It is a story of how they embrace many other

cultures in building a nation that is a model of diversity, tolerance and human

generosity.

Yet there remains a third solitude in our nation's midst, one that

has been largely ignored and discounted by governments throughout our history.

It is the solitude known by Canada's founding nations, the first nations, who

even today struggle for recognition as full partners in Confederation.

Your government believes that Canada's greatest duty and hope for

the future is to reach out to first nations and aboriginal people to forge a new

partnership. Aboriginal people are not peripheral to Canada's fabric. They are

part of every fibre woven in the tapestry of Canada's history.

British Columbians are making great progress, and their province

is again a national leader. There is new-found optimism and confidence

throughout the province. British Columbia's fiscal house is in order, and our

income tax rates are competitive. We are leading the nation in job creation and

economic growth. Families are keeping more of their paycheques and are feeling

optimistic again. Jobs and economic growth are providing the foundations for

strengthening our public health, education and social support systems.

Your government will continue to pursue B.C.'s economic advantages

and to extend the current economic recovery to all families and all regions. To

secure a future for all our children, it will ensure that government does not

fall back to the spendthrift ways of the past. The burdens we have laid on the

next generation must continue to be lightened through wise investment,

continuing containment of the costs of government, and an acknowledgment that we

will not put off today's problems because they are inconvenient to be dealt

with. We must use the power of all we have learned to provide the next

generation of British Columbians with the full range of opportunity.

Many challenges remain. Managing debt, controlling cost pressures

and meeting the mounting demand for new and better services within available

budgets are never easy imperatives to meet. On Wednesday the Minister of Finance

will address those challenges in her budget update. Indeed, the need to gain

legislative approval for that spending plan is why this House is meeting earlier

than scheduled.

[ Page 7 ]

In addition to the estimates, your government will introduce other

legislation this session to honour previous commitments. It will act to

establish the southern interior development initiative and the north

island–coast development initiative and to further invest in the northern

development initiative. Together these three independently run regional

development initiatives will invest, manage and leverage some $300 million in

provincial funding for the benefit of regional economies. The goal is that the

regional actions should meet the regional challenges and complement the

government's endeavours to create a broad prosperity for all people in every

region of the province. Regional development boards will use this $300 million

in seed capital to create new jobs and opportunities free of provincial

interference.

While our province strives to diversify its economy, we must never

forget the traditional natural resources that create the foundation of our

mutual prosperity. Urban and rural families across British Columbia depend on

these resources for their prosperity.

No single resource has contributed more to all of us than our

forests. Yet today our forests are under an unparalleled attack from the

mountain pine beetle. That attack is more damaging than anything we have faced

before, and its effects will be felt for many generations yet to come. Without

unprecedented national action to thwart, contain and recover from that epidemic,

the pine beetle will cause even worse economic, environmental and social damage.

[1435]

The government's multi-pronged approach includes developing

community partnerships, as well as two new separate partnerships with the

province of Alberta and with the federal government. New on-the-ground

decision-making, similar to an emergency response team, will be developed in the

months ahead.

A 15-year partnership between the federal and provincial

government is being pursued to provide, first, increased resources for economic

diversification; second, improved silviculture to increase yields in immature

but unaffected forest stands; third, immediate streamside, riverside and fish

habitat protection and improvements; fourth, increased reforestation and stream

debris management programs; fifth, expanded science and research development in

the best use of beetle-infested wood and expanded product diversification; and

sixth, long-term land use opportunities with first nations and other

resource-dependent communities that have been directly impacted.

As your government pursues these initiatives, it will introduce

other measures to this session to help the province. As promised, it will act to

facilitate the creation of a new World Trade University in Chilliwack. The World

Trade University is a United Nations mechanism aimed at promoting education and

commerce in global trade. A private bill will be supported to formalize that

exciting new institution.

Your government will bring forward the civil forfeiture act that

was tabled last April, as promised in its platform, to ensure that criminals do

not profit from their crimes.

With a new parliament, it is timely to recall the purpose of

scheduled fall sittings. One reason was to give all members, their families and

the public greater certainty about the legislative schedule. Another was to

complete items introduced or announced in each previous spring session and any

other matters demanding the Legislature's urgent action. Consistent with that

intent and the added imperatives of this fall to debate and pass the budget

estimates, the legislative agenda this session will not be onerous.

In future years fall sittings will be convened as required,

according to the set legislative calendar, to serve the purposes originally

intended. Your government will work with the official opposition to explore new

ways of improving the Legislature's effectiveness for British Columbians. It

will build on British Columbia's growing reputation as a national leader in

democratic reform with several reforms in representative and participatory

democracy.

Your government wishes to acknowledge the input and support of the

official opposition in advancing changes to improve and to modernize the rules

that guide the conduct of MLAs in this chamber. Both parties have agreed that

steps should be taken to give all members a stronger voice in this Legislature.

For the first time ever, a second Deputy Speaker of the House will be appointed

from the ranks of the official opposition.

It has been 33 years since question period was introduced in this

assembly. In all that time the 15-minute time block available for members'

questions has never changed. Your government will extend question period.

Question period will be doubled from 15 minutes to 30 minutes.

Other reforms will be initiated to help private members better

represent their constituents and enhance the effectiveness of our legislative

committee system during estimates debates. The number of daily two-minute

members' statements will be doubled from three to six. That will give private

members more than twice the time and frequency to address issues of particular

importance to them and to their constituents each day.

Select standing committees will be activated with clear and

compelling mandates. The Health Committee will be asked to help advance the

great goal on fitness and health, focusing specifically on the growing problem

of childhood obesity.

The Education Committee will be asked to focus on specific

challenges of adult literacy and helping B.C. meet its goals of becoming the

most literate jurisdiction in North America.

A special committee on sustainable aquaculture will be struck this

session to advance B.C.'s great goal of leading the world in sustainable

fisheries management. It will be asked to work with the Pacific Salmon Forum and

others to identify viable improvements to our fish farming industries that

balance economic goals with environmental imperatives. The government will

invite the official opposition to chair that special com-

[ Page 8 ]

mittee and to also hold the majority of that committee's members. This will

address an important issue of vital interest to B.C.'s island and coastal

communities, who elected so many opposition members to represent their

interests. Indeed, all of these reforms will give the official opposition an

unprecedented role in this Legislature.

[1440]

At the same time, your government will continue to lead the way in

Canada on electoral reform. British Columbia was the first province to establish

set election dates. Your government has considered the date set for the next

election and has resolved that the next general election will be held as

scheduled, four years from the last provincial election, on May 12, 2009.

The issue of electoral reform remains, following the results of

the referendum put before the public in May. Nearly 58 percent of all citizens

who cast a ballot in the recent referendum on electoral reform supported the

proposed STV electoral system. A solid majority supported STV in all but two of

B.C.'s 79 constituencies. Yet that was not enough to pass, according to the

rules this Legislature unanimously established.

Your government has been clear that it does not intend to rewrite

those rules after the fact or to pretend that the vote for STV succeeded when it

did not. Nor can it ignore the size of the double majority that voted to change

our current electoral system to the STV model. There have been many

interpretations of the electoral reform referendum's result. Whatever the

analysis, a troubling question remains: why did so many people vote so strongly

to change the current system?

The Citizens' Assembly considered the question of electoral reform

for over a year. They, too, concluded that our current system of electing MLAs

was lacking and that a better system could be found in the single transferable

vote model. They came to that conclusion after intensive investigation, public

consultation and consideration of academic advice.

Your government does not accept that the solution to a majority

vote that failed to pass is to essentially ignore it and impose yet another

electoral system. It does not accept that the answer to the minority's rejection

of the Citizens' Assembly proposal is to redo its work. It does not accept that

the 79 members of this assembly are any better qualified than the 161 members of

the Citizens' Assembly were to choose the best electoral model.

In any event, your government believes that the widely

acknowledged success of the Citizens' Assembly flowed directly from its

independence from traditional political interference. The Citizens' Assembly had

no political master and no partisan axes to grind. It was not a body of elected

politicians who were perceived to be guided by self-interest. It was exactly

what this Legislature intended: citizen-centred, dedicated and independent.

One task that was never assigned to the Citizens' Assembly was to

show precisely how its proposed STV model might apply on an electoral map. This

was arguably a design flaw in its terms of reference that in retrospect may have

impacted how people voted in the referendum.

Your government believes that establishing STV constituency

boundaries may provide the public with a critical piece of information that was

missing at the time of the referendum. The government will recommend that

shortcoming be rectified. The Legislature is obliged to appoint an electoral

boundaries commission this session. Your government will use that opportunity to

take the challenge of electoral reform to its ultimate conclusion. Legislation

will be introduced to enable that requirement.

The new Electoral Boundaries Commission will be given two tasks.

First, to draft the provincial electoral map, as is currently required. The

government will introduce an amendment that it hopes will protect northern

representation in this Legislature. The amendment will allow the commission to

provide for up to 85 members under the current electoral system. Having decided

on the most appropriate number of MLAs within that cap to protect northern

residents, it will set its sights on STV. The commission will also be asked to

identify the best and fairest way to configure British Columbia's electoral

districts under the STV model.

In view of the double difficulty of this assignment and a new

census not expected to be completed until 2007, the time frame for the

commission to complete its work will be extended from the time prescribed in the

current legislation. The commission will be asked to submit its final report on

electoral redistribution under both electoral systems by the spring of 2008.

That information will be put before the public as part of an

extensive effort to better inform British Columbians about the two electoral

options: the current system and STV. Equal funding will be provided to support

active information campaigns for supporters and detractors of each model.

The two models will be put to a provincewide vote, along with the

applicable electoral boundaries, in a referendum that will be held in tandem

with the November 2008 municipal elections. That question will be crafted by the

government and will be debated and voted upon in this Legislature. All members,

including cabinet ministers, will be free to speak to it and to vote as they

wish.

[1445]

In establishing electoral boundaries, it has been the practice

that all members are invited to make representation to the Electoral Boundaries

Commission. All members will be encouraged to also use that opportunity to

comment on the relative merits of both electoral models under the boundaries

proposed. No one is obliged to support STV or remain silent if they have

concerns. The Premier will remain neutral, but all government members will be

free to support or oppose either model. In the final analysis the people will

again decide — not the politicians — which electoral model and boundaries suit

them best. The people will have their final say on STV.

The same rules and thresholds that applied for passing STV in the

recent referendum will apply in

[ Page 9 ]

November 2008 referendum. Whichever model succeeds is the model that will be

employed to elect the next parliament on May 12, 2009. The government intends to

launch a provincewide enumeration prior to that date to ensure that the British

Columbia voters list is brought up to date and is accurate.

In conclusion, British Columbia has always had a public life

marked by adventure and by challenge. But more importantly, it is a public life

fuelled by dreams and by the imagination of those who came before. Although we

cannot be proud of all that was done throughout this province's history, we can

be proud of what has been accomplished. Those accomplishments are not owned by

governments. They were shaped by the contributions of aboriginal peoples and

immigrants from lands in every hemisphere, and fashioned by engineers and public

servants, by doctors and teachers, by farmers and foresters and miners. They are

accomplishments created by people committed to a dream of making a better place

for their families to live.

In two years British Columbia will celebrate the 150th anniversary

of the colony of British Columbia. Our sesquicentennial will be a time for us to

look back at the story of this place and of the people who live here. It will be

a time when each of us can search for a new understanding of the history that

produced our present. As we look at that past, read about it and examine its

meaning, we will find new strengths to build a future that reflects the best we

have to offer.

Today we celebrate the beginning of a new parliament and with it

the chance to build upon that proud legacy and bring out the best in our

province. May the excitement of today reflect itself in the work you do tomorrow

so that in the future people will look back on this time and say they saw their

province, knew its greatness and acted to make it a better place for all who

would follow.

Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor retired from the chamber.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Mr. Speaker: Hon. members, in order to prevent mistakes, I

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

[1450]

Law Clerk:

E. George MacMinn, QC

Clerk of the Legislative Assembly

Room 221

Parliament Buildings

Victoria, B.C.

V8V 1X4

Re: General Election, May 17, 2005

Please consider this letter a certified report per

section 147 of

the Election Act, RSBC 1996,

chapter 106, regarding the results of the 38th

provincial general election.

Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor dissolved the 37th parliament

of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia via a proclamation issued on

April 19, 2005. A general election was required to fill vacancies caused by the

dissolution. Writs of election were issued in the afternoon of April 19, 2005,

calling for a general election on May 17, 2005. The writs were returnable on or

before today, June 8, 2005.

The general election was held pursuant to the provisions of the

Election Act. In conjunction with that election, a referendum on electoral

reform was also conducted. Recounts of candidate ballots were conducted by

district electoral officers under

section 136 of the Election Act in eight

electoral districts — namely, Burnaby-Edmonds, Burnaby North, Cariboo North,

Cariboo South, Maple Ridge–Mission, Saanich South, Skeena, Vancouver-Burrard.

In addition, the district electoral officer for the electoral

district of Vancouver-Burrard was required to apply for a judicial recount of

the ballots in that district, in accordance with

section 139(5)(

b) of the

Election Act. The Supreme Court judge who conducted the recount will issue a

certificate of the results of the election to the district electoral officer

following the judicial recount appeal period. I will report the election result

to you immediately after the district electoral officer returns the writ of

election for that district.

I hereby certify that the following members have been elected to

represent their respective electoral districts as set out below.

Electoral District

Elected Member

Abbotsford-Clayburn

John van Dongen

Abbotsford–Mount Lehman

Michael de Jong

Alberni-Qualicum

Scott Fraser

Bulkley Valley–Stikine

Dennis Edwin MacKay

Burnaby-Edmonds

Raj Chouhan

Burnaby North

Richard Lee

Burnaby-Willingdon

John Nuraney

Burquitlan

Harry Bloy

Cariboo North

Bob Simpson

Cariboo South

Charlie Wyse

Chilliwack-Kent

Barry Penner

Chilliwack-Sumas

John Les

Columbia River–Revelstoke

Norm Macdonald

Comox Valley

Stan Hagen

Coquitlam-Maillardville

Diane Thorne

Cowichan-Ladysmith

Doug Routley

Delta North

Guy Gentner

Delta South

Valerie Roddick

East Kootenay

Bill Bennett

Esquimalt-Metchosin

Maurine Karagianis

Fort Langley–Aldergrove

Rich Coleman

Kamloops

Claude Harry Richmond

Kamloops–North Thompson

Kevin Krueger

Kelowna-Lake Country

Al Horning

Kelowna-Mission

Sindi Hawkins

Langley

Mary Polak

Malahat–Juan de Fuca

John Horgan

Maple Ridge–Mission

Randy Hawes

Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows

Michael Sather

Nanaimo

Leonard Krog

Nanaimo-Parksville

Ron Cantelon

Nelson-Creston

Corky Evans

New Westminster

Chuck Puchmayr

North Coast

Gary Earl Coons

[ Page 10 ]

North Island

Claire Trevena

North Vancouver–Lonsdale

Katherine Anne Whittred

North Vancouver–Seymour

Daniel Morrison Jarvis

Oak Bay–Gordon Head

Ida Chong

Okanagan-Vernon

Tom Christensen

Okanagan-Westside

Rick Thorpe

Peace River North

Richard Neufeld

Peace River South

Blair Lekstrom

Penticton–Okanagan Valley

Bill Barisoff

Port Coquitlam–Burke Mountain

Mike Farnworth

Port Moody–Westwood

Iain Black

Powell River–Sunshine Coast

Nicholas Simons

Prince George–Mount Robson

Shirley Bond

Prince George North

Pat Bell

Prince George–Omineca

John Rustad

Richmond Centre

Olga Ilich

Richmond East

Linda Reid

Richmond-Steveston

John Yap

Saanich North and the Islands

Murray Robert Coell

Saanich South

David Cubberley

Shuswap

George Abbott

Skeena

Robin Austin

Surrey-Cloverdale

Kevin Falcon

Surrey–Green Timbers

Sue Hammell

Surrey-Newton

Harry Bains

Surrey–Panorama Ridge

Jagrup Brar

Surrey-Tynehead

Dave Hayer

Surrey-Whalley

Bruce Ralston

Surrey–White Rock

Gordon Hogg

Vancouver-Burrard

In this letter, judicial recounts results pending

Vancouver -Fairview

Gregor Robertson

Vancouver-Fraserview

Wally Oppal

Vancouver-Hastings

Shane Simpson

Vancouver-Kensington

David Chudnovsky

Vancouver-Kingsway

Adrian Dix

Vancouver-Langara

Carole Taylor

Vancouver–Mount Pleasant

Jenny Kwan

Vancouver–Point Grey

Gordon Campbell

Vancouver-Quilchena

Colin Hansen

Victoria–Beacon Hill

Carole James

Victoria-Hillside

Rob Fleming

West Kootenay–Boundary

Katrine Conroy

West Vancouver–Capilano

Ralph Sultan

West Vancouver–Garibaldi

Joan McIntyre

Yale-Lillooet

Harry Lali

Sincerely,

Harry Neufeld,

Chief Electoral Officer,

British Columbia

[1455]

June 10, 2005

E. George MacMinn, QC

Clerk of the Legislative Assembly

Room 221

Parliament Buildings

Victoria, B.C.

V8V 1X4

Dear Mr. MacMinn:

Re: Certified Report of Election Results

in Vancouver-Burrard

electoral district

A provincial general election and a referendum on electoral reform

were held on May 17, 2005. The district electoral officer for the electoral

district of Vancouver-Burrard was required to apply at the Supreme Court for a

judicial recount of ballots in that district, in accordance with

section

139(5)(

b) of the Election Act.

Associate Chief Justice Patrick D. Dohm conducted the judicial

recount on June 6 and June 7, 2005. Following the conclusion of the judicial

recount, a two-day appeal period was observed as required by

section 144 of the

act. This appeal period ended at the close of business on Thursday, June 9. The

decision was not appealed.

This morning Justice Dohm issued a certificate of the results of

the election to the district electoral officer. I have now received the

completed writ of election for the electoral district of Vancouver-Burrard. In

accordance with

section 147(2) of the act, I hereby certify the election of

Lorne Mayencourt, affiliated with the B.C. Liberal Party, as the member to

represent the electoral district of Vancouver-Burrard in the Legislative

Assembly.

Sincerely,

Harry Neufeld,

Chief Electoral Officer,

British Columbia

Hon. W. Oppal: I move that the certificates of the Chief

Electoral Officer of the results of the election of the members be entered upon

the Journals of the House.

Motion approved.

Introduction and

First Reading of Bills

AN ACT TO ENSURE

THE SUPREMACY OF PARLIAMENT

Hon. W. Oppal presented a bill intituled

An Act to Ensure the

Supremacy of Parliament.

Hon. W. Oppal: I move that Bill 1 be introduced and read a

first time.

Motion approved.

Hon. W. Oppal: The introduction of this bill prior to the

consideration of the throne speech really expresses the established right of an

independent parliament, through its elected members, to deliberate independently

of the sovereign and independently of the Crown. As such, it is an important

part of our parliamentary democracy. It's a right that first was asserted by the

parliament at Westminster in 1603, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

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

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

Bill 1,

An Act to Ensure the Supremacy of Parliament, introduced,

read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second

reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

[ Page 11 ]

APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY SPEAKER

Hon. M. de Jong: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the

member for Port Coquitlam–Burke Mountain, that Sindi Hawkins, the member for

Kelowna-Mission electoral district, be appointed Deputy Speaker for this session

of the Legislative Assembly.

Motion approved.

Hon. M. de Jong: The next motion is somewhat historic for

this chamber, and I might defer to my colleague the Opposition House Leader.

APPOINTMENT OF

ASSISTANT DEPUTY SPEAKER

M. Farnworth: I move, seconded by the member for

Abbotsford–Mount Lehman electoral district, that Sue Hammell, member for

Surrey–Green Timbers electoral district, be appointed the Assistant Deputy

Speaker for this session of the Legislative Assembly.

Motion approved.

APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY CHAIR,

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

Hon. M. de Jong: I move, seconded again by the member for

Port Coquitlam–Burke Mountain, that Harry Bloy, member for Burquitlam electoral

district, be appointed Deputy Chair of the Committee of the Whole for this

session of the Legislative Assembly.

Motion approved.

[1500]

PRINTING OF VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS

Hon. W. Oppal: I move that the Votes and Proceedings

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

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

presume to print the same.

Motion approved.

APPOINTMENT OF

SELECT STANDING COMMITTEES

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

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

purposes:

1. Aboriginal Affairs;

2. Education;

3. Finance and Government Services;

4. Health;

5. Public Accounts;

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

Bills;

7. Crown Corporations;

and that Standing Order 68(1) is hereby amended to so reflect, which said

committees shall severally be empowered to examine and inquire into all such

matters and things as shall be referred to them by this House and to report from

time to time their observations and opinions thereon, with power to send for

persons, papers and records; and that a special committee be appointed to

prepare and report, with all convenient speed, lists of members to compose the

above standing committees of this House under Standing Order 68(1), the

committee to be composed of the Hon. M. de Jong (Convener); Messrs. Cantelon,

Hogg, Jarvis and Nuraney; Ms. Roddick; Messrs. Farnworth and Horgan; Ms. Conroy

and Ms. Kwan.

Motion approved.

Hon. M. de Jong moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

Mr. Speaker: This House now stands adjourned until ten

o'clock tomorrow morning.

The House adjourned at 3:02 p.m.

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