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British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)

4th Session, 37th Parliament OFFICIAL REPORT OF DEBATES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY (HANSARD) Wednesday, February 12, 2003 Afternoon Sitting Volume 11, Number 2 THE HONOURABLE CLAUDE RICHMOND, SPEAKER ISSN 0709-1281

PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Entered Confederation July 20, 1871) LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR Honourable Iona Campagnolo 4TH SESSION, 37TH PARLIAMENT SPEAKER OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Honourable Claude Richmond EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Premier and President of the Executive Council................................................................................. .........................Hon. Gordon Campbell Minister of State for Intergovernmental Relations.............................................................................. ..................... Hon.

Greg Halsey-Brandt Deputy Premier and Minister of Education ....................................................................................... ..................................Hon. Christy Clark Minister of Advanced Education................................................................................................. ...........................................Hon. Shirley Bond Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Treaty Negotiations.............................................................. .................... Hon.

Geoff Plant Minister of Children and Family Development.................................................................................... ..............................Hon. Gordon Hogg Minister of State for Early Childhood Development.............................................................................. .................................Hon. Linda Reid Minister of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services......................................................................... .................. Hon.

George Abbott Minister of State for Community Charter........................................................................................ .................................. Hon. Ted Nebbeling Minister of State for Women's Equality ......................................................................................... .................................... Hon. Lynn Stephens Minister of Competition, Science and Enterprise ................................................................................ ..................................Hon.

Rick Thorpe Minister of State for Deregulation ............................................................................................. ............................................ Hon. Kevin Falcon Minister of Energy and Mines................................................................................................... ....................................... Hon. Richard Neufeld Minister of Finance ............................................................................................................ ....................................................... Hon.

Gary Collins Minister of Forests ............................................................................................................ .................................................. Hon. Michael de Jong Minister of Health Planning .................................................................................................... ............................................ Hon. Sindi Hawkins Minister of Health Services.................................................................................................... ................................................ Hon.

Colin Hansen Minister of State for Mental Health ............................................................................................ ...................................Hon. Gulzar S. Cheema Minister of State for Intermediate, Long Term and Home Care ............................................................................. Hon. Katherine Whittred Minister of Human Resources.................................................................................................... ............................................Hon.

Murray Coell Minister of Management Services................................................................................................ .........................................Hon. Sandy Santori Minister of Provincial Revenue................................................................................................. ................................................Hon. Bill Barisoff Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General ................................................................................ ..................................Hon.

Rich Coleman Minister of Skills Development and Labour...................................................................................... .............................Hon. Graham P. Bruce Minister of Sustainable Resource Management and Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries ..................................Hon. Stan Hagen Minister of Transportation..................................................................................................... .................................................... Hon.

Judith Reid Minister of Water, Land and Air Protection..................................................................................... ....................................Hon. Joyce Murray LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Deputy Speaker................................................................................................................. ..............................................................

John Weisbeck Leader of the Opposition ....................................................................................................... ...........................................................Joy MacPhail Deputy Chair, Committee of the Whole ........................................................................................... .............................................. Harold Long Clerk of the Legislative Assembly .............................................................................................. .........................................E.

George MacMinn Clerk Assistant ................................................................................................................ ................................................................... Robert Vaive Clerk Assistant and Law Clerk .................................................................................................. ........................................................ Ian D. Izard Clerk Assistant and Clerk of Committees........................................................................................ ............................................Craig H.

James Clerk Assistant/Committee Clerk................................................................................................ ............................................ Kate Ryan-Lloyd Sergeant-at-Arms ............................................................................................................... .........................................................A.A. Humphreys Director, Hansard Services ..................................................................................................... ........................................

Anthony Dambrauskas Legislative Librarian.......................................................................................................... ............................................................. Joan A. Barton Legislative Comptroller ........................................................................................................ .................................................................Peter Bray Published by British Columbia Hansard Services, and printed under the authority of the Speaker by the Queen's Printer, Victoria.

Rates: single issue, $2.85; per calendar year, mailed daily, $298. GST extra. Agent: Crown Publications Inc., 521 Fort St., Victoria, B.C. V8W 1E7. Telephone: (250) 386-4636. Fax: 386-0221. www.legis.gov.bc.ca/hansard In addition to printed transcripts, Hansard Services publishes transcripts on the Internet and broadcasts Chamber debates on television.

Party Standings: Liberal 75; New Democratic 2; Independent Liberal 2. ALPHABETICAL LIST OF MEMBERS Abbott, Hon. George (L) ....................................................................... Shuswap Anderson, Val J. (L) .............................................................Vancouver-Langara Barisoff, Hon. Bill (L)............................................. Penticton–Okanagan Valley Bell, Pat (L).........................................................................Prince George North Belsey, Bill (L).................................................................................

North Coast Bennett, Bill (L) ........................................................................... East Kootenay Bhullar, Tony (Ind. L) ................................................................. Surrey-Newton Bloy, Harry (L).................................................................................. Burquitlam Bond, Hon. Shirley (L).........................................Prince George–Mount Robson Bray, Jeff (L)......................................................................Victoria–Beacon H ill Brenzinger, Elayne (L) ...............................................................

Surrey-Whalley Brice, Susan (L) ............................................................................Saanich South Bruce, Hon. Graham P. (L)................................................ Cowichan-Ladysmith Campbell, Hon. Gordon (L)............................................. Vancouver–Point Grey Cheema, Hon. Gulzar S. (L) ..........................................Surrey–Panorama Ridge Chong, Ida (L)................................................................ Oak Bay–Gordon Head Christensen, Tom (L) .............................................................

Okanagan-Vernon Chutter, Dave (L) ........................................................................... Yale-L illooet Clark, Hon. Christy (L) ..................................................Port Moody–Westwood Cobb, Walt (L) ............................................................................. Cariboo South Coell, Hon. Murray (L) ........................................ Saanich North and the Islands Coleman, Hon. Rich (L) .............................................. Fort Langley–Aldergrove Collins, Hon.

Gary (L).........................................................Vancouver-Fairview de Jong, Hon. Michael (L)....................................... Abbotsford–Mount Lehman Falcon, Hon. Kevin (L) .......................................................... Surrey-Cloverdale Hagen, Hon. Stan (L) ................................................................... Comox Valley Halsey-Brandt, Hon. Greg (L) ..................................................Richmond Centre Hamilton, Arnie (L)............................................................Esquimalt-Metchosin Hansen, Hon.

Colin (L) .....................................................Vancouver-Quilchena Harris, Roger (L)......................................................................................Skeena Hawes, Randy (L) ............................................................ Maple Ridge–Mission Hawkins, Hon. Sindi (L).......................................................... Kelowna-Mission Hayer, Dave S. (L) ................................................................... Surrey-Tynehead Hogg, Hon. Gordon (L) ........................................................

Surrey–White Rock Hunter, Mike (L) ...................................................................................Nanaimo Jarvis, Daniel (L)...................................................... North Vancouver–Seymour Johnston, Ken (L)............................................................ Vancouver-Fraserview Kerr, Brian J. (L).............................................................. Malahat–Juan de Fuca Krueger, Kevin (L).................................................

Kamloops–North Thompson Kwan, Jenny Wai Ching (NDP) ...............................Vancouver–Mount Pleasant Lee, Richard T. (L).......................................................................Burnaby North Lekstrom, Blair (L)................................................................. Peace River South Les, John (L) .......................................................................... Ch illiwack-Sumas Locke, Brenda (L) ...........................................................

Surrey–Green Timbers Long, Harold (L) ...................................................Powell River–Sunshine Coast MacKay, Dennis (L)....................................................... Bulkley Valley–Stikine McMahon, Wendy (L).............................................Columbia River–Revelstoke MacPhail, Joy (NDP) ..........................................................

Vancouver-Hastings Manhas, Karn (L) .............................................Port Coquitlam–Burke Mountain Masi, Reni (L) ...................................................................................Delta North Mayencourt, Lorne (L) ..........................................................Vancouver-Burrard Murray, Hon. Joyce (L) ........................................................... New Westminster Nebbeling, Hon. Ted (L) .......................................... West Vancouver–Garibaldi Nettleton, Paul (Ind. L)..................................................Prince George–Omineca Neufeld, Hon.

Richard (L)...................................................... Peace River North Nijjar, Rob (L)...................................................................Vancouver-Kingsway Nuraney, John (L) ...............................................................Burnaby-W illingdon Orr, Sheila (L) ...........................................................................Victoria-Hillside Penner, Barry (L)....................................................................... Ch illiwack-Kent Plant, Hon. Geoff (L) ......................................................... Richmond-Steveston Reid, Hon.

Judith (L)............................................................Nanaimo-Parksv ille Reid, Hon. Linda (L) ................................................................... Richmond East Richmond, Hon. Claude (L) ................................................................ Kamloops Roddick, Valerie (L)..........................................................................Delta South Sahota, Patty (L).....................................................................Burnaby-Edmonds Santori, Hon. Sandy (L)..............................................West Kootenay–Boundary Stephens, Hon.

Lynn (L) ........................................................................ Langley Stewart, Ken (L)...................................................... Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows Stewart, Richard (L) ...................................................... Coquitlam-Maillardville Suffredine, Blair F. (L) ................................................................Nelson-Creston Sultan, Ralph (L)....................................................... West Vancouver–Capilano Thorpe, Hon.

Rick (L) ..........................................................Okanagan-Westside Trumper, Gillian (L)................................................................Alberni-Qualicum van Dongen, John (L).........................................................Abbotsford-Clayburn Visser, Rod (L).................................................................................North Island Weisbeck, John (L).........................................................Kelowna–Lake Country Whittred, Hon.

Katherine (L) ...................................North Vancouver–Lonsdale Wilson, John (L)........................................................................... Cariboo North Wong, Patrick (L)............................................................Vancouver-Kensington LIST OF MEMBERS BY RIDING Abbotsford-Clayburn................................................................John van Dongen Abbotsford–Mount Lehman ..............................................Hon.

Michael de Jong Alberni-Qualicum.......................................................................G illian Trumper Bulkley Valley–Stikine ..............................................................Dennis MacKay Burnaby North..............................................................................Richard T. Lee Burnaby-Edmonds............................................................................Patty Sahota Burnaby-Willingdon......................................................................

John Nuraney Burquitlam ........................................................................................ Harry Bloy Cariboo North ..................................................................................John Wilson Cariboo South .................................................................................... Walt Cobb Chilliwack-Kent ............................................................................. Barry Penner Chilliwack-Sumas .................................................................................

John Les Columbia River–Revelstoke....................................................Wendy McMahon Comox Valley .......................................................................... Hon. Stan Hagen Coquitlam-Maillardville .............................................................Richard Stewart Cowichan-Ladysmith .......................................................Hon. Graham P. Bruce Delta North.......................................................................................... Reni Masi Delta South................................................................................

Valerie Roddick East Kootenay .................................................................................. Bill Bennett Esquimalt-Metchosin...................................................................Arnie Hamilton Fort Langley–Aldergrove ..................................................... Hon. Rich Coleman Kamloops ....................................................................... Hon. Claude Richmond Kamloops–North Thompson ........................................................Kevin Krueger Kelowna–Lake Country...............................................................

John Weisbeck Kelowna-Mission ................................................................ Hon. Sindi Hawkins Langley ............................................................................... Hon. Lynn Stephens Malahat–Juan de Fuca .....................................................................Brian J. Kerr Maple Ridge–Mission ................................................................... Randy Hawes Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows .............................................................Ken Stewart Nanaimo..........................................................................................

Mike Hunter Nanaimo-Parksville ...................................................................Hon. Judith Reid Nelson-Creston.......................................................................Blair F. Suffredine New Westminster ..................................................................Hon. Joyce Murray North Coast ........................................................................................Bill Belsey North Island........................................................................................Rod Visser North Vancouver–Lonsdale.......................................... Hon.

Katherine Wh ittred North Vancouver–Seymour .............................................................Daniel Jarvis Oak Bay–Gordon Head .......................................................................Ida Chong Okanagan-Vernon .................................................................... Tom Christensen Okanagan-Westside.................................................................Hon. Rick Thorpe Peace River North .............................................................Hon. Richard Neufeld Peace River South .......................................................................

Blair Lekstrom Penticton–Okanagan Valley ....................................................Hon. Bill Barisoff Port Coquitlam–Burke Mountain.................................................... Karn Manhas Port Moody–Westwood......................................................... Hon. Christy Clark Powell River–Sunshine Coast.......................................................... Harold Long Prince George North................................................................................Pat Bell Prince George–Mount Robson................................................Hon.

Shirley Bond Prince George–Omineca................................................................Paul Nettleton Richmond Centre......................................................... Hon. Greg Halsey-Brandt Richmond East .......................................................................... Hon. Linda Reid Richmond-Steveston ................................................................ Hon. Geoff Plant Saanich North and the Islands ............................................... Hon. Murray Coell Saanich South...................................................................................

Susan Brice Shuswap .............................................................................. Hon. George Abbott Skeena.............................................................................................Roger Harris Surrey-Cloverdale ................................................................. Hon. Kevin Falcon Surrey–Green Timbers .................................................................. Brenda Locke Surrey-Newton ............................................................................... Tony Bhullar Surrey–Panorama Ridge................................................. Hon.

Gulzar S. Cheema Surrey-Tynehead .......................................................................... Dave S. Hayer Surrey-Whalley ...................................................................... Elayne Brenzinger Surrey–White Rock ...............................................................Hon. Gordon Hogg Vancouver-Burrard................................................................. Lorne Mayencourt Vancouver-Fairview............................................................... Hon.

Gary Co llins Vancouver-Fraserview ...................................................................Ken Johnston Vancouver-Hastings .......................................................................Joy MacPhail Vancouver-Kensington...................................................................Patrick Wong Vancouver-Kingsway..........................................................................Rob Nijjar Vancouver-Langara....................................................................Val J.

Anderson Vancouver–Mount Pleasant............................................Jenny Wai Ching Kwan Vancouver–Point Grey ................................................... Hon. Gordon Campbell Vancouver-Quilchena............................................................ Hon. Colin Hansen Victoria–Beacon Hill.............................................................................Jeff Bray Victoria-Hillside.................................................................................. Sheila Orr West Kootenay–Boundary.................................................... Hon.

Sandy Santori West Vancouver–Capilano ..............................................................Ralph Sultan West Vancouver–Garibaldi ................................................. Hon. Ted Nebbeling Yale-Lillooet .................................................................................. Dave Chutter

CONTENTS Wednesday, February 12, 2003 Afternoon Sitting Routine Proceedings Page Introductions by Members....................................................................................................... ............................................... 4707 Introduction and First Reading of Bills ........................................................................................ ......................................... 4707 Foresters Act (Bill 5) Hon.

M. de Jong Statements (Standing Order 25B).............................................................................................................................. .............. 4707 Avalanche victims W. McMahon Community volunteers B. Suffredine Fire at Alpha Processing plant R. Visser Oral Questions................................................................................................................. ......................................................... 4709 Aquaculture industry advisers J. MacPhail Hon. S. Hagen Collection of unpaid sales taxes J. Kwan Hon. B.

Barisoff Federal-provincial agreement on health care funding K. Krueger Hon. G. Campbell Heritage Aquaculture licence violation J. MacPhail Hon. S. Hagen Reports from Committees ........................................................................................................ ............................................... 4711 Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services, second report B. Lekstrom J.

MacPhail Throne Speech Debate ........................................................................................................... .................................................. 4712 B. Bennett J. Bray J. MacPhail B. Suffredine R. Masi D. Jarvis Hon. K. Whittred Hon. C. Clark R. Lee E. Brenzinger K. Stewart

4707 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2003 The House met at 2:03 p.m. Prayers. Introductions by Members Hon. S. Santori: It is a great pleasure for me to in- troduce to the House today three special visitors from Singapore. They are Debbie Choy, Ee-leen Tan and Wendy Yap. These three ladies are here to attend a two-day conference sponsored by my ministry, entitled Frontiers of Privacy and Security: New Challenges for a New Century. I would ask all members to join me in giving them a warm welcome to British Columbia. [1405] D.

Jarvis: Would the House please welcome a friend of mine, Bob Fearnley, who is a councillor in the city of North Vancouver and also the president of the lower mainland municipalities. E. Brenzinger: Today I'd like to introduce to the House my two assistants, Marilynn Johnson and Barb Kraushar, who are here from Surrey-Whalley. Would the House please make them welcome. B. Kerr: We have members of the Sooke Seniors Activity Society here today visiting in the gallery.

The son of one of the members of that society, a fellow who was affectionately nicknamed "Fang" by a former Pre- mier, has asked if I would specifically mention his mother, who is here. I'd like the House to welcome the society and also Maude Kierans, who is here today to visit us. S. Orr: It's my pleasure today to introduce a very, very special person called Judith Armstrong. She's co- president of Operation Trackshoes and a recent recipi- ent of the Queen's Golden Jubilee medal for her work with people with mental, physical and medical disabili- ties.

She is a true leader in our community, and I would like this House to make her welcome. P. Wong: It is a pleasure to have joining us in the House today the board members of Lingnan Elder Col- lege, a project assisted by the former Lieutenant- Governor's David Lam Centre to offer courses of cul- tural and practical interest for Chinese-speaking sen- iors. They are as follows: Dr. Miriam Yu, president of the college; Mr. Terence C.T. Teng, vice-president; Dr. Ping Cheung Chan; Mr. Siu Foon Wong; Mrs. May Y.M. Lung; Mr. Robert K.P. Chau; and Mr. Anthony S.S. Liad. May the House please make them most wel- come. D.

Chutter: With us today in the House is the mayor of Lytton, Chris O'Connor. Would the House please welcome him. Introduction and First Reading of Bills FORESTERS ACT Hon. M. de Jong presented a message from Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor: a bill intituled For- esters Act. Hon. M. de Jong: I move that Bill 5 be introduced and read a first time now. Motion approved. Hon. M. de Jong: I am honoured to introduce Bill 5, the Foresters Act.

This legislation, which members will recall was originally tabled during our last session in the fall, repeals and replaces the existing Foresters Act — which has been in place since 1947 — brings the act up to date and strengthens its provisions dealing with professional accountability. The Forest and Range Practices Act, passed during the last session, relies on the judgment and account- ability of forest professionals to ensure that environ- mental standards are maintained under a workable, results-based code.

One of the keys to meeting this commitment is being able to depend on highly trained, dedicated, accountable professionals to make sound resource management decisions. With this new Forest- ers Act, the judgment of forest professionals can be relied upon as a cornerstone in the results-based era. Under the new act, the Association of B.C.

Profes- sional Foresters will continue to be responsible for up- holding and protecting the public interest by providing expertise in entomology, ecology, hydrology, silvicul- ture, road planning and numerous other areas; plan- ning and approving of all forest activities; assessing the effect of activities on the forest. [1410] I move that the bill be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting after today. Bill 5 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. Statements (Standing Order 25

B) AVALANCHE VICTIMS W. McMahon: While I did not know personally those who lost their lives as a result of the two very tragic avalanches on January 20 and February 1 near Revelstoke, I know that I, as well as the local commu- nity, felt a connection to the skiers. They were in our back yard exploring our wilderness and doing some- thing they loved. These events have been devastating, and we have all felt the loss. The communities of Rev- elstoke and Golden responded immediately with de- termination to save those trapped and with compas-

4708 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES W EDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2003 sion afterwards as they consoled those who lost friends and family. In particular, I would like to ac- knowledge all those who worked so diligently on the rescue and recovery. To those on site and those at- tending in a support role, we are thankful that you were there. Avalanches are a naturally occurring event. We know that people make a choice when they go into the back country, and that the risk and the thrill are part of the experience. For those who suggest we regulate the back country, I disagree.

It's about education, about knowing how to avoid trouble or what to do if you find yourself in trouble. It's about being prepared. I am hopeful that investigators will be able to determine the cause of the tragedies so that we can work to reduce the risk in the back country. I also believe we all have a responsibility to use our back yard wisely and to edu- cate ourselves before we recreate. By doing this, we will honour the lives of those who have so tragically died.

Let us pause and remember Naomi Heffler, 25, of Calgary; Dave Finnery, 30, of New Westminster; Craig Kelly, 35, of Nelson; Kathleen Kessler, 39, of Truckee, California; Dennis Yates, 50, of Los Angeles; Ralph Lunsford, 49, of Littleton, Colorado; and Jean-Luc Schwendener of Canmore, Alberta. From Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School near Calgary, Alberta: grade 10 students Daniel Arato, Scott Broshko, Jeffrey Trickett, Michael Shaw, Alexander Pattillo, Ben- jamin Albert and Marissa Staddon. COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS B. Suffredine: I rise today to honour two very spe- cial people from my riding who recently passed away.

Joan G atzke of Cre ston and Marg aret J ardi ne of Kaslo were outstanding community volunteers and leaders. It is the tireless work of people like Joan and Margaret that binds these communities together. Joan Gatzke was part of the soul of Creston. Her list of volunteer activities is too long to read. Her tireless, dedicated and compassionate spirit touched the lives of so many. Fundraising through rummage sales, bowling tournaments, raffle tickets and bake sales for a handi- bus, the Blossom Festival, fall fair and Christmas pa- rade were just some of the ways Joan contributed.

Joan Gatzke's devotion to a cause made her famous in the Kootenays and beyond. In 1991 she developed breast cancer. While hospi- talized, she decided to spearhead a campaign to collect pull-tabs from aluminum cans to raise money to pur- chase special wheelchairs for Creston facilities. She became the tab lady, collecting 4,500 pounds of tabs — enough to buy three specialized wheelchairs — all the while fighting her lengthy battle with cancer. In 2001 Joan and her husband, Ed, were named Creston's co- citizens of the year.

Joan Gatzke was a devoted mother and grandmother, wife and volunteer, who drew strength from adversity, contributed tirelessly to her community and should serve as an inspiration to us all. Margaret Jardine provided similar inspiration to Kaslo. She moved to Kaslo in 1917 and married An- drew Jardine in 1935. Margaret's generosity of spirit and giving was famous in Kaslo. Family members, friends and complete strangers all benefited from her kindness. She served on the Kaslo hospital board for 31 years and was a life member of Kaslo's hospital auxil- iary. She also served many, many years on Kaslo's council.

She was a member of the Liberal Party for more than 60 years. Margaret was the unofficial first lady of Kaslo. Joan Gatzke and Margaret Jardine were out- standing contributors to their community. They exem- plify that building a strong community begins with individual contributions. I am grateful to have known them. [1415] FIRE AT ALPHA PROCESSING PLANT R. Visser: Last Friday a fire broke out at the Alpha Processing plant, and by early the next morning, the town of Port Hardy had lost its single largest employer.

For months the debate has raged on about salmon aquaculture, all of it seemingly oblivious to the fact that the government has built a continuously improv- ing regulatory regime that ensures sustainability for the marine environment and protection for the wild stocks — all of it completely oblivious to the fact that no new expansion has been undertaken. The critics still cry foul at every turn. What is most offensive about their tirade is that they ignore the peo- ple. Two hundred and seventy folks work at Alpha and are connected to that community. The average age doesn't reach 30.

Three-quarters of them are women, and nearly a third of them are first nations. The payroll can reach a little over $600,000 a month, and for those young families this is devastating. Yet people always seem to find good from adver- sity, and the next morning the Alpha employees, as they watched the fire's glow, left Port Hardy for Nanaimo, where they joined the 600 people that were gathering to tell the positive story about aquaculture to the people of British Columbia.

The theme of the rally became "Hug somebody from Alpha." I'm very proud to represent those people — the workers at the plant, the workers in this industry and all those that live in the North Island's coastal commu- nities. They're the heart of this province, and as the days and weeks unfold, we will all have the pleasure of seeing them pull together and rebuild their plant and their lives. I want all of us to learn a lesson from those folks. I especially want those relentless critics of this industry to remember one important fact: there are people whose lives you affect when you misrepresent reality.

I want you to remember that it is the people who live and work in the heartlands of this province who allow us to have all that we have. We should thank them. We should support them, and we should help them get on

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2003 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES 4709 with rebuilding their futures and rebuilding this prov- ince. Oral Questions AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY ADVISERS J. MacPhail: This question is timely. After dismiss- ing hard science warning against the dangers of open- net fish farming and before being forced to resign as a result of a police investigation, the former Fisheries minister gave Monty Little the task of assessing that evidence to report back to the government with rec- ommendations. He plucked Mr. Little from amongst over a dozen members of the Science Council. There's just one problem.

The opposition has learned that Mr. Little is the president and founder of Syndel Laborato- ries, a big chemical and drugs supplier to fish farms. To the new Minister of Fisheries: how can British Columbians have any trust in the Liberals' handling of the fish farm fiasco when their top scientific adviser stands to benefit from the decision to expand open-net fish farming? Hon. S. Hagen: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity of taking the first question in this new session of the House. The person mentioned is not the only science provider that we are getting.

As a matter of fact, on February 22, 23 and 24 the University of British Co- lumbia is hosting a three-day seminar on a variety of scientific issues. We are bringing in people like Alan Pike from the University of Aberdeen, Al L e w i s f r o m U B C , T e r r y S u t h e r l a n d f r o m D e p a r t - ment of Fisheries and Oceans, Stewart Johnson from NRC, Jens Christian Holst from Norway, Paul Arne Bjorne from Norway, Frank Neilsen from Norway and a host of other experts in the field of salmon aquaculture that are coming here from Nor- way, Scotland, the United States and Canada.

I want to assure this House and all British Colum- bians that this government takes this issue very seri- ously. The most important salmon on the west coast of Canada, on the coast of British Columbia, is the Atlan- tic salmon — I mean, it's the wild salmon. Pardon me. [1420] Interjection. Hon. S. Hagen: It's the wild salmon. Actually, I have a fair amount of experience in dealing with wild salmon, which I'll be pleased to outline to you on a supplementary question. J. MacPhail: Another conversion on the road to Damascus from this minister. This government ap- pointed Monty Little to head up the B.C.

Aquaculture Research and Development Committee. Until they've been caught out on this file so outrightly, he's the man they're relying on. Not only is Mr. Little the president of Syndel Laboratories, he's also a big contributor to the Liberal Party. Syndel Laboratories gave the Liberals $5,000 to help win the last election. Again to the Minister of Fisheries: why is the presi- dent of a company that supplies fish farms with chemi- cals and drugs, and which gave the Liberals big bucks in the last election, now in charge of providing the government with advice on the dangers of fish farms? Hon. S.

Hagen: Thank you, and what an opportu- nity. You know, the member for North Island gave that incredibly great speech about the people who are ousted now from their jobs because of the fire, and hopefully that will be rebuilt. Why is it that the NDP dislikes people in our coastal communities so much? Why is it that they are trying to tear down the economy, trying to tear down forestry and trying to tear down aquaculture? Why are they trying to do that? We believe on this side of the House that both salmon industries can coexist on the coast of British Columbia, the wild salmon and aqua- culture.

Now, in answer to the supplementary question. In 1995 to 1997 the previous government did a study called the salmon aquaculture review. It took two years and 1,800 pages. Out of that came 49 recommenda- tions. This government has put in place all but eight of them. The reason eight haven't been is that they have to be put in place by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. This study was supported by the National Marine Fisheries Service study from Washington State. It was supported by the net-pen salmon farming industry study in the Pacific Northwest. On top of that, the Hon.

John Fraser just released his report in November, The Protection of Broughton Archipelago Pink Salmon Stocks. And guess what, Mr. Speaker. Our government is actu- ally implementing his suggestions. Mr. Speaker: The Leader of the Opposition has a further supplementary. J. MacPhail: I know this minister has enough time handling the file that he had before. He doesn't know what's going on. Clearly, he's completely out of touch with this file. The very studies he named were used to continue the moratorium on fish farming. It isn't the previous government that brought aquaculture into disrepute.

It's this government that brought it into dis- repute — fully and foremost this government. British Columbians don't need more studies… Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Order, please. J. MacPhail: …run by fish farm pharmaceutical companies and Liberal backers to tell the minister what he wants to hear. They don't need a minister who blew off scientific warnings as just hysteria. Just a few weeks ago he was naming those very studies as being hys- teria. They don't need a minister who's up to his ears in

4710 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES W EDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2003 fish farm money, and they don't need a minister who's been implicated in the same controversy that brought the former minister down. Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Order, please. J. MacPhail: The action that has destroyed public confidence in the aquaculture industry…. Will he take action now to restore public confidence in the fish farm industry and in his government's integrity by stepping down from the Fisheries portfolio? Hon. S. Hagen: I've got to tell you, Mr.

Speaker: last Thursday, as the new minister, I met with the in- dustry and gave them a very strong message. This government expects them to abide by the regulations put in by this government. I met with the environmen- talists and told them that, yes, we obviously do care about the environment in the province of British Co- lumbia, but we also care about jobs and people who live in the communities on coastal British Columbia. I also met with the first nations. Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Order, please. Order, please. [1425] Hon. S.

Hagen: I also met with the first nations from the Broughton Archipelago, and do you know what? The first nations have invited…. Interjections. Mr. Speaker: Please continue. Hon. S. Hagen: I met with the first nations, as I said. As a result of that meeting, the first nations have invited myself as the minister, the Hon. John Fraser and the fed- eral minister, Mr. Thibault, to visit the archipelago, to visit their villages, to visit the net-pen sites. The Hon. John Fraser and I have accepted that invitation. I'm wait- ing for a letter back from Minister Thibault.

This government believes in the wild salmon, but we think that it can coexist with salmon farms. COLLECTION OF UNPAID SALES TAXES J. Kwan: To the Minister of Provincial Revenue: what steps does it take before his ministry files a judg- ment in the Supreme Court to collect unpaid PST? Can the minister also explain what steps his ministry would take to secure a Supreme Court writ of seizure and sale of assets to collect those taxes? Hon. B.

Barisoff: When the Premier instituted the Ministry of Provincial Revenue, what he wanted to do was make sure that we had the ability to collect out- standing debts that were owing to government. So, in doing that, when people don't pay their debts, we do whatever measures are taken to collect whatever debts are due to government. Mr. Speaker: The member for Vancouver–Mount Pleasant has a supplementary question. J. Kwan: P e r h a p s t h i s q u e s t i o n i s b e s t d i r e c t e d t o the Minister of Forests, but I'll ask it again of the Minis- ter of Provincial Revenue.

On July 31, 2002, the Supreme Court of B.C. or- dered the sheriff to seize and sell assets belonging to the law firm of De Jong, Derksen and Phipps to cover over $12,000 in unpaid taxes. On August 2, 2002 — two days later — the Supreme Court judgment was can- celled with no explanation. Can the minister tell this House if those unpaid taxes were paid and, if so, when? Hon. B. Barisoff: I'll take that on notice. FEDERAL-PROVINCIAL AGREEMENT ON HEALTH CARE FUNDING K.

Krueger: Last week the Premier, along with his provincial and territorial counterparts, met in Ottawa with the Prime Minister to find ways to fix Canada's ailing health care system. At the meeting the federal government agreed to provide the provinces with added resources for health care. Will the Premier please tell British Columbians what this agreement means for them and for the future of our province's health care system? Hon. G. Campbell: Last week we did meet as first ministers in Ottawa. The agreement that was reached was very clear.

We clearly do not have the dollars from the federal government that we need for a true federal- provincial partnership. However, approximately $500 million a year will be coming to British Columbia over the next three years. About half of that will be used to sustain the current health care system, and an addi- tional half will be used for reforms in the system. If I may, I think it's important to note this. Our health care costs are growing at between 7 and 8 per- cent a year.

The dollars that will flow to British Colum- bia's patients through this new arrangement are not going to be sufficient to meet the full needs of sustain- ability and reform as they've been identified not just in British Columbia but across the entire country. This is a first step, but there is a long way to go, and w e w i l l c o n t i n u e t o w o r k t o b u i l d a t r u e p a r t n e r s h i p between our federal government — and the taxpayers patients send to them — and the provincial govern- ment. Mr. Speaker: The member for Kamloops–North Thompson has a supplementary question. K.

Krueger: O v e r t h e l a s t 1 8 m o n t h s t h i s g o v e r n - ment has implemented quite a number of significant

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2003 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES 4711 changes to the province's health care system, with more on the way. With last week's announcement, people are wondering if we'll get credit for those changes that we've made. I wonder if the Premier can tell us what impact last week's announcement will have on those changes our government has already taken to address the sustainability of the health care system. [1430] Hon. G. Campbell: In terms of addressing the long- term sustainability of the system, I think we have to be very clear with everyone.

We are a long way from bridg- ing the sustainability gap. The $250 million is roughly 40 percent, maybe, of the challenges that we see in the health care system today for sustaining the system. There is about $250 million which is available for reform. That health care reform in home care, in mental health community services, in primary care and in catastrophic pharmaceutical care is very important to u s . I t ' s p a r t o f w h a t w e w e r e p u t t i n g i n p l a c e a s w e moved through the changes to the health care system over the last 18 months. Again, these are small steps.

They are small steps forward. We believe the new arrangements provide for the flexibility we need to make sure that the dollars flow through to the bedside, where people need it the most. We also believe that there's much more work to be done. In terms of the reform package that we've put in place, I want the member opposite to know that this government remains committed to making sure the health care dollars we receive from British Columbians are focused first and foremost on the needs of patients in this province. HERITAGE AQUACULTURE LICENCE VIOLATION J.

MacPhail: We heard from the new Fisheries min- ister that he wants to do everything in the most legiti- mate way, according to all of the regulations, in an environmentally sound way. Heritage Aquaculture, a fish farm company that contributed generously — another one — to the Fisher- ies minister's local election campaign, stands accused of violating its permit. It's alleged that Heritage is op- erating 24 open-net fish farm pens at its operation in the Broughton Archipelago when it's only licensed for 12.

As the minister is well aware, I know, disease has once again broken out at Heritage, threatening the coming run of pink salmon. The community is de- manding that Heritage be shut down to protect pink salmon stocks. The minister has said he wants both to survive — the wild stock and the fish farm stock. Will the minister listen, investigate and shut operations at Heritage to protect consumers and wild salmon from disease? Hon. S. Hagen: The member opposite is confused again. She's confusing the sockeye disease, which is spread by wild sockeye to farmed salmon, with the issue in the Broughton Archipelago.

The company, which she mentioned, was presented with an official warning on January 24 of this year as a result of being in non-compliance. A follow-up inspec- tion has been scheduled to assess the current status of the site. This is coming under the new regulations, which we had to make tougher because the old regula- tions put in by the previous government weren't tough enough.

The results of the investigation may lead to one of the following outcomes: the issuance of a violation ticket, recommended charges to Crown counsel, or recommendations for licence suspension or cancella- tion. [End of question period.] Reports from Committees B. Lekstrom: I have the honour to present the sec- ond report of the Select Standing Committee on Fi- nance and Government Services for the third session of the thirty-seventh parliament respecting the review of the statutory officers. I would move that the report be taken and read as received. Motion approved. B.

Lekstrom: I would ask leave of the House to suspend the rules to permit the moving of a motion to adopt the report. Leave granted. [1435] B. Lekstrom: At this time I would move that the report be adopted. Just to touch on this issue, there has been some con- cern expressed in the concerns of some of the statutory officers, and I'd like to make something very clear. This committee, which is a legislated committee of this House, has made it very clear to the statutory officers that should additional requirements for funding be nec- essary, they can re-approach the committee to address those concerns.

I wanted to make sure that was very clear to not only the statutory officers but all British Co- lumbians should circumstances be needed that way. Mr. Speaker: The question is the adoption of the report. J. MacPhail: M r. S p e ak e r , I ju s t want e d t o no t e — because one couldn't tell from the report — that as a member of this committee, after hearing from all of the legislative officers and deliberating with my colleagues and after a very thorough debate, I voted against this report and the recommendations. Motion approved.

4712 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES W EDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2003 Mr. Speaker: H o n . m e m b e r s , j u s t b e f o r e w e p r o - ceed to routine business of the day, I would point out to all members that the long-awaited current edition of the Members' Handbook is on every member's desk. I know that as you put it into the binder, you will peruse every page. Orders of the Day Hon. G. Collins: Mr. Speaker, I call Address in Re- ply to the Speech from the Throne. Throne Speech Debate B.

Bennett: I move, seconded by the member for Victoria–Beacon Hill, that: "We, Her Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in session assembled, beg leave to thank Your Honour for the gracious speech which Your Honour has addressed to us at the opening of the present session." With that, Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to respond to the Speech from the Throne. The Speech from the Throne sets out the government's vision for moving the province forward towards our goal of prosperity for all British Columbians.

There is much in the speech that provides hope to rural British Colum- bians in particular. I will be using my opportunity here today to focus most of my comments about the throne speech on rural B.C. The new B.C. heartlands economic strategy and the creation of economic development plans for the regions of the province will give rural regions the opportunity to assess the vast and diverse potential of their regions. I look forward to the Minister of Competition, Science and Enterprise visiting the East Kootenay sometime soon to hear from the people of our region their ideas for renewing prosperity.

The references in the speech to revitalizing north- ern and rural transportation infrastructure are also exciting. Major improvements to the Trans-Canada Highway at Kicking Horse Pass are long overdue. The recognition that regional airports are economic engines is also very good news for rural B.C. and particularly the Kootenay region, which is looking forward with great anticipation to the expansion of the Cranbrook Airport.

New legislation to support action on coalbed meth- ane development, a commitment to offshore oil and gas development by 2010, establishing a B.C. resort task force to promote the development of resort com- munities across the province, changes to the Small Business Venture Capital Act to increase access to seed capital, new partnerships with first nations to finally get treaty-making on the move and create more cer- tainty for business investment, regional innovation c h a i r s a t t h e c o l l e g e s o f B .

C . t o f o s t e r e c o n o m i c a n d social research — all of these measures are exciting and bring hope to the people of British Columbia that this government is making progress on its commitments to renew prosperity across all of British Columbia. The speech offers hope that we can bridge the rural-urban economic imbalance that does exist and that has ex- isted in this province for at least two decades. I have lived a rural lifestyle for all of my 52 years. I grew up in a town of 3,200 people and lived a good share of my life in the northern Canadian wilderness. Rural-urban differences are not new.

This is not a new problem, as some of this government's antagonists would have us believe. It is true that rural B.C. and rural Canada have certainly changed over my lifetime. Many people have moved from rural areas to urban areas because that's where the economic growth and the new jobs have been created. [1440] Even with the loss of population, rural British Co- lumbia — the economic heartlands of this province — makes an overwhelming contribution to the province's economic health.

The Urban Futures Institute informed British Columbians just a while ago of what most rural people have suspected: forestry and mining and agri- culture still form the backbone of the provincial econ- omy. The B.C. Progress Board's January 2003 report on the economic heartlands states that in 2001, industries located primarily in rural B.C. were responsible for 72 percent of the value of B.C.'s international goods ex- ports and roughly 60 percent of the province's total exports in goods and services. What exactly defines rural?

For me, rural refers to the special relationship that rural people unquestiona- bly have with the land. It very often means that the person feeds his or her family from a job or a business that depends on access to the land in rural B.C. If we want to open up rural B.C. to all the opportu- nities that exist for the province, we must give rural British Columbians the freedom to act responsibly as the custodians of the land they know.

If there is one trend in public policy that has hurt rural British Co- lumbia over the past decade, it is the trend of former governments to close off access to the primary source of this province's wealth: the land base. Rural British Columbia does want high-speed broadband Internet to open up small business, educa- tion and health-related opportunities. We do under- stand the value in developing more diversified rural economies, whether that be tourism, value-added wood enterprises, light manufacturing or real estate developments. But as very clearly established by the B.C.

Progress Board and the Urban Futures Institute just in this past year, forestry, mining and agriculture continue to drive the economy in all of British Colum- bia and especially in the rural parts of the province. Rural B.C. needs growth and diversification in both the resource industries and all the other new opportunities. I want to tell a true story in the House today about a choice between opening up opportunities in rural B.C. for new jobs and economic growth or closing those opportunities. There is an area in the southeast corner of this province known as the Flathead Valley.

This area contains the highest non-coastal density of grizzly bears in North America. It also contains vast numbers of Rocky Mountain elk, deer, black bear, Rocky Moun-

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2003 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES 4713 tain bighorn sheep, mountain goats and all manner of smaller critters. Those who believe that this wealth of wildlife diversity will be lost unless a park is created would like to extend Waterton National Park in from Alberta and take in the Flathead Valley. But there is another feature of the Flathead Valley that is also interesting and unknown outside the re- gion. There have been people working and playing in this valley for 100 years. The Flathead Valley was one of the first areas the CPR took ties from.

The CPR took millions of trees out of the Elk and Flathead valleys to build the railway across this province. Hunters, an- glers, campers, loggers, miners, gas drillers and pros- pectors have used the Flathead Valley for decades and decades and decades. In the 1970s much of the Flathead Valley was in- fested by a pine beetle epidemic that came in from Montana.

Unlike what has happened in B.C. in the 1990s — tragically in northern B.C. — government in the 1970s had the foresight to remove the infested trees from the Flathead immediately, before the plague could spread north through the Elk Valley and over the Rockies. Now, some 30 years later, there is a third- growth forest growing in much of the Flathead Valley. Those who claim that people must stay out of these areas also claim that conserving this wilderness can only be achieved by creating another park. "Keep the people out; keep their machines out," is what they say.

The Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management is about to put out for public consultation a draft plan of the southern Rocky Mountain management plan. The former government had drawn some lines on the map in the Elk and Flathead valleys just weeks before the last election. They had made a secret deal with their friends, but they had not consulted with most of the people who live in the Elk Valley.

This was yet another example of how the last government, the group that now represents itself as being rural advocates, made arbitrary and unilateral top-down decisions about land use that had a job-killing impact on rural communities in this province. This government, through the Ministry of Sustain- able Resource Management, gave the right to self- determination back to the rural people of the Elk Val- ley. Over 40 very diverse groups met and debated and pored over maps and debated some more.

In the end, after 11 months, they created a draft plan for responsi- ble, integrated activity and conservation in the Elk and Flathead valleys. This management plan is supported today by the snowmobilers, the local environmental- ists, the miners, the ranchers, the hunters, the hikers, the naturalists and the loggers. [1445] I'm very proud of the way the people of the Elk Valley came together to work for the past year on this plan, and I would say that it's a great example of how rural people understand that we humans are not sepa- rate from our natural surroundings.

We do not just look at nature from the outside like a tourist in the zoo. We take and use some of the excess trees from the for- est. We dig wealth from small holes in the ground, and then we restore the land. We grow food from the soil, and we irrigate, fertilize and do our best to keep out the harmful insects and diseases that threaten our food production. This is not a negative relationship with nature. This is the relationship that rural people have always, for all time, had with nature.

So when I hear from the Minis- try of Sustainable Resource Management and the Min- istry of Forests that British Columbia will finally have a working forest, roughly 48 percent of our land base, I am overjoyed — finally, a government in B.C. that un- derstands what allows us to live our lives in rural B.C. and to very happily send B.C.'s wealth to the lower mainland, where it is processed, consumed and ex- ported and where it supports thousands of families. We need access to the land to find new mineral wealth that we can share with our neighbours in the lower mainland.

The Sullivan mine in Kimberley over its 100 years built dozens of hospitals and schools around B.C. It is now gone, with no new mine yet in B.C. to replace it. Where will we find the billions of dollars in tax revenue that the Sullivan mine paid to successive B.C. governments over its 100 years? This government is making some progress. Because of the changes made by the Energy and Mines minister and the Sustainable Resource Management minister, explo- ration is increasing in B.C. In fact, in my riding of East Kootenay it doubled in the year 2002. I know many of my rural colleagues feel the same way I do.

We want new mines in our ridings. We want those high-paying jobs for our constituents and the tax revenues, so we can put more into health care and edu- cation. Rural British Columbians are asking — we're pleading, I think — those who want to keep us off the land: "Please respect the needs of families in rural Brit- ish Columbia." One particular area of economic diversification that's showing great promise in the Kootenays and elsewhere in rural B.C. — and I'm referring to the ex- plosion of the tourism industry over the last five years….

One thing we have plenty of in the Kootenays is mountains and valleys and lakes and rivers and trails and wildlife. We also have world-class golf courses and world-class ski resorts. Hundreds of bil- lions of dollars have been invested over the past five years in the Kootenays — all new money, all directed towards the growth of the tourism industry. With the expansion of the Cranbrook Airport to create a direct air portal into the Kootenays, market surveys show that European and U.S. tourists will come by the thou- sands.

Governments will collect important increased tax revenues, and tourism will continue to create new jobs in our region. A successful Olympic bid would also increase this growth in tourism dramatically. The prospect of a Win- ter Olympic Games brings hope to the Kootenay re- gion, as it should to all regions of the province. We are excited about the possibility that in 2010, the world will come to B.C. to play and spend their money. We al- ready know from Calgary, from Lillehammer and from Salt Lake City that the potential to grow the tourism

4714 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES W EDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2003 industry wil l be phenomenal . We know also the re are some pre-Olympic training opportunities for rural B.C., and we know that from the positive experience B.C. small business had at Salt Lake City, there will be many, many small business opportunities when we win the bid. The ski and golf resorts in the Kootenays are al- ready strategizing on how to best exploit the direct European and U.S. charters that will be coming from a n e x p a n d e d C r a n b r o o k A i r p o r t .

I t ' s j u s t a s t e p f o r these resorts to strategize on how their fast-growing businesses can also exploit the tourism bonanza that British Columbia will enjoy when we win the bid. We're holding a regional gathering in Cranbrook of people from around the Kootenays on March 19 to strategize on how our region can best exploit all the diverse opportunities that will be opened up by a suc- cessful Olympic bid. [1450] Our government does focus on the economy as one of its main priorities. It's a simple and unavoidable fact that public services decline without a robust economy.

I would like, however, to address one of the other top priorities of this government, and that is health care. Last April this government gave the interior health authority the responsibility to manage health care in the East Kootenay. Some of my constituents asked the question — and it is a good and fair question: what do we, the people, stand to gain from all this change to health care in the East Kootenay? Unfortunately, all too often the health authority has been too busy trying to implement the changes and has not responded with a sufficient explanation.

So let me say to my constituents and perhaps to other rural British Columbians today that what they stand to gain from these important changes is, first, sustainable health care for us and our children. Sustainability is actually a simple concept, but difficult to implement. If the health care system is sus- tainable, what that means is that there will be enough revenue to pay the cost of providing service now and in the future. The system we inherited as a government was not sustainable.

B.C. taxpayers cannot continue to inject $1 billion of new money into the provincial health care system, as this government just did. What else do rural people gain from the changes taking place in health care? Seniors will have more choices to stay at home with support or to move to an assisted-living unit with other seniors for company, communal dining, personal support and health ser- vices. Up until now the only option for low-income seniors who need some level of health care service was to go into the hospital or into a long-term residential care institution.

Finally, the third benefit that all these difficult changes are leading to, which is so often overlooked, is the increased level of specialist care available on a reli- able basis to rural patients. The East Kootenay has never had seamless, 24-hour, 365-day-a-year access to core medical specialists. We have never had that. Dur- ing their ten years the former government refused to make the difficult decisions, the ones that risked the loss of political support but which are nonetheless the right decisions.

We have made those decisions, and more and more people are starting to recognize the very positive end goal of these changes. Finally, after decades of inertia, this government is putting in the resources for the first time ever to make the East Kootenay Regional Hospital in Cranbrook a true regional referral centre for all the people in the East Kootenay. Change is never easy, but what is most important, and what is often lost in the anxiety brought on by change, is that my constituents in the East Kootenay will receive some very, very important benefits from changes to health care.

We know that what we are building can be sustained for our children. We also know that our parents and our grandparents will not be forced to enter an institution before they need to. We have the knowledge that in the near future if any man, woman or child in the East Kootenay needs a core medical specialist, they will know for 100 percent cer- tain that they will not be turned away at the regional hospital. The last 18 months have been challenging for all members of this government, and I expect that the next two years will continue to be challenging. Very few people enjoy the prospect of change.

In fact, it is probably often the prospect of change and the anxiety about the change that people have the most difficulty with. I respect the anxiety that I hear expressed in my riding, and I am confident that with the additional in- formation promised in the throne speech, the people of rural B.C. will more and more come to realize the bene- fits of the plan that this government is implementing. I say to the people in my riding who are worried about the future: we will work harder to get you the facts in a timely way. When you have the facts, we will work with you so that we understand your concerns.

The cheerleaders for the status quo are hard at work. Information from our government about what we are really doing and not doing will not be wel- comed by them. But the Speech from the Throne is clear. This government will continue to work towards a better, more prosperous British Columbia. We will not spend more than taxpayers can afford to pay, nor will we settle for doing all the same things in the same ways that have not worked in the past. The Speech from the Throne is a strong, bold vision.

We will pur- sue this vision with the commitment and energy that this government has demonstrated to date — and more. We will move British Columbia forward into the prosperous future that all British Columbians want and deserve. [1455] J. Bray: It is indeed my privilege today to second the motion made by the member for East Kootenay. It is an honour again to rise on behalf of the residents of my community, Victoria–Beacon Hill, and respond to the throne speech. The Lieutenant-Governor has laid out a compre- hensive vision for British Columbia. It is not only a

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2003 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES 4715 vision that deals with the present but also a vision for our children and grandchildren. As I have done in pre- vious responses to the throne speech, I want to take this opportunity to highlight areas of the throne speech I believe are important to my constituents and to draw attention to those issues my constituents have raised with me since the House was last in session. Victoria–Beacon Hill is a dynamic riding. Although the smallest geographic riding in the province, there are many distinct neighbourhoods.

James Bay, Fern- wood, downtown, Jubilee, Fairfield, Rockland and Vic West all bring distinct perspectives to the issues I deal with as their MLA. I agree with the sentiments expressed in the speech. A lot has happened over the past year as the world has struggled to recover from the devastating after-effects of September 11, 2001. We do indeed live in trying, uncertain times of great global change. New solutions are required to cope with the generational challenges that all Canadians are facing in health care, education and other vital social program areas.

This throne speech provides the road map to long-term solutions. There are fundamental elements to review, and let me start with health care. No area of government is of more concern than the reforming of health care. We must find new ways of dealing with rising health care costs while also increasing access to services, drugs, technology and highly skilled health professionals. This is very important because, of course, the public sometimes doesn't hear this message clearly. It is im- portant to note that in the last year, this government has increased funding for health care by $1.1 billion.

However, we must recognize that it's still not enough to keep pace with British Columbians' growing de- mands, an aging population and rising expectations for ever bigger, better and more expensive health care ser- vices. In Victoria–Beacon Hill we have a couple of signifi- cant health issues that I have been working on with my constituents. As I have mentioned several times in this House, the James Bay Community Project health clinic is a vital health service for the residents in James Bay, m a n y o f t h e m s e n i o r s .

I t i s f u n d e d u n d e r a b l e n d e d funding model which includes population-based fund- ing and fee-for-service. Practices funded under this model are paid for the number of patients cared for and not for the number of services provided. It is part of primary care reform. It is part of the thrust that the provincial governments and the federal governments are working towards, and it is a dynamic source of health care in my riding. However, James Bay has had to face the resignation of their doctors over a dispute with the board.

Uncer- tainty over the future of this unique health care centre is very trying for many patients. Many of the residents are seniors, and the lack of access to quality health care is paramount in their lives. I will continue to press for the best funding options available to meet the needs of this community. In that vein, the throne speech does outline that later this year, the government will initiate a new strat- egy for chronic-disease management. I am very pleased to see this. As a member of the Select Standing Com- mittee on Health, we have been recommending that this area receives higher focus.

I also want to point out to my colleagues and to the Ministry of Health Plan- ning that the James Bay health clinic is ideally suited to be a lead locale in advancing strategies for chronic- disease management. In fact, over the last three years they have implemented a strategy dealing with diabe- tes to effectively manage the care for people living with the disease, to reduce the incidence of hospital stays, incorrect drug interactions and other effects of diabe- tes, and they are moving forward to implement plans to deal with cardiac disease.

I want to remind the members that when we're looking for opportunities, the James Bay health clinic is available to take the lead. [1500] Another key area for my community, and one that has received a lot of attention recently, is the looming crisis in Victoria's downtown core. Together the city, the Vancouver Island health authority and the Victoria police have recently announced a joint strategy to deal with illicit drug use, homelessness and mental health as it pertains to our community. For my riding this means not only downtown but also other residential neighbourhoods such as Fernwood.

We often talk about how governments fight with each other, how governments don't get along. I think it's very important to note that there is cooperation among the local au- thorities to deliver immediate as well as long-term so- lutions to this problem. The local authorities have asked us for help. They've asked for help from the province. They are looking to the provincial govern- ment to be a partner in these solutions. As the MLA for downtown, I will work with ministers to ensure that we do our part to support this collaborative and posi- tive approach. Later this week I will be touring downtown with Rev.

Al Tysick from the Open Door to see at first hand where the gaps in service are, meet the people living on the street and find solutions to improve their lives by allowing for access to the services that they need, the services that not only will benefit the individuals but in fact will benefit our entire community. I will also be taking the Minister for Mental Health on an evening ride-along with the Victoria city police to see what our police officers must deal with from the perspective of dealing with persons with mental illness.

My hope is that by allowing the minister to see the front lines in Victoria, we can identify gaps in service for people with mental illness and that the provincial government, in cooperation and conjunction with the health author- ity and the city, can deliver real solutions to the needs of these citizens. Constituents tell me they want to be more involved in the decisions regarding health care in Victoria. To that end, later this month I'll be holding community consultations in Vic West, Fairfield and Fernwood.

These forums will bring the decision-makers from the health sector together with the community for an ex-

4716 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES W EDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2003 change of ideas and information on important local health issues. In light of that, I would also like to draw atten- tion…. The throne speech made mention of child care, and I'm very pleased today to see an announcement on child care subsidy — that is, the subsidy that goes to low-income families to help them pay for the cost of child care. The income threshold with which parents are tested for eligibility for child care subsidy has been increased by $100 starting this May.

Three thousand more children will be eligible for subsidy, and another 6,000 children will see an increase in their funding. That is significant support for those that are working in our communities, those who are going to school to im- prove the lives of themselves and their families. I'm very proud that we've responded so quickly to the throne speech by delivering on that promise to im- prove child care for families in British Columbia. One of the issues I hear most frequently from my constituents is the treatment of first nations.

That is why I know my constituents will welcome the tone of reconciliation outlined in the throne speech. I agree with the statement that it is up to us to accord first na- tions the respect, support and social and economic op- portunities to which they are entitled. Errors have been made in the past. Our institutions have failed aboriginal people across our province.

I believe my constituents want the provincial govern- ment to make real progress on treaties and to recognize that we must treat each first nation as an individual entity, and that each first nation has its own history, culture, spirituality and wisdom. We often talk about the concept that one size doesn't fit all. Well, that is no more relevant than with first nations.

Once we recog- nize the individuality of each first nation — their dis- tinct language, their oral traditions — and learn from each culture how they relate to their elders and to the earth, then I believe we all can move forward together secure in our uniqueness of spirit but commonality of purpose. I applaud the boldness of the throne speech in addressing this vital area of our provincial lives. Another important theme in the throne speech is that of opening up our province to opportunity. I be- lieve one area that is vital and very important to my community is education.

That is why I'm so pleased that despite dropping enrolment, our school district will receive the same budget as last year, in effect in- creasing the funding provided for each student. I am also delighted that Victoria will share in the additional education funding of $50 million recently announced by the Premier. This is a result of savings in the Educa- tion ministry and will go directly to helping school districts deal with cost pressures, and it'll mean stronger educational opportunities for our students.

I'm very pleased that the Victoria share of these funds is almost $2 million going straight to the needs of stu- dents. [1505] As a member of the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services, education was a major focus of our recommendations. In fact, I want to reiterate one of our key recommendations from the report: that government give serious consideration to providing additional transitional funding for the K-to- 12 education system.

During the public hearings, the committee was struck forcibly by how much financial pressure educators working in the K-to-12 system seem to be experiencing as they try to adjust to the new funding formula for school districts. I'm therefore very pleased that government has responded to our com- mittee's work, responded to the views of British Co- lumbians and delivered on the priorities the commu- nity has identified, but I do believe more needs to be done. The select standing committee also recommended special attention be paid to the school-based funding envelope.

These are programs that include school meal programs and youth and family counsellors. I will con- tinue to strongly advocate that funding be allocated for these programs to the end of the school year and not just to the end of the fiscal year of March 31. I will con- tinue to work with the Minister of Children and Family Development to ensure that school-based funding re- mains a permanent fixture in his budget. Another key theme in the throne speech, along the lines of opening up the province, was tourism.

As members are well aware and I remind them, tourism is one of the fastest-growing and most exciting aspects of the Victoria economy. I'm very pleased that again we have reinvigorated our commitment to doubling tour- ism by the year 2010. I know that in working with the provincial government, the city and the regions in the capital area are determined to ensure we help attain that goal. I will continue to work with the Minister of Transportation to ensure that we find support for the Belleville Street terminal, which is our border with our American cousins who come up to visit Victoria.

I will ensure that we take full advantage of the op- portunities that our Olympic bid will provide to not only Vancouver and Whistler but, indeed, the whole province. I know that Vancouver Island is gaining momentum in its excitement towards the bid, is look- ing for opportunities to support the bid and is looking for opportunities to ensure our residents get full benefit from that opportunity.

The throne speech spoke of exciting opportunities in the heartlands of our province for providing oppor- tunity and access to our natural resources for the bene- fit of our communities and first nations and the ability of government to deliver important public services. In general, my constituents would agree with this direc- tion. However, there's a great sensitivity to our envi- ronment that my community expresses to me regu- l a r l y . T h e y w a n t t o e n s u r e t h a t e c o n o m i c b e n e f i t s d o not come at the expense of our environment.

Therefore, I will be working with government to ensure that the issues my community believes are important are ad- dressed as various economic ministries move forward. Specifically, the throne speech identified clean en- ergy sources as a key focal point of the energy plan. I know my community is eager to see progress on Van- couver Island and indeed the whole province in the

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2003 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES 4717 development and delivery of clean power. I encourage the government to support these initiatives and en- courage the large energy consumers to explore the use of alternative energy sources to the benefit of all. My constituents want to leave an environmentally positive legacy for future generations as well as a strong eco- nomic legacy for our children. Finally, I wish to speak to an issue that I believe my constituents are eager to see progress on. That's the citizens' assembly.

As the throne speech stated, this year your government will put the drafting pen in the hands of the people to shape the future of our parlia- mentary democracy in the twenty-first century. A citi- zens' assembly will examine and make recommenda- tions on the crucial issue of electoral reform. British Columbians will have an unprecedented opportunity to review and debate all models available throughout the world for electing their MLAs consistent with our system of responsible government.

If the assembly ul- timately determines that there is a better model than the current system, that model will be put directly to the people in a referendum to amend our provincial constitution on May 17, 2005. The throne speech also identified that a motion will be introduced in this assembly within a few weeks to initiate this process, following the release of the report t h a t w a s c o m p l e t e d b y G o r d o n G i b s o n . T h i s i s a h i s - toric situation for Canadian parliamentary history. This is absolutely exciting that the politicians will be re- moved from the process.

It will be the citizens that will make the determination on how they want to see their representatives elected. In fact, it reminds me that it was W.H. Auden who said: "There is no such thing as a perfect democratic state good for all time." Our political institutions change even when we're not paying attention to them. But as circumstances change, so, too, will our attention focus from time to time on the need to embrace more consciously the project of political reform. [1510] As the throne speech highlighted, some reform has already taken place in this House in the last 18 months.

W e h a v e g o v e r n m e n t c a u c u s c o m m i t t e e s t h a t a l l o w unprecedented opportunities for private members to have influence on the development of public policy, not just the debating of public policy. Select standing committees of the Legislature — some that haven't seen the light of day for 30 years — are now out and travelling the province, hearing from British Columbians and reporting to the Legislature.

What's most important is that the Select Standing Committee on Education, the Select Standing Commit- tee on Finance and Government Services and the Select Standing Committee on Health have all had direct im- pact and positive change in the direction of govern- ment policy for the benefit of British Columbians throughout the province. I think that is an outstanding achievement that this parliament is delivering to the people of British Columbia by being open, accessible and accountable. The other thing that has gone somewhat under the radar screen is that we've instituted free votes in this Legislature.

In fact, they're so common now that people tend not to notice, but private members do speak on behalf of their constituents. On countless occasions since the last election, members have stood up and spoken out on behalf of their constituents. I'm proud to have stood up on more than one occasion to vote on behalf of my constituents in this House. That's the kind of change people want. That's the response they want from their representatives, and I'm proud to be a mem- ber of government that has bravely endorsed this, ac- cepted it and moved forward with it. It's what the peo- ple want.

In the elections of 1996 and 2001 we saw results in this Legislature that many felt did not reflect the actual voting preferences of citizens. For me, the fundamental goal of elections is not to serve the need of political parties. The goal of elections is to give citizens a voice in choosing their government. Thus, the urgent ques- tion for 1996, 2001 and all elections is this: how do we create a system that better serves all of the people of the province?

I will continue to promote a citizens' as- sembly that will allow ordinary citizens, and not politi- cians, to decide how they wish to elect their representa- tives and their government. The main focus of electoral reform is and ought to be not the political party but the voter. Therefore, I am pleased that this progressive first in Canadian history was part of the throne speech. British Columbia is poised to make great strides in our economy, delivery of public services and our place in the world.

I will continue to work on behalf of my community to ensure their views and interests are rep- resented in the House and in government. The future is ours, and we can help shape what it will be for us and future generations. I'm reminded of a statement a friend once made to me: "Fear of the future is no foun- dation for a better tomorrow." Therefore, my commu- nity looks forward with their eyes firmly fixed on the hope for peace, health and happiness for all those who live in this province. J. MacPhail: Welcome back to all of our colleagues for this session — a very important session.

I rise today in response to the Speech from the Throne — a throne speech that marks the halfway point in this government's mandate, a throne speech that I am sure the Premier had hoped to see delivered under different political, economic and fiscal circum- stances. After almost two years in power, the economy is not well. The deficit is out of control. More debt is be- ing added to the books than ever before. Our commu- nities are being devastated.

Our health and education systems are in decline, and perhaps most importantly, the reputation that the government and the Premier had hoped to build for competence and integrity is in tatters. For all their high-flown rhetoric, throne speeches can be useful for the insight they provide into the con- fidence that a government and its leader have in their

4718 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES W EDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2003 agenda. This throne speech powerfully demonstrates that this government has lost that confidence and doesn't know any longer what to do with its enormous legislative majority now that it is rapidly losing its moral authority. [1515] Less than two years ago the Premier won an over- whelming mandate on a promise of hope and prosper- ity, on a promise to restore confidence in the integrity of our political institutions. Not only has that promise not been fulfilled, it's been broken.

More than half of British Columbians think that the Premier should re- sign. More than that think he's lost the moral authority to govern, and more than that think at the very least he is, to put it politely, one who is prone to double stan- dards. How very sad — so much hope, so much prom- ise, so much confidence reduced to a desperate attempt to re-earn trust. Two years after being swept to power, B.C. is a more polarized, a more anxious and a less confident province than it has been in recent memory. The Premier promised to change politics, to tran- scend old divisions and to return integrity.

He has failed on all those counts, reinforcing the old patterns of polarization that have infected our political system for far too long. The Premier promised to usher in a new era, but he's delivered more of the same, only now with a hard, right-wing, mean-spirited edge. This is not what British Columbians voted for. This is not what they deserve.

The opposition — conscious of our past mistakes, aware that now is a time to listen and to learn, and dedicated to setting a new course for our party and province — is committed to delivering the lasting po- litical, economic and social change that British Colum- bians are demanding. I'm sure many British Columbi- ans expect me and my colleague — indeed, many have asked us — to focus on the Premier's arrest and the criminal charges and penalties that he still must face. There is a tremendous amount of anger, frustration and disappointment with the Premier, but we are going to refrain from doing that.

A month ago I said that by the Premier's own stan- dards of conduct that he aggressively and vigorously demanded of others over the course of his political career, he had no choice but to resign. He did not make that choice, and so today we are left with a significantly diminished Premier and a government trying to cope with huge public policy questions, having blown much of their political and moral capital defending the crimi- nal behaviour of one man. Those challenges grow with each passing day, but the government has neither the vision nor the moral authority to take them on.

British Columbia is not the province it was only a few short years ago. We are faced with a whole new set of problems and new opportunities. The forces of glob- alization and technological innovation have had a pro- f o u n d e f f e c t o n a l l s o c i e t i e s , n o n e m o r e s o t h a n o u r province. Only a generation ago we were, with some very notable exceptions, a fairly homogenous and in some ways a deeply conservative society. Not any longer. Today British Columbia pulsates with the rhythm and dynamic energy of the entire world.

The huge mountains and the vast oceans which once locked us in physically and psychologically are now just points on the map. A small, open society with a highly educated work- force, huge natural advantages, diverse and outward looking, British Columbia could not be better posi- tioned to take advantage of the opportunities that the new economy affords. We in British Columbia are wasting that opportunity.

Through blind ideological commitment to a failing right-wing economic agenda, the government is wasting B.C.'s opportunity to be an economic leader, to show the world that economic in- novation and growth can and must go hand in hand with fairness, compassion and social justice. [1520] Instead of bringing people together in a common project to build a better, more democratic and more prosperous province, we are dividing people, pitting workers against management, environmentalists against loggers, rural against urban British Columbi- ans, rich against the middle class and the poor.

Instead of encouraging the potential of every British Colum- bian to realize their hopes and dreams and to bridge the gap between who they are and what they want for themselves, we are throwing up as many barriers as we possibly can on their life's journey. The government is throwing up obstacles, doing the best it can to crush initiative by making a hard life unbearable. This is economic foolishness, and it's mor- ally reprehensible.

It results from the government's ferocious commitment to a right-wing, anti- government ideology, an ideology that seems to have engulfed the Liberal Party, an ideology that gained purchase in reaction to the previous administrations but has gone way too far in the other direction. It's an ideology that is taking B.C. down a path that a growing majority of British Columbians don't care to travel, and it's an ideology that is out of step with the spirit that put our province on the map and the spirit of our times. I am the first to admit that governing is difficult.

I am the first to admit the mistakes made by the previ- ous government. Too often we played to the lowest common denominator, looking for the easy hit and the quick headline. Too often we declared enemies and polarized issues, believing wrongly that some political advantage would accrue. Then, when things didn't go as planned, we blamed the media. We blamed the communications of the policy instead of the policies themselves. I take great pride in many of our government's achievements, but the wonderful good was over- whelmed by the culmination of failures, and we paid a heavy price.

You would think, having spent ten years in opposition, that the Liberals would have learned something. But they didn't. They have brought neither stability nor moderation nor thoughtfulness to their task. From forestry to fish farms, from education to the environment, from the economy to the integrity of

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2003 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES 4719 those at the cabinet table, the Liberals have brought shame upon their offices and disrepute to their policies.

The Premier about to be sentenced for drunk driving; a minister under police investigation; questions swirling about the relationship of big money, big industry, po- litical influence and the safety of our food and future of our wild salmon stocks; concocted and contradictory stories from the Attorney General about what led to the decision to pay for a judge to smoke in her office; and, of course, the ongoing scandal of the Liberals' class war carried out against the poor, the disabled and the vul- nerable…. Why?

It's to pay for a massive transfer of wealth from the poor to the super rich, all grounded in an ideology that may excite the academics of the Fraser Institute but is leaving communities across B.C. won- dering if they have a future. It's grounded in this out- dated, discredited ideology and paid for by this gov- ernment's campaign backers, the same wealthy corpo- rations, industries and individuals who now benefit from virtually every government decision. The public is fed up with the perception that gov- ernments are bought and paid for by special interests.

That's one of the reasons why we have called for the Premier to introduce campaign finance reform that would take the money out of politics and ensure that the public policy decisions are made with the public in mind, not big forest companies, not the multinational fish farm industry, not the wealthiest among us who are the only ones with any of their tax cuts still in their wallets. [1525] Campaign finance reform is good public policy. It's sensible, it's moderate, and it's doable. That's precisely why this government is unlikely to do anything about it. The Premier has made it clear.

He's not going to do anything about campaign finance reform. But I'll repeat my call today, and I hope the Premier's listening. Bring forward a bill that would fundamentally change the perception that political parties are bought and paid for, and the opposition caucus will support it 100 per- cent. The government has also promised massive re- forms to the way we extract wealth from our forests.

Change is necessary, market reforms included, but once again the Liberals are putting the primacy of mar- kets ahead of the needs of communities, tearing up the social contract upon which this province was built, with little thought to the ruined communities they will leave in their wake. Rural B.C. is hurting. A change of name, to the heartland B.C., won't change a thing unless this gov- ernment takes action. Rural B.C. is hurting. It's hurting in a way we haven't seen since the 1930s. Those are not my words; those are the words of the old-timers I've met with in the communities throughout rural B.C.

At precisely the moment they are most in need, the Liber- als have walked in and closed their schools, shut down their courthouses, locked their hospital emergency room doors, put liens on many of their homes and said, in essence: "You're on your own. Good luck. Life is tough. Let's hope we get the Olympics. Maybe you'll get lucky, and some tourists will find themselves your way — not by a train. Maybe they'll stumble upon your community." Now in this throne speech, adding insult to injuries, the Liberals have renamed the interior, as I've said, the heartland, as if that will solve the problems they've created.

What's the point of paying taxes? What's the point of participating in our province's political and civic life if that's all a government can do for you when times are as tough as they've been in generations? With almost every seat in the province, interior residents are wondering what on earth their Liberal MLAs are do- ing. Who is standing up for them? As the politicians draw up their plans for change, who is at the table to remind them that there are stories, there are lives, there are families and dreams built over generations behind every number and in every graph and chart?

Who is there to say that while we may need to change the way we arrive at a price for our trees, we cannot forget the value of those trees to our communities? Rural British Columbians know that change is com- ing. They know that change is required, but they also know that it will all be for naught unless their needs — and not some abstract market principle — are the cen- tre of the new balance that is struck.

These British Co- lumbians are the very ones that are joining together under the community forest solutions banner to con- sult, to listen and to develop new solutions that em- brace the need to change in a way that remains true to communities' enduring values. [1530] We can also expect, finally, to see in this session this government's plan for what is euphemistically known as the community charter, but what everybody knows to be a blueprint for downloading provincial costs and tax powers onto municipalities as the province gets out of the business of governing.

We saw that in the an- nouncement of the fees changes by the open cabinet last Friday — upping all sorts of fees but claiming, on the other hand, that they were going to remove a whole bunch of fees. Well, it turns out they're not actually removing those fees. They're downloading them onto other agencies at the local level — another little spin by the Liberal open cabinet meetings. Is the taxpayer get- ting rid of those fees? Not at all. They'll just be charged by a different local agency, and that's just the begin- ning of what the community charter will mean for tax- payers in this province.

This session, with close to half their mandate be- hind them, the government will no longer be able to blame others for their failures. The health care sys- tem is worse, much worse, than it was two years ago. Public education is in serious decline. Affordable day care is out of reach for thousands of working people, thousands of working parents who have seen their subsidies reduced. Seniors to this day are still being m o v e d a r o u n d f r o m c a r e h o m e t o c a r e h o m e i n a botched and dishonest effort to build cheap and un- satisfactory assisted-living beds.

The environment is in trouble, with polluters get- ting special treatment and special access, and the econ-

4720 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES W EDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2003 omy still sputters along waiting for the miracle of trickle-down economics to work its promised magic. The Liberals have certainly delivered change: short- term, ill-conceived and hurried change to cope with the reckless tax giveaway that has, sadly, driven every decision since their first day in office. Instead of the lasting, thoughtful reform of our institutions that was promised, the Liberals have veered off in a direction that few expected and that certainly wasn't disclosed.

In the process, British Columbians have seen the enduring values that define our province sacrificed in countless ways and small injustices to pay the price of one big mistake, a mistake born from a narrow and oversimplistic idea of what it takes to prosper in an era of lasting change. Lasting change, enduring values — these are the principles, I believe, that this government, any government, must use as their compass in an era where the only constant is uncertainty. [J. Weisbeck in the chair.] With war on the horizon, we cannot even be certain what the next few weeks will bring. How long will the war last?

How many lives will be lost? What will it do to our fragile economy? We don't know the answers. All we can know for sure is that at times like this, we need to return to first principles, to those enduring values that centre our moral vision: peace, humanity, civility, tolerance and compassion — v a l u e s t h a t a r e now more important than ever, and values that des- perately need to find renewed expression in our politi- cal and civil life.

I don't for a moment think that anyone in this room is anything but committed to those values, but still I think that many have forgotten them — maybe mo- mentarily; I hope not forever. Forgotten by a govern- ment that rode to power on the promise of change and that thought that's all they had to deliver. Forgotten by a government that had one big idea — tax cuts — but no smaller, more practical ideas and certainly no backup plan if things went wrong. Forgotten by a gov- ernment for whom ideology always seems to trump common sense. [1535] The throne speech talks repeatedly about opening up.

If the Premier and his government were serious about demonstrating change, demonstrating the com- passion the Premier has asked British Columbians for…. If the Premier is serious about regaining public trust, credibility and the moral authority he has squan- dered, he would do just that: open up — open up and listen to the thousands of British Columbians who are crying out for the government they thought they voted for. We hear from them every day — British Columbi- ans who openly admit that they voted against our for- mer government, British Columbians who voted for change but not this kind of change.

The coming session promises to be a tough one. I will certainly not hold back my critique of the govern- ment. My colleague and I will continue to put forward constructive, positive solutions to the serious chal- lenges facing our economy, our forest industry, our rural communities, our health care system and our schools. But I want to say in closing that although we disagree passionately about the direction this province is taking, I sincerely wish the Premier, his cabinet and his caucus the best. Governing is not easy. I know that from experience.

I think the Premier has finally real- ized that it will not be as easy as he fantasized it would be when he was in opposition. But good government requires listening to those you govern. This govern- ment needs to do a better job of that. It's not too late to start. B. Suffredine: It's an honour to rise in response to the Speech from the Throne. Opening up the heart- lands to opportunity is what we need in the Kootenays. When I was elected in May of 2001, I knew that the choices that I and the others would have to face in or- der to reverse a decade of mismanagement would not be easy.

In that decade of decline the debt owed by the province doubled. The commitments made by the for- mer government would have seen the annual deficit grow to $7 billion within a few years unless we took action. We acted. It hasn't been easy. I've worried about the effects some of the things we've done have had on people where I live and on people I know. I've noticed in that short time that I have a lot more grey hair. But in the end, I think it will all be worth it. On the way home from Victoria recently, I had time to reflect.

One thing that struck me was how easy it can be to lose sight of the underlying problems in this province that prompted me to run for office and that prompted voters across this province to sweep this government into power. We had a sluggish economy that forced many people to watch their children move away to find work. The underlying problem was poor fiscal manage- ment of B.C. For decades previous governments had recorded deficit after deficit budget that grew our debt to an enormous amount and eventually made us a have-not province, qualifying us for federal equalization payments.

British Columbia has a debt of $38 billion. That's alarming, but the worst

part is that the interest payments on that debt cost us $7.2 million every single day of the week. That's just interest; it doesn't touch the principal. For most people that number is just too large to comprehend. The most difficult

part is that our children and grandchildren will have to pay this back. They deserve better. That's why fundamental change to spending tax dollars has been necessary. We're sticking to a plan to balance the budget and stop digging ourselves further into debt. It involves spending money responsibly while stimulating the economy to increase government revenues. It's not an easy task, and it will take time, but it's the right thing to do. British Columbia has more resources and greater potential than any Canadian province. We should have a thriving economy with our rich resources. That's why I'm so pleased that the government understands the

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2003 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES 4721 value of the heartlands. We who live in the heartlands know the true economic strength is there in our people and our resources. There are opportunities in mining, forestry, high-tech and tourism that can and will bring jobs to the people throughout the province if they have the chance. [1540] Opening opportunities in the mining sector can help mining reach its full potential in the Kootenays. Recently I received some information on a develop- ment of a mining project near New Denver.

This pro- ject was originally begun in the 1980s by a company known as BP Resources. It's called the Willa project. Millions of dollars were spent many years ago on the Willa proving up a body of gold-, copper- and silver- bearing ore. Sadly, that project was abandoned during the era of the NDP. Now it has a chance to proceed if we create a friendly business environment. Mining produces the best-paying jobs of all sectors. This pro- ject alone could produce up to 90 jobs, and the ore is to be trucked to Goldstream to be processed in an already existing mill, so the environmental impact will be minimal.

If this project proceeds, the whole Arrow Lakes and Slocan region will benefit. Our plan is working. Business and investors have renewed confidence. We have a long way to go, but the direction we are headed in is the right one. Recently the promoter of the Willa project, Mr. John Chapman, who has a successful history in mining development, was quoted about the attitude to mining in B.C. after the last government.

He said, "B.C. has been classed as a place for the mining industry to stay away from, right down there with Russia as far as investment attractive- ness," according to the annual survey of mining com- panies released last month by the Fraser Institute. But with the more business-friendly Liberal government now in power, he's hoping for a change in the business mining climate. I also read in the Province this morning about a Nel- son company, Pacific Insight Electronics, that is making a foray into manufacturing components for energy- efficient hybrid electric cars.

Against the odds, this ingenious company has grown in Nelson over the years, producing automatic headlight controls. This new venture, I hope, will cause them to prosper further and provide hundreds more jobs over the hundreds it already provides. The heartlands strategy to provide them with access to high-speed broadband will help. Responsible spending and economic growth are a formula for success. We must stay focused on this plan so future generations will not inherit a legacy of debt.

We must make it possible for investors to do business here in a way that respects the environment without creating needless obstacles. In the Kootenays development of a transportation strategy is the key to success, so I was very pleased to hear that the first stage of an integrated provincial transportation plan is ready. Whether you're in tour- ism, mining, forestry, manufacturing or whether you're working or retired, you need access. I'm thrilled that the development of a strategic transportation plan that takes into account provincial needs is proceeding.

Last year, in order to reduce expenses and meet budget requirements, there were several reductions in inland ferry services, and legislation was passed to enable tolling. Those were difficult times. As the sum- mer progressed, it became apparent that there was a consequence to that for tourism and industry that ma- terialized in the Arrow Lakes and that was not predict- able. Traffic volumes were higher than in any previous year, and lineups at Galena Bay and Shelter Bay stretched for miles. People turned around and went home, and trucks were rerouted. All of that had a cost.

A g r e a t d e a l o f w o r k h a s b e e n d o n e s i n c e . I a m n o w optimistic that the provincial transportation strategy will soon resolve these issues and create new opportu- nities for tourism, mining and forestry. I hope this plan empowers people in the heartlands to participate in planning and committing improvements to transporta- tion within our region. The dedication of gasoline tax revenues to transpor- tation improvements is a welcome announcement. For too long people have felt that these taxes go into the black hole known as general revenue with no account- ability.

I hope that dedicated funding of transportation will eliminate the need for tolls and let local people help direct the investment of funds where they can do the most good. We need to open up the heartland communities of the Kootenays, like Nelson, Creston, Kaslo, Silverton, Nakusp and Salmo. We need to develop tourism op- portunities of all kinds in the region. The Kootenays are the most spectacular place on earth to visit. Winter and summer tourism abounds. We really have some- thing to sell. [1545] Let me give you a few examples.

You can ski at Whitewater or Baldface basin or heli-ski with Canadian Mountain Holidays at Nakusp. You can golf at any one of a dozen or more golf courses designed for people from professionals to amateurs. You can fish for trophy rainbow, Dolly Varden or kokanee in Kootenay, Slocan or Arrow lakes. You could bask in the hot springs at Ainsworth Hot Springs, Nakusp or Halcyon. You can curl in the Midsummer World Bonspiel at Nelson. You can hang-glide if you want from Buchanan Lookout at Kaslo or Mount Lavina near New Denver.

You could mountain-bike up the historic Burlington Northern railway or the Kettle Valley Railway. You can hike or mountain-climb at Kokanee Glacier or Valhalla Park. You can prospect almost anywhere. You can even birdwatch at the 17,000-acre Creston Val- ley Wildlife Centre or canoe up the Silvery Slocan. We have a wealth of tourism opportunities, and those are just a few. In forestry, I welcome the establishment of a work- ing land base. The working forest is not what some people think. It is simply the designation of an area of land upon which we accept that forestry is a priority use.

It allows other compatible uses. It gives certainty to an industry that in the past has suffered under the

4722 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES W EDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2003 vagaries of needless uncertainty. The working forest will create new opportunities for us in Nelson-Creston. The move to a market-based stumpage system is also welcome news. Since the election we have been plagued by the softwood lumber dispute. It is a result of protectionist actions by U.S. producers. Of course, it is possible that because our system of stumpage is so complex, virtually no one really understands it, and that lends itself to a dispute like this.

A shift to a market-based system that people un- derstand will create opportunities for value-added producers who previously had trouble obtaining a source of product. In the past six months alone I have spoken to producers who make things like wooden airplane parts, teepee poles, wainscot panelling or fence posts. Most of them said they could not get a wood supply. Some only wanted salvaged wood, but the system did not enable them to buy it. Some com- plained that the present system made it so they could not get a supply of any wood at almost any price that was realistic.

The new system will create opportunity for any producer willing to pay a reasonable market price to obtain the supply necessary. It will also assist in bring- ing long-term stability to the softwood market, as a simple system that is market-based and easily under- stood will help avoid future disputes. The plan to restrict log exports from Crown land is also a welcome announcement. I am painfully aware of abuses in exports that are currently occurring. Some- times the most value can be obtained by exporting a log to build something like a log home or use it as a pole or a piling.

It isn't cut into dimension lumber to do that. The definition of poles, pilings and logs is so vague. However, that wood being shipped across our borders, under the description of poles or pilings, goes directly to mills in Washington State to be cut into di- mension lumber. I've heard this complaint regularly in Creston — that dozens of trucks daily go across the border under that description. I personally followed one truck to the border about a week ago, which was hauling half- peeled logs that were clearly neither poles nor pilings and were destined for a sawmill.

This abuse must stop so we can open up opportunities for British Columbi- ans to process this wood. The announcement that child day care spaces will be increased is welcome indeed, and I look forward to more detail in the days and weeks to come. Quality child care is important in Nelson-Creston. Recent un- certainties about child care must be overcome. Parents need quality day care; children need quality day care. I'm pleased that we intend to deliver that quality child care. [1550] The announcement that earnings exemptions for the disabled are to rise is a particular pleasure.

Shortly after the election — in fact, arising out of a contact I had during the election — I had been working with a fine local lady named Margaret Patterson who ex- plained to me that in the over 20 years that she has been on disability, the earnings exemption for people like her who suffer disabilities and can never hope to be fully self-supporting had never been adjusted.

As she put it: "Every time the minimum wage goes up, I work for less per hour." I had discussions with Minister Coell, who listened and in the last budget acted to raise the earnings exemption for all people on disability to a flat $300 per month, so that all people like Margaret got the benefit of that. While that was welcome news, it still makes life for the disabled financially challenging. They cannot be expected to ever be completely inde- pendent, so anything we can afford to do to give them a better life is personally satisfying for me.

Any news that the disabled can look forward to a better life and a better earnings exemption to help them survive is wel- come. There are many more things in the throne speech that I would like to cover, but I think I'll hold it at that for now. We will open up this province to the world and continue to show the world that British Columbia is indeed a wonderful place to live and work. More- over, the choices we are taking today and the opportu- nities we are developing will lay the foundation for our children and grandchildren to enjoy this legacy. R.

Masi: I'm very pleased to rise today to partici- pate in this throne speech debate. Just under two years ago this government was granted a resounding man- date from the people of British Columbia. All across our great province and in my own constituency of Delta North people agreed it was time for a govern- ment that was dedicated to restoring openness, ac- countability, fiscal responsibility, economic renewal, a first-class education system and a health care organiza- tion dedicated to the needs of our patients.

Since that election this government, from the Pre- mier on down, has been committed to delivering on our promises and to delivering on the potential of our great province. Along the way we as a government have been faced with some very tough choices and even tougher decisions. At times these decisions have generated spirited public debate, but rest assured these decisions have been taken because they were the right thing to do, not because they were politically expedi- ent. That takes leadership. It takes fortitude and fore- sight, and it takes determination to make the right de- cision.

We have made tremendous progress since June of 2001. B.C.'s economy is responding to our leadership after a decade of neglect and indifference. Recent eco- nomic indicators show the year-over-year increase in the number of jobs created here in B.C. from December 2001 to December 2002 was 81,000 — the third-highest increase in all of Canada and well ahead of the national average. Housing starts in 2002 were up 26½ percent over 2001, well over the national experience and sur- passing forecasts generated by the province, CMHC and our Economic Forecast Council.

Closer to home, the port of Vancouver recorded a 27 percent increase in its container traffic over last year — yet another con-

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2003 B RITISH COLUMBIA DEBATES 4723 crete exampl

Document details

Collection	British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	H0212pm 02
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	H0212pm 02
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	9fb845937de846b19fe877c6f99f580216ff4e82

Source file is stored in the law ingest library (pdf).