British Columbia Hansard — Tuesday, February 28, 2017 (40th Parliament, 6th Session) (20170228pm-Hansard-v42n6) (20170228pm Hansard v42n6)

20170228pm-Hansard-v42n6

British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)

Sixth Session, 40th Parliament OFFICIAL REPORT OF DEBATES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY (HANSARD) THE HONOURABLE LINDA REID, SPEAKER ISSN 0709-1281 (P rint) ISSN 1499-2175 (Online) Tuesday, February 28, 2017 Afternoon Sitting Volume 42, Number 6

PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Entered Confederation July 20, 1871) LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR Her Honour the Honourable Judith Guichon, OBC Sixth Session, 40th Parliament SPEAKER OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Honourable Linda Reid EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Premier and President of the Executive Council .............................................................................................................. Hon. Christy Clark Deputy Premier and Minister of Natural Gas Development and Minister Responsible for Housing ......................Hon.

Rich Coleman Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation ......................................................................................................... Hon. John Rustad Minister of Advanced Education ............................................................................................................................... Hon. Andrew Wilkinson Minister of Agriculture ........................................................................................................................................................ Hon.

Norm Letnick Minister of Children and Family Development .......................................................................................................Hon. Stephanie Cadieux Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development and Minister Responsible for TransLink ................ Hon. Peter Fassbender Minister of Education ............................................................................................................................................................Hon.

Mike Bernier Minister of Energy and Mines and Minister Responsible for Core Review .....................................................................Hon. Bill Bennett Minister of Environment ..........................................................................................................................................................Hon. Mary Polak Minister of Finance .................................................................................................................................................. Hon.

Michael de Jong, QC Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations......................................................................................Hon. Steve Thomson Minister of State for Rural Economic Development ..................................................................................................................Hon. Donna Barnett Minister of Health ............................................................................................................................................................... Hon. Dr.

Terry Lake Minister of International Trade and Minister Responsible for Asia Pacific Strategy and Multiculturalism ...........................................................................................Hon. T eresa W at Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour ...................................................Hon. Shirley Bond Minister of Justice ...................................................................................................................................................... Hon.

Suzanne Anton, QC Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General ................................................................................................................. Hon. Mike Morris Minister of Small Business and Red T ape Reduction and Minister Responsible for the Liquor Distribution Branch ........................................................................................................Hon. Coralee Oakes Minister of Social Development and Social Innovation..............................................................................................Hon.

Michelle Stilwell Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens' Services ................................................................................................ Hon. Amrik Virk Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure ......................................................................................................................Hon. Todd Stone Minister of State for Emergency Preparedness ....................................................................................................................Hon.

Naomi Y amamoto LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Leader of the Official Opposition ...................................................................................................................................................John Horgan Deputy Speaker .............................................................................................................................................................................. Richard T. Lee Assistant Deputy Speaker ...............................................................................................................................................................

Raj Chouhan Deputy Chair, Committee of the Whole .................................................................................................................................... Simon Gibson Clerk of the Legislative Assembly ................................................................................................................................................... Craig James Deputy Clerk and Clerk of Committees .................................................................................................................................

Kate Ryan-Lloyd Clerk Assistant — Committees and Interparliamentary Relations ..........................................................................................Susan Sourial Sessional Law Clerk ............................................................................................................................................. Loredana Catalli-Sonier, QC Sergeant-at-Arms ................................................................................................................................................................................. Gary Lenz

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF MEMBERS Anton, Hon. Suzanne, QC (BC Liberal) ...................... Vancouver-Fraserview Ashton, Dan (BC Liberal).....................................................................Penticton Austin, Robin (NDP) ................................................................................ Skeena Bains, Harry (NDP) ....................................................................Surrey-Newton Barnett, Hon. Donna (BC Liberal) ..................................... Cariboo-Chilcotin Bennett, Hon.

Bill (BC Liberal) ...................................................Kootenay East Bernier, Hon. Mike (BC Liberal) ......................................... Peace River South Bing, Dr. Doug (BC Liberal) ................................ Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows Bond, Hon. Shirley (BC Liberal) ...........................Prince George–Valemount Cadieux, Hon. Stephanie (BC Liberal) ................................Surrey-Cloverdale Chandra Herbert, Spencer (NDP) .................................Vancouver–West End Chouhan, Raj (NDP) ........................................................... Burnaby-Edmonds Clark, Hon.

Christy (BC Liberal) ........................................ Westside-Kelowna Coleman, Hon. Rich (BC Liberal) ...........................Fort Langley–Aldergrove Conroy, Katrine (NDP) .............................................................. Kootenay West Corrigan, Kathy (NDP) ..................................................... Burnaby–Deer Lake Dalton, Marc (BC Liberal) ............................................. Maple Ridge–Mission Darcy, Judy (NDP) ..................................................................New Westminster de Jong, Hon. Michael, QC (BC Liberal) ..............................

Abbotsford West Dix, Adrian (NDP)............................................................Vancouver-Kingsway Donaldson, Doug (NDP) ......................................................................... Stikine Eby, David (NDP) ..........................................................Vancouver–Point Grey Elmore, Mable (NDP) ................................................... Vancouver-Kensington Farnworth, Mike (NDP) ............................................................ Port Coquitlam Fassbender, Hon. Peter (BC Liberal) ...................................

Surrey-Fleetwood Fleming, Rob (NDP) .......................................................... Victoria–Swan Lake Foster, Eric (BC Liberal) .......................................................Vernon-Monashee Fraser, Scott (NDP) ............................................................Alberni–Pacific Rim Gibson, Simon (BC Liberal) ............................................. Abbotsford-Mission Hamilton, Wm. Scott (BC Liberal) .................................................Delta North Hammell, Sue (NDP) ....................................................

Surrey–Green Timbers Heyman, George (NDP) .................................................... Vancouver-Fairview Hogg, Gordon (BC Liberal) ............................................... Surrey–White Rock Holman, Gary (NDP) .......................................Saanich North and the Islands Horgan, John (NDP) .......................................................................

Juan de Fuca Hunt, Marvin (BC Liberal) ....................................................Surrey-Panorama Huntington, Vicki (Ind.) ..................................................................Delta South James, Carole (NDP) .........................................................Victoria–Beacon Hill Karagianis, Maurine (NDP) ........................................Esquimalt–Royal Roads Krog, Leonard Eugene (NDP) ............................................................. Nanaimo Kyllo, Greg (BC Liberal) ........................................................................ Shuswap Lake, Hon. Dr.

Terry (BC Liberal) ....................Kamloops–North Thompson Larson, Linda (BC Liberal) .........................................Boundary-Similkameen Lee, Richard T. (BC Liberal) ......................................................Burnaby North Letnick, Hon. Norm (BC Liberal) ..............................Kelowna–Lake Country Macdonald, Norm (NDP) ....................................Columbia River–Revelstoke McRae, Don (BC Liberal) ............................................................ Comox Valley Mark, Melanie (NDP) ...........................................

Vancouver–Mount Pleasant Martin, John (BC Liberal) ..................................................................Chilliwack Morris, Hon. Mike (BC Liberal) ........................... Prince George–Mackenzie Mungall, Michelle (NDP) ..........................................................Nelson-Creston Oakes, Hon. Coralee (BC Liberal) .............................................Cariboo North Pimm, Pat (Ind.) .....................................................................Peace River North Plecas, Dr. Darryl (BC Liberal) .............................................Abbotsford South Polak, Hon.

Mary (BC Liberal) ..............................................................Langley Popham, Lana (NDP) ...................................................................Saanich South Ralston, Bruce (NDP) ................................................................ Surrey-Whalley Reid, Hon. Linda (BC Liberal) ..................................................Richmond East Reimer, Linda (BC Liberal) ........................................

Port Moody–Coquitlam Rice, Jennifer (NDP) ........................................................................North Coast Robinson, Selina (NDP) .............................................Coquitlam-Maillardville Routley, Bill (NDP) .................................................................. Cowichan Valley Routley, Doug (NDP) ............................................Nanaimo–North Cowichan Rustad, Hon. John (BC Liberal) ................................................ Nechako Lakes Shin, Dr.

Jane Jae Kyung (NDP) .........................................Burnaby-Lougheed Simons, Nicholas (NDP) ................................... Powell River–Sunshine Coast Simpson, Shane (NDP) .....................................................Vancouver-Hastings Stilwell, Hon. Michelle (BC Liberal)............................... Parksville-Qualicum Stilwell, Dr. Moira (BC Liberal) ........................................ Vancouver-Langara Stone, Hon. Todd (BC Liberal) .........................

Kamloops–South Thompson Sturdy, Jordan (BC Liberal) ..................................West Vancouver–Sea to Sky Sullivan, Sam (BC Liberal) ...........................................Vancouver–False Creek Sultan, Ralph (BC Liberal) ..................................... West Vancouver–Capilano Tegart, Jackie (BC Liberal) ............................................................Fraser-Nicola Thomson, Hon. Steve (BC Liberal) .......................................Kelowna-Mission Thornthwaite, Jane (BC Liberal) ..........................

North Vancouver–Seymour Throness, Laurie (BC Liberal).................................................Chilliwack-Hope Trevena, Claire (NDP) .................................................................... North Island Virk, Hon. Amrik (BC Liberal) ............................................. Surrey-Tynehead Wat, Hon. Teresa (BC Liberal) .............................................. Richmond Centre Weaver, Dr. Andrew (Ind.) .......................................... Oak Bay–Gordon Head Wickens, Jodie (NDP) ..........................................Coquitlam–Burke Mountain Wilkinson, Hon.

Andrew (BC Liberal) ........................ Vancouver-Quilchena Y amamoto, Hon. Naomi (BC Liberal) ................ North Vancouver–Lonsdale Y ap, John (BC Liberal) ......................................................Richmond-Steveston LIST OF MEMBERS BY RIDING Abbotsford-Mission ......................................................................Simon Gibson Abbotsford South ..................................................................... Dr. Darryl Plecas Abbotsford West ...................................................... Hon.

Michael de Jong, QC Alberni–Pacific Rim .......................................................................... Scott Fraser Boundary-Similkameen ................................................................ Linda Larson Burnaby–Deer Lake ................................................................... Kathy Corrigan Burnaby-Edmonds ..........................................................................Raj Chouhan Burnaby-Lougheed ...................................................... Dr. Jane Jae Kyung Shin Burnaby North ..............................................................................

Richard T. Lee Cariboo-Chilcotin ..............................................................Hon. Donna Barnett Cariboo North .................................................................... Hon. Coralee Oakes Chilliwack ......................................................................................... John Martin Chilliwack-Hope ....................................................................... Laurie Throness Columbia River–Revelstoke ..................................................

Norm Macdonald Comox Valley.....................................................................................Don McRae Coquitlam–Burke Mountain .......................................................Jodie Wickens Coquitlam-Maillardville........................................................... Selina Robinson Cowichan Valley ................................................................................ Bill Routley Delta North .........................................................................Wm.

Scott Hamilton Delta South...............................................................................Vicki Huntington Esquimalt–Royal Roads .....................................................Maurine Karagianis Fort Langley–Aldergrove ...................................................Hon. Rich Coleman Fraser-Nicola.................................................................................... Jackie Tegart Juan de Fuca .....................................................................................John Horgan Kamloops–North Thompson ............................................ Hon. Dr.

Terry Lake Kamloops–South Thompson ..................................................Hon. Todd Stone Kelowna–Lake Country ..................................................... Hon. Norm Letnick Kelowna-Mission .............................................................. Hon. Steve Thomson Kootenay East .......................................................................... Hon. Bill Bennett Kootenay West ............................................................................ Katrine Conroy Langley.......................................................................................Hon.

Mary Polak Maple Ridge–Mission ..................................................................... Marc Dalton Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows ........................................................ Dr. Doug Bing Nanaimo ........................................................................... Leonard Eugene Krog Nanaimo–North Cowichan ......................................................... Doug Routley Nechako Lakes ........................................................................ Hon.

John Rustad Nelson-Creston ........................................................................Michelle Mungall New Westminster ............................................................................... Judy Darcy North Coast......................................................................................Jennifer Rice North Island .................................................................................. Claire Trevena North Vancouver–Lonsdale ........................................Hon.

Naomi Y amamoto North Vancouver–Seymour ..................................................Jane Thornthwaite Oak Bay–Gordon Head ...................................................... Dr. Andrew Weaver Parksville-Qualicum .......................................................Hon. Michelle Stilwell Peace River North ................................................................................ Pat Pimm Peace River South ..................................................................Hon. Mike Bernier Penticton............................................................................................

Dan Ashton Port Coquitlam ..........................................................................Mike Farnworth Port Moody–Coquitlam ................................................................Linda Reimer Powell River–Sunshine Coast ................................................. Nicholas Simons Prince George–Mackenzie ....................................................Hon. Mike Morris Prince George–Valemount ...................................................Hon. Shirley Bond Richmond Centre ......................................................................Hon.

Teresa Wat Richmond East ..........................................................................Hon. Linda Reid Richmond-Steveston ..............................................................................John Y ap Saanich North and the Islands .................................................... Gary Holman Saanich South ................................................................................

Lana Popham Shuswap ................................................................................................Greg Kyllo Skeena .............................................................................................. Robin Austin Stikine ....................................................................................... Doug Donaldson Surrey-Cloverdale ....................................................... Hon. Stephanie Cadieux Surrey-Fleetwood ........................................................... Hon.

Peter Fassbender Surrey–Green Timbers ..................................................................Sue Hammell Surrey-Newton ................................................................................. Harry Bains Surrey-Panorama ........................................................................... Marvin Hunt Surrey-Tynehead ......................................................................Hon. Amrik Virk Surrey-Whalley..............................................................................

Bruce Ralston Surrey–White Rock ....................................................................... Gordon Hogg Vancouver-Fairview ..................................................................George Heyman Vancouver–False Creek ...................................................................Sam Sullivan Vancouver-Fraserview ..............................................Hon.

Suzanne Anton, QC Vancouver-Hastings ....................................................................Shane Simpson Vancouver-Kensington .................................................................Mable Elmore Vancouver-Kingsway..........................................................................Adrian Dix Vancouver-Langara .................................................................Dr. Moira Stilwell Vancouver–Mount Pleasant .........................................................

Melanie Mark Vancouver–Point Grey .........................................................................David Eby Vancouver-Quilchena ................................................ Hon. Andrew Wilkinson Vancouver–West End ...............................................

Spencer Chandra Herbert Vernon-Monashee ...............................................................................Eric Foster Victoria–Beacon Hill .......................................................................Carole James Victoria–Swan Lake.........................................................................Rob Fleming West Vancouver–Capilano ............................................................. Ralph Sultan West Vancouver–Sea to Sky ..........................................................Jordan Sturdy Westside-Kelowna ................................................................

Hon. Christy Clark Party Standings: BC Liberal 47; New Democratic 35; Independent 3

CONTENTS Tuesday, February 28, 2017 Afternoon Sitting Page Routine Business Introduction and First Reading of Bills .............................................................................................................................. 13915 Bill M228 — Energy and Water Efficiency Act, 2017 A. Weaver Orders of the Day Budget Debate (continued) ................................................................................................................................................... 13915 J. Tegart M.

Mungall Point of Privilege (Reservation of Right) ........................................................................................................................... 13922 Hon. R. Coleman Budget Debate (continued) ................................................................................................................................................... 13922 Hon. T. Stone J. Rice J. Thornthwaite S. Simpson M. Dalton A. Dix Hon. N. Y amamoto J. Wickens L. Larson Hon. C. Oakes

TUESDAY , FEBRUARY 28, 2017 The House met at 1:32 p.m. [Madame Speaker in the chair.] Routine Business Introduction and First Reading of Bills BILL M228 — ENERGY AND W ATER EFFICIENCY ACT, 2017 A. Weaver presented a bill intituled Energy and Water Efficiency Act, 2017. A. Weaver: I move that a bill intituled the Energy and Water Efficiency Act, 2017, of which notice has been given, be introduced and read a first time now. Motion approved. A. Weaver: I’m pleased to introduce a bill intituled the Energy and Water Efficiency Act, 2017. This bill was ori- ginally tabled by the Liberal government in 2012.

This is a bill that the Minister of Energy and Mines, at the time, said would reduce consumers’ energy bills and lower operating costs for B.C. businesses. This legislation would replace the current Energy Efficiency Act. It would enable administrative penalties to ensure manufacturers, distributors and retailers com- ply with energy efficiency guidelines, broaden the scope of energy efficiency requirements to include commercial energy systems, industrial reporting and water efficiency and enable the minister responsible to enact regulations for technical standards.

It was a good and widely supported piece of legislation. It seems that the only reason it went to second reading and wasn’t taken to committee was the fact that the offi- cial opposition supported it. I move that the bill be placed on the orders of the day for the second reading at the next House after today. Bill M228, En ergy and Water Efficiency Act, 2 017, introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today. Orders of the Day Hon. M. Polak: I call continued debate on the budget. Budget Debate (continued) J.

T egart: I’ll continue with my comments on the budget. [R. Chouhan in the chair.] We are the only province with a triple-A credit rating, meaning that we have lower borrowing costs. Without our triple-A credit rating, if we instead had the credit rat- ing of the other provinces, we would be paying an addi - tional $2.23 billion in annual debt-servicing costs. What does all of this mean? It means that we will save more than $500 million in interest costs by the end of the fiscal plan. It means that there’s an additional $500 million that can be used to fund health care, education and infrastructure.

It can build schools, hospitals, hire more rural doctors and create jobs. That means that our children and our grandchildren won’t have to deal with the burden of debt run up by irresponsible gov - ernment spending. By committing to strong fiscal discipline while main - taining our high level of service in priority programs, our government has managed to have some of the high- est outcomes in Canada, while providing efficient and effective programs. [1335] But that’s not all. As a government, we are also work- ing hard to ensure our businesses are competitive.

On October 1, 2017, we’re going to phase out the PST on electricity, starting with a reduction to 3.5 percent of the purchase price and moving to full exemption on April 1, 2019. That is half of what it was a year ago. This reduction will save small and medium businesses $50 million a year. Small businesses are the engine of the B.C. econ - omy. There are almost 400 small businesses in B.C., and they contribute almost a third of our total exports and our GDP .

We want small businesses to benefit from our strong fiscal position, so we’re cutting $213 million in taxes for small business by reducing the small business tax rate from 2.5 percent to 2 percent. This reduction in taxation means that B.C. will have the second-lowest small business tax rate in the country. For those of us who live in small, rural British Columbia, we know the importance of our small busi - nesses in our downtown cores. Contrary to popular be - lief, often our business people are not our richest people in the community.

They are often struggling, but they provide the jobs for people who live in our community. Often our high school students get their training there. It’s really important that we have a budget that supports small business. Some of the measures include an enhancement to the buy-local program so that we can continue to have high-quality agrifoods on our tables that are grown right here in B.C. There are also important measures in the budget for smaller rural communities across the province, like those in my riding. I’ d like to highlight those investments. Rural schools receive special consideration in the budget.

We are investing $9 million over three years to 13915

British Columbia Debates13916 Tuesday, February 28, 2017 the rural education enhancement fund. That will keep schools, which are often the centre of our communities, open. Of course, keeping a school open doesn’t make sense if children can’t get there, so we are investing $45 million to ensure that virtually all students can take a bus to school at no cost. In my riding, we’ve made significant investments in school district No. 58, Nicola-Similkameen.

Schools that saw funding out of that are Diamond Vale Elementary School and Collettville Elementary.Both received fund - ing for high-efficiency boiler replacements. Merritt Secondary also saw an investment of $663,000 to upgrade their lighting and dust-collection systems. We’re also working to help rural communities divers- ify their economies and working hard to support vibrant and healthy rural communities that attract businesses and individuals.

In this budget, we are adding $40 million to extend the availability of rural broadband service, $15 million for a new community gaming grants capital program and many other initiatives. We’re also committing another $25 million to continue the rural dividend program. The B.C. rural dividend is designed to help eligible rural communities diversify and strengthen their economies and contribute to their over- all wellness and sustainability. It is one of those programs that, as an MLA, I am so proud to support. It emphasizes the importance of rural British Columbia to the whole picture of British Columbia.

It gives us, sometimes, that little hand up that our communities need when they’re looking at projects and how to kick-start those. Our province relies on rural communities for a strong and diversified economy. That’s why we’re making sig- nificant investments in rural economic development through the rural dividend program. With these in - vestments, we’re securing stable and sustainable future economic growth for these regions of the province.

I’m proud of these investments. [1340] I’m also quite pleased to have been able to support other important initiatives and projects in my riding, like the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology. Y ou’ve heard me speak many times in this House about how proud I am that we host NVIT in Merritt. Nicola Valley Institute of Technology is the only aboriginal public post-secondary institute in B.C. It offers a range of education and training programs for both aboriginal and non-aboriginal students.

By 2025, B.C. is projected to have up to one million job openings, many of which will require training in the skilled trades. By supporting post-secondary edu - cation at places like NVIT that provide learning oppor - tunities in trades and clean technology, we are ensuring that British Columbians will be first in line for those jobs. Total government funding for NVIT is $4.79 million.

Here’s a brief breakdown on how we’ve supported this fantastic organization: $2 million for the new Centre of Excellence in Sustainability; $1.8 million for a new trades training building; $450,000 for programs and activities that enhance aboriginal learners’ experiences; $207,000 for 52 critical trade seats since the launch of B.C. ’s skills- for-jobs blueprint in 2014; $100,000 for new industry- standard trades equipment; $75,000 for programs to support students who face barriers to education; $50,000 for programs to support people with disabilities to ac - cess and succeed in training aligned with in-demand jobs; $75,000 to NVIT to partner with the University of the Fraser Valley to pilot innovative training and initia - tives to increase the success of persons with disabilities; and $36,000 in 2015, for 15 trades discovery programs to introduce high school students and young adults to a variety of high-demand trades.

I’m so proud that NVIT is in my riding and so proud of all the work they do to improve our provincial and local economies. Providing this type of training to our youth is essential in meeting our skilled labour targets for the future. These investments ensure an even brighter future for our youth and for our province. Our government has made other significant invest - ments in my riding to improve services and programs. In the last year, we’ve provided over $5 million to various organizations that provide essential services for my com- munities.

Some of those investments include $235,000 to the Merritt Y outh and Family Resources Society to create 28 spaces; ten spaces at the Nicola Valley extreme weather shelter; six new support recovery beds at the ASK Wellness Society; $100,000 to the Nicola Valley Theatre Society for architectural design costs from the rural divi- dend fund; and another $100,000 to the city of Merritt to undertake business retention and attraction initiatives from the rural dividend fund.

I’ve also had the pleasure of making local investments in health care for my community when we announced $5.6 million for the Merritt emergency department up - grade and expansion, bringing it to five times its ori - ginal size. My region has also benefited from another $2.8 mil - lion invested in health care in order for 14 internation - ally trained physicians to begin practising in rural and remote communities. This included two new family doc- tors in Lillooet. The practice-ready assessment program assesses internationally trained physicians for practice in B.C.

As part of the program, doctors undergo a rigorous assessment process, spending three months with a B.C. physician who evaluates their skills as they care for pa - tients. Physicians successfully completing the program commit to practise for at least three years in a designated rural community in need. [1345] The program is funded for a total of $7.6 million through March 2018 by the Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues, a collaborative committee of the Ministry

British Columbia DebatesTuesday, February 28, 2017 13917 of Health and the Doctors of B.C. Health initiatives like these have a clear and meaningful impact on our health care system across the province and for people in my rid- ing. Here are a few stats that show that. According to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C., as of February 2016 there were 6,042 family doc- tors registered to practise in B.C., an increase of 9 per - cent over the previous five years.

According to the latest figures available from the Canadian Institute for Health Information, as of 2014 there were 125 family doctors per 100,000 people in B.C., compared to the national average of 114. The provincial government has more than doubled the number of first-year undergraduate medical school spaces in B.C. from 128 to 288 between 2003 and 2011. The number of entry-level postgraduate residency pos - itions increased from 134 in 2003 to 348 positions in 2016, almost half in family medicine. More than 500 additional family physicians have graduated from UBC as a result of the medical school expansion.

Statistics from the Canadian community health sur - vey show that, year over year, more and more British Columbians have continued access to a regular physician, with their most recent study stating that well over four- fifths of individuals are covered. In the latest agreement with the Doctors of B.C., the province committed $67 million in new funding toward ongoing support of the work of A GP for Me and other primary care–focused programs. More than 10,000 pre - viously unattached patients with complex care needs are now matched with a family doctor or belong to a pri - mary care clinic thanks to this work.

A further 60,000 were matched with a new doctor when their family doc- tor retired or moved. Nurse practitioners were introduced as an important part of health care teams in B.C. in 2005, helping to meet the growing need for primary and community health care. Since B.C. ’s first group of nurse practitioners gradu- ated in 2005, 397 nurse practitioners have been licensed to practise in the province. Before I conclude, I would like to mention some of the significant infrastructure projects we’re investing in, in my riding.

I’ve had the privilege of helping to deliver crucial local infrastructure investments for my commun- ities. These investments include $4.8 million to resurface and realign a 4.8-kilometre stretch of the Douglas Lake Road. Although that sounds like a pavement announce - ment, I have to share the experience of the opening of that road and the First Nations that welcomed us into their community. There were seven past chiefs there. Many talked about the 30-year process it took to get to the place where we actually laid down pavement. It was important for all of us to be there.

It was important for us to hear from the chief whose grandmother stopped the B.C. surveyors from coming on reserve and said: “Never in my lifetime. ” That chief talked about the struggle of looking towards the future for his band but also remembering to listen to the elders and the past. It was very interesting for all of us to hear of the struggles within, when we often think that a highway project is something you just welcome.

As we moved through the history of that process, I think all of us came away with a much better understand- ing that it’s much more than a road to our communities, whether you’re a First Nations community or any other rural community. There are many things to think about when we look at those kinds of infrastructure projects. [1350] I have to say that that was one of the most interesting processes and sharing of the difficulties of a community transitioning into 2017. All of us who were there were touched by the conversation.

I also have been able to bring forward a $2.8 million project to resurface a ten-mile stretch of Highway 5 be - tween the Coldwater Interchange and Comstock Road. But I am most proud of the $60 million investment I was able to deliver for stabilization work on Highway 99 on the area known as the ten-mile slide. Emergency stabilization work at the ten-mile slide on Highway 99 northeast of Lillooet is now underway, pro- viding immediate short-term stabilization that will allow the highway to be open to two lanes, improving safety and mobility for the local communities and the travel - ling public.

We know that this highway is an important link for commercial traffic and for the efficient transport of goods in and out of the area. This initial work to install soil anchors is the first step in stabilizing the slope and road base to eventually allow the safe passage of com - mercial vehicles. The ten-mile slide is approximately 200 metres wide, 300 metres long and contains over one million cubic metres of rock and earth. Since 1988, this slow-moving slide has periodically made the road unstable and un - reliable for travelers.

Accelerated slide movement oc - curred last fall and resulted in a full closure of Highway 99 for eight days. Highway 99 has since reopened but only to single-lane, alternating traffic, with a 50 percent legal-load restriction at the slide site. Final designs for the major capital project are expected to be completed by this spring. Our government is able to make these types of invest- ments in our province because of our sound fiscal man - agement and highly productive economy. Without either of these, we would not be able to make these investments.

It should go without saying that I will be voting in sup - port of balanced budget 2017. Within our fifth consecutive balanced budget, we see almost $3 billion over three years in enhanced pro - grams and services in addition to health care increases, reducing the tax burden for B.C. families and supporting job growth by about $3 billion over three years, and re - cord levels of infrastructure investment. All this comes

British Columbia Debates13918 Tuesday, February 28, 2017 while we’re maintaining debt affordability and staying on track to eliminate our operating debt. Truly, balanced budget 2017 is a budget for a province poised to take advantage of our opportunities — five suc- cessive balanced budgets, strong economic growth, on track to eliminate our direct operating debt, services that support citizens across the province, and a plan to en - hance and continue diversifying and growing our econ - omy to create good, family-supporting jobs.

British Columbia is in a position of economic strength, and as a government, we will continue to build on this success to create an even stronger future for B.C. Because B.C. ’s economy is strong and because we controlled spending, we’re now able to make investments in the pri- orities of British Columbians, like health care and edu - cation, and put significantly more money back in the pockets of our citizens. When the plan is working and we are seeing results, this is not the time to veer off course.

As I have stated, the proposals and policies promoted on the other side of the House would very much take our province in the wrong direction, in my view. I am so proud of this budget, and I’m proud of the accomplishments of the government and what the decisions are on this side of the House. On behalf of my constituents, I will be voting in sup - port of this budget for an even stronger and more pros - perous British Columbia. [1355] M. Mungall: Before I commence my remarks on the B.C.

Liberal government’s budget, I just want to pay a few thank-yous to my staff, both here in the Legislature in Victoria and in my Nelson-Creston community office in Nelson. I am so fortunate to have the support of such amazing people, allowing me to do the work that I do every single day and serving our community. Laurie Langille has been my constituency assistant since the very beginning. She and I have worked togeth- er since my first election in 2009 and in the nomination process to become the candidate for the New Democrats in 2008.

Laurie is just absolutely amazing in her ability to serve the people in the West Kootenays and throughout B.C., really. People call from all over this province, seek- ing help and advice, and Laurie is always there, ready and able to help people out. Right now in my office, covering for a mat leave, is Jesse Pineiro. He actually did his practicum as a Selkirk College human services student in my office last spring. What a talented young man; he’s just absolutely amaz - ing.

His passion and dedication to serving the public is so apparent that when my regular CA, Tessa Bendig, an- nounced that she was going to be welcoming a new little member to their family, it was great that Jesse was avail- able and able to start up working in my office last fall. Of course, Tessa Bendig is just phenomenal. She is an- other person who’s passionate and dedicated to our region and works on behalf of the citizens every day — except right now, while she’s on a maternity leave after she and her husband, Curtis, welcomed new baby Orson — Orrie for short — into the world, back in the fall.

Y eah, he’s about four months right now and just as cute as a button. Of course, here in the Legislature there are so many people that I can thank, but I want to just point out my legislative assistant, Robert Hill. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know him and working with him in the last few months. Somebody I’ve worked with for many, many years in do- ing communications and research from our caucus ser - vices is Jennifer Jones. She’s now in a different part of our caucus services. I don’t get to work with her every single day anymore, but I appreciate all the time I’ve had with her in the last several years.

Now I’m working with Veronica Harrison regularly, and she’s just a superstar as well. Then, hon. Speaker, if I can beg your indulgence before I go directly on to my comments on the budget, I want to acknowledge that there are six members from this side of the House who are retiring this year. I’ve had the hon- our of working with them for the last eight years, and I’ve learned so much from each and every one of them. I have absolutely enjoyed getting to know them, not just as colleagues but as friends.

To see the things that they do for the people of British Columbia and the communities that they represent really is amazing. Retiring are the member for Columbia River– Revelstoke, the member for Cowichan Valley, the mem- ber for Skeena, the member for Burnaby–Deer Lake, the member for Esquimalt–Royal Roads and the member for Surrey–Green Timbers — all truly amazing people. I do want to just say that I’m really, really going to miss my sisters in the women’s caucus who are retiring. The mem- bers for Burnaby–Deer Lake, Surrey–Green Timbers and Esquimalt–Royal Roads are truly sisters.

It’s been such a wonderful eight years working with all of them, and I’m going to miss them very, very much. Moving on, though, to the topic at hand: the B.C. Liberals’ budget for 2017, which essentially is their budget of what they want to run on in this upcoming election. We do have an election right around the corner here. What’s interesting about this budget…. I’ve heard my other colleagues call it this, and I have to say it’s aptly named as the forget-everything budget: “Forget what we’ve done for the last 16 years to this province.

We’re going to try and make nice. ” [1400] The Liberal member before me who spoke said, re - peating a phrase that we hear a lot every four years from the B.C. Liberals: “We have to save up so that we can spend later. ” Let’s just break that down a little bit. They say that when they deliver a budget that looks like they’re going to be spending on British Columbians. But what happens right after the election? Well, they go and they cut. They cut services. Meanwhile, they jack up fees for British Columbians.

British Columbia DebatesTuesday, February 28, 2017 13919 What they’ve done with health care services is just one of the best examples of that. We’ve seen a reduction in services. Nine in ten seniors residential care homes aren’t meeting minimum standards, yet MSP premiums have gone up for the last 16 years. It was this government — it was this Premier — that doubled them. That’s what their legacy actually is. But they want you to forget that, right? They want to pretend that that never happened and that’s not what they really do after an election. They want to have everybody just forget that they’ve hiked MSP .

They want to forget the fights that they’ve picked with teachers for over a decade. They want everybody to for - get that the only reason why we’re seeing funding in - creases in this budget is because of decades-long court cases, where teachers refused to back down for our chil- dren’s well-being and the public education system that they deserve. Because they refused to back down, we’re finally seeing an appropriate investment into public education — not because they valued it but because the courts told them that they had to do it. That’s what they want people to forget.

They want everybody to just think that: “Oh, we value public education, really. Honestly, as B.C. Liberals, we value public education. ” They want everybody to think that, but the reality is that no one is going to forget because so many of them were at rallies, were at demonstrations. So many of them have taken their kids to school for the last 12 years and have known that their children weren’t getting all the sup- ports that they needed, that they weren’t getting all the attention they needed to meet their full potential. Things in our classrooms were not the best they could possibly be.

We’ve seen schools close. That’s the reality. That’s the legacy of this government. What else have we seen in the last 16 years? I already mentioned about MSP premiums being hiked — more than doubled since 2001. We’ve seen hydro rates go up year after year after year. ICBC rates go up year after year after year. All that included — hydro, MSP , car insur - ance…. On average, families are paying an extra $1,000 a year for these three things than they were before the Liberals became government in 2001. People are pay - ing more, and they just want everybody to forget about it.

That’s what they want to do with their lofty promises. Why would anybody trust them now, after 16 years? Why would anybody trust them now — people who have been on the front lines of not getting the services that they deserve, people who have been at these rallies, who have been protesting, who have been writing letters, who have been sending emails, who’ve been tweeting, who’ve been facebooking, who have been all over social media, who have been on the front steps of this building, who have been in the galleries here? The thing is, as much as this government wants them all to forget, I don’t think they will.

We have a real afford- ability crisis on our hands in this province, where people are struggling more and more. While many people are now struggling more and more just to pay the bills at the end of the month, some people aren’t even able to pay those bills anymore. Food bank use is way up, way up. In fact, there’s an

article from CBC. The headline reads: “Food Bank Use in B.C. at an All-Time High. ” [1405] Now, I know that the members opposite would love that this headline came from their favourite decade of the 1990s, but it actually doesn’t. It comes from November 14, 2016. Food bank use is at an all-time high in B.C. under their watch. That’s the result. That’s the legacy of this gov- ernment’s budgets. That’s the legacy of how they govern this province, that 103,400 people are receiving assistance from Canada’s food banks in B.C.

Now, I think what’s important to note is there are also numerous other food programs around the province that are not captured in this count. I myself was the manager for the Nelson Food Cupboard from 2003 to 2005. We were not part of the B.C. food banks umbrella. We were serving 1,000 people every month — 1,000 people every month. The entire West Kootenay population is 55,000. We were serving 1,000 people every month, and 25 per - cent of them were children, when I was there. Has that number gone down? Has that percentage gone down? No, it’s gone up. Nowadays, 32 percent of food bank users are children.

That’s the legacy of these B.C. budgets. That’s what this government has delivered on. Increased food bank usage in this province, most notably by children, because poverty has gone up. When the middle class is squeezed more and more, more of them drop off and start living in poverty and start having to use food banks. Or even worse, they lose their homes. What has happened in this province under this government? Homelessness has gone up 26 percent every year in Vancouver. I remember that when I was working in my com - munity as the coordinator for the Nelson Committee on Homelessness, it was a new thing.

People hadn’t really understood that homelessness had existed in their part of the world. It was a new phenomenon. Most people were always able to access housing. But what was happen- ing was that as costs were going up, people were falling through the cracks. There was more demand for social housing than there was supply. There’s a variety of reasons for that, but one of the big- gest reasons is that is this government deprioritized so - cial housing. It focused a lot on the Lower Mainland and forgot about the rest of British Columbia.

We’ve see some increases in units over the years, but not enough to ac - tually maintain an affordable housing market, because the number of social housing units actually impacts the overall affordability of the private market too. Sadly enough, because this government hasn’t priori- tized social housing, that’s been part of the reason why we have an affordability crisis right now in housing. What

British Columbia Debates13920 Tuesday, February 28, 2017 is the result? More people end up homeless, and then we have these huge numbers in Vancouver. This is about ten years ago that I was a coordinator for the Nelson Committee on Homelessness. Bring us to to- day. Homelessness isn’t a new phenomenon that people aren’t too sure what to do about. People know what the solutions are. They know that affordable housing is the solution, not tent cities. Y et tent cities seem to be what we have. What has been counted in the Lower Mainland alone is 70 homeless camps — 70 camps.

Y ou’ d think: “Oh, well that wouldn’t happen maybe outside the Lower Mainland. This is just an urban issue. ” It’s spreading to the suburbs, and it’s been in my community for the last ten years. We all know where people who are homeless go to camp. We all know where they are just down the railroad tracks. They didn’t used to be there; 16 years ago they weren’t there. But they’re there every year, all year long. It started off with just the summer, and now it’s all year long. That’s the reality of 16 years of this government’s budget. People are worse off. [1410] I thought it was really interesting.

Those are the num- bers that we see as homelessness is increasing. Food bank usage is way up. We’re seeing an increase of home- lessness camps. While some people can’t even get their basic needs met, our Premier has public dollars for a lawyer to defend her getting a $300,000 stipend from her party for her fundraising activities. She’s got money from the public purse to pay for her lawyer, but some - how, we don’t have money for some of the basics that we need in classrooms. We don’t have money for housing.

We don’t have money to ensure that there are enough social workers on the front lines for kids like Alex Gervais, but let’s make sure that the Premier’s stipend is defended. Talk about mixed-up priorities. It shows who this government is really working for. They’re working for the wealthy and well connected. There’s no doubt about it. That’s who they’re working for. The kids who get shut out in the cold for the last two years in Maple Ridge because Iron Horse Youth Safe House is closed, because this government wouldn’t give it a dime, are not who this government is working for. That’s just not okay.

One of the things I noted in the budget is something that I’ve been working on the last four years, and that’s all the clawbacks that people with disabilities and people on income assistance experience from this government. What this government has been doing in each one of their budgets over several years — and they continue to do this in this budget as well — is treat people on income assistance as though they’re a revenue source.

These are some of the most vulnerable people, the poorest people in our society, and somehow they’re more of a revenue source than the top 2 percent, who get a billion-dollar tax break. But if you’re on disability, and you have a child — you’re a single parent — and you’re getting child support from the non-custodial parent, this government was taking away that child support. If it wasn’t for single par- ents coming forward to this place, to this building here in Victoria, and speaking up for themselves, that would never have changed.

I’ve got to say that I will thank the government for ac- tually listening to the single moms who came here and the dads who came here and the children who came here to speak out for their rights to their child support. But that’s how things happen in this province right now. Y ou have to fight tooth and nail with this government to keep $120-$300 a month that’s supposed to go to feeding your kid. That’s how things are going, and that’s not okay. From there, once the single parents were able to keep their child support, we learned about a lot of different clawbacks. It was really amazing how many there were.

One of the things that we brought up in this Legislature, one of those clawbacks that we brought forward in this Legislature following the end of the child support claw - back, was the maternity and parental leave. Again, this is parents calling me up, telling me what was going on in their lives and saying: “This is wrong. I’ve been working. I have a disability, and I’ve been working. I’m allowed to keep my earnings under the earnings exemp- tion. But I’m about to have a child, and I’m not allowed to keep my maternity and parental leave right when I need it the most.

I have a new little one in my life. ” They require all kinds of things. They need bottles, diapers, bibs, cribs. [1415] I know that one little one that I was looking after loved her bouncy chair. All these things cost money. At a time when these parents, who were already struggling to make ends meet, needed money the most, this government was taking it away. It made no sense. This was an extra tax on poor, young, new parents, and they started to speak out. One, Jessica Alford…. I just admire her so much. She knew that going to the Human Rights Tribunal was risky for her and her family.

She knew that they might not even hear her case. But most importantly, she knew that even if her case did get heard and was found in favour of her, it wouldn’t impact her anyway because she already had to go back to work. Her maternity and parental leave were over. She knew that she personally wouldn’t benefit at all by speaking out, but she did it anyway, because it was the right thing to do. She is a force to be reckoned with, because she wouldn’t back down.

I’m really glad that she didn’t, because this government — I will commend them for actually listen - ing, once again — ended the maternity and parental leave clawback as well. But this is another story of a family who’s struggling, who’s stressed out financially, and they have to fight. They have to fight for their $500 a month in EI benefits for maternity and parental leave from this government. They have to fight for it.

British Columbia DebatesTuesday, February 28, 2017 13921 This isn’t part of a poverty reduction plan. I mean, B.C. is the only province in the entire country that doesn’t have one, for some reason. Oh, I know that reason: be - cause they’re too busy listening to their wealthy and well-connected friends and too busy playing partisan politics to actually do the right thing when it comes to reducing poverty. Plans work. We’ve seen that all over the country. We’ve seen that in other jurisdictions around the world. But no, no. They put their head in the sand on that.

But I digress there, because the point of the story is that we have people coming forward. They have to fight tooth and nail with this government for a few hundred extra dollars a month — a few hundred dollars that they are entitled to, that is theirs by right. Meanwhile, the rich- est 2 percent get a $2 billion tax cut, and they don’t even have to ask. Well, that’s just completely the definition of injustice in this province. Why is it like that, though? Why is this the legacy of this government’s budget? Why is that what they’ve been doing for the last 16 years?

Well, I think something that’s been said in this House kind of highlights that. We have to understand how they view the world — why people living in poverty are so deprioritized, why they’re not even an issue for this government. Y ou know, I hate to say this quote, but I think we have to talk about it a little bit, because it really offended a lot of people in British Columbia. It offended me as well.

It’s when the Minister for Housing got up and, in a bit of a rant, dropped this sentence: “We have to remember that a single person on social assistance in British Columbia gets double the annual income of a person in the Third World. ” This statement is incredibly dismissive of the real lived experiences that happen here in British Columbia of people struggling just to feed themselves. It shows a real lack of understanding of what’s happening for people around this province.

The minister was going on about a trip that he had taken to Costa Rica and Nicaragua and, from there, seemed to have an understanding of poverty and how much worse it is there, so we should all just be grateful here in British Columbia. Interjection. M. Mungall: I’ll let the Minister for Housing know that I’ve read and re-read the Hansard transcript of his little rant. I’ve even gone on to the video and taken a look at it. I mean, it’s there in black and white — what he said. [1420] People were listening at home, and they were deeply offended by it. I was offended, because I’ve also travelled to Nicaragua.

I’ve travelled to Costa Rica. I’ve back - packed through Cuba, through Peru. I lived in Zambia and worked there. I did part of my masters program in Uganda, where I did analysis of programs that were as - sisting development in the place where AIDS was first diagnosed on that continent, and we know that AIDS is a pandemic in Africa. I was an election observer in rural Ukraine. I have travelled extensively throughout Southeast Asia and was just recently on a volunteer pro- ject doing community economic development in north- ern Thailand. I’ve seen poverty all over the world.

As I mentioned, I ran a food bank in Nelson, here in British Columbia. I was the coordinator for the Nelson Committee on Homelessness. I was also a coordinator for a women’s microfinance organization in Nelson. I’ve seen poverty all over the world, and to compare, as though we should be grateful because it’s not as bad here in B.C. as it is in other parts of the world, is abso - lutely atrocious. Interjection. M. Mungall: I will read my quote again for the minis- ter. He seems to be confused.

What he said is: “We have to remember that a single person on social assistance in British Columbia gets double the annual income of a person in the Third World. ” That’s what he said. As I mentioned…. Interjection. M. Mungall: He keeps telling me to read the rest. I mentioned that I did. I read it over and over and over again. I suggest he go back and do the same. We all have access to actual paper copies of Hansard right here in this chamber, but it’s also available on line. He’s more than welcome to go back and read the words that he said if he doesn’t remember them. But the point is…. Interjection. M.

Mungall: I did read the whole thing. I don’t know how many times I need to tell the minister that. Deputy Speaker: Minister, the member has the floor. Please continue. M. Mungall: Thank you very much, hon. Speaker. My point is that when you make these types of state - ments, it really is indicative of your world view and why you may not value or prioritize people living in poverty here in British Columbia or why you might not value or prioritize preventing that poverty from actually happening. I see the green light has already gone on, and I could go on and on about this budget.

The issue around MSP , for example, and that it’s a maybe situation. “Only if you apply, maybe you’ll ac - tually see a cut to MSP . ” Do you know what I think is a

British Columbia Debates13922 Tuesday, February 28, 2017 better idea? Let’s just eliminate MSP right now. That’s the type of thing that British Columbians want to see. That’s the type of investment, that’s the type of money in their pocket that they actually want to see. They want to see some justice, they want to see some fairness, and they want to see a budget that’s actually based on what British Columbians need.

They want to see a budget that’s going to build this province, that’s not just going to try to make them forget everything that has gone on in the last 16 years — the 16 years of neglect by this government that has seen poverty rise in this province, that has seen food bank use rise in this province, that has seen a housing affordability crisis in this province. That’s the legacy of the B.C. Liberals. That’s the leg - acy of this Premier. It’s time that British Columbians got something better from this government. They will have their chance to get something better in B.C., no doubt about it.

That opportunity is right around the corner. Point of Privilege (Reservation of Right) Hon. R. Coleman: Since this is my first opportunity, I would like to state a matter of personal privilege relative to the comments of the member that just spoke. Debate Continued Hon. T. Stone: I certainly am honoured to stand and take my place in the debate on Budget 2017. [1425] Listening to the members opposite, one wonders what province they’re actually talking about. It’s like a parallel universe. Then I remember their close cousins in Alberta. That might be the province that they’re talking about, all this doom and gloom.

I rise in support of British Columbia’s fifth consecu - tive balanced budget, and I do so on behalf of the hard- working men and women of Kamloops–South Thompson, a constituency that I have been so proud to represent for the last 3½ years. This is a budget that is focused on jobs, tax cuts and strategic investments in the services that people need. It’s a budget that reflects B.C. ’s strong and diverse, growing economy. It’s a budget that builds upon the fiscal foundation we’ve built in our province and for which our province is admired across Canada.

It is a good time, a really good time, to be in British Columbia, the strongest and top-ranked economy in the country. We are a bright spot in Canada. Last year’s growth rate, at close to 3 percent, led the nation. We’re expected to continue to lead the nation in the years ahead with growth double the Canadian average. We have been a back-to-back leader in growth for several years, the first time since 1961.

During the last five years — since 2011, since our Premier launched the B.C. jobs plan — 202,000 jobs have been created for British Columbians in every corner of our province, and 81 percent of those jobs have been full- time. B.C. ’s unemployment rate is the lowest in Canada, the first time since 1976. A record 2.4 million British Columbians are working. And 60,000 people have ac - tually moved into the province of British Columbia over the last year alone. On trade diversity, ten years ago 80 percent of our ex- ports went to the United States.

Today that number is around 55 percent, with about 40 percent of our exports going to Asia. There has been tremendous diversifica - tion of our economy, which is really important when the United States enters a downturn or when Asia enters a downturn. I’m very proud of the fact that our government has negotiated settlements with 99 percent of the public service, including the longest period of labour peace in our schools, at six years. We have signed approximately 485 economic and reconciliation agreements with First Nations in all corners of the province. We’re poised to eliminate B.C. ’s operating debt soon.

This will be the first time that British Columbia has not had an operating debt since 1975. We have one of the lowest debt-to-GDP ratios in the country, at 16.1 percent. Contrast that with other jurisdictions. Contrast that with Ontario’s at 40.3 percent or Quebec’s at 48.1 percent or the Canadian debt-to-GDP ratio of 31.8 percent. Let’s talk about the Alberta government. The NDP gov- ernment in Alberta will soon have a higher debt-to-GDP than British Columbia will, and they had no debts only a number of years ago. We do still borrow, but we borrow to build.

And build- ing we are: $13.7 billion over the next three years for schools, hospitals, universities, roads, bridges; an addi - tional $10 billion if you include the self-supporting pro- jects — the George Massey Tunnel replacement and Site C. With respect to roads and transportation, I’m very proud of the fact that we’re going to spend about $4.5 bil- lion over the next three years on transportation projects all across our province. That $4.5 billion spend over three years is up from the $2.8 billion spend over three years that was provided for in last year’s budget.

We continue to be the most competitive tax jurisdic - tion in Canada as well. This is part of British Columbia’s success, with the lowest personal income taxes on the first $125,000 of income anywhere in Canada. To put this in perspective, if you were in Ontario, you would pay approximately $2,200 more in personal income tax. If you were in Quebec, you would pay over $8,000 more in personal income tax. Of course, we have amongst the most competitive corporate and small business taxes in the country as well with this budget, including our small business tax rate reduction from 2.5 percent to 2 percent.

That is good for our economy. We’re the only province to get an A grade from the CFIB for success at cutting red tape, and small business

British Columbia DebatesTuesday, February 28, 2017 13923 confidence is at or near the top here in British Columbia when you compare it with all other provinces. [1430] Of course, British Columbians are very proud of the fact that we are the only province with a triple-A credit rating. This saves British Columbians hundreds of mil - lions of dollars in reduced interest payments, which frees up resources for services that British Columbians need. It’s about providing less money to bankers and bondhold- ers and more investments for British Columbians.

Now, let’s contrast that with what we know we would get from the opposition. This is a group, the opposition, that was responsible for eight consecutive deficits in the 1990s. Does everyone remember the NDP’s fudge-it budget which left British Columbians with a structural deficit of $3.8 billion back in 2001? How about debt ser- vicing. Do you remember that? It’s a terrible hangover that British Columbians have. Debt-servicing costs in - creased 60 percent, and the debt-to-GDP rose to 24 per- cent under the NDP . There were six credit downgrades under the NDP .

We had the weakest export growth of any province and the highest unemployment across western Canada under the NDP , and 50,000 people left our province in the last four years of the NDP government. In fact, the only compan- ies that were doing well in the late 1990s were moving companies, so many British Columbians were leaving their home province.

It’s also useful to mention just how proud British Columbians were that day when the Premier of the day — NDP Premier Glen Clark, who was chased from office under a cloud of endless scandals — was awarded the dis- tinction of Business Person of the Y ear from the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. The current NDP …. Interjections. Hon. T. Stone: I’m touching some nerves on the other side, folks. I’m getting under their skin a little bit here. It must be resonating. It must be hitting home. Interjections. Deputy Speaker: Members. Interjection. Hon. T. Stone: That’s fine, hon. Member. That’s fine.

The current NDP hasn’t changed much at all. The cur- rent NDP leader and his MLAs and those that are seek - ing election with the NDP continue to espouse policies which are really all about reckless spending and increas- ing taxes and building massive amounts of debt. Balanced budgets. The NDP leader says: “Maybe not. ” He says: “Politics is changing, and the focus on the annual budget is changing. ” A balanced budget may not be part of the NDP election program. Oh, that’s a big surprise.

On how we’ d pay for $10-a-day daycare or the billions of promises that the NDP have made and not costed, he says: “How’s this going to be paid for? It starts with a tax investment. ” Oh, that’s a big surprise, coming from the NDP . Make no mistake about it. The NDP’s reck - less spending can only be achieved by increasing taxes or running deficits. We’ d probably get both if there were an NDP government, and that means more debt on the shoulders of our kids and our grandkids. [R. Lee in the chair.] Now, beyond the financial attributes, why is sound fi- nancial management so important? The answer is quite simple.

It’s one that is completely unknown to the mem- bers opposite. The reason you balance your budget, the reason you respect the taxpayers’ dollars is because of what it enables you to do. What it enables you to do is it enables you to invest in people. It enables you to invest in the services that people need. It enables you to look after your communities, your families and your loved ones. How do we go about doing that?

The first major theme of this budget — in fact, it’s been an overriding theme of our economic policy in this province for a number of years now — is to continue to be laser-focused on cre - ating good-paying, family-supporting jobs across the economy and in communities across British Columbia. That’s where the B.C. tech strategy and the $85 million included in the budget comes in. That’s why the rural dividend, the $25 million investment there, is so import- ant.

That’s why it’s good news that PST on electricity for commercial customers will be phased out, 50 percent now and the balance eliminated entirely by April 2019. There’s lots of chirping from the other side. I know that talking about jobs is a touchy subject for the members op- posite. We know why they’re sensitive, and that’s because the NDP’s record on jobs is abysmal. It is abysmal. B.C. was one of the worst-performing jurisdictions when the NDP last had a chance to govern in this province. [1435] Where is the NDP’s job plan today? It’s kind of like looking for Waldo. Where is the NDP’s job plan?

Oh, I know where it is. It’s to jack up the minimum wage fast- er than small business can sustain it, and it’s to say no to every single job-creating project in the province of British Columbia. All we’ve seen from the NDP in the form of a jobs plan is no to this, no to that, no to this, no to that. Every opportunity that the members opposite have had to embrace economic development, to get behind jobs in this province — they have said no. Take Kinder Morgan as an example.

The Leader of the Opposition ap- parently was opposed at one point, and then he was open- minded about it and willing to entertain it, and then he

British Columbia Debates13924 Tuesday, February 28, 2017 was opposed again. I think that’s where they are today, but who really knows. Let’s talk about LNG, the $20 billion that’s already been invested in this industry across British Columbia, the fact that we already have a final investment decision with Woodfibre down in Squamish. Let’s talk about the fact that this industry has the potential to be a genera - tional game changer for British Columbians. Let’s talk about the fact that the members opposite actually signed a letter opposing Pacific NorthWest LNG. They actually opposed fracking.

They oppose the creation of tens of thousands of jobs in this particular industry. Or let’s talk about Site C. The members opposite have had an opportunity to get behind a clean, affordable, re- liable source of power in this province that will create thousands of jobs and provide energy security for this province for another hundred years, and what is their answer? What is their answer? No. Their answer is a re - sounding no — no to the project but, more importantly, no to the jobs that are created with that project.

They had said no to every major infrastructure project that we have advanced in this province, whether that’s the Port Mann Bridge, the South Fraser Perimeter Road, Sea to Sky, Evergreen, Trans-Canada. On and on and on the list goes. No, no, no from the members opposite. On technology, they’ve made clear that they would kill our tech strategy. Not that the tech strategy isn’t work - ing well: we now have over 100,000 jobs, 100,000 British Columbians working in the technology sector. The mem- bers opposite…. Interjections. Deputy Speaker: Members. Members. Members. Hon. T. Stone: Wow. Deputy Speaker: Members.

Members. Members. Address it through the Chair, please. Hon. T. Stone: They have said they would kill the strategy. The first thing that they would do to kill the strategy is to raise personal income taxes. The worst thing you could possibly do to stifle growth in the tech sector would be to increase personal income taxes, and that’s what the members opposite have said they intend on doing. How about the forest industry. I’m proud of the fact that $13 billion of B.C. forest products were exported in 2015. That’s about 35 percent of all goods exported from British Columbia.

I’m proud of the fact that this budget provides for the resources that we are going to need to continue to assist the industry in dealing with the head - winds that are coming at it, whether it’s with respect to fibre supply or whether it’s with respect to the protection- ist winds coming from the United States. The NDP sits here and lectures us day in, day out on the forest industry, but they don’t remind British Columbians that they did nothing in the ’90s to open up new markets for British Columbia’s forest industry. They did nothing, absolutely nothing.

They don’t point out that big day in 1996 when the NDP Premier of the day ordered the forest industry to create 21,000 new jobs over five years or lose their timber-cutting rights. What was the result of that initiative? Hon. Speaker, 12,000 jobs were lost across British Columbia. Or how about mining. The 30,000 direct jobs in the mining sector is really a comeback story in British Columbia after coming into government in 2001, after the policies of the members opposite. The average salary in the mining sector is $120,000.

There have been five new mines that have opened since 2011, including New Afton, adjacent to my community in Kamloops. There are more mines under construction and/or permitted. There are nine others that have been approved for expansion. [1440] How did the mining sector fare the last time the mem- bers opposite were in office? Not very well. I believe for every mine that opened up in British Columbia in the ’90s, there were two that closed. Mineral exploration and development activity has hit an all-time low. British Columbia, under the NDP , was known worldwide for its anti-mining tax and regulatory policies.

Bottom line is you can’t say yes to workers, you can’t say yes to jobs, but say no to the work that these workers would actually do. And they say no to every project that would create those jobs. Interjection. Hon. T. Stone: Y es, all the demovictions that the city of Burnaby has been responsible for. That’s right. The second theme of this budget I’m very proud of is with respect to taxes and the decision that was taken to leave more money in British Columbians’ pockets. This is a fundamental difference between our view of the world and the NDP’s view of the world.

We actual - ly happen to believe that British Columbians are better positioned to make decisions about how to spend their money, not government. That’s why I’m proud of the fact that we have the low- est personal income taxes up to $125,000 in the country. That’s why I’m proud of the competitiveness of our small business and our corporate tax rates, which have helped fuel economic growth in this province. That’s why I’m proud that we’re going to leave almost $1 billion in the pockets of British Columbians with the 50 percent reduc- tion in MSP premiums, as provided for in this budget.

We are resolved to eliminate MSP premiums, and this measure is an important first step. Now, prior to Budget 2017, two million British Columbians paid no MSP , in- cluding all children. With Budget 2017, an additional

British Columbia DebatesTuesday, February 28, 2017 13925 two million British Columbians will pay 50 percent less for their premiums. Now, again, it’s hard to pinpoint the NDP’s view of the world on this. We know that when it comes to taxes gen- erally, the NDP have never met a tax hike they don’t like. We saw that through the 1990s. They have hinted already, as we lead up to this next election, of their appreciation for and their interest in tax increases. The tax burden in- creased dramatically under the NDP . We were one of the highest-taxed jurisdictions in all of Canada under the NDP .

Take-home pay dropped almost 9 percent under the NDP as a result of that. How about the carbon tax — the carbon tax which they voted against and they campaigned against? Suddenly, now they’re in favour of it, but they want us to have one of the highest carbon taxes in the country. They want to, essentially, undermine the competitiveness of industry in British Columbia, which would cost thousands of jobs. I’ll tell you, hon. Speaker. I’m proud of the leadership position that we have taken in British Columbia with the carbon tax.

It’s one thing to be at the front of the parade; it’s another thing to be in a parade that no one else is in with you. Their plan on the carbon tax — to increase it dramatically, all the while not ensuring that in doing so, we maintain our competitiveness in British Columbia — will cost tens of thousands of jobs. On MSP , the Leader of the Opposition and the NDP have said, apparently, that they will move MSP into British Columbians’ income tax returns. Essentially, the NDP position on the MSP is to hide it, to bury it in in - come tax. That’s a stark contrast to our plan to reduce pre- miums by 50 percent.

Essentially, they’re not prepared to give people back their hard-earned money. Of course, we know that taxes will be a battle line between our government and the NDP . We’ve heard as much from the members opposite. The member for Victoria–Swan Lake said only days ago: “We’re going to have to fight tax cuts. ” So there we are. The contrast is very clear. The third theme in this budget is the investments that we’re making in the services that people need, making sure that government is there for British Columbians, especially families and the most vulnerable.

The budget includes $3.8 billion more over three years for strategic investments and services, plus an additional $800 million more for health and $147 million more for mental health. [1445] We are training more doctors, more nurses and more nurse practitioners than ever before in British Columbia. The budget provides for billions in investment to expand hospitals, like the $417 million expansion of the new pa- tient care tower at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops. And British Columbia continues to have amongst the best health care outcomes in the country. Again, where were the NDP on health care in the 1990s?

The NDP did not build…. Interjections. Hon. T. Stone: Listen for it. I know the hon. member doesn’t like to face the facts, but the NDP did not build a new hospital in ten years. They didn’t build a new hospi- tal anywhere in British Columbia in ten years. They eliminated 1,600 full-time nursing positions across British Columbia. The NDP closed 3,500 hos - pital beds in British Columbia through the 1990s. The per-capita number of long-term-care beds for seniors actually fell by 18 percent in the last four years.

I can say, coming from Kamloops, that not a single new long-term- care bed was opened in Kamloops in the entire decade of the 1990s. To compound that, there were no net new medical school spaces created under the NDP . There were 120 first-year medical training spaces in 1991. There were 120 first-year medical training spaces in 2001. Y et they stand in this House day in, day out and criticize the gov- ernment of British Columbia for the investments that we have made — record levels of investment year over year in health care. I’m proud of those investments. How about the post-secondary sector?

A budget that provides for $1.8 billion, about $5 million per day. That’s up 45 percent since 2001. We’ve added 32,000 seats at institutions all across British Columbia. We’ve created numerous new universities, including Thompson Rivers University up in Kamloops. Over the next three years, we will also invest another $95 million in capital across B.C. ’s post-secondary institutions — institutions like North Island College in Campbell River or the $30 million in - dustrial training and trades building up in Kamloops.

Of course, one of the most significant challenges we had when we came into government in 2001 was to ad - dress the reality that the post-secondary system had been starved of resources under the NDP . They don’t want to talk about that. They don’t want to talk about the fact that they froze tuition, and all the while, they didn’t actually put additional resources in to make up the gap. What was the result of that? There were fewer classes. There were fewer seats. There were long wait-lists. There was outdated equipment.

British Columbians don’t want to go back to those days when it comes to post-secondary education. I think they’re proud of the investments that our government has made. How about affordable housing? We’re investing $920 million for 5,300 rental units. We have created 3½ times more affordable housing units than the NDP ever did — 3½ times and 24,000 to date versus 6,500 or so under the NDP . It’s hard to figure out where the NDP , again, are on the issue of affordable housing.

When it comes to the 15 per- cent foreign buyers tax, they stand in this House and they vote in favour of it, and then they go out and tell British Columbians that they oppose it. Again, talking out of both sides of their mouth.

British Columbia Debates13926 Tuesday, February 28, 2017 The B.C. HOME partnership program, which I’m very proud of — $703 million in loans for 42,000 first-time homebuyers. We also increased the threshold of the first- time homebuyers program exemption to $500,000 from $475,000. I’m very proud of the fact that this budget includes an additional $800 million to increase the supports for families and the most vulnerable. We often talk about the single-parent employment initiative, saying that single parents on income assistance….

To help them get off that assistance, it covers costs like transportation, child care costs, up to 12 months funded training for in-demand jobs, health supplements, and so forth. This very strategic investment has enabled 4,400 British Columbians to register for this program, to en - gage in the training. To date, over 800 have completed the training and are gainfully employed, paying taxes. They’re off assistance.

They look their kids in the eyes every day now and say: “This is what it looks like when you work hard and your government gives you a hand up. ” How about the $147 million to reduce wait-lists and bolster children and youth programs contained in the budget? Or the additional 2,000 child care spaces on top of the 4,300 spaces that we’ve created since 2014? [1450] The budget includes $250 million more to support adults in need, $135 million for community living ser - vices, $199 million more for persons with disabilities and an overall increase in investments for B.C. Transit ser - vices across the province.

This is all good stuff, and these are details that you don’t hear the opposition mention in their comments to the budget. Now, this budget also provides for record levels of in- vestment in infrastructure — $13.7 billion over the next three years across government. As taxpayer-supported projects, transportation will see an additional $4.5 bil - lion invested. We will have invested in transportation, very, very soon, over $20 billion since 2001 — in every facet of transportation and in all corners of the province.

Of course, we’re moving forward with the Site C project, and we’re very proud of the George Massey Tunnel re - placement project as well. This record level of infrastructure spend is enabling us to build dozens of new schools and new hospitals across B.C. It’s enabling us to move forward with capital pro - jects at universities and colleges across B.C. It’s enabling us to move forward with critical transportation invest - ments, like the Broadway and Surrey rapid transit lines or the George Massey Tunnel replacement. Or how about six-laning from Langley all the way out to Abbotsford?

How about the $200 million that’s being invested in inter- changes to uncork the congestion in North Vancouver? How about continuing to four-lane from Kamloops to the Alberta border, like the recent $469 million investment we announced with our federal partners in Kicking Horse Canyon, phase 4, and Donald to Forde four-laning? Or the McKenzie interchange right here in greater Victoria, which was in the original scope of the Island Highway. The NDP had to take it out because they were so grossly over budget on that project. We’re getting on with that project.

We’re also getting projects done with respect to air - ports, with respect to cycling, with respect to ports, with respect to ferries all across British Columbia. Now, we know what the NDP’s position is on infra - structure, at least the projects that we have advanced. I mean, they continue to say no. They said no to Site C, no to George Massey. They would drive a stake through the heart of LNG if they were given an opportunity. They’ d kill min- ing project after mining project across British Columbia, and for the third time in their party’s history, they would essentially kill the mining industry.

They would destroy the thousands of jobs that come from these projects. Interjections. Hon. T. Stone: I’m glad that the members opposite are laughing, because British Columbians are going to have the last laugh, and that’s not going to be elect the mem- bers opposite. It is a great time to be British Columbian. We have the strongest economy in the country. Whether forestry, tourism, tech or construction, every single one of these jobs represents a paycheque that’s helping to provide for a family, giving them an opportunity to achieve the life they want and to look after the people they love.

Now, I go to work every day to be part of a team that’s focused on creating jobs and investing in these oppor - tunities for British Columbians. Y ou do that by balancing your budget, keeping taxes down and generally getting government out of your way. That said, balancing your budgets and worrying about triple-A credit ratings are the means to the end. The end is to have that strong financial foundation because of what it enables you to do, and that’s invest in people. This budget does that. Our government continues to do that. British Columbians have worked very hard to make this happen.

But there is more to do. There is more to fight for. There is more to accomplish with British Columbians. The people of B.C. want their government to keep the momentum governing and to continue to deliver strong leadership and proven results. At the end of the day, we will continue to grow our economy, create opportunity and jobs across B.C. and help folks look after their fam - ilies and achieve their dreams. This is all about putting British Columbians first. It is my privilege to represent the people of Kamloops– South Thompson, and it is my privilege to stand today in support of Budget 2017. J.

Rice: It’s very interesting that in that elaborate and dramatic speech from the Transportation Minister that he not once mentioned B.C. Ferries in his speech.

British Columbia DebatesTuesday, February 28, 2017 13927 I’ d like to start out by just acknowledging that it’s been a wonderful almost four years being the MLA for North Coast and representing the many communities that make up my riding. It’s been a challenge, and it’s been an hon- our, and it’s been so rewarding. [1455] I’ d like to talk about the budget, the forget-everything budget. This government wants us to forget, well, their track record for the last 16 years. They want you to for - get that this Premier has been working at the top while making life worse for ordinary families.

She wants families to forget that her government doubled MSP premiums. Only now, in the lead-up to this election, she is saying: “Oh, we’re going to undo all of that. ” She wants people to forget that their hydro bills and their car insurance are still going up, forget about our housing costs that are skyrocketing, that there’s a crisis in child care affordability, and forget that B.C. has the worst wage growth in Canada. She wants the people of Bella Coola and the central coast to forget that they cancelled their ferry and they starved out coastal communities.

The Premier wants the municipality of Prince Rupert to forget — while they’re facing over $300 million in infrastructure deficits, includ- ing threats to our water supply — that they are not in - cluded in any of these LNG funding agreements. Nothing to buffer any increase in pressure from the industry that that would bring to our community. Is it because they ac- tually don’t think that the industry will come to fruition? She wants you to forget that families are paying $1,000 a year more for just Hydro, car insurance and MSP pre- miums since she became Premier.

She wants people to forget that she took a second salary of $300,000 from her wealthy friends and gave a $1 billion tax break to the top 2 percent of income-earners. The only thing this Premier cares about is winning the next election. After years of neglect, why would anyone believe that she’s go- ing to change now? There’s nothing in this budget for senior citizens, nothing in the forget-everything budget; 91 percent of publicly funded residential care homes fail to meet the minimum staffing benchmarks. Last year it was 88 per - cent, and that was atrocious then. Now it’s worse.

We have the second-worst wait-lists for hip and knee replacement surgeries in Canada. Nothing for knees and hips in this forget-everything budget. More concerning is the lack of specific mention of long-term fixes to prob- lems with surgery wait times, which for hip and knee re- placements, like I said, are second worst. In a pre-election budget, the lack of specifics of these funding increases…. The increase to the health budget represents 78 percent of the increases to the overall prov- incial budget.

I’m guessing we’ll see a number of an - nouncements in the coming weeks while the government parcels out spending increases for political gain — those of their choosing. “Why would we mention it in the budget?” It’s worth pointing out that the word “senior” doesn’t even appear in the budget speech, nor does the word “surgery. ” The Premier is now also saying she will fix mental health and addictions that her and her team have neglect- ed for a greater part of a decade. Weeks ahead of a prov- incial election she’s now going to fix it, and seven years into the B.C.

Liberals’ ten-year mental health and addic- tion plan for the province, a plan which has left children and adults struggling with debilitating addictions and mental health problems without the immediate access to treatment that they need. People have suffered, and now it’s election time and, oops, they suddenly care about people with mental health and addictions. I don’t think many people are going to forget that de- spite many warnings, this government was very slow to react to the fentanyl overdose crisis.

Going back to the residential care standards, the min- imum staffing requirement of 3.36 hours per resident per day dropped from an already-low 18 percent in 2016 to a paltry 9 percent in 2017. Despite that, there’s no mention in the budget for new funding or programs to address our seniors in long-term care facilities. [1500] In Acropolis Manor in Prince Rupert, the staff are burned out. Residents are waiting hours to be toileted.

The seniors that built this province are being woken up early in the morning, sitting there waiting for hours be - fore breakfast because there’s not enough time for the care aides to help them with their activities of daily living. Seniors are most likely to be impacted by the long wait- lists for hip and knee replacements and for cataract sur- geries, each of which is the second worst in Canada for their category. There is no specific mention of measures to address these shortfalls in this forget-everything budget.

A recent study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives showed that there’s available capacity at existing operating rooms in B.C. Eighteen percent of operating rooms in B.C. ’s public hospitals are not regu- larly staffed, and none of them have extended hours. Let’s talk about the MSP . It’s only a promise. The Premier wants people to forget that she and her govern- ment have more than doubled the MSP premium since 2001 — doubled it. Also, this won’t be implemented until after the election. After all of the broken promises, why would anyone believe the B.C. Liberals now?

B.C. renters are facing a housing affordability crisis, but this budget doesn’t offer any help. In fact, this govern- ment is cutting funding to the residential tenancy branch by 2 percent, at a time, in my area, where renovictions and other tenant issues are skyrocketing and people des- perately need help. Justice services received a modest increase in this budget, but there’s no concerted effort to address the on- going staff shortages and safety issues in corrections and

British Columbia Debates13928 Tuesday, February 28, 2017 sheriff services. The Liberals refuse to invest in the legal aid system they decimated over a decade ago or to prop- erly resource the courts and Crown prosecution service to protect against the staying of criminal cases. Debt. Debt is going way up. The total debt is forecast to go up by $11 billion over the three-year fiscal plan, from $66.7 billion as of March 31, 2017, to $77.7 billion as of March 31, 2020. Total government debt has doubled under the B.C. Liberals. It rose by $32.9 billion between 2001 and 2017.

In her six years as Premier, the Premier has added $21.5 bil- lion to the debt, the biggest increase in B.C. ’s history. And this is the government that prides itself on its fiscal record. Cuts to treaty funding. Budget 2017 cuts funding to treaties by 2 percent. This funding cut, together with the Premier undermining the treaty process altogether and refusing to appoint a chief treaty commissioner for nearly two years now, shows that this government isn’t working for First Nations engaged in the treaty process. MCFD, the Ministry of Children and Families.

After ignoring child and youth mental health services for years — for example, only 0.2 percent of an increase in last year’s budget to MCFD — the government is in - vesting $45 million now. That’s a 20 percent increase in this budget, the pre-election budget, the forget-every - thing budget. The increase should not make people forget the dam - age done by years of government neglect. People will not forget the children that have been seriously injured or who have died because of the shortage of front-line social workers in the Ministry of Children and Families. Child care.

A one-time $20 million earmark will go to help child care providers expand their spaces. The gov - ernment says this will create up to 2,000 new child care spaces. Well, B.C. has the second most expensive child care in the country. This will do nothing for affordability. This measure is only in response to our plan, the NDP’s plan, for universal $10-a-day child care. Small business tax cuts. The B.C. Liberals are reducing the small business tax from 2½ percent to 2 percent, ef - fective April 1. Interjections. Deputy Speaker: Members, order in the House. Continue. [1505] J.

Rice: Note that this is well short of what they prom- ised in the 2013 election, which was: “lowering the small business tax rate from 2.5 percent to 1.5 percent no later than the 2017-18 fiscal year, with at least a 0.5 reduction by 2015-2016. ” Not only did they do nothing last year in the 2015- 2016 fiscal budget; they have not reached the promised 1½ percent rate that they promised in the last election. It’s another example that proves you can’t believe anything this Premier says, anything that she promises. The elimination of the so-called direct operating debt will be slower because of this budget.

As recently as September 2016, they were saying it would be gone by 2019-2020, but that has been pushed back one year to 2020-2021. The direct operating debt is the measure the government uses to try to get us to forget about their “Debt-free B.C. ” Remember the “Debt-free B.C. ” bus that toured around the province? In the last election, they were telling us that B.C. would be debt-free within 15 years. But in the last four years, the total debt has gone up by $10.9 billion. The difference between direct operating debt, taxpayer- supported debt and Crown corporation self-supported debt is somewhat arbitrary.

Direct operating debt is vilified because it is incurred as a result of government maintaining social programming, such as health care and education, during economic downturns,

whereas capital-related and Crown corporation debt has been incurred for such projects as the northwest transmission line, the Vancouver Convention Centre, the Port Mann Bridge, countless IT boondoggles, the Site C dam — for the energy we don’t need — and so on. After 15 years of cuts and underfunding B.C. ’s public education system, the budget finally provides desperate- ly needed funding, but only because the Supreme Court of Canada forced the Premier to do so. We only need to look at Budget 2016 to see what this government really had planned for B.C. ’s kids and classrooms.

For instance, Budget 2017 boosts public school fund - ing to $5.4 billion for the next three years, while Budget 2016 planned to keep it flat at $4.7 billion. Furthermore, most budget areas do receive a funding boost in 2017, but this either flattens out or decreases in 2018-2019. Lastly, Budget 2017 sets out $320 million over three years to fund the agreement with the B.C. Teachers Federation but doesn’t include figures for the costs of the final settlement. The government says they plan to invest $2 billion over the next three years to maintain, replace, renovate or expand K-to-12 facilities.

This figure includes seismic upgrading and replacing of schools. The budget fails to mention that 35 percent of B.C. schools are still waiting for seismic upgrades, including schools like the Prince Rupert Middle School, which is sinking because it sits on a former garbage dump site, a landfill. The environment. There’s a lot of new funding for the environment in the forget-everything budget 2017, most of which is welcome news. But it comes after those very same programs were cut drastically by this government over the last 16 years. Cuts include…. In 2009, the government made a huge, 40 percent cut to B.C.

Parks auxiliary staff. During the same time period, the contingent of regular staff, legally designated as park rangers, had also been eroded, from

British Columbia DebatesTuesday, February 28, 2017 13929 88 positions in 2008 to 77 in 2016 — a further 11.4 per - cent reduction in staff. Between 2008 and 2016, the num- ber of full-time park rangers went from ten to seven — a 30 percent reduction. The staff cuts outlined above are in addition to cuts made to B.C. Parks staff before 2008. There are still a lot of unaddressed environmental issues, such as the village site of Namu on the central coast, in the territory of the Heiltsuk First Nations. It’s a rapidly decaying old cannery falling into the ocean.

Let’s not forget — and I don’t think the people of Bella Bella will forget — that the Premier comes to visit when royalty is in town but fails to even pick up the phone when a major oil spill is happening in the Heiltsuk ter - ritory, contaminating their clam beds and their food sources — not a phone call, not a visit then. I don’t think the people of Bella Bella will forget. [1510] LNG is barely mentioned in Budget 2017. It’s on page 50, but it wasn’t even included in the budget speech. And the prosperity fund? Even less so. There’s no revenue shown from LNG — no revenue.

No revenue was added to the prosperity fund from LNG. Is this Premier hoping that British Columbians will just forget her 2013 election promises? Let’s not forget that prosperity fund. The broken promises on the pros - perity fund include that it would contribute to making B.C. debt-free. In fact, under this government, British Columbians’ public debt has increased 45 percent — the largest increase under any one Premier in B.C. ’s history. Let’s not forget that the prosperity fund included $100 billion that would flow directly into the prosperity fund.

In fact, the Premier has taken $400 million from MSP premiums, which she took from average working people and put into her prosperity fund. And her real estate — don’t forget her real estate market to create a pre-election slush fund. That prosperity fund could eliminate the sales tax. That was another promise. In fact, the government took $6.5 billion from PST this year. Don’t forget that she said that the prosperity fund would accelerate the paydown of B.C. Hydro and pay for the Port Mann Bridge. In fact, B.C. Hydro’s debt has grown from $11.7 billion to $19.5 billion under this gov- ernment.

The B.C. government has significantly scaled back their LNG expectations. They want us to forget that the Premier promised 100,000 jobs from LNG, a plant up and running by 2015 and five by 2020. The Premier prom - ised a $100 billion prosperity fund from LNG revenues. This Premier and this government want us to forget that LNG was to eliminate our debt, eliminate the PST, create 100,000 jobs and $1 trillion in economic activity. In 2014, LNG was a chance, not a windfall. In 2015, LNG was still a generational opportunity but barely men- tioned otherwise, in an effort to change the channel. In 2016, the B.C.

Liberals finally admitted that their time - lines would not be met. But they whined that the govern- ment has done all that they can, that global conditions are posing new challenges. The Premier touted that suc- cess is not for quitters.

This year it’s: “LNG needs global markets to thrive but unforeseen headwinds have created challenging condi - tions” and reminding us that “world markets may go up and down. ” The very best that they can do is insist that “bringing home the generational opportunity of LNG re- mains within reach. ” Does this government honestly think that people in my riding will forget the promises this Premier made in regards to LNG? Does she honestly think that the busi - nesses that started or the small businesses that hung on by a thread, hoping for the LNG windfall she promised, are going to forget?

Does she think that the people in my riding who had concerns about the siting of one LNG project…? They were labelled a ragtag group of people. Real people with reasonable concerns were labelled a rag- tag group of people. These were hereditary and elected chiefs and matriarchs and citizens. Let’s talk about housing. Aside from making a small change to the property transfer tax, the exemption threshold, the Premier’s government didn’t announce anything new for affordable housing in this forget- everything budget.

Their desperate attempts to convince people that they care about affordability, after ignoring the housing crisis for years, were all announced prior to this election. B.C. Housing is in the process of selling off all its social housing projects. In forget-everything budget 2017, they expect to generate a total of $344 million in revenue by 2020. The only new housing measure in Budget 2017 is an increase to the property transfer tax threshold for the first-time-homebuyers exemption.

Forget-everything budget 2017 rolls the Premier’s housing announcements together by saying that this gov- ernment committed $855 million for the construction of 4,900 units of affordable housing across the province. [1515] In reality, much of this funding is spread out over five years. Many of the units won’t be new but rather renovat- ed, and the earliest new-housing projects won’t be ready till 2018 — too late for the people most hurt by this hous- ing crisis that we’re in right now. I will acknowledge that recently, as part of some LNG agreements, we’re going to see some housing in the northwest.

There’s new seniors housing in Port Edward, and two local First Nations will see provincial funding for housing. But I remind this government that this is only the tip of the iceberg in addressing the northwest’s hous- ing needs. I would like to outline some of these issues. It’s unfortunate that the Minister for Housing has just left the House, because I would like to outline the issues in a let- ter I wrote to him.

British Columbia Debates13930 Tuesday, February 28, 2017 Deputy Speaker: Member, the absence of any member should not be mentioned in the House. J. Rice: My apologies, hon. Speaker. I’ d like to outline some issues in a letter I wrote to the Housing Minister seven months ago, which I have yet to receive a response to. “Dear Minister: “I am writing today to outline a variety of the housing issues that residents in Prince Rupert are currently facing. My constituency office continues to see an increase in the number of requests for assistance in finding affordable and appropriate housing in Prince Rupert.

Service providers in Prince Rupert also report an increased demand for housing support services. With the province’s finan- cial update indicating a significant surplus, my recommendation is to immediately invest in Prince Rupert’s housing infrastructure. “ Although the much-promised LNG industry has yet to result in a single project coming to fruition, rampant speculation has created dramatic changes in the local real estate market.

Unprecedented pressure has been put on the limited rental housing sector, resulting in people being put out on the street, especially those who have limited or fixed incomes. “Prince Rupert has some of the oldest housing stock in the province. We have a large quantity of wartime homes, which used to be affordable homes for renters.

Currently I am witness- ing a trend where longtime tenants in these homes are being renovicted, with the homes being subsequently rented out at much higher rates, well beyond the reach of the previous renters. “The average age of homes in Prince Rupert, compared to the rest of the province, is significantly older.

Approximately 24 percent of the housing stock in Prince Rupert was built prior to 1945, with 6 percent of that being built prior to 1920 — com - pared to the rest of the province, where only 14 percent of the housing stock was built prior to 1945 and less than 2 percent of the housing stock was built before 1920. We have seen minimal new builds in the last few decades, and with almost half of the housing stock being half a century old or older, the options for safe, affordable and appropriate housing are limited. “The majority of social housing stock in Prince Rupert is in a state of disrepair.

In a coastal temperate rainforest with some of the highest amounts of precipitation in North America, housing maintenance is an ongoing challenge. Chronic mould and rot from the relentless damp climate are just some of the problems faced by all homeowners, as well as property managers, including those of the M’akola Housing Society, who are now responsible for managing B.C. Housing properties. “Many social housing units are uninhabitable and sit vacant. The housing replenishment regime is inadequate and lacks sufficient funding.

Service providers are unable to afford the much-needed upgrades and improvements required to properly maintain properties to a habitable state. “ Additionally, this spring, I tested selected B.C. Housing units for lead in their water pipes and discovered elevated lead levels in the drinking water. As a result, a whole

section of B.C. Housing units in Prince Rupert is currently on a water-flushing regime. “My constituency office, social service providers and poverty advocates in Prince Rupert are reporting an increase in requests for assistance with regard to tenants being renovicted or evicted for other illegal reasons. One service provider in particular re - ports a noticeable difference between 2015 and 2016 with regard to the number of clients who are homeless and/or have been evicted.

Local service providers and the resources available to them are being stretched to the limit while they attempt to find housing solutions for people in need. “In 2015, an entire community of mobile home owners and renters were evicted from the Port Edward trailer park because a speculator purchased the property in order to capitalize on a potential LNG boom. The initial plan was to develop housing for LNG workers at the expense of these local tenants. [1520] “ All the tenants have left or have been removed. Some have gone to homeless shelters in other communities; others are couch-surfing.

Y et the property sits undeveloped. “There are little to no options for single occupants on social assistance. The shelter amounts provided by the Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation are not sufficient to allow people to afford the rental rates in Prince Rupert. Aside from the price, the availability of single-occupant rental units is extremely limited. In 2004, 100 low-rent apartments were lost to a fire and were never replaced.

While the available housing stock has shrunk significantly over the years, the wait-list for low-rent and subsidized single units grows each year. “There is a lack of seniors housing and wheelchair-accessible units in Prince Rupert. Many seniors and persons with dis - abilities are living in unsafe conditions while they wait for ap - propriate units to become available.

Many of these individuals are waiting in earnest for units that seldom become available, and often they give up before finding appropriate housing. “There is no men’s shelter in Prince Rupert, which has long been identified as a need in this community. The pseudo–home- less shelter that does operate is limited to just eight beds and faces ongoing issues with bedbugs and violence among tenants, such that individuals avoid sleeping there. “The North Coast Transition Society operates a transition home for women fleeing abuse. However, it has become a de facto homeless shelter for women and their children.

The transition house operates 20 short-term beds, and they turn women away every day due to overcapacity. “The housing squeeze has been steadily tightening over recent years. However, it has been further exacerbated and accelerated by the speculation resulting from the anticipated but not yet realized LNG industry.

Market rental rates are now at Vancouver prices, but Prince Rupert still lacks the services, amenities and availability found in the Lower Mainland. “The housing challenges in Prince Rupert are impacting fam - ilies, single people, working professionals, aboriginal and non- aboriginal citizens, seniors and persons living with disabilities. Essentially every demographic of our population has been af - fected one way or another by a declining housing inventory and declining investment. “The issues I outlined above are just a brief

summary of the hous- ing issues facing the people of Prince Rupert and the surrounding communities. These issues are varied and diverse; therefore, solu- tions must be as well. I draw your attention to these challenges and urgently request that you consider the needs of Prince Rupert citizens for affordable housing and housing supports. “I look forward to your prompt response and to working with you to address the escalating problems facing Prince Rupert and other northwest communities. ” B.C. renters are facing an affordability crisis, and this budget doesn’t offer any help for that.

I see that I’m running out of time, so I’ll just conclude. I believe that after years of neglect, the recent random acts of funding displayed by this government are an at - tempt to make British Columbians forget everything. They want people to forget that for the last 16 years this government has dipped into the pockets of working and middle-income people while they gave their millionaire friends a tax break. There is a clear choice between a government that works for ordinary people and a government that works for the wealthy and the well connected.

British Columbia DebatesTuesday, February 28, 2017 13931 J. Thornthwaite: I’m very proud to be able to stand here and support the budget on behalf of my constituents in North Vancouver–Seymour. All of us here come to the Legislature from different walks of life and with different points of view, but the one thing that we all have in common is a desire to make a difference in our own communities. We all want to con- tribute to making a better life for people and to create a brighter future for our province, and that’s exactly what this budget is all about.

We want to keep our fiscal house in order by balancing the budget, but we also want to use the precious financial resources that we have to their greatest effect. We can - not be all things to all people. The demands on the public purse will always exceed what money is actually available. We must remember that there is just one taxpayer, so we owe it to the public to spend their money wisely and, if we can, to give the taxpayer a break when the budget is balanced and the economy is doing well.

That’s what’s happening with this budget. [1525] In the past, we have all seen the results of reckless spending by government. Governments that allow their operating budgets to exceed the money they take every year from taxpayers eventually establish a structural defi- cit. That’s a hard cycle to break. Y ear after year of con - secutive deficits accumulate into a huge public debt, and before you know it, vast portions of the annual budget go just towards the interest payments.

Worse still, all of the money that goes into paying in - terest is no longer available to provide public services or to provide any return to the taxpayer in the form of lower taxes. The biggest consequence of government swallowing all that debt is that it removes capital from international markets. This makes money less available and more ex - pensive for the private sector to borrow and invest. That’s not what’s happening here in British Columbia.

In 2016, Standard and Poor’s provided an independent assessment of the way British Columbia handles its fi - nances. “We find B.C. ’s financial disclosures transparent, comprehensive and timely. In our view, its financial man- agement practices are the best among Canada’s provinces. ” It should be noted here that B.C. ’s debt-to-GDP ratio, a key measure of debt affordability, is forecast to de - cline to 16 percent, down from 17.9 percent in 2013- 2014. Compare this with other provinces, like Ontario at 40.3 percent and Quebec, which is now reaching a 48.1 percent debt-to-GDP ratio.

Y ou can see why British Columbia is seen as the most stable and well-managed jurisdiction in the country. By controlling spending and balancing the budget, British Columbia has once again maintained its triple- A credit rating. B.C. is, in fact, the only province in Canada that enjoys the highest credit rating. Why does this matter? Well, in his budget presentation last week, the Finance Minister pointed out that if we compare our- selves to other provinces with lower credit ratings, British Columbia would be paying, on average, an additional $2.23 billion in annual debt service costs.

Not being an expert in math, that would be equivalent to, say, $796 million in the budget for Children and Families, $740 million for Education and $700 million for the first-time- homebuyers program. In my own riding, $100 million for the HOpe Centre for Psychiatry and Education, $45.7 million for Argyle Secondary, $2.5 million for the Foundry N

Document details

Collection	British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	20170228pm-Hansard-v42n6
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	20170228pm Hansard v42n6
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	99ce4098c62840f57edc6a81719b7492c4702415

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