First Session, 41st Parliament

(2017) OFFICIAL REPORT

OF DEBATES

(HANSARD)

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Afternoon Sitting

Issue No. 7

ISSN 1499-2175

The HTML transcript is provided for informational purposes only.

CONTENTS

Routine Business

Introductions by Members

Tributes

James Walker

A. Weaver

Introductions by Members

Statements (Standing Order 25B)

Delta Agricultural Society

I. Paton

Delgamuukw case and Gitxsan management of lands

D. Donaldson

Ecole Pauline Johnson outdoor facilities project

R. Sultan

Gabriola Arts Council

D. Routley

Emergency responders and response to flooding in Okanagan

D. Ashton

International Day of Yoga

R. Chouhan

Oral Questions

Tax credits to banks

J. Horgan

Hon. C. Clark

Affordable housing and protections for renters

G. Heyman

Hon. E. Ross

[Question ruled out of order.]

A. Weaver

Child care services

L. Beare

Hon. C. Clark

B. D'Eith

Conditions in education system

B. Ma

Hon. C. Clark

Orders of the Day

Throne Speech Debate (continued)

D. Davies

J. Horgan

On the amendment

I. Paton

S. Furstenau

T. Shypitka

Hon. J. Rustad

Hon. S. Bond

Hon. C. Oakes

J. Yap

Hon. D. Barnett

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28, 2017

The House met at 1:33 p.m.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Routine Business

Prayers.

Introductions by Members

S. Robinson: I’m very pleased that I have a good friend of mine, who had been a

constituent but now has moved over to the Port Moody–Coquitlam side…. He’s

still a very good friend. His name is Adel Gamar. He is the hockey dad for

five daughters, some of whom play for the Tri-Cities Predators. He’s the

co-founder and CEO of Gamar Leadership Group, where he manages the delivery

and implementation of the firm’s leadership development and change

management services.

[1:35 p.m.]

He has served as the education specialist at UNESCO. He’s a policy

fellow at Harvard Law School and has delivered executive programs at

Harvard. Would the House please make this wonderful friend of mine very

welcome.

Hon. S. Cadieux: Joining us in the gallery today are two friends. One, Bill Brooks, is

a longtime B.C. Liberal Party member and was the riding president for me

back two constituencies ago. Joining him is a friend from the Surrey-Whalley

constituency, Sargy Chima, who is a public servant with Service Canada. Can

you please make them all welcome.

S. Chandra Herbert: It gives me great, great pleasure to welcome two guests from

Vancouver–West End. One of them is an incredible supporter, volunteer,

encourager, kick-in-the-butt-er. He makes me do the dishes when I forget,

somebody who makes my heart grow bigger with love all the time and someone

who I couldn’t do this job without. I speak, of course, of my husband, Romi

Chandra Herbert.

I’d also like to welcome to this House the number one vote-getter in

Vancouver–West End, the one who will steal your heart and somebody who I

hope you all get a chance to meet over the years ahead — a new hope in my

life and a love of my life as well. My son, Dev Juno Chandra Herbert, has

joined us in the gallery.

Please make them very welcome.

Hon. J. Johal: It gives me great pleasure to introduce four very important people in

my life who are visiting the Legislature today. First, my wife, Seera Toor.

She is truly the foundation of our family. No matter where we end up, from

Vancouver to New Delhi to Beijing and back, she has truly been supportive of

the endeavours I have pursued, and I thank her for her continued love,

support and guidance.

I also want to recognize my mother-in-law, Bachan Toor, who has played

and continues to play a significant role in helping raise our

son.

I also want to recognize our family friend, Regina Lal. She is a

flight attendant with Air Canada, and this is her first visit to the

Legislature.

Finally, I want to recognize my eight-year-old son, Ishaan Johal, who

just this past weekend celebrated with his hockey team after winning the

gold in his spring three-on-three hockey league.

Members, please help welcome my family to the Legislature.

Tributes

JAMES WALKER

A. Weaver: It’s with a heavy heart that I advise the House of the recent

passing of a highly respected constituent, James H.C. Walker. Jim

trained as a fisheries scientist in New Brunswick and was widely known

for his expertise in wildlife management and land use management. In his

28 years of public service, he held senior positions with the provincial

government, including manager of habitat protection, director of

wildlife and assistant deputy minister in charge of fish, wildlife and

habitat protection.

He was a respected leader in helping to develop and deliver a

number of high-profile provincial initiatives, including the Forest

Practices Code, the Muskwa-Kechika management area, the Clayoquot Sound

land use plan, the grizzly bear strategy, the biodiversity strategy, the

B.C. Trust for Public Lands, the Vancouver Island Marmot Recovery

Foundation, and many more.

Jim was principled in defending the public interest in natural

resources and always maintained humour and integrity during his career

and in retirement. His incredible personal legacy continues today in the

inspiration and development of scientists, practitioners, leaders,

decision-makers and stakeholders.

Introductions by Members

Hon. N. Letnick: Hon. Speaker, on behalf of yourself, the Premier of British Columbia

and myself, I’d like to welcome the hon. Ron Cannan, a former Member of

Parliament and city councillor for the city of Kelowna, who is here on a

visit and has toured the precinct with me this morning. I’d also like to

congratulate Ron on serving the people of British Columbia, Kelowna and all

of Canada for nearly 20 years.

Would the House please make him feel very welcome.

D. Davies: I would like to welcome some guests that have come all the way down

from my riding, Fort St. John: Tim and Laura Estergaard as well as Kerne and

Stacy Kennedy, hard-working people from the north taking time out of their

day to come down and watch the proceedings today.

Please help me make them feel welcome.

[1:40 p.m.]

Statements

(Standing Order 25B)

DELTA AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY

I. Paton: Perhaps it is no surprise that, as a third-generation Delta

farmer, I rise today for my first statement in this House to recognize

the outstanding work of the Delta Agricultural Society in my riding of

Delta South. The Delta Agricultural Society is the oldest society in

British Columbia. The society’s well-documented generosity over the last

130 years has helped Delta grow into the thriving community that it is

today.

The society was founded in 1888 in a meeting chaired by William

Ladner, a local farmer and community leader whom the town of Ladner

would later become named after, with the mandate to promote good farming

principles and techniques.

In the early 20th century, the Delta Ag Society was instrumental

in the procurement of land from local government for the creation of

Paterson Park. For several decades, Paterson Park was one of the most

successful horse-racing facilities in the province. The park regularly

attracted thousands of visitors from across Canada and the United States

who came to cheer on their favourite trotters and pacers. Today Paterson

Park is maintained in Delta as a walking and jogging track.

In addition to their agricultural stewardship, the Delta Ag

Society has become well known as a generous philanthropic organization.

Over the years, the society has donated over $3 million to dozens of

organizations in our community. In 2006, the society donated $300,000 to

the Delta Hospital.

Just a few years ago, Delta Ag Society donated $250,000 to the

Reach Child and Youth Development Society. The funds went towards

construction of a brand-new child development centre, which is

officially opening at the end of this summer in Ladner. In 2015, the

Delta Hospital Foundation recognized the Delta Ag Society for their

significant contributions.

In addition to their public accomplishments, presidents Peter

Guichon, Jack Bates and John Savage and the society’s many members

exemplify the traits of model Delta citizens, never hesitating to help a

neighbour in need both on the farm and in the community.

DELGAMUUKW CASE AND

GITXSAN MANAGEMENT OF

LANDS

D. Donaldson: Hon. Speaker, 20 years ago this month I travelled with Gitxsan and

Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs to the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa,

where their case on aboriginal title, the Delgamuukw-Gisday’wa action,

was argued on June 16 and 17, 1997.

There were many events during that time in Ottawa to raise

awareness. One was at the Museum of Civilization, in the grand hall. At

one point, I found Gitwangak Hereditary Chief Dinimget standing by

himself, staring at one of the huge totems in that hall. With a pensive

look, he told me the pole was from his community — he hadn’t seen it

since he was a child — and how he used to get in trouble for playing on

it. The way Dinimget was staring reminded me of the adawx , the

oral history, and despite this relegation of a symbol of authority to a

museum, the Hereditary Chief still held aboriginal title. The Delgamuukw

Supreme Court case was won later that year.

Just this month I had the privilege, as the newly re-elected MLA

for Stikine, to meet with Dinimget and other Hereditary Chiefs in

Gitwangak. Again, the basis was aboriginal title. We discussed the

Gitwangak land use plan. They have put an incredible amount of time and

energy, combining traditional ecological knowledge and Western science,

into a landscape-level document which allows for certainty and

sustainability when it comes to activities on the traditional

territories, the lax’yip .

The Gitwangak Hereditary Chiefs want to use the plan in a

co-management approach with B.C. They have run into a situation where

the province seems to have amnesia about the evidence presented in

Delgamuukw regarding Gitxsan territorial boundaries. This is creating

problems and increasing uncertainty for the Gitwangak chiefs, their

neighbouring First Nations and those dependent on the lax’yip

for their livelihood.

It’s 20 years since Dinimget and the Hereditary Chiefs appeared at

the Supreme Court, and this week marks three years since the Supreme

Court’s Tsilhqot’in decision. Inaction and delay perpetuates suffering

and injustice, time for a government to act honourably. It will be

better for everyone living in this great province.

ECOLE PAULINE JOHNSON

OUTDOOR FACILITIES

PROJECT

R. Sultan: It’s not every day parents and volunteers build an outdoor

learning park at the far edge of Ecole Pauline Johnson school yard. They

created a large outdoor performance amphitheatre, a wetland ecosystem,

bird sanctuary, butterfly garden, community garden, climbing logs, First

Nations healing circle and an inscribed Pauline Johnson rock in memory

of the Mohawk poet whose name was given to this French immersion primary

school in my riding. In that regard, the park even has

a French grande allée, a place for congregation.

[1:45 p.m.]

The park was conceived by Victoria Mendes and Kyra Smiljanic, who

felt kids today should be unplugged from their screens and devices and

make stronger connections with nature. They convinced the skeptics and,

with cash and in-kind, completed the totally volunteer $5 million

project in five years.

Remarkably, about ten volunteers stuck with the project for the

full five years, and when planting needed to be done, 60 volunteers

showed up. I attended the barbecue opening, where the Squamish Nation

blessed the park and parents topped up the building fund by bidding

enthusiastically for quite professional student paintings. It was all a

grand success.

Congratulations, and thank you to the entire Pauline Johnson

School community.

GABRIOLA ARTS COUNCIL

D. Routley: The Gabriola Arts Council began its Festival Gabriola in October

2006. Gabriola Island ranks sixth across Canada with respect to

concentration of artists in the local workforce, at over seven times the

national average. It’s a community of writers, actors, poets, painters,

dancers, musicians, sculptors and potters.

Gabriola Arts Council is growing this sector, building audiences

interests. The council ensures that local residents have opportunities

to engage with the arts and artists and that off-island communities are

aware of these rich artistic resources.

The importance of the arts community in individual development,

both social and economic, has been well documented. Numerous studies

indicate that the arts stimulate economic growth and improve quality of

life.

In recognition of this and through their passion for the arts,

Gabriola Arts Council’s mandate is to foster and facilitate greater

public awareness and understanding of and participation in the arts, to

encourage and mentor artists of all levels to achieve excellence, to

broaden the base of public and private support for the arts, to serve as

the primary local resource for information about the arts.

Gabriola Arts Council hosts three annual art events — the Isle of

the Arts Festival, Gabriola Theatre Festival and the Thanksgiving tour

and festival — while managing their year-round Healing Power of Art

program. They run arts-related programs in the elementary school.

Clearly, they are an indelible contribution to art and the

community.

Oh, and since the Gabriola Theatre Festival occurs August 18 to 20

— that’s a Friday to Saturday — coincidental with a strong likelihood

that the members may be in town, perhaps in different seats, I invite

every member, in a tripartisan spirit, to attend with me.

EMERGENCY RESPONDERS AND

RESPONSE TO FLOODING IN

OKANAGAN

D. Ashton: I rise to speak today about our British Columbia emergency

responders and volunteers and their amazing work responding to the

Okanagan flooding and to thank them for it. With water rising to

dangerous levels, both of these groups, plus many staff from the

municipalities and regional districts, stepped forward to make a real

difference. They all went above the call of duty, employing nearly

500,000 sandbags across the Okanagan — not an easy feat, by any

measure.

With much of the Okanagan’s waterfront submerged and many homes

filled with water, the flooding has disrupted lives and caused damage

still being calculated. The damage has extended beyond our shorelines to

the hillsides that have become unstable and are threatening more homes.

I know that our communities are strong and will clean up and rebuild. As

we’ve seen time and time again, whether it be floods or forest fires,

our emergency responders and volunteers step up and respond as rapidly

and as flexibly as they can.

As the floodwaters retreat, it is important to remember how

efficiently this disaster was handled. Emergency management British

Columbia and all other line ministries performed tremendously.

Nevertheless, there are lessons that we can learn, and I know that

ministry staff always review operations like this after the fact. I look

forward to working with the ministries responsible to ensure that we

never have to go through this again.

Now, at this point, I would ask that every member of this House

join me in thanking all emergency responders and the incredible

volunteers who answer the call whenever British Columbians are in

need.

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOGA

R. Chouhan: In 2014, the United Nations declared June 21 the International Day

of Yoga. This year the consul general of India organized and celebrated

it on June 24 at Langara College in Vancouver.

[1:50 p.m.]

The college gym was full of people participating in the event.

Millions of people in India and in 192 other countries participated this

year in the International Day of Yoga. The theme of the 2017 celebration

was “Yoga for health.” The theme highlighted the fact that yoga can

contribute in a holistic way to achieve an equilibrium between mind and

body.

Over thousands of years, yogis in India have perfected this

technique to heal our body, soul and mind. When we have so much

violence, drugs and religious hatred around us, we need to practise yoga

more than ever to bring peace and harmony to ourselves and the

world.

Last year I learned to practise Raja yoga from the Brahma Kumaris

Sister Dr. Claudia. Raja yoga is a very simple yet very

effective technique to meditate. In addition to the Vancouver event, a

similar event was also organized in Surrey, attended by members for

Surrey-Whalley and Surrey–Green Timbers.

Thanks to the acting consul general of India, Mr. Amar Jit Singh,

for inviting me as the chief guest, and also thanks to Langara College

for co-hosting this year’s celebrations.

M. Lee: I seek leave to introduce one more guest to the

House.

Leave granted.

Introductions by Members

M. Lee: I’d like to make one more introduction to the House. I’d like to

extend this welcome to Brian Smith, the former MLA for Oak Bay–Gordon Head,

a former Minister of Education, Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum

Resources, and Attorney General for this province.

Thank you for all your years of service to this province and also as

being past chair of CN Rail and B.C. Hydro, and also to his son, a good

friend of mine from the old Ottawa days, Chris Smith.

Oral Questions

TAX CREDITS TO BANKS

J. Horgan: It’s interesting that it took an introduction of a former member

for Oak Bay–Gordon Head to bring all-party support to the proceeding.

I’m happy to see him here, as well as his son Chris.

My question, though, is to the Premier. We’ve been raising issues

over the past number of days about British Columbians who have felt left

behind by this government over the past 16 years. We talked about Danita

Adams, who’s facing renoviction. We talked about mill owners and

millworkers who are concerned about increasing border taxes. We talked

about seniors who are in care and not getting the services and the

supports that they need.

While we were having those discussions, I was reminded of the

story that broke just a month and a half ago about the millions and

millions of tax credits that have been gifted to the most profitable

banks in Canada by the B.C. Liberals through Advantage B.C.

My question is to the Premier. Why is it that medical services

premiums continue to go up, hydro rates continue to go up, ICBC rates

continue to go up, and ferry fares and tuition fees, and while everyone

else is paying more, the most profitable banks in Canada are getting tax

breaks from B.C. Liberals?

Hon. C. Clark: Well, this work that the member refers to about trying to

encourage companies to come to British Columbia from around the world

predates this government and, I think, predates even the government that

he was a part of, supporting, all through the 1990s.

It’s an initiative that was brought in by a previous Social Credit

government, and it’s an initiative whose aims are absolutely worthy. We

need to continue to support investment coming to British Columbia. We

need to make sure that we are continuing to support lower taxes, as our

government has consistently for the last six years. We need to continue

to support growing the economy.

British Columbia’s economy is on track to grow 3.7 percent this

year. We have, by far, the fastest employment growth anywhere in the

country.

[1:55 p.m.]

For all of the forest workers who are concerned about what could

happen to this economy, to all of the steelworkers who are concerned

about projects being cancelled, to all of the ironworkers out there who

wonder what is going to happen to our economy, to all the people who

work in construction who are equally concerned about that, should the

government change and should that member take this chair in the House, I

would say this. What we certainly hope is…. Although the NDP made almost

no effort in their platform to refer to jobs and economic growth and

making sure that we can support the measures that allow us to spend

generously and create a just society, I hope he will find conversion if

he finds his way to this side of the House.

All of those workers in British Columbia, including the ones at

Site C, are depending on the government, no matter who’s on this side of

the House, to make sure that we continue to grow at the pace that we are

so that we can continue to support families in British

Columbia.

Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental.

J. Horgan: Hon. Speaker, 7,000 children in portable classrooms in Surrey.

Students in Prince Rupert waiting for a school that’s now sitting on a

dump. And at the same time, the B.C. Liberals found $2.8 million to give

to the Toronto Dominion Bank in tax credits — $2.8 million.

Now, I appreciate that the Premier will stand up and filibuster

question period. It’s going to be a great opportunity to have her

prepare for asking questions, because she’s not quite there on answering

them.

I want to know and British Columbians want to know. Why did her

government choose to give the most profitable banks in Canada tax breaks

while they increased costs for regular citizens? Simple question. How

about a simple answer.

Hon. C. Clark: Well, you know, the government is already investing in 10,000 new

spaces in Surrey schools, for the fastest-growing district, and we’re

proud of that. In the throne speech, there are additional measures

to support students and spending across the

province in areas of priority that voters identified for us in the

election.

But if the member wants to characterize this as found money, I

think we should all be very worried because that’s exactly what the NDP

did in the 1990s when they injected wishful thinking into the

budget.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Hon. C. Clark: Our government has applied conservative and very prudent

budgeting, and we don’t try and spend money that we don’t

have.

Do we wish we’d known the money was there beforehand? Yes. Could

we have known? No, we couldn’t have. And a government that spends

money…

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Hon. C. Clark: …does exactly what New Democrats tend to do. If you spend too much

money, you raise taxes, you scare away investment, you shut out jobs,

and that is exactly what we saw in this last NDP platform.

I certainly hope that this member, should he find his way to this

side of the House, will find a way to insert into his thinking a little

bit of fiscal moderation and a little bit of focus on the economy.

Because those forest workers, those ironworkers, those construction

workers and their families are all counting on him and all of us to make

sure that we keep this economic growth, this economic success story in

Canada, going strong.

Mr. Speaker: The member has a further supplemental.

J. Horgan: I’ll try and be crystal-clear with the question, and perhaps the

Premier can then focus on an answer.

Mr. Speaker, $31 billion in profit last year by Canada’s four

major banks. At the same that those banks are making $31 billion in

profit, largely from service charges for customers, this government, the

people on that side of the House, gave $12 million tax gifts back to

those profitable banks. That’s the question.

It has nothing to do with where I sit or where she sits. It has

everything to do with the choices her government made. So again, why did

your government choose to give a break to the most profitable banks in

Canada while other people struggled to pay more through your

fees?

Hon. C. Clark: Well, as I said in my first answer, this is a program that

predates both my government, my predecessor’s government, my

predecessor’s predecessor’s government, the three NDP Premiers before

that and goes back to a Social Credit regime.

[2:00 p.m.]

It’s a program that the finance officials say works well, and it’s

also garnered more money for British Columbia than it has paid out. It

is a small part of the much larger project that we’ve been engaged in

for the last six years of ensuring that we are attracting businesses

from all over the world to British Columbia to try and create jobs. That

has been the central focus for us. What we saw today in the fiscal

update is that we have been much more successful than even we

anticipated that we would be in creating jobs, in growing the economy

and in putting people to work all across the province.

I hope that the member decides, should he find his way onto this

side of the House, to start thinking about economic growth, to start

putting some focus on trying to protect jobs instead of trying to lay

people off. I hope that he decides he wants to stand up for people who

work in the softwood business. Precious few people in forest industry

towns voted for members on that side of the House. He’s going to need to

stand up for them, even though he doesn’t have any members in the House,

or very few, that actually represent those people.

I hope that the member works hard to make sure that we pay

attention to tax rates and attracting investment from overseas. I hope

that he decides it’s not just about finding ways to spend money. It’s

about making sure that we build an economy strong enough and create

enough jobs that we have the money that we need to spend. That’s how a

good government is built. I hope the hon. member will pay attention,

should he find his way to this side of the House, and decide to take

some lessons from the economic growth that we’ve seen today in British

Columbia.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND

PROTECTIONS FOR

RENTERS

G. Heyman: This spring my constituent Joanna Reid went public when she and

her neighbours received 35 percent rent increases based on the

geographic increase policy and the vacate clause. Joanna rallied her

neighbours to contest their rent increase, but within weeks, her

landlord served her an eviction notice. He said he had relatives to move

into the suite she’d lived in for more than six years, even though there

were two vacant suites in the building. This government refused to close

the loophole that allows landlords to demand outrageous increases and

then evict renters who object — a loophole this government itself

created.

Why can’t the Premier admit that voters rejected her dismal

housing record and that people like Joanna deserve a new government they

can count on to protect them from unscrupulous landlords?

Hon. E. Ross: In B.C., landlords have specific rules they have

to follow before thinking about evicting tenants, especially to units

that have to be vacant. Yes, we agree. These rules have to be tightened

up. That’s what we committed to in the throne speech, and that’s why I

am supporting the throne speech.

Mr. Speaker: The member for Vancouver-Fairview has a supplemental.

G. Heyman: The government had an opportunity to tighten up those rules at a

time that would have made a difference for Joanna and hundreds, if not

thousands, of renters like her, and they failed. Joanna appealed her

eviction to the residential tenancy branch, but she lost. Two weeks ago

she was given one week to move out. A second outspoken tenant was

quickly served with an eviction notice herself from their emboldened

landlord. Joanna says they’re being systematically evicted.

The branch is understaffed, and they can’t protect renters. The

Premier let Joanna and so many others like her down. Why won’t she

finally get out of the way and let a new government get to work for the

hundreds of thousands of renters in B.C. who need help?

[2:05 p.m.]

Hon. E. Ross: The current rules try to balance fairness. They try to balance

fairness to both the landlord and the tenant. In some cases, there are

some circumstances where the government can do better. They are trying

to do better, but it has to be done on a case-by-case basis. These are

some of the issues that we committed, in the throne speech, to fix to

make it better for all parties involved.

[QUESTION RULED OUT OF ORDER.]

A. Weaver: Last week the Premier stated that she doesn’t intend to give the

Lieutenant-Governor any advice when she loses the confidence vote

scheduled for Thursday. Yet scholars have been very clear that the

Premier has a constitutional duty to provide advice on how to proceed to

the Lieutenant-Governor. It’s a long-standing tradition that the

Lieutenant-Governor acts on the basis of advice from the first minister.

For the Premier to refuse this advice is an abdication of her

constitutional responsibility.

My question to the Premier is this.

Mr. Speaker: Member, the question is out of order. It has nothing to do with

her ministerial responsibilities.

An Hon. Member: Next question.

A. Weaver: Next question.

Will the….

Mr. Speaker: Next question.

Interjections.

A. Weaver: We’ll ask both.

The question is as follows, then. The Premier has refused to have

a vote in the House on confidence. We’ve had delay after delay after

delay. Will the Premier make public her recommendation to the

Lieutenant-Governor that will be put forward shortly?

Mr. Speaker: Again, that question is out of order. It has nothing to do with

her ministerial responsibility.

CHILD CARE SERVICES

L. Beare: Under the B.C. Liberals, Metro Vancouver and Victoria have become

two of the toughest places to find quality, affordable child care. Dr.

Rita McCracken is a family doctor. Despite going on a wait-list when she

was just 12 weeks pregnant, she struggled to find a daycare space. That

meant that a family doctor delayed going back to work instead of helping

the hundreds of thousands of British Columbians who are looking for

family doctors.

My question is for the Premier. Why does she think that hanging on

to her job is more important than letting a new government get to work

on affordable child care for people like Dr. McCracken?

Hon. C. Clark: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Since you wouldn’t let me answer the last

question — and I’m sure I will get the chance to answer that question

when we’re out of the Legislature — I’d be delighted to answer the

member’s question this time.

Our government has always cared deeply about child care,

recognizing it is so important, in particular…

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Hon. C. Clark: …for working parents to be able to ensure that they can go out to

work. Women, in many cases, must work and, in many more cases, want to

work. If not women in the household, then men in the household who might

otherwise be stay-at-home parents.

We need to support them in being able to lead that fulfilling life

that they choose for themselves and also to be able to create the income

that they need to support their families. In addition to that, it also

contributes to economic growth. That’s why, in this throne speech,

because our economy is growing so strongly now, we have committed not to

a child care plan that will happen in ten years — when a six-year-old

today will have his driver’s licence — but to a plan that will mean

60,000 new spaces in the next four years.

More spaces, shorter wait-lists. We are also committing in this throne speech, through the $1 billion commitment that

we’ve made to child care, which is the biggest-ever commitment any

government has made over a four-year period, to make sure that we are

extending subsidies to make it more affordable for people.

[2:10 p.m.]

Now families earning up to $100,000 a year will be eligible for

subsidies to make sure that they can afford to put their kids in child

care, recognizing that in the Lower Mainland in particular but all over

the province, life feels much more expensive for people today than it

did ten, 15, certainly 20 years ago.

This is the most bold and ambitious child care plan in British

Columbia’s history. It is not going to happen over a long decade,

creating long waiting lists and parents waiting for those spaces to be

created. It’s going to happen now. It’s worked into our fiscal plan. We

can afford it, and it’s an investment in a future generation that’s so

important for British Columbia.

Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental.

L. Beare: Over the past 16 years, if even family doctors with all of their

resources can’t find quality affordable child care, how do you think it

is for their patients? Dr. McCracken knows that so many of her patients

can’t get back to work after their maternity leave because they can’t

find child care. That’s bad for children. It’s bad for families. It’s

bad for the economy.

Why does the Premier refuse to recognize that people like Dr.

McCracken don’t trust her to solve the child care problems that she

created?

Hon. C. Clark: As the leader of the party that got the most seats in this

Legislature and got the most votes in the last election, it’s my

obligation to present a throne speech to this House. Recognizing that

this House is divided, I recognize that British Columbians sent us a

message that they would like us to find ways to work together. We

presented a throne speech that members across the House can, I hope,

find things in that appeal to them, that they support — in fact, things

like campaign finance reform.

Now, we know that since then, members in this House are determined

to defeat everything that comes before this Legislature, ignore the

message that was sent by British Columbians when they said, with the

divided result, that they wanted us to find ways to work together

collaboratively.

The NDP are ignoring that message. The Greens are certainly

ignoring that message. But on this side of the House, we have taken heed

of that message. That’s why we introduced the throne speech with the

changes in it, like ones I’ve talked about in areas like child care,

things we all know are important.

If that member cares about child care and she wants to make this

House work, if the members of the Greens want to demonstrate that this

House works, I would suggest that we find a way to support the throne

speech and make sure that government can get on with the business we’ve

laid out, business that is going to address the concerns of individuals

like the member has raised. People are waiting for child care not in ten

years but in four years, and that’s what our plan delivers.

B. D’Eith: After 16 years of neglect on the child care issue, no one believes

that the B.C. Liberals are going to deliver now. Chantelle Morvay-Adams

and her family have to make hard choices about their finances because

they can’t find safe affordable child care. Chantelle was forced to

leave her job because she couldn’t find child care that would

accommodate her working hours and the medical needs of her son.

Chantelle does not have confidence in the B.C. Liberals, and neither do

the members of this House.

My question to the Premier: why won’t she put an end to these

distractions and let new government get to work for

Chantelle?

Hon. C. Clark: I understand that that member is anxious to find his way to a new

seat in the Legislature. And I understand that for him it may involve a

pay raise. Congratulations if that turns out to be the case.

But let me say this. We have rules in the Legislature that require

the party with the most seats and the most votes to present a throne

speech, which is exactly what we’ve done.

[2:15 p.m.]

That throne speech is one that is a genuine effort to make this

Legislature work in a cooperative manner. We know the NDP have never had

much interest in making that happen. We now have learned that neither

are the Greens interested in making that happen, rejecting campaign

finance reform, an almost 30-page bill, and refusing to even look at it

before they voted it down in this Legislature.

That isn’t an example of how this Legislature should work, and

it’s not what British Columbians called us here — including that member

— to do. I’m willing to bet when people in his community voted for him,

they wanted him to find a way to make the Legislature work. And the way

to do that is to vote in favour of a throne speech that makes $1 billion

of investment in child care, an issue that he says he cares very deeply

about — one that will mean we have 60,000 new spaces in four years and

will increase subsidies for families earning up to $100,000 a

year.

Let’s a find a way not to make this Legislature not work. Let’s

not find a way to ignore the voters. Let’s find a way to listen to them.

Let’s find a way to make this place work. That’s what voters asked me to

do, and that’s what they asked this member to do as well. And I hope he

will take heed of their call.

Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental.

B. D’Eith: I actually have a seat in the Legislature, and my constituents

have spoken, and they want change.

Chantelle isn’t alone. Finding safe, affordable child care under

the B.C. Liberal government is difficult. Finding child care with a

child with special needs is nearly impossible. All across this province,

families have been forced to stay home from work because the B.C.

Liberals choose to give the richest in British Columbia a $1 billion tax

break instead of delivering child care to ordinary families.

British Columbians want a government that will make life more

affordable. Will the Premier stop stalling so that we can get to work to

make life better for British Columbians?

Hon. C. Clark: Well, it bears noting that in that member’s election, his vote was

almost evenly split between himself and the opposition in his riding. So

unless he only intends to represent half of his constituents, he should

make sure he’s listening to all of them. And what all of them

said….

While he seems intent on representing half of his constituents, I

could say to this House I intend to make sure that I listen to all of

his constituents. I know that people across British Columbia, no matter

where they live — in communities from the north to the south, from the

east to the west…. All of them want to see this Legislature changed. All

of us want to see this Legislature working in a much more cooperative

manner.

The members of the opposition in the NDP, who have, I know, said

no to just about everything in this Legislature for the last six years

that I’ve been here…. And now the Greens have joined them in saying no

to everything as well. But I would argue to that member: as a new member

of this House, he has a duty not just to represent half of the

constituents that voted for him. He has a duty to represent all of them,

and he has a duty to listen to all of the voters…

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Hon. C. Clark: …who delivered a divided House in this last election.

When they did that, one of the things that I believe they were

telling us was they want us to find a way to work together — not to find

a way to obstruct, not to find a way to say no. And that’s the purpose

of the throne speech — to make sure that it’s a message to British

Columbians and to all members of this House that we can find things to

agree on and we can find ways to work together. So I recommend to him:

represent all of your constituents, and get out there and vote in favour

of the throne speech.

[2:20 p.m.]

CONDITIONS IN EDUCATION SYSTEM

B. Ma: Countless parents in my riding have contacted me with concerns

about overcrowded schools. The B.C. Liberals spent 16 years fighting

with teachers, neglecting students, disrespecting parents, and during

this time they closed down eight schools in North Vancouver. Now, with

growing enrolment and the forced restoration of smaller class sizes,

schools in my community are bursting at the seams. Children will be

languishing in portables and overcrowded schools this fall because of

the B.C. Liberals.

These families urgently need a government that will put the

education of our children first. My question is for the Premier. Why

doesn’t she recognize that parents don’t trust her to fix the problems

that she created?

Hon. C. Clark: Well, our government has…. Since the previous NDP government, $4.5

billion has been spent on fixing and improving and replacing schools,

including seismic upgrades. And another $1.7 billion will be spent — is

already in the budget — in order to improve schools further in the

province.

The member is new, so she may not know this. Our government is

also committed and working with the BCTF to make sure that as we add

3,000 teachers to the schools, we also reconsider our priorities for

capital upgrades and invest more in that so that we can ensure we’re

keeping up with those new costs as well.

Our students in British Columbia, by the way, are amongst the best

in the world. I know she’ll be glad to hear that in the six years since

I’ve been Premier, we have seen our kids now score No. 1 in reading,

anywhere in the world; No. 3 in science; and No. 6 in math — of children

anywhere in the world. We should be very, very proud of the teachers, of

the administrators, of the teaching assistants. We should be very, very

proud of the policy-makers at the Ministry of Education and its school

boards and, of course, of all of the parents who have made such a

significant contribution to ensure that our school system here in

British Columbia is one of the very best anywhere on the

globe.

[End of question period.]

Orders of the Day

Hon. M. de Jong: Continued debate on the throne speech.

Throne Speech Debate

(continued)

D. Davies: I’d like to start my first speech as the newly elected Member of the

Legislative Assembly for Peace River North. I want to thank my constituents

for putting their trust in me to represent them, which I absolutely have the

honour of doing. This is not a responsibility that I take lightly, as I

commit to my constituents as their representative. And I do promise to fight

and make our province a strong province and, certainly, to make Peace River

North have a brighter future for all.

I’d like to take a few moments to recognize some of the great people

that believed in myself and jumped on board to help me get into this

wonderful place.

[2:25 p.m.]

First of all, I’d like to thank my team, who was led by Tamara

Wilkinson and who jumped in with both feet to lead my campaign. Chuck

Fowler, Anna Barlee, Joyce Hadlan, Bruce Christensen organized door-knocking

and helped getting people involved in the process of campaigning and voting

Pitts. Door-knocker superstar Craig Stephens; Cheryl Christiansen; Shurar

Gerari; Scott Wisdall; Brianna Barney; Ramona MacDonald; Trevor Bolin; Dan

Peterson; Barry Wilkinson. And my two children also got involved, Hannah and

Noel.

My campaign chair in Fort Nelson, Kim Eglinski, and her extremely

energetic co-chair, Christy Lear, who was always the Energizer Bunny. I must

also extend thanks to Gwen Bumstead and Bill Streeper for their invaluable

support in the furthest reach of my riding, the Northern Rockies. My

financial agent, Susan Durban, and my sign guys. As we know, the signs are

an incredible task but, I must say, more incredible when my riding is

approximately six times the size of Vancouver Island. I really have to send

a special thanks to my sign guys — Greg, Chris and Harrison Nickle; Curtis

Spence; and Gerry Woziak. This feat was absolutely amazing.

Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Erin, for her continued

support and love throughout this entire campaign and my past 12 years as a

city councillor for the city of Fort St. John.

My region is quite unique and one that I am very proud to represent —

born and raised in Fort St. John. The largest community in Peace River, we

have a variety of industries that we’re lucky to have: oil and gas,

forestry, agriculture, mining, tourism and hydroelectricity. These

industries provide well-paying jobs, well-paying supporting jobs for

hard-working British Columbians that are an integral way and an integral

part of our way of life.

With the land mass of my riding being just under 161,000 square

kilometres, Peace River North is the second-largest riding in this great

province. I look forward to working hard for my constituents in every corner

of my plus-sized riding.

[G. Kyllo in the chair.]

It is with that comment in mind that I am proud to speak here today in

support of our government’s throne speech. This speech represents a new

agenda for British Columbians, a path towards a stronger province, a path

that will secure and strengthen our economy while at the same time

addressing our social and environmental policies.

During the most recent election, voters sent us a clear and concise

message that they want us, all of us as politicians, to work together, to

collaborate, to cooperate on issues that are important to British

Columbians. We have listened, and that is why we are putting forward this

agenda that will create a stronger province for all British

Columbians.

Our first priority as a government is to maintain British Columbia’s

strong economy. Since the creation of the jobs plan in 2011, British

Columbia has added over 250,000 jobs, fuelling Canada’s strongest

economy.

Interjection.

D. Davies: Yes, and I hope that…. I’m going to recognize a few of the workers

here in just a moment.

Having a strong economy is important. Not only does it give British

Columbia families an opportunity to care for their loved ones, but it also

gives the government revenue to continue to invest in our future. This is

what sets us apart. While we recognize the need to invest more into our

programs, we also see the need that a strong economy is vital to this. In

fact, the agenda presented in this throne speech would not be possible

without a strong economy.

Without a strong economy, we would not be able to provide historic

investments in child care, like the one that will see every family in

British Columbia earning less than $60,000 receive full child care

subsidies.

Without a strong economy, we would not be able to afford the increase

in social assistance rates by $100 a month so that individuals can receive

the support that they need.

Without a strong economy, we would not be able to afford indexed

disability rates to inflation, creating stability so that those British

Columbians living with disabilities will always have the assistance that

they need.

Without a strong economy, we would not be able to afford to expand the

important single-parent employment initiative so that single parents who can

only find part-time work or are underemployed can find their way to full

employment — truly a hand up and an investment in the livelihood of our

people in need.

[2:30 p.m.]

It is because of our strong economy that we can make these investments

without raising the overall tax burden on British

Columbians. We have pledged a decrease in MSP premiums by 50 percent for

households earning up to $120,000 a year. This represents a savings of as

much as $900 a year for British Columbian families.

Since being elected in 2001, we have reduced the overall tax burden

facing B.C. families, and that is a record that we are proud of. We will not

make life more unaffordable for British Columbians by raising

taxes.

What we also won’t do is increase the burden facing future British

Columbians. Over the last 16 years, the debt-to-GDP ratio has continued to

fall. Because of our strong economy, we are set for the first time in a

generation to eliminate our operating budget. So instead of paying service

to our debt, we can spend money where it needs to be spent, providing better

services for British Columbians and their families. If we did not have a

triple-A credit rating, like some of our other provinces, we would be paying

more than $2 billion a year in debt-servicing costs.

This throne speech and our plan for British Columbians prove that if

you say yes to responsible resource development and focus on growing the

economy, you can invest in the future of our province without raising taxes

and without adding debt onto the shoulders of our future generations. Now,

isn’t that a great legacy to leave our children?

Today there are over 2,200 people, many of them from communities that

I represent, working at the Site C project. That’s over 2,200 people who

face unemployment if the members opposite have it this way — if this project

is cancelled. This project is extremely vital to the communities in the

Peace region. Thousands of families are relying right now on the

opportunities that this project is providing — beyond the people that are

employed at the project, all the spinoffs. Thousands of families are relying

on this.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to tell you and this House about Kerne Kennedy

and Tim Estergaard, who, along with their families, are here in the gallery

today. Kerne lives in Fort St. John with his wife, Stacy, and their five

children. Life, unfortunately, has not always been easy for Kerne and his

family. A few years ago Kerne lost his job working in the oil and gas

sector. He and his family faced an uncertain future. Without a job, Kerne

faced the prospect of losing his house and possibly being forced to leave

his community, where his kids have grown up. But when all seemed lost, Kerne

found a job working at Site C. This has enabled him and his family to now

stay in their house and stay in our community. His family is relying on the

hope and opportunity that are offered by Site C.

Before Site C, Tim Estergaard was working as an on-call oil and gas

sector worker, meaning he had a lot of unreliable hours, leading to a poor

quality of life. This changed when he got a job at Site C. For years, Tim

and his wife, Laura, have been hoping to start a family, but they were

unable to afford the fertility treatments and trips to Vancouver to see

specialists. Without Tim’s job at Site C…. He can now work towards starting

a family of his own.

Kerne and Tim and their families, like many others in my region and

throughout this province, are relying on this project for their livelihoods.

The leader of the Green Party, along with his caucus members — the member

for Saanich North and the Islands and the member for Cowichan Valley —

visited the Peace region a couple of weeks back. While touring the area, in

response to a question from a local reporter, the Green Party leader called

the jobs at Site C “artificial.”

Artificial. Tell that to Kerne, who still has his house because of

Site C. Artificial. Tell that to Tim, who is relying on his job at Site C to

allow him and his wife to start a family. Tell that to the over 2,200 other

families — that the opposition wants to throw our community into

chaos.

[2:35 p.m.]

The fact remains, despite what the members opposite say, that the

power from Site C will be needed. As our province moves and becomes more

electrified…. Whether it be electric cars or an increase in home heating

with electricity, the need for electricity in this province is critical.

Site C will provide 1,100 megawatts of dependable capacity and generate

about 5,100 gigawatt hours of energy each year — enough power to heat the

equivalent of 450,000 homes. By providing an abundance of clean renewable

energy, Site C will help British Columbia transition away from fossil fuels

and help combat climate change.

Site C is not only a generational opportunity for British Columbia. We

are committed to see it play an important role in helping all of Canada

achieve its climate change obligations. As stated in the throne speech, we

are committed to working with the federal government and the province of

Alberta to increase the electricity inter-tie between British Columbia and

Alberta. Much of the power produced by our neighbours in Alberta is produced

by coal-fired power plants that emit massive amounts of greenhouse gases.

With the power produced by Site C, we have an opportunity to significantly

reduce Canada’s overall greenhouse gas emissions, helping fight global

climate change.

Now, some, like many across the aisle, say that LNG is an industry

that does not exist. But my constituents in Peace River North and my friends

to the south in Peace River South know better. For us, LNG does represent a

big part of the future of the communities in my riding and, for that matter,

across this province. It’s easy for someone thousands of kilometres away to

talk about LNG as nothing but a dream. I would like to invite those people

to come to my riding. Come to Fort St. John and visit us. Come to Fort

Nelson and tell the thousands of people in the northeast that are already

working in the natural gas industry — and the thousands that wish to join

them — that this is just a dream.

We’ve always been dependent on natural gas resources, going all the

way back to the fur trade in the 1790s when Alexander Mackenzie established

one of British Columbia’s first trading posts on the banks of the Peace

River. Being a resource community is a part of our identity. LNG means

long-term jobs for all of our communities. Communities like Fort Nelson need

LNG to become a reality. They need government to take this industry

seriously and to work with local communities and First Nations to get to a

yes.

When the Leader of the Opposition wrote a letter to the federal

government saying no to Pacific NorthWest LNG, they were not just saying no

to the project. They were saying no to the largest private sector investment

in Canadian history. They were saying no to opportunities for our children

and for my children, no to our First Nations communities. They were saying

no to the future of our communities in Peace River North. That is why I,

today, am committed to standing up for my constituents here in this House to

ensure that the LNG industry continues to move forward.

The reality is that LNG isn’t just critical for the future of Peace

River North. It is for the future of our entire province. We have Woodfibre

LNG slated for construction in Squamish. We have the Tilbury LNG facility in

Delta. That’s not to mention the secondary supplier companies across the

province, many of them in the Lower Mainland, that support this important,

critical industry.

We will never give up on LNG. We will never say no to the future

prosperity and the growth of British Columbia. We will stand up for a

stronger and brighter British Columbia. I’d like to point out that during

the most recent election, not once did the Leader of the Opposition bother

to visit my community — a community whose future depends on this industry.

He says he wants to represent all of the province. But the honest truth…. I

wonder if he could even find Fort Nelson or Fort St. John on a

map.

[2:40 p.m.]

At least the leader of the Green Party knows where Fort St. John is,

by his recent visit. And at least his caucus also knows where we are in the

region. But the reality is that he and the Green Party alliance don’t have

the basic understanding that our rural communities are facing.

During his recent visit, the member for Oak Bay called the LNG

industry nonexistent. Well, I would like him to explain that to the

thousands of my constituents who get a paycheque written right now from this

very industry, the thousands of constituents for whom the LNG and natural

gas industry puts food on their table, the thousands of my constituents who

helped them with heating in the further northern regions of my

riding.

The leaders of the Green Party and the NDP don’t understand what it

takes to build a strong, diverse economy. They don’t understand the issues

facing rural British Columbia.

In addition to standing up for Site C and continuing to fight for more

opportunities for LNG, our government will also take measures to protect the

other resource industries that our province so relies upon.

It’s not just Site C and LNG that we are continuing to fight for. The

strength of our province and our economic success is derived from the

resilience of our forest industry. That’s why our government is committed

and continually fighting and defending this vital industry right now and the

jobs that are being threatened by the United States’ protectionism

policies.

Our Speech from the Throne lays out productive measures, like the

implementation of pre-purchasing wood from B.C. companies for construction

of public housing. This is in addition to other policies we have

implemented, such as the appointment of David Emerson, who is a well-known

individual in this country, as the new B.C. trade envoy to the United

States. Mr. Emerson has a great deal of experience, and we trust him to work

in securing a new softwood lumber agreement that is beneficial for all

British Columbians.

We will also work to open eight new mines by 2022, while at the same

time ensuring world-leading responsible mining practices by investing $18

million to improve mine permitting, oversight, compliance and

enforcement.

We will take further action to protect and strengthen our agriculture

industry, which so many of us rely upon. Last year, B.C. exported $3 billion

worth of agricultural and seafood products to over 150 countries, and we’re

very proud of that record. But we recognize that food security is also

important, so we’re taking further steps to protect and preserve our

agricultural land.

We will double the Grow Local program, which provides funding to

organizations to increase the ability of British Columbians to grow food

locally. We will also be bringing 91,000 hectares of agricultural land into

production by 2020. These measures will help ensure that our natural

resources are gathered in an economically and environmentally sustainable

way so that they are there for future generations of British

Columbians.

Although resource development will always play a crucial role in the

future prosperity of Peace River North, we understand that it is vitally

important to diversify our economies as well. This is ever-important for

communities like Fort Nelson.

In particular, I am proud of the first-rate investment that our

government is making in rural communities, such as the doubling of the

successful rural economic dividend. This program was introduced in September

2015, with the aim to help rural communities diversify and strengthen their

economies.

Four categories of community capacity building: workforce development,

community and economic development and business sector development. For

example, from the first round of the rural dividend, issued April 2015, over 120 projects were awarded for a total of $8.62

million in funding allocated. As of March 2017, through this program, our

government has been able to provide communities of less than 25,000

residents with $24 million to reinvigorate and diversify their local

economies.

[2:45 p.m.]

This builds upon the work that we’ve already done through building our

rural advantages — B.C.’s rural economic development strategy. This strategy

details our government’s long-term plan to provide all regions of British

Columbia with the opportunity for well-paying jobs and healthy communities.

The rural economic strategy provides rural communities with the tools that

they need to grow and to thrive.

Included in the plan is $10 million to support new land management

initiatives throughout the province, including places like Fort St. John,

Fort Nelson and Hudson’s Hope.This includes funding for a range of fencing

repairs and multi-year invasive plant management projects, which is

extremely important for our farmers in the Peace.

The plan also includes $79.6 million in investments over the next two

years to expand and update post-secondary campuses in rural communities,

like mine, throughout our province. It includes $15 million for trades

equipment at B.C.’s secondary schools so that high school students can get

hands-on learning opportunities that they need to be successful in our

ever-growing trades. These investments are important, because we have to

provide rural B.C.’s youth with opportunities that they need to succeed so

that our communities can grow.

That’s why we’ve committed to creating a process through which the

rural advisory council can hear from young adults in rural B.C. on what we

can do to attract younger residents to rural communities throughout B.C. We

see that issue, certainly, in the northeast, of trying to attract people to

our communities.

We’re also investing $34,000 for young aboriginal business circles, a

pilot project to help young aboriginal high school participants, which is

happening right now in Fort St. John. The youth aboriginal business circles

pilot is providing skills, knowledge and confidence for aboriginal high

school participants so that they can create a business plan and pursue their

goals. It will help young aboriginal entrepreneurs launch businesses in

rural B.C. These investments are important. They will help create the next

generation of rural leaders who will be helping grow our

communities.

The rural economic strategy doesn’t just stop at creating leaders of

tomorrow. It’s also offering to support rural communities in need today. For

example, our government is providing $40 million through the connecting

British Columbia program, which is helping to connect rural communities with

high-speed Internet and broadband. There are a number of communities in my

riding that are still on dial-up, so this is a great program that we see

moving to connectivity throughout the province.

Ensuring that rural communities have access to high-speed Internet is

key for small business. It’s key for people trying to start home-based

businesses. It means those businesses have access to the digital

infrastructure required in this competitive globalized economy.

It’s not just digital infrastructure that’s important. That is why our

government is investing in the physical infrastructure that rural

communities need. And while we are also taking steps to help diversify

B.C.’s rural economy, including supporting tourism, we’ve invested $5.65

million in the 2016-17 budget to help develop a network of trails through

projects funded under the rural dividend and the trails strategy for British

Columbia. We are also working with industry to prepare strategies that

support the growing potential to advance adventure tourism and film

tourism.

Again, maintaining a strong, diversified economy means we have the

ability to invest in the services that British Columbians need. For example,

the government is focused on ensuring that we continue to meet the highest

quality of standard of care for our senior citizens in this province. This

will include new commitments of increasing the number of residential care

beds by 500 in care facilities throughout our province. Furthermore, our

throne speech announces the implementation of clear, measurable, daily care

standards, which will be in place in every institution, with key monitoring

and enforcement safeguards.

[2:50 p.m.]

We know that individuals do better when they have the ability to stay

at home, to stay at home as long as possible. That is why our government is

pleased to be doubling the home-renovation credit to assist these seniors

and provide assistance with the cost of certain permanent home renovations

to allow for mobility and functionality in seniors’ homes.

As we continue to care for those who helped build this province, we

also are investing in the British Columbians who will be the next

generation. This throne speech includes $1 billion of investment in

affordable child care. We understand that it can be difficult for parents to

find affordable child care, and as a parent, I recall having the same

issues.

So we’re putting forward a plan that will not only increase capacity,

helping create an additional 60,000 child care spaces, but will help

families afford these spaces. We’ll be making child care free for any family

that earns less than $60,000 a year, and we’ll be offering subsidies for any

family earning up to $100,000 a year. It’s incredible.

This is important. It’s important because this will ensure access to

child care services to those who really need it. These supports will help

make life more affordable for middle-class families, and just as

importantly, we will not increase taxes by doing so — increasing costs on

the very families that this program is designed to help.

In addition to the child care, we recognize that our young people will

need skills to take advantage of the 21st-century economy. As an educator

myself, I’m proud of our education system in this province. B.C. students

are among the best in the world, testing No. 1 in reading, second in science

and sixth in math, as we’ve heard.

However, if we are to remain competitive, we have to ensure that our

students remain on the top. That is why our government is committed to

convening a royal commission on education. The last royal commission was in

1987, and that laid much of the groundwork for the education system we have

today. A royal commission will allow us to gain better understanding of what

in our education system works, what doesn’t and how we can improve

it.

In conclusion, this throne speech sets British Columbia on a new path

to prosperity. By continuing our focus on maintaining a strong economy, we

will be fighting to create a better province for British Columbia. But this

can only be achieved when we are not afraid to say yes to responsible

economic development.

I would like to draw a little attention to the concept of responsible

resource development. Canada and British Columbia are leading the way in

resource development. Many innovations in the gas sector have been developed

right here in British Columbia and are being adopted around the world. I’m

proud to have had the opportunity to work in the oil and gas industry

myself.

British Columbia cannot afford to burden future generations with

deficit and debt. Our party will always stand up and fight for those that

are trying to build a better life for themselves and for their

families.

J. Horgan: I rise to participate in this year’s throne speech.

I want to start by welcoming the 26 new members to this place, on both

sides of the House: two new Green members, ten Liberal members and 14 New

Democrat members that come from every corner of this great province. They

come with their own personal backgrounds. They come with their own personal

passions. But each and every one of the 87 members of this place put their

names forward with a genuine desire to make life better for their

neighbours, for their community and for our great province. To all of you

who came, thank you very much.

I am honoured to represent Langford–Juan de Fuca here now in this

place. I was first elected in Malahat–Juan de Fuca, then elected in Juan de

Fuca and then re-elected in Juan de Fuca, and now it’s Langford–Juan de

Fuca. It’s the same place. I haven’t moved. I’ve been in the same spot, but

the names have changed. I am, again, very honoured and humbled to be the

representative of a terrific constituency.

[2:55 p.m.]

I know every member of this place feels passionate about their home

and where they come from, but I have to tell you — as all will say — I

represent the best constituency in this House. Although it’s not my maiden

speech, a heckle can come my way for that. I’m grateful that people let that

one slide as I said it.

We are all very proud, fiercely proud, of our homes and our

communities. When we do come here — whether we come from the Liberal side or

the NDP side or, now joined by our triplicates, the three Green members — we

all come with our perspectives about how we can work together.

We’ve heard over the past number of days — and we heard in the throne

speech, as I listened to it — things that we’ve all said during the election

campaign. In fact, I remarked to my spouse last Thursday when I went home….

She asked me how the throne speech went. I said: “Well, I recall saying much

of what came out of the Lieutenant-Governor’s mouth.” It was refreshing to

know that what we ran on, what we committed to in our platform and in our

election campaign, was reflected in that document.

But it did give us pause. Fifty-seven percent of those who cast

ballots cast ballots for parties not represented by the B.C. Liberals. And

for us, that strikes a disconnect with what the government is saying about

what they heard and what we actually physically heard and saw on the

election campaign.

What I heard from constituents, what I heard from people in every

corner of the province was that they don’t trust the government of the day

to deliver on the issues that they believe the government has messed up on.

Now, we will have debates, and I’ve heard members participate in this

debate. I heard just recently the member for Peace River North and others,

as the debate has unfolded, that come to these issues from different

perspectives.

For me, when I hear people talk about public education, I’m reminded

of a 16-year battle between the government, on that side, and teachers and

children and parents, administrators and trustees. That was my reality.

That’s the reality that we heard when we knocked on doors. That’s the

reality that we heard when the Supreme Court ruled, in less than 20 minutes,

that the government had violated the rights of a class of

citizens.

So when we hear the government say, “We’re listening,” we’re wondering

where you were for the past 16 years. Why weren’t you listening in 2005 and

in 2009 and in 2013? And why is it only now, when you no longer command a

majority of members in the House, that you decide that the ideas on this

side are now relevant to the broader population?

I heard the Premier say today to the hon. member for Maple

Ridge–Mission that he should represent all members of his constituency. I am

confident that he will, and I’m confident that every single person in this

House will represent all of their constituents. But we have a broader

obligation when we come and take up our seats here. The

party, the group of members, with the majority of support are to take over

the government and deliver the services that people want. The majority of

support in this Legislature will be the government of the day. I expect

sometime tomorrow that’s going to happen.

That does not diminish the enthusiasm and the intent and the values of

the people on the other side of the House. It’s a numeric reality, and it’s

a reality that is a result of 16 years, in my opinion, of ignoring critical

issues by those on that side of the House, the government represented by

those on that side of the House.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Medical services premiums are now topical. The member for Oak

Bay–Gordon Head and people on this side of the House in the last session

railed against the government about doubling medical services premiums on

the most vulnerable. Many people in this province had to pay a hidden tax,

when no other citizens in Canada had to pay. If you made $40,000 a year or

you made $400,000 a year, you paid the same amount of medical services

premiums. We on this side of the House felt that was wrong. It was not fair,

and we campaigned against it.

The government is now including it in their throne speech. Although

they did mention it in their budget, they said: “We are going to do

something next year.” We on this side of the House campaigned to do

something right now, and we intend to do something right now when we’re

given the opportunity.

Tuition fees have tripled. Hydro rates have gone up 87 percent since

2001. That’s a hidden tax. That’s a cost for people that they cannot absorb.

That a cost for industry that we’re now having to forgive when it comes to….

Mining companies are no longer having to pay their hydro rates. They’re

deferring them to the future because of low commodity prices.

Now, that may well be good public policy. We can debate that here. But

when you’re a regular person and you see your hydro bill going up by

hundreds of dollars and you see large mining companies, major contributors

to the B.C. Liberal Party, getting a break, that’s a disconnect.

[3:00 p.m.]

That’s why 57 percent of the people who voted in this past election

voted for people on this side of the House. And that’s why we believe that

it’s time for change. That’s why British Columbians are saying it’s time for

change.

Neglected services. I live on Vancouver Island. I know that we

represent, on this side of the House, save but one, all of the members on

Vancouver Island. We represent coastal communities, and we are

ferry-dependent communities. When ferry rates double and, in some cases,

triple — 80 percent increases on major routes — that’s a

disconnect.

When the government says, “We’re making life more affordable,” that’s

not the reality for the people that I represent. It may be the reality for

the member for Peace River North, but it’s not the reality for the people in

Langford–Juan de Fuca. When they hear ministers stand in this place and say,

“Everything’s great,” they go: “It’s not great for me. My wages have been

flat for the past decade. In fact, I’m concerned about meeting my mortgage

payment. I’m concerned about meeting my rent, and if I am renovicted because

of a rapid development in my community, I might not find a place to

live.”

So when a minister stands up and says that there are rules, as the

current Minister of Housing has done over the past number of days: “There

are rules that we all expect people to follow” — fair enough, but guess

what. People aren’t following those rules. So what are the consequences when

people can’t find a place to live? What are the consequences when they see

their government talking about everything being fine, but their reality is

tragic and catastrophic for them on a personal level?

That’s a disconnect. That’s the challenge that the people on that side

of the House…. That’s why they did not receive majority support across the

province. That’s why tomorrow, there’s going to be a change around this

place, and it’s long overdue.

There’s been a recent interest in vulnerable people, as well, by those

on the other side of the House, although income assistance rates have

remained the same for a decade. People with disabilities got a modest

increase last year, but at the same time, they had their bus pass and their

travel privileges taken back, or a new cost added to them.

People living in poverty is not a new phenomenon in British Columbia

or North America or, indeed, the world, but in a place as prosperous as

British Columbia, it’s unconscionable that a government can sit for 16 years

and allow child poverty to run wild and ensure that many, many people are in

deep poverty and may never be able to get out of it. That’s not a government

that cares about the vulnerable. That’s a government that is focused on the

wealthy and the well connected, and that is why they did not receive

majority support in this last election.

The writing is on the wall. We expected the B.C. Liberal Party, which

I have been sitting across from for the past decade and a bit, to stand and

deliver a throne speech that represented the values that they have put

forward in election after election after election and have stood in this

place and defended in throne speech after throne speech after throne speech.

Instead, we had the bizarre phenomenon of hearing Green platform planks

being put forward, New Democrat platform planks being put forward as if they

were now all of a sudden the best ideas that the government could

find.

Well, I agree. They were the best ideas the government could find, but

they’re not their ideas.

I know there are many members on that side of the House who find it

anathema to be sitting and listening to an NDP and Green throne speech being

delivered, and I know there are many outside of this House

that are exercised that the party that they felt stood for a certain set of

values had somehow abandoned those values for one fundamental principle, and

that was clinging to power. It doesn’t sit well on you, hon. Members. It

doesn’t sit well on this place.

The challenge we all have now is that there is a genuine desire to

work together. We must work together, all 87 of us — again, a quarter of us

representing their community for the first time. We want to make sure — I

want to make sure — that members can stand, as the member for Peace River

North did, and say passionately what he believes and passionately about what

his constituents deserve. Equally, the member for Maple Ridge–Mission should

be able to stand and ask questions in this House without be denigrated by

the leader of the government for cheap political points.

I want to make a commitment here and now that going forward, I believe

all 87 of us should be valued members of this House. That has not been my

personal experience over the past decade and a bit. I want to make a

commitment to the ten new Liberals and, absolutely, to the 14 New Democrats

and the two Green MLAs who are here for the first time that a new government

will work with everyone to bring forward the best of ideas.

[3:05 p.m.]

Although I feel passionately about what I ran on, when it is part of a

government package, I think we can all find the parts that we want to

support. And if we disagree, it will not be, and it should not be, the end

of the world. As you know, families sometimes disagree. I oftentimes have to

grapple with the remote control to make sure that I can watch the Big

Bang Theory because my spouse can’t stand Sheldon, but we work it

out. We work it out. I appreciate that’s a small issue for many people, but

that is, I think, representative of the challenges that we all face. We’re

not always going to agree. There have been times when the member for

Victoria–Beacon Hill and I have disagreed. I like a dipped cone; she

doesn’t. These are the differences we have.

Sometimes in this place, there are going to be heated exchanges, and

that’s a good thing. We need to be passionate about our values, wherever we

come from. But we also have to remember that at the end of the day, we were

all sent here to do the best we can — to make this province the best we

possibly can, a better B.C. That’s what I campaigned on; that’s what I want

to deliver in this House.

What I found on the election campaign…. I talked to the member for Oak

Bay–Gordon Head about this. I know that my colleague from Kingsway and my

colleague from Beacon Hill have gone into election campaigns as leader of a

political party. I had never done it before. It was inspiring for me to see

the volunteers in every campaign I went into, in every community I went to.

The people who came with their stories — that invigorated me. As an Irish

descendant, I love stories. I love to tell them; I love to hear

them.

As I travelled around, I met so many spectacular people, oftentimes

random exchanges. Hon. Speaker, you know this as a member who likes to wade

into the scrum and talk to people, sometimes passionately. When people come

toward you as an elected representative or someone running for office — when

they have ideas, when they have concerns — their passion incites passion in

me. I met a couple in a coffee shop in the Downtown Eastside, in the riding

of Vancouver–Mount Pleasant, two disabled people on a disability pension

that could not get married because it would have a negative impact on their

financial situation. That struck me as ridiculous.

Why would they not be able to marry? Why would two people in love not

want to have the opportunity to share the rest of their life together in

harmony and under law and under any other religion you may want to have?

They would not do that because it would have a negative impact on their

financial situation. That’s an issue that I believe we should be able to

address rather quickly, but they have been struggling, with the member for

Vancouver–Mount Pleasant, trying to get resolution to that personal issue.

It might be a small thing to some, but when it comes down to not being able

to have an extra 50 or 100 bucks at the end of the month when you’re

struggling to get by, it’s a big deal. I believe we should be able to solve

the problems of people like that when we come upon them.

We’re privileged to be here in this House. It’s a tremendous honour to

be here, to be able to affect positively the lives of not just our

constituents but people we meet along the way. Whether it’s on the ferry,

whether it’s travelling just down the street, you should be able to affect

people’s lives and make the changes they want to see.

I met a couple, Inder and Ahmed, a young couple that had come back to

Canada. They married, and they settled down in Surrey. They wanted to make a

life for themselves, but they couldn’t find a place to live. While they were

struggling to find accommodation, they found that they were blessed with a

pregnancy and were about to have a child. I understand that the child was

born healthy and happy, but they’re still struggling to find a place to live

that’s affordable and will meet their needs. They’re worried now about child

care.

This is a microcosm that families, young people, are facing not just

in the Lower Mainland but right across British Columbia. Although I’m

gratified to hear that the people on the other side of the House have now

embraced passionately the importance of increasing child care spaces, I

think it’s a little bit late. I think the voters think it’s a little bit

late as well — and disingenuous, at the 11th hour, when you’re facing a

confidence vote, to say suddenly that the issues and values of the people on

this side of the House are now our values. I think that doesn’t sit well

with the voters, and it doesn’t sit well with me.

Forest workers in Merritt who lost their jobs, forest workers across

B.C. who may well lose their jobs because of the debilitating border taxes

that have been brought forward by the United States — these are issues that

we need to be addressing not just rhetorically but aggressively in

Washington by having a delegation that will go there and make the case. I

know that the Speaker understands these issues quite well. He’s been

fighting for them for the past number of years — but not, clearly, well

enough to make a difference in the minds of decision-makers in Washington.

We need to redouble our efforts. I’m committed to doing that.

[3:10 p.m.]

I met another woman, Marjorie, on the campaign trail. She was 93¾. She

thought it was two-thirds, but we worked it out. She was 93¾. Instead of

being in long-term care…. I know that one of the members was making

reference to the commitment of this government to increase access to

long-term care facilities. Instead, she ended up going in and out of the

wards at St. Paul’s Hospital in the member for Vancouver–West End’s

constituency. That’s not appropriate care for anybody, but particularly not

at 93¾.

Now, Marjorie has since passed away, so she no longer needs that

space. But in her last days, rather than being in a comfortable place

surrounded by her family, she was in a ward with a lot of noise, a lot of

activity and a lot of fright. For someone ending their life, I don’t believe

that’s the best way to go in a province as prosperous and dynamic as British

Columbia.

I stay at a particular hotel — I’m not allowed to say now anymore

where I stay — in Vancouver when I’m visiting, and I’m often served by a

woman named Erin. It’s a union hotel. It’s union wages paid to the staff in

the restaurant; the servers get a union wage. I was talking to Erin one day,

and she said: “Can you pay Pavel, because I’ve got to go. I’ve got to get to

my other job.” I said, “What are you talking about?” and she said: “Well, I

have to go back to Port Coquitlam.”

She comes in every day from Port Coquitlam to be a server in the

morning at the hotel that I stay at, and then she goes back to the

Tri-Cities to take on her second of three jobs so she can make ends meet.

She’s a woman of middle age.

I apologize, Erin, if you’re watching, but you’re not as young as you

used to be.

She’s a woman of middle age, and she’s struggling to make ends meet —

with three jobs. When she heard that the Premier, until recently, was

getting two salaries for one job, that offended her. That was the impact of

big money, in her mind. It wasn’t the distorting effect that union and

corporate donations have on our political process. She was offended that

someone who’s already paid a pretty princely sum was getting additional

revenues from her political party because of her fundraising abilities. That

offended people. That alienated voters from your camp.

That’s something we need to address. That’s something that we

shouldn’t just address because it’s the eleventh hour and you don’t have

enough support in this House. It’s something we could have, should have

addressed last year or the year before that or any other of the six times

that we on this side of the House tabled legislation here that we could have

all cooperated on.

It was there to be read. It wasn’t 30 pages on one day in a four-day

week. It was there over the course of a decade for a decision to be made,

and it was rejected by that side of the House — disingenuous. That’s why

people don’t believe that the problems that have been created by that side

of the House can be fixed by the people that now sit on that side of the

House. And that’s why we need a change.

We’re going to address hydro rates. We’re going to address ferry

fares. We’re going to address ICBC rates. We’re going to work to make sure

that renters get a break when they’re trying to find a place to live. We’re

going to put in place a renters rebate — 400 bucks for renters across

British Columbia — to make life a little bit easier for them. Homeowners get

a homeowner grant. Why shouldn’t renters get access to a government resource

to help them along the way? We’re committed to doing that.

We’re going to address mental health and addictions by making sure

there’s someone that gets up each and every day in the cabinet that’s

responsible for making life better for those who are struck down by

addictions, those who are afflicted with mental illness. That’s a commitment

we made during the election campaign. That’s a commitment that this side of

the House, both parties — the Greens and the New Democrats — are focused on,

and we’re going to make sure we do our level best to have a genuine impact

on people’s lives.

It has been over a year since the public health authorities declared a

public health emergency in British Columbia, and it’s getting worse, not

better. That does not speak to success; it speaks to failure. We need new

eyes, a new approach, a new way of doing business, and we’re very excited

about getting on with that.

Young parents who are concerned about child care spaces have not just

had a recent conversion on this side of the House. There’s a passionate

commitment on this side of the House to make sure we’re providing additional

support, additional spaces that are safe and affordable and accessible.

We’re committed to it. We’re going to do it.

Commuters stuck in gridlock right now — four years of inaction on

transit and transportation initiatives in the Lower Mainland because of the

government on that side of the House’s commitment to making sure that there

was a plebiscite or a referendum before any expenditures could be made.

That’s left people stuck in traffic. That’s left us four years behind on the

choices and the decisions we need to make.

We want to eliminate the tolls. Now I understand that that’s a great

idea. We thought it was a good idea. The voters in Surrey

thought it was a good idea. The voters in Maple Ridge thought it was a good

idea. We campaigned on it, and we’re going to do it.

[3:15 p.m.]

Seniors. Nine out of ten publicly funded seniors facilities in British

Columbia do not have adequate staffing resources to meet the needs of their

patients. We need to do better. We need to make sure that home care is

genuine; it’s not just a slogan. We need to make sure that home visits are

better than 15 minutes and that our seniors, our citizens that are

vulnerable get the services they need, the services that they

deserve.

We’ve talked about income assistance increases. We’ve talked about

increases for people with disabilities. We’ve talked about putting in place

a poverty reduction plan. The only province in Canada that does not have a

poverty reduction plan is the province of British Columbia — among the most

prosperous, if you listen to the Minister of Finance today, brimming with

additional revenues. Yet we don’t have a plan to address what is

debilitating poverty for many, many British Columbians.

We want to make British Columbia a leader in climate action again.

We’ve worked with the Green members to come forward with a plan that we’re

going to work hard on over the next number of years to make sure that

British Columbia once again leads the country, that we’re actually reducing

our emissions and doing that without having a debilitating effect on

families right across this province.

We’re going to create jobs building transit, building bridges,

building schools, building hospitals. When we’re spending public money in

communities across British Columbia, we’re going to ensure that there are

local-hire provisions, and we’re going to ensure that there are

apprenticeship ratios, more people being trained on the job so that the next

generation of workers is prepared for the challenges in the

future.

We’re going to make sure that we’re working cooperatively with First

Nations by recognizing fundamental rights, by ensuring that we’re respecting

the values, culture and history of First Nations right across this

province.

We’re going to right past wrongs, and we’re going to move forward

together, building British Columbia in every corner of this great province,

ensuring that First Nations rights and title is respected and ensuring, most

importantly, that the Tsilhqot’in decision and the consequences of rights

and title in British Columbia are understood by investors, understood by

communities, and that we can all work together to be prosperous. Doing so in

harmony with our First Peoples is critical. It’s fundamental, and we are

committed to doing that.

This has been a bizarre week for all of us. It’s going to be a bizarre

tomorrow. I want to thank you for indulging me today, hon, Speaker, to have

the opportunity to speak to the Legislature for the first time in this

session. I am deeply honoured to be here. I am deeply honoured to have a

team as fine and diverse as that on this side of the House.

Look at them all, smiling away, happy, ready to go, ready to roll up

our sleeves and meet the commitments that we made to British Columbians

seven long weeks ago.

We want to make life more affordable for British Columbians. We want

to make sure they’re getting the services that they depend on, and we want

the economy to work for everybody. At all times, we’re going to be focused

on making life better for British Columbians.

With that, I would like to move:

[Be it resolved that the motion “We, Her Majesty’s most dutiful and

loyal subjects, the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in Session

assembled, beg leave to thank Your Honour for the gracious Speech which Your

Honour has addressed to us at the opening of the present Session,” be

amended by adding the following:

“but Her Honour’s present government does not have the confidence of

this House.”]

I move that motion with the sincere hope that we can have a peaceful

and just transition to a government that’s going to work for all British

Columbians.

Mr. Speaker: The amendment is in order. Debate continues on the

amendment.

Member for Cowichan Valley. Sorry. I was going to recognize you as the

seconder, but I’ll recognize the member for Delta South.

On the amendment.

I. Paton: Thank you, hon. Speaker.

I will begin by saying that I take a very different view, and I’m

obviously very opposed to the….

Mr. Speaker: Member, on the amendment.

Sorry, just to be clear, we are now speaking to the

amendment.

[3:20 p.m.]

I. Paton: Thank you, hon. Speaker. I’m now speaking to the amendment.

I will start out by saying that I rise to address the House today to

speak about the Speech from the Throne. It’s my maiden speech here in the

Legislature.

Politics is sometimes certainly about listening. It’s about listening

to the people, it’s about listening to our constituents in all our different

ridings, and sometimes it’s about sports.

We’ve all watched sports, and we’ve watched teams that go on winning

streaks. We see teams that are doing very, very well — for instance, in the

Stanley Cup playoffs. They’re the winners. Our team was the winner — the

most seats, the most votes in this province. Yet sports teams will say: “We

can do better. We may be up by two games in the playoffs, but I think

there’s room for us to do better when it comes to our next game.”

What we did as a caucus is we sat down, and we, as a caucus, decided

that we have listened to the people, that we have heard ideas from our

constituents. We have knocked on doors. It’s not rocket science to come up

with ideas as a caucus, which we all put together and which were part of the

throne speech. These are ideas that are based on fiscal management, fiscal

responsibility by this party and ideas that can be put into place with great

fiscal responsibility.

I’d like to speak now a bit about my family, about this wonderful

opportunity for me to be here today representing Delta South in the

Legislature. First, to my family, I’d like to thank my mother, Marge, who’s

going to turn 90 years old in a matter of a few weeks from now. My mom lives

on the farm with us in Delta. She lives in an older heritage house that was

built around 1905. She still loves her gardening, she still loves working

around the farm, and my mother still, believe it or not, loves to drive into

Ladner three or four times a week to volunteer at the hospital for her

favourite hospital auxiliary thrift shop.

Ladies and gentlemen, I’d also like to thank my father, Ian Paton Sr.,

who goes by the same name as me. My dad passed away about ten years ago. He

was a huge part of my life. He was a partner with me on our dairy farm. He

was a partner with me in our farm auction business. My dad was a

professional agrologist. He was a UBC graduate in agriculture. He was also

chairman of the Agricultural Land Commission and agricultural land reserve

in the 1980s.

I also want to thank my children — my son, Tom, my daughter, Jamie —

and two beautiful granddaughters, Maddy and Ainsley. I’d like to thank my

brothers and my sister — my brother Bryce; my brother Dave and my sister,

Glenda.

Of course, I’d also like to thank my wife, Pam. Pam was an integral

part of my campaign. She was my campaign manager. We talk about stability in

government. Stability in marriages is very important as well, and it

teetered at times, but we certainly appreciate the work that my wife did to

band us all together and to run a good campaign in Delta South.

Next I would like to thank all the volunteers who helped me. I can

start out with a young fellow that may be known to our party, a young man

named Dylan Kruger. Dylan had been working in Vancouver. He lives in Ladner,

and Dylan has decided to become my CA. He was an integral part of my

campaign, and I’m very, very happy to announce that Dylan Kruger is now

going to be my CA in my Ladner office.

I also want to thank young people such as Will Zylmans; and Pip

Steele, who was our financial agent; and Kelly Guichon, who is president of

our South Delta riding association; and some other good young men, such as

Taylor, Patrick, Tyson; Gordie Freeborn and, of course, the finest fire

department in all of British Columbia, union 1763, the Delta fire

department, which was such a great help for me during my

campaign.

Lastly, I’d certainly like to thank all the voters who chose me as

their representative. I suppose I should throw in that I’d like to thank

Jason Alexander, a.k.a. George Costanza, who happened to be on my farm

getting ready for a film shoot the day before the election and suggested

that I have my picture taken with him next to an election sign on my front

lawn. That certainly helped out.

[3:25 p.m.]

As for me, I grew up on the farm where I’m living today, and I’m not

so sure that too many people can say that. I was born in 1956 on our farm.

I’ve never really left. I’m still living there to this day in my

grandfather’s house. We have a house that my wife and I live in. It was

built about 1930, and my mom’s heritage house is right next door on the

farm.

I graduated from UBC in 1978 with a degree in physical education. I

was going to become a phys ed teacher, which I did. I got my teaching

degree, but after a year or so, I decided to move back to the family farm

and join in business with my father in our farm auction business and on our

dairy farm.

For many years, I was involved, also, in the farm auction business

with two partners in Abbotsford in a cattle stockyard, so I’ve had a great

deal of experience over the years dealing with livestock auctions, horse

auctions, farm equipment. I’ve even, at times over the years, filled in and

work for Richie Bros. and different auction companies of the

sort.

I would like to also thank my experience and my time on Delta city

council. I cannot thank enough the mayor of Delta, our CAO, my fellow

councillors at Delta city hall and, of course, the staff at Delta city hall

that have given me a great deal of guidance over the years on the workings

of the municipality, how we run council meetings. Sitting in, acting as

acting mayor has given me a great deal of experience, and I certainly want

to thank them for all their help.

I’ve also sat on committees at Metro Vancouver for regional planning

and agriculture, so I’ve had a very good taste of municipal politics. And

I’ve been taken, on a few occasions, to Ottawa with our mayor and CAO to

deal with federal issues regarding Ladner, Tsawwassen and North

Delta.

The small towns of Ladner and Tsawwassen that make up my riding of

Delta South have a very special place in my heart. Perhaps some of you may

or may not know, but we have some very, very interesting and special places

in Delta South.

We have Burns Bog, which is one of the most unbelievable bogs in the

world. It is in a Ramsar designation, for the environmental importance of

Burns Bog. We have the Reifel sanctuary on Westham Island, which is probably

one of the biggest migrating waterfowl stopovers in North America for

waterfowl coming down from Russia and Alaska. We have

Centennial Beach; we have Tsawwassen Beach. We have many wonderful events in

Delta and south Delta such as the Tour de Delta, one of the great bike races

in British Columbia, which is coming up in just a few weeks.

We have the famous Ladner Village Market, which goes every second or

third Sunday in Ladner. We have Ladner May Day, the Tsawwassen Sun Festival

and, of course, the biggest agriculture day for city folks to come out and

meet country folks. It’s called Day at the Farm. It takes place in September

on Westham Island, on Vancouver Island….

My grandfather John Paton homesteaded our family farm many decades

ago. My father followed in his footsteps as a dairy farmer, and I had the

passion to do the same.

In my auctioneering duties over the years, besides professional

auctioneering of cattle and farm equipment, etc., I’ve raised hundreds of

thousands of dollars with my auctioneering abilities for different charities

throughout B.C. I’ve helped out many, many galas, as we all know — for

Canuck Place, for Canadian Cancer Society, for Alzheimer’s, for the Delta

Hospital, for Variety Club, for guide dogs, for the chambers of commerce.

I’m certainly pleased to do that. And I have never charged a penny to go out

on weekends and Saturday nights to help out at these fundraisers to give

them help as their auctioneer.

My family has always been very active in our community. My father,

back in the 1960s, decided that we needed an ice arena in Delta. We did not

have an ice arena for kids to play anywhere in Delta, and he got together

with some farmers and some Ladner businessmen and said: “How can we do

this?” They got together, and they raised some money. They turned an old

hangar at the Boundary Bay Airport, which was just closed down after World

War II…. They converted an old hangar into the very first ice arena in Delta

for children to be able to play hockey. There was curling and figure skating

as well.

My dad also was one of the founding members in Delta that got together

with community members and said: “Why don’t we have a hospital here in

Delta?” Because of their hard work and their vision and fundraising, we

eventually got a hospital built in Ladner, which is there to this day. It’s

a very, very fine community hospital.

[3:30 p.m.]

[R. Chouhan in the chair.]

I guess that you probably may wonder how I learned my auctioneering

abilities. My father, to supplement his farm income on our farm in Delta,

went off to auctioneering school in Mason City, Iowa, in 1953 to learn to

become a cattle auctioneer, and that’s how I followed in his

footsteps.

My sister, Glenda, also worked for 27 years at the Delta Hospital as a

registered nurse, and as I said before, my mother has been volunteering in

the hospital auxiliary — one of the longest-serving hospital auxiliary

volunteers — since the late 1960s, before the hospital was ever built. So I

think the Paton family has certainly contributed over the years to the Delta

Hospital.

Personally, as far as community involvement, I’ve done many, many

things over the years. Some people in the House may recognize an old

community hall on Ladner Trunk Road and No. 10 Highway in Delta — the East

Delta Community Hall. It almost burnt to the ground in 1992 because of a

arsonist’s fire.

People said that perhaps it should just be bulldozed down, but myself,

my neighbour David Terpsma, some of our farming friends and community

members got together and said: “Let’s take a year and a half out of our

life, and let’s rebuild this beautiful, historic community hall that was

built in 1928.” We put it together, we volunteered our time, and to this

day, it is a beautiful community hall on Ladner Trunk Road in Delta. We were

given the Citizen of the Year Award, as a group, back in 1993 by the

municipality of Delta for our work, volunteering to rebuild this community

hall in Delta.

I’ve been a Delta councillor since 2010. The ability to effect

positive change in my community through good public policy is very

rewarding. Public service is in my family’s blood, and it is an honour and a

privilege to now continue that service in the Legislative Assembly. My

mother and my father were, in 1992, both awarded a Queen’s Golden Jubilee

medal for their service in our community. My mother and father were both

awarded this medal by the federal government, by the Queen, for service in

our community of Delta.

As I reflect on my constituency of Delta South, I’m reminded how

important it is to have stable government. British Columbians have spoken,

and we know they want to have a stable government that seeks a balance

between economic growth, investing in areas like health care and child care,

while also protecting the environment. Balance is what I think this throne

speech is all about. If this throne speech receives the confidence of the

House, the government will move to introduce legislation that will reform

campaign finance rules. The people have spoken, and we are taking

action.

We will ban corporate and union donations and take further action to

reform the system. We’ll also limit the donations that could be made by

individuals to a level similarly seen in other jurisdictions. Foreign

donations would also be banned in these reforms. Comprehensive reforms will

also include banning donations from third parties that accept foreign

donations so that foreign money has no avenue to attempt to influence

British Columbian politics. In addition, it would also restrict the role of

money influencing elections through third parties.

Elections should be about the voice of the people and what they

believe in, and not who can get the single biggest political donation in

British Columbia history. Under our legislation, federal

political parties would no longer be allowed to transfer money to provincial

political parties. This would have ensured that all donations any party

received were raised under the same campaign finance rules.

In addition to maintaining a level playing field, loans that political

parties take out should only come from financial organizations such as

chartered banks or credit unions. Loans from private organizations or unions

would be banned under these comprehensive reforms. This would go far to make

sure that there isn’t any type of leverage of one individual or union over

an elected official or their political party. Also, these same reforms,

should we continue to be government, would also be proposed for local

government candidates and their political parties, eliminating the potential

for leverage over candidates at all political levels.

Regarding the urban-rural divide, I’d like to now change the subject.

This throne speech provides a path to bridge that gap. As a member from a

riding that has both rural farmland and the urban communities Ladner and

Tsawwassen, I feel this is a significant issue for my constituents. In

Delta, we have 23,000 acres of land in the agricultural land reserve, and we

can brag that we lead Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley with 76 percent

of our agricultural land in Delta being actively farmed, which leads Metro

Vancouver, Surrey, Cloverdale, etc., with the amount of land that we’re

actively farming in Delta.

[3:35 p.m.]

We have opportunities in our community for young farmers, which is a

passion for me. I’m seeing a change in the last 15 or 20 years. Young

farmers are starting to stay with their families. Young farmers are starting

to look at a brighter future for agriculture. Young farmers, boys and girls,

are getting involved, becoming partners with their parents. We’re keeping

family farms, and we’re seeing much more profitability in farming in

Delta.

We’re also seeing young farmers thinking outside the box, which is

very, very interesting for me. You know, in the good old days, you grew

potatoes. You grew strawberries. You shipped them off to a processing plant,

you sat back, and you hoped that a cheque or two would arrive in the mail in

the middle of winter.

Now, with the rules that we’ve put in place for the agricultural land

reserve, thinking outside the box, being able to do certain things as a

non-farm use, has given young people the opportunity to take strawberries

and put up a stand on their farm and create U-pick and sell strawberry ice

cream and strawberry sundaes and create a little petting zoo and hay rides.

The people are coming in droves to make use of thinking outside the box in

agriculture, whether it’s the wine industry, whether you’re making blueberry

juice, whether you’re selling strawberries.

Another is craft breweries. I’m happy to say that we have two farming

families in Delta that, believe it or not, are growing organic potatoes,

organic peas, and they’re also growing organic barley. When you’re going to

make beer, you have to have barley, and you have to have hops. The next door

neighbour, another farming family, is growing the hops, and together these

families have made an application. Things have finally passed the last

hurdle on Delta city council. This summer, they’re going to start building a

craft brewery in Delta, and they will be making beer on this farm out of

homegrown crops of hops and barley that are grown on Delta farms.

Another provincial pleasantry for agriculture in Delta was the

building of the South Fraser Perimeter Road. The South Fraser Perimeter Road

took up a bit of agricultural land as it was built to head off through

Delta. You can come off the Tsawwassen ferry now, as you know. It is so much

quicker to jump on the SFPR and get yourself up to Highway 1 up north of

Cloverdale.

I spoke earlier of the Delta Agricultural Society and another

institution called the Delta Farmers Institute. We negotiated with the

provincial government. They kindly worked with us, with the gateway program,

to provide $23 million to Delta to upgrade our irrigation system, which was

so badly needed for the farmers in Delta.

If you understand the system, at a low-lying area like Delta, it’s

basically based on the tides and gravity. The tide goes up. The water runs

into our ditches. That’s our irrigation water. However, the salt water comes

up. Because we’re so close to the ocean, we were getting much too much salt

water into our ditches, and irrigation was becoming an

impossibility.

A $23 million irrigation system was set up, much further up the Fraser

River where there was less salinity. This system was brought forward by this

government — $23 million — which has brought in a new pumping system that

has forced water through a myriad of ditches and sloughs throughout Delta.

The water is of much, much better levels of salt content, and the farmers

are irrigating happily with it. The cranberry growers are flooding their

fields of cranberries with it. We have a much better system with this new

irrigation system.

We’ve seen that concerns of urban and rural residents can often be

different. As members of the Legislative Assembly of B.C., we should work

together to bridge that gap. Finding a balance is important. One region

cannot grow without the other. We, as a province, should reflect on what we

share in common — that is, living here in British Columbia, the best place

on earth.

British Columbia has an abundance of natural resources, the bedrock of

our success, without which we would struggle to find the very services that

urban B.C. relies on. I’ve said this before in Delta, in campaign speeches.

I look at our province, and I say: “We all have it fairly good here in Metro

Vancouver, Victoria and places where there are lots of jobs.” We have

restaurants. We have theatres. We have sports teams. We all have these

wonderful things.

[3:40 p.m.]

We forget sometimes about the people that live all over this province:

people that deserve good-paying jobs; people that deserve a nice holiday or

vacation, just like the rest of us down in this part of British Columbia;

people that live in small towns of 800 people at the very northernmost

border of the Yukon; people in towns of 1,200 on the very east borders of

B.C. and Alberta.

People in small towns rely on mining. They rely on forestry. They rely

on transportation jobs. They rely on excavation. They rely on agriculture.

They rely on building pipelines. They rely on building dams. These are the

people we cannot forget about.

These are people that deserve to have what we have, down in this part

of British Columbia, as well. They deserve a good-paying job. They deserve

to have a nice truck and camper in their driveway and a nice holiday three

or four times a year, just like the rest of us do in this part of the

province.

We have a clean energy source that is the envy of the world, created

by previous generations with the opportunity to transform our economy into

the cleanest in the world.

When I was a young lad, my parents took us to see the building of the

W.A.C. Bennett dam. It was a phenomenon — the W.A.C. Bennett dam being

built. Back in those days, just like these days, there were opponents. There

were people that said: “This is terrible. Why are we building the W.A.C.

Bennett dam?” But it got done — and look how it has benefited our province —

all those years ago. We need to look 100 years from now. We don’t need to

look 10 years from now or 25 years from now. We’re building projects in this

province, thinking about our grandchildren and our

great-grandchildren.

British Columbia is a place where we have the freedom to be ourselves,

regardless if it is in our thriving urban communities or our strong rural

communities. This province is built on all of our hard work, leading the

country in jobs and economic growth — a financial foundation that is the

envy of North America.

I believe our Minister of Finance just came back from meetings back

east with other Ministers of Finance, and jokingly he said: “Other ministers

are scratching their heads, going, ‘What in the world is going on in British

Columbia since May 9?’”

Deputy Speaker: On the amendment, Member.

I. Paton: Thank you, sir.

Due to the strength of our rural and urban communities, the government

anticipates a surplus larger than expected in February. This allows the

government to propose changes that could benefit British

Columbians.

Since the surplus size will not be confirmed by public accounts until

July, it confirms the need to move our fixed election date to the fall so

that British Columbians are fully informed of our province’s finances before

a general election is held.

Whereas other provinces have structural deficits, this government has

put forward five balanced budgets and created a structural surplus. Any

government in Canada would gladly trade places with us. Our balance sheets

are the envy of the nation.

These continued surpluses will allow the government to eliminate our

operating debt by 2020, a whole year earlier than expected. This would be an

accomplishment that has not been achieved under any government since 1976.

The surpluses that this government has achieved cannot be taken for granted,

though, and must be vigilantly watched so that they are not

squandered.

With regards to our environment and agriculture. We must manage our

economic success with an eye to the environment so that future successes do

not come at the cost of prosperity today. That’s why our government is

investing an additional $50 million for electric-vehicle-charging

infrastructure across Metro Vancouver. These funds will go towards the

installation of over 4,000 new charging stations.

In a world where British Columbia is rapidly switching to more

efficient and electric vehicles, the Site C clean energy project will

provide a new source of clean energy to power our collective futures. Site C

— and the jobs and economic opportunity that come with it — is essential for

the future of clean energy in British Columbia.

As a lifelong farmer, protecting our environment is particularly

important to me. However, we must also be sure to preserve our farmland. My

riding in south Delta was built by farmers, and farming remains an integral

part of our community. That’s why I’m proud of our government’s commitment

to double the Grow Local program and bring an additional 91,000 hectares of

agricultural land into production by the year 2020.

In addition, last week’s throne speech committed to activating an

all-party select standing committee to study new stewardship techniques for

B.C. agricultural land.

[3:45 p.m.]

Protecting our Delta farmland remains one of my top priorities as an

MLA, which is why I’m happy to support the measures taken by this

government. As I said, my father was a chairman of the Agricultural Land

Commission.

I mentioned the mitigation for the South Fraser Perimeter Road. I, as

an MLA representing Delta South, will fight tooth and nail to preserve

farmland and make farmers profitable in Delta. It’s very, very important

that we never forget that if the farmer is making a good living and selling

his product…. On the farms that will remain, the farmland will always be

used. It’s important to keep the farmer healthy to preserve agricultural

land in this province.

Transit. British Columbia’s transportation network is important to

maintaining our province’s prosperity. In listening to the

people of our province, our government is proposing changes to the tolling

policy of our bridges. We’ve heard the concerns of the people who rely on

toll bridges and roads, and we believe all communities should be treated

equally.

This throne speech commits to eliminate tolls on the Port Mann Bridge

as quickly as possible. I can speak on behalf of Delta and being on Delta

council that the burden of people not wanting to pay tolls that are

funneling through North Delta and Surrey to get onto the Alex Fraser Bridge

or to go to the Pattullo Bridge…. This is going to be a wonderful

announcement that will, hopefully, thin out the traffic and make traffic

more accessible on all the different crossings, rather than people trying to

avoid the toll on the Port Mann Bridge.

Our government will also ensure funding for the mayor’s plan to build

transit and undertake feasibility studies to extend rapid transit across the

Lower Mainland. My hope is that we will one day see rapid transit extend

into south Delta, connecting our riding via rail to the Canada Line in

Richmond and, one day, possibly connecting out to the Tsawwassen ferry

terminal.

Another major government infrastructure accomplishment by our

government is the B.C. Ferries. My riding is home to the Tsawwassen B.C.

Ferries terminal and in many ways serves as a gateway to the Lower Mainland.

Having achieved a solid financial footing, B.C. Ferries now has the means to

transition their fleet from diesel power to liquefied natural gas. The new

vessels that B.C. Ferries is procuring will also run on the more efficient

and environmentally friendly LNG.

Altogether, our government is focused on driving transportation

options forward across the province for B.C.’s future unified

prosperity.

I’d like to speak a little bit now about a transportation issue in

Delta: the new bridge replacement for the George Massey Tunnel. In last

week’s throne speech, this government also confirmed again the importance of

a new crossing between Richmond and Delta. For constituents of mine who

travel through the tunnel every day during rush hour, this is a very

important issue. The current tunnel is aging and seismically

unsafe.

I cannot repeat that enough. Study after study is showing that the

George Massey Tunnel is seismically unsafe and needs to be replaced within

the next ten years. For the sake of alleviating congestion, protecting the

environment and supporting the local economy, this project must

continue.

Unfortunately, since the government of B.C. first announced the

replacement project in 2012, a number of myths about the tunnel project have

emerged. Some of the myths I’d like to speak about is that we don’t really

need a bridge replacement. The George Massey Tunnel replacement and the

bridge are very important to dealing with congestion, the safety of our fire

department going into the tunnel to deal with fires where they can’t get in

there with their vehicles…. We have great lineups of transportation

vehicles, trucks carrying goods waiting in massively long lineups to get

through the tunnel in the mornings to get to the south side