2007 Legislative Session: Third Session, 38th Parliament

HANSARD

The following electronic version is for informational purposes

only.

The printed version remains the official version.

Official Report of

DEBATES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

(Hansard)

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2007

Afternoon Sitting

Volume 14, Number 6

CONTENTS

Routine Proceedings

Page

Tributes

Merle Finnerty

Hon. R. Thorpe

Introductions by Members

Statements (Standing Order 25 B )

Quality child care

S. Fraser

Chinese New Year

J. Yap

Victoria Tea Festival for Camosun

College child care services

R. Fleming

Thunder on Ice competition in Fort St.

James

J. Rustad

Fanny Albo

K. Conroy

Avalanche safety

R. Sultan

Oral Questions

Fraser Health Authority acute care

capacity report

C. James

Hon. G. Abbott

Emergency services at Royal Columbian

Hospital

A. Dix

Hon. G. Abbott

Implementation of seniors health care report

recommendations

K. Conroy

Hon. G. Abbott

Vancouver Convention Centre expansion

costs

H. Bains

Hon. S. Hagen

Contracts for expansion of Vancouver

Convention Centre

G. Gentner

Hon. S. Hagen

Elimination of beehive burners

B. Simpson

Hon. B. Penner

Targeted funding for climate change

plan

S. Simpson

Hon. B. Penner

Petitions

S. Hawkins

B. Simpson

A. Horning

Throne Speech Debate (continued)

H. Bloy

R. Chouhan

J. Nuraney

N. Macdonald

B. Bennett

M. Karagianis

Hon. T. Christensen

G. Coons

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2007

The House met at 2:04 p.m.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Tributes

MERLE FINNERTY

Hon. R. Thorpe: Merle Finnerty, a longtime resident of Penticton, recently passed away at 88 years of age. Over the years Merle contributed many volunteer hours as an active member of the junior hospital auxiliary, a Rotarian, a Peach Fest volunteer. She dedicated many hours to the community of Penticton while her husband Maurice served as an MLA of Okanagan-Similkameen from '49 to '52 and the mayor of Penticton from '61 to '67.

In addition, Merle was an entrepreneur. She was one of the original owners of CKOK Radio. Golfers will also remember her during her ownership of the Totem Golf Course.

Merle was a true lady who loved her community, and she will be greatly missed by her family, her grandsons, her great-grandchildren and our community.

[1405]

Introductions by Members

J. Brar: We have four members of a beautiful family visiting us from California. We have Parmajit Singh Gill, an information technology engineer, joined by his beautiful wife Suneet Gill, and they are accompanied by their two beautiful daughters Gurnoor Gill and Mannat Gill. Will the House please make them feel welcome.

Hon. J. van Dongen: We have a group of eight Ontario legislative interns from Queen's Park visiting us today and tomorrow in the Parliament Buildings. They have selected British Columbia and California as destinations for their educational trip this year. With us are Ian Burns, Tom McDowell, Neil Foley, Laura Dougan, Jason Lagerquist, Rachel Stack, Eleni Tsoutsias and Lauren Starr. I would ask the House to give them a warm British Columbia welcome.

R. Austin: Today I'd like to introduce two visitors to the House. The first is Dr. Parkash Singh Dhillon. He's an orthopedic surgeon specializing in bones and joints visiting from India. The second is Gurrinder Singh Sohal, an industrial engineer from the United States. I ask the House to join me in making them welcome.

H. Lali: Visiting us here today in the galleries is a former constituent of mine. Her name is Micah Luxen. She worked for the Keremeos newspaper over the summer and is attending the University of Victoria right now. Would the House please give my former constituent a round of welcome.

I. Black: In the gallery today I'm delighted to have a constituent by the name of Steve Davis. He has a couple of generations of residency in Port Moody as well as a couple of generations of family business ownership. He was also my guest at lunch. Would the House please make him feel welcome.

B. Simpson: In the gallery today is a very special person who does her utmost to try and keep me on time and make me look good. I know how hard that is. Raj Patara, one of our legislative assistants, is in the gallery today. While she wants to remain 21 forever, it is in fact her 30th birthday today. I would ask the member for Nelson-Creston to lead us in song, but we know what happens when we sing in this House, and we don't want that to happen. So please help me to say happy birthday and welcome to Raj Patara.

S. Fraser: I'd like to welcome a good friend of mine, Larry Nicolay, to the Legislature. I won't sugar-coat it. By my calculations, he's 49 years old, so he just caught me today. Larry is a constituent and a former councillor for the district of Tofino. He's the current chamber president for the Tofino–Long Beach Chamber of Commerce. Please join me in welcoming him here and also wishing him a very happy birthday.

S. Hammell: I'd like to introduce Amy Ghuman. Amy Ghuman is quite a remarkable young woman. She has managed to raise $75,000 for the Delta Hospital Foundation through two festivals. They are the Lohri Festival, which deals with gender issues in the South Asian community, and the Festival for Mothers, which centres around health issues in the South Asian community. She has also agreed to be my constituency assistant, and I'm very, very proud of her. Would the House please make her welcome.

[1410]

R. Chouhan: I would also like to wish happy birthday to my constituency assistant Cate Jones. I thought she would take the day off, but I found out she's still working hard today. So please join me to wish her happy birthday.

Mr. Speaker: The member for Nelson-Creston. I'm sure he's not going to sing.

C. Evans: I rise to introduce a couple of ladies who have just joined us: Elizabeth Schuler and Eileen Asher from the village of Creston. Elizabeth is an apple grower who's got six acres of apples and wants to talk to us about getting one acre she can live on. Welcome to Victoria. We fix everything here.

Statements

(Standing Order 25

B) QUALITY CHILD CARE

S. Fraser: In Alberni-Qualicum — which includes Port Alberni, the communities of Oceanside and the

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west coast communities of Tofino, Ucluelet and Bamfield — child care is an essential service. The workforce that drives the economic engines of that region relies on quality, affordable and accessible child care. This applies to all sectors — small business, industry, police, fire protection, construction, health care and government.

Studies have shown that the high-quality child care that we see often in our communities could also help disadvantaged children get a better start at school. It's been shown to improve children's cognitive, language and social skills. Indeed, the 2004 research paper from the University of Manitoba was entitled "Starting Behind, Staying Behind." The title says it all. The paper shows clearly and without question that early development programs such as those provided by quality child care operators help to make education the truly equal opportunity that it must be.

An essential service? Yes indeed — and oh, what an investment in our future.

CHINESE NEW YEAR

J. Yap: Yesterday marked the first day of Chinese New Year, a time of year which is revered and celebrated by people of Chinese heritage around the world and, of course, here in British Columbia. In my community of Richmond, Chinese New Year or lunar new year is celebrated with great enthusiasm, including traditional lion and dragon dances as well as displays of Chinese artistry, music and dance, lots of red decorations, traditional festivals and feasts with special foods and, of course, the countless opportunities for families to visit with each other and with friends.

I know many members of this chamber participated in Chinese New Year activities yesterday and will continue to during the next two weeks, since Chinese New Year is officially celebrated for 15 days. At the public events I attended yesterday, I noted a variety of people from different cultures participating in and enjoying the celebrations. This shows how Chinese New Year is becoming a time of celebration for all people, not just those of Chinese ancestry, and a mark of British Columbians' multiculturalism. Indeed, the February 17, 2007, Vancouver Sun newspaper had a headline: "Lunar New Year Goes Mainstream."

[1415]

Chinese New Year is a time to honour elders, spend time with family and friends, remember departed family members and celebrate blessings. This year is the Year of the Golden Boar or Pig. People born in this year are said to be honest, straightforward, patient, trustworthy, reliable, lovers of nature, widely admired and with many friends.

According to tradition, we can expect this year to offer great potential for good fortune, kindness, honesty and tolerance. This should be another great year for all British Columbians, Chinese and others alike. Accordingly, I wish all citizens a prosperous and happy Chinese New Year or more traditionally, gung hay fat choy and sun ninn fye lock .

VICTORIA TEA FESTIVAL FOR

CAMOSUN COLLEGE CHILD CARE SERVICES

R. Fleming: In a city renowned for afternoon teas, Camosun College child care services and sponsor Silk Road Tea Co. are taking the lead in hosting Victoria's first-ever tea festival on Sunday, March 11 at the Holiday Inn on Blanshard Street. This one-day event will feature a tasting of a wide variety of teas from around the world, as well as presentations on tea topics. The Victoria Tea Festival is a fundraising event for Camosun College child care services. Silent and live auction items will be available at the festival, with all proceeds benefiting the on-campus child care facilities.

Camosun College operates two licensed child care facilities, one at each campus, for infants, toddlers and preschool children. The child care facilities are essential to making it possible for many parents to attend the college and be able to provide a better future for themselves and for their children.

On-campus child care services also face a unique set of challenges, including ongoing financial viability. Last year the facilities themselves were threatened with closure but won a late reprieve. Student parents at Camosun College have to struggle to make ends meet. There is the rising monthly cost of child care, exacerbated by cutbacks, and costly tuition fees well above the national average. This region also has an affordable housing crisis that affects students, caused by an extremely low vacancy rate. Recently it was announced that Victoria now ranks among the 25 most expensive cities in the world to live.

The Victoria Tea Festival is being organized by parents, staff and volunteers, and their goal is to make this an annual event so that they can keep the child care centres open and raise funds for indoor and outdoor equipment for the children. Tickets can be purchased at a variety of locations including the Silk Road Tea Co. on Government Street and the Camosun College child care services office.

I want to applaud the Victoria Tea Festival volunteers, the sponsors, the staff and the parents for putting on this festival together. I encourage local residents to attend, to enjoy themselves and to support a great cause.

THUNDER ON ICE COMPETITION

IN FORT ST. JAMES

J. Rustad: I rise with pride today to boast about an important community in my riding and an event that's drawing international participation. Fort St. James is

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one of the oldest communities in B.C. and has just celebrated its 200th birthday. It's a community that's vibrant with a rich heritage, and the people are proud, warm and welcoming.

Throughout the year the community hosts many events and welcomes tourists from around B.C. and around the world. From their national heritage site to their excellent fishing and outdoor activities, Fort St. James is truly a provincial treasure. On February 24 and 25, Fort St. James is hosting the seventh annual Thunder on Ice competition. For snowmobile enthusiasts and spectators, the picturesque scenery around Fort St. James and Stuart Lake is the perfect setting. The entire community gets involved and creates a real winter celebration. From the great shops to the community services, everyone chips in and welcomes the participants and spectators.

The main event, which is a 300-kilometre race on beautiful Stuart Lake, is nothing short of spectacular. Amateur and semi-pro events are also held so that all skill levels are welcome. With the fantastic snow conditions this year, many will also take advantage of the great skiing at Murray Ridge.

Fort St. James is truly a community that makes a difference for all British Columbians. I'd like to recognize the key committee members whose dedication has really made this happen, in particular Scott Fonda, Karen Williamson, Andrew Jackson, Daryll MacLean, Jarrett Howell, Karen MacLean and Fay Jackson. I'd ask that the House join me in recognizing their work and contributions towards making Fort St. James and indeed B.C. the best place on earth.

[1420]

FANNY ALBO

K. Conroy: Yesterday I attended a vigil at the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital in Trail. The vigil was to remember Fanny and Alfred Albo and other seniors who have passed away over the last year.

It was a year ago today that Fanny Albo died. In her memory, I want to ensure people remember who Fanny really was and what she did — the person — and not only the tragedy that has become associated with her name.

Fanny lived in Rossland for over 80 years. As a teenager she worked at the local dairy to help support her family. She played softball in her younger days and then took up bowling and curling, two sports she loved over the next 60 years. She also continued to play bocce well into her 80s.

She married Alfred Albo in 1936, dying just a few months prior to their 70th wedding anniversary — an amazing feat in this day and age and a true testament to their love of each other. Alfred died ten days after Fanny — his doctor said from a broken heart. Together they raised three sons and were blessed with six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

Fanny was a great volunteer and could always be counted on to lend a helping hand. She joined the Cubs and Scouts auxiliary and continued to help after her three boys were grown, receiving an award for her contribution of over 50 years of service. She delivered Meals on Wheels until her early 80s, always with a smile and often to seniors younger than herself. She was a member of the Catholic Women's League for over 60 years and helped this group raise money for hospital equipment, senior support and other community projects.

She loved to cook and taught family and friends how to prepare favourite recipes. She baked bread, buns and treats into her late 80s, donating items to teas and bake sales to support her community, and her baking was usually presold before it even got to the tables.

She was known for her generosity. She often had the local doctor, RCMP corporal and others drop in unannounced for lunch. It was never a problem to set another plate, and the local kids knew this too and always just happened to drop in at mealtimes. As long as she'd been able, Fanny walked to town every day to get the mail, buy a few fresh things for meals, and to say hello to her many friends and acquaintances in Rossland.

She was a survivor. She endured three different bouts of cancer over a 45-year period, living to the enviable age of 91. Up until her final few days she was alert, knowledgable and still had a wonderful sense of humour. Her family describes Fanny as a kind and loving wife, mother, grandmother and friend whose wonderful smile and gentle nature will never be forgotten.

AVALANCHE SAFETY

R. Sultan: I wish to highlight an important safety issue: avalanches. A few years ago a hiker doing the Grouse Grind only three kilometres from Park Royal shopping centre in my riding was swept away by a snow slide. His body wasn't recovered until the snow melted in the spring. Last month on Mount Seymour a snowshoer fell down an icy gully virtually within city limits. Slide risk prevented his rescue for three days and two nights. It was a close thing.

In Canada every year snow slides kill an average of 15 people and injure another 75. What to do about it? Education, rapid response and technology each have a role to play.

Last month I participated in Avalanche Awareness Day atop Grouse Mountain. Teams from North Shore Rescue, Canadian Avalanche Centre and AdventureSmart, managed by the provincial emergency program, provided information and demonstrations. I received a quick course in using the locator beacons which hikers, skiers and snowmobilers are expected to carry in case they are buried.

Encouraged by a trainer who shouted at me and ordered me about, "Spend less time puzzling over that gadget in your hand and more time tracking the buried beeps," I did my best. I probed the snow. I shovelled the snow. I tramped around in the snow and eventually succeeded, but not fast enough.

As more of us explore our wonderful back country in winter, the moral of the story is clear: through knowledge and prudence, avoid snow slides in the first place.

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Oral Questions

FRASER HEALTH AUTHORITY

ACUTE CARE CAPACITY REPORT

C. James: Nine days ago the Premier was in Surrey with the Conversation on Health, but this weekend, thanks to newly appointed Fraser Health chair Gordon Barefoot, we learn the Minister of Health is sitting on a key report that would actually inform that conversation.

For over a year and a half, the Fraser Health Authority has worked on its capacity report. The minister has this report. Could the Minister of Health please explain why he's kept the report hidden, and would he table it today so that British Columbians can have a real conversation about health care?

[1425]

Hon. G. Abbott: The report the member references, the acute care capacity report, is an excellent document. I think Fraser Health did an outstanding job of looking out to the year 2020, trying to assess what the demand will be for acute care capacity in that rapidly growing area of our province.

One of the reasons why I'm optimistic that we are going to be able to manage that additional demand out into the future is that unlike the government that preceded us, the New Democratic Party government that is well evidenced across the floor here, we are making investments. In Abbotsford, in the Abbotsford hospital and cancer centre — new capacity there, new cancer centre. We are undertaking a $200 million reinvestment in Surrey Memorial Hospital, an area that was sorely neglected by that former government.

Mr. Speaker: Leader of the Opposition has a supplemental.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Continue.

C. James: It's clear that the minister has read the report. It's also clear that the minister is not sharing that report with the public. So it seems like a very simple question, and I'll ask it again. Would the minister commit today to the House to table the entire unedited report from Fraser Health?

Hon. G. Abbott: The document, as I noted, is a very useful one. It is a planning document looking out to the year 2020. Only this opposition would take something as constructive and useful as the document in question and suggest that there's some kind of conspiracy around keeping it hidden. That is an absolute bunch of nonsense. It is a planning document that will be released at the appropriate time and by the appropriate authorities.

Mr. Speaker: Leader of the Opposition has a further supplemental.

C. James: It's clear the appropriate time according to the minister is after the Conversation on Health, which makes a charade of the entire Conversation on Health. We've seen what happens when this Minister of Health releases documents. They're edited. They have pieces missing. They have parts that aren't released to the public.

So I will ask for a third time to the Minister of Health: will he commit today to release unedited the entire report so that the public in Surrey and British Columbia can know what is happening in our health care system?

Hon. G. Abbott: The great irony, of course, is that the Conversation on Health would never have happened, had that opposition had anything to do with it. They have, from the moment the process was announced, done nothing but disparage the process and try to prevent…

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Hon. G. Abbott: …British Columbians from constructively engaging in that process.

The fact of the matter is that the biggest barrier to acute care capacity in British Columbia today was the fact that under the NDP, not only did they not add a single nursing education space in this province during the 1990s, the number of nurses graduating in this province actually declined under the NDP. They should be ashamed.

[1430]

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members.

EMERGENCY SERVICES AT

ROYAL COLUMBIAN HOSPITAL

A. Dix: Well, hon. Speaker, there he goes again. Six years in office, six failed years in office, and all we get are stale facts and the same attacks on the NDP. Penny Ballem, Dana Devine, Keith Purchase, Helen Blackburn, Trevor Johnston — not even the government's friends believe the minister's shtick anymore. And there is no one left that he can blame.

Today at Royal Columbian Hospital, ER doctors are once again warning patients about the crisis in health care — not members of the NDP, I might add. Last spring these same doctors tried to get the government's attention, and the Minister of Health called them alarmist. Now Dr. Sheldon Glazer says that the emergency ward at Royal Columbian Hospital is "in disaster mode."

When is the minister going to stop attacking the messenger and do something to help patients and doctors and health care workers at Royal Columbian Hospital?

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Hon. G. Abbott: Back in the salad days, just after the 2005 election, we heard from the Leader of the Opposition that this opposition would be a constructive opposition. We're still waiting to hear the constructive part of that equation. I have yet to hear a constructive thought from either the opposition leader or the opposition Health critic.

The fact of the matter is that over the past year, doctors, nurses, paramedics, care aides and administrators have all been working diligently together in health care facilities across this province to build the best emergency room capacity that is possible in this province today.

They've made great advances on that, including at Royal Columbian Hospital. I know the opposition Health critic likes to disparage all those efforts, but they've done a great job in trying to make British Columbia's excellent health care system an even better health care system.

Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental.

A. Dix: Dr. Glazer said today that the overcapacity problem at Royal Columbian Hospital could fill a medium-sized hospital every day. It was that government, that Premier, that former Minister of Health and this Minister of Health who closed St. Mary's Hospital down the street and led to these problems.

Now, Dr. Glazer said the minister who closed St. Mary's — there they are, over there…. Dr. Glazer has said that we don't have enough bed capacity in our health region to properly function. Why did they close St. Mary's Hospital, and what are they going to do today to respond to the emergency room needs at Royal Columbian Hospital?

Hon. G. Abbott: It's richly ironic that the former chief adviser to the NDP government of the 1990s that closed — get this — a net 3,334 acute and other beds in this province…. We have…

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members from both sides. Let's listen to the answer.

Hon. G. Abbott: …been adding capacity in our government: now, 3,000 net residential care and assisted-living beds, and 1,500 new community mental health beds. All of that is making a difference to the acute care hospitals and the emergency rooms of our province.

In Queen's Park Care Centre itself, 45 sub-acute beds were added to assist Royal Columbian. Ten additional overflow beds, ten rapid-discharge beds, a new trauma nurse practitioner, a full-time geriatric nurse, a new early admission and discharge program — all of that is assisting us in helping the Royal Columbian deal even better with their emergency room.

IMPLEMENTATION OF SENIORS

HEALTH CARE REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

K. Conroy: Well, Fanny Albo died a year ago. That was because there were no beds in our community — beds that this ministry is responsible for closing — and she was transferred away to another community.

[1435]

Last March former Deputy Minister Dr. Penny Ballem presented a report with a number of recommendations to ensure the situation didn't happen again. Yesterday 21 names were read at a vigil for seniors who had died or been moved away from their families in the past year in the Kootenays alone.

Why hasn't the Ballem report been implemented?

Hon. G. Abbott: In fact, many of the elements in the Penny Ballem report have been implemented, as have many of the features of the report that was done for the Interior Health Authority by Mr. Martin McMahon.

What we need to remember is that the tragic case of Fanny Albo involved the inappropriate transfer of a palliative care patient to a residential care bed. There was a palliative care bed available in Trail Regional Hospital. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons which are enumerated in both the Ballem and McMahon reports, that did not occur.

In the wake of that situation, IH has made very good progress in terms of implementing the content of those reports. Discharge and transfer processes have been reviewed and, most importantly, revised — more extensive checks and balances in the system; and more palliative, transitional, respite and residential care beds in the area.

Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental.

K. Conroy: Not too many people would agree with the minister out in the Kootenays. A year ago the situation was that Mrs. Albo was moved because they needed the bed. There were not enough beds in the Kootenay Regional Hospital.

There's still an average of ten to 12 seniors in acute care beds waiting for residential placement in our region. There are no robust transitional beds in place. There were 13 new beds, but they weren't new beds. They were existing beds that suddenly, miraculously, became new beds. There are no new beds there. Now we're told those are transitional beds, so they're not residential beds.

It's a name game. It's a number game in the Kootenays. The people in the Kootenays are tired of it. The community put forward a plan that was an excellent plan. It dealt with the Ballem recommendations. It put forward concepts that were good for the community, good for the regional hospital and good for the seniors in the West Kootenay–Boundary region.

It hasn't been implemented. In fact, that plan was ignored. The IHA totally ignored that plan. It's time for the minister to stand up, come to the Interior Health Authority and say that it's time to implement the plan so that all of the Ballem recommendations can be implemented and that seniors can rest assured in the Kootenays.

Hon. G. Abbott: The member's recollection of this case is wrong. I'm sorry that I have to advise her of that, but it's wrong.

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The tragic case of Fanny Albo, as I said, revolved around the inappropriate transfer of a deemed palliative care patient to a residential care facility. In fact, Fanny Albo should have been transferred to a palliative care bed within the Trail Regional Hospital, where she could have been near her husband.

That is the situation which Penny Ballem was dispatched to deal with. That is the situation which the Interior Health Authority, in their exhaustive report by Mr. Martin McMahon, dealt with.

In fact, in response to those things, I think IH has been entirely responsible and has undertaken entirely appropriate actions like adding residential care capacity, palliative care capacity and new primary care programs. They've done a very good job. I'm sorry that the member can't accept that.

VANCOUVER CONVENTION CENTRE

EXPANSION COSTS

H. Bains: From mismanagement of health care to the mismanagement of taxpayer dollars here at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

On Thursday last week we learned that the government has so mismanaged Vancouver Convention Centre's expansion that the cost has ballooned to over $800 million, and no end in sight. This is after the Premier pledged in 2003 that $565 million committed was all that would be needed. I quote: "Count on it. That's it — kaputski. It's done."

To the minister responsible: will he stand up today and tell this House that the Premier was terribly wrong and that this project is terribly mismanaged?

[1440]

Hon. S. Hagen: Let's all remember that this is a very unique project, and it has very unique challenges. This is the largest construction project underway in British Columbia, and certainly one of the largest in Canada. One of the aspects there….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members, please.

Hon. S. Hagen: One of the large contracts where 1,500 piles were driven, some of them up to 190 feet deep…. This was not known when the original engineering study was done, because of the challenges with regard to soil conditions. Also, because of the heated construction economy in British Columbia, they had to bring cranes in from Europe and from the Arctic. At the time that the project….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Hon. S. Hagen: At the time the project was estimated, the construction costs were rising at about 2 percent a year, so they bid it at 4 percent a year. In fact, the construction costs are rising at 10 percent to 12 percent a year.

Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental.

H. Bains: What I translate that answer to be is that the minister is saying the Premier didn't know what the heck he was talking about at that time. But let's go on.

This past weekend the current minister said that he didn't even know how badly the budget was out of line until the first week of February this year. His predecessor minister said in September 2005: "We won't be seeing any further increases." Then she said again on November 3, 2005, that $650 million will be the final cost of budgeting.

My question to the minister again: how is it possible that two successive ministers and the Premier were not in the loop, were not up on this file and caused massive cost overruns here?

Hon. S. Hagen: Back in February I asked Partnerships B.C. to work with the convention centre project team to look at alternatives for managing the project. As I said, this is a very complex project, a very difficult project. They are presently negotiating a lump sum project to finish off the project in a range of $800 million.

As far as accountability is concerned, the Auditor General is the auditor for this project. The Auditor General's team has been in there every three months since the project started, and the board has also asked the Auditor General to conduct a comprehensive review of the project and report back to the board. This comprehensive review will include looking at where cost and price escalations have occurred, the governance structure, the project management and the procurement practices.

CONTRACTS FOR EXPANSION OF

VANCOUVER CONVENTION CENTRE

G. Gentner: Thank you to the minister who's giving these encouraging words. I know his predecessor also assured this House that the B.C. Place roof wouldn't fall down either.

Indeed, this is a government that is a victim of its own mess. Even with a budget of $800 million, it has one out of five tenders that still has to be let. Despite these huge cost overruns, this government seems to have enough money to award contracts even with insiders and friends. The B.C. Liberal Party's video producer has been hired as videographer of record, and Liberal insider Norman Stowe has been hired as a communications consultant.

My question is to the Minister of Tourism. This government can't manage to keep this project on budget, yet there's enough money to hire friends and insiders. My question is: how much are these Liberal Party hacks being paid?

[1445]

Hon. S. Hagen: I'm informed by the Trade and Convention Centre team that all projects, all contracts,

[ Page 5371 ]

have been out for tender. They're all posted on the website. You can see the results of the tender.

Let me talk about some of the benefits of this project, because I'm starting to hear from the members opposite that they may be opposed to this project. Some of the benefits are….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Hon. S. Hagen: The member opposite mentioned that they liked it at 500. Now, that is a very interesting statement. Let me just talk about that for a second. The previous Premier — I think he was Premier in 1997…. This is his quote: "The biggest….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Hon. S. Hagen: This is a quote from Glen Clark, November 1997: "The biggest single economic driver I have ever seen in Vancouver during my lifetime." The Opposition House Leader said in June of 1998: "The trade and convention centre is on track. You'll see those jobs on construction sites in a large way" by the spring of 1998.

Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental.

G. Gentner: And quickly to…

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

G. Gentner: …those benefits. Maybe Mr. Ken Dobell was too busy wearing too many hats to point out to the Minister of Tourism that $615 million was never going to be enough money to cover the convention centre expansion. We know that Mr. Dobell's $230,000-plus contract is up in May.

My question is to the Minister of Tourism. Does he plan to renew Mr. Dobell's contract, or does he have to get clearance from the Premier?

Hon. S. Hagen: I just want to go back to the number of $500 million.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members, members. Members, the minister has the floor.

Hon. S. Hagen: Before I get into the benefits again, back to the dark decade of the 1990s. In 1999 the members opposite and their government were willing to commit $900 million to this project. They couldn't get the federal government on side, so that was $900 million of B.C. taxpayers' dollars.

We've got the federal government as a partner. We have them in as a partner for $222 million. We have the business sector in for $90 million. We have 50 conventions signed up for 2009 and subsequent. That's a total of $850 million in economic benefit. Of the 50 conventions, 27 are large conventions that could not have been handled with the present facility.

ELIMINATION OF BEEHIVE BURNERS

B. Simpson: The throne speech states: "Citizens might be rightly skeptical of long-term targets. What we do today will rightly be judged for the example it sets."

On February 13 the throne speech stated explicitly that beehive burners will be eliminated. On February 16 the Minister of Environment stated that there is actually no plan for the elimination of beehive burners.

My question is to the Minister of Environment. What kind of example does that set for the people of British Columbia? How can British Columbians have any faith in the government's so-called climate change strategy when not three days after the throne speech, the minister indicates that one aspect of that strategy is in fact not true?

[1450]

Hon. B. Penner: British Columbians have a lot more faith about our track record when it comes to do with climate change than the NDP's track record. You don't have to take my word for it.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members.

Hon. B. Penner: Mr. Speaker, you don't have to take my word for it. The member can just turn around and ask the member for Nelson-Creston, who said the NDP party has absolutely no idea what to do about climate change or its implications for socialist principles.

The Speech from the Throne made it clear we are working to phase out beehive burners. I know the previous NDP government set a number of targets that were missed, I think, four or five times. I will be working with my colleague the Minister of Forests as we come up with a deliberate policy over the next number of months to meet that deadline.

Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental.

B. Simpson: So I guess this is just a case of the Premier's office not consulting with the ministers so that the ministers got caught off guard that there was a promise in the throne speech that they were not prepared and could actually backfill for the Premier. Is that what's going on here?

It states in the throne speech: "Beehive burners will be eliminated." The minister goes on the public record saying, "Well, in fact, 40" — equivalent to about a tonne of carbon dioxide emissions per year into the atmosphere, and they don't have a plan for eliminating them.

[ Page 5372 ]

My question to the minister….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Members. Members from both sides. Please, let's listen to the question and listen to the answer. Continue, Member.

B. Simpson: My question to the minister is…. The throne speech says that this government will be judged by its actions today. They are not going to have a plan for eliminating the beehive burners. What else in this throne speech is either not true or does not have a plan to support it?

Hon. B. Penner: Unlike the NDP, when we set targets we intend to hit them. Five times the NDP set targets for closing beehive burners. Five times they missed those targets.

Interjections.

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

Members, we've shown excellent decorum over the last number of sessions, and we're not going to break from that in this session. So would the minister please continue.

Hon. B. Penner: We will meet the throne speech commitment.

TARGETED FUNDING FOR

CLIMATE CHANGE PLAN

S. Simpson: This is the government that cancelled the climate change business plan, cancelled the Green Economy Secretariat when they got elected and then for six years has done absolutely nothing on climate change.

On Friday the Finance Minister told the media that there would be no targeted funding in the budget for climate change initiatives that were announced in the throne speech. She said: "That will be work for next year's budget." We now hear that there's been a weekend cut-and-paste job to put the $25 million clean energy fund back in the budget so as not to embarrass the Premier.

My question to the Minister of Environment is this. We know that today there are six FTEs in the climate change branch, including the person who answers the phone. We now hear from the Minister of Finance that there will be no resources. So can the Minister of Environment tell us how anyone can be expected to take this plan seriously when there are so few resources, if any, to support it?

Hon. B. Penner: I'm reminded of the words of a former member of this House — I think it was John Cashore — who once said: "The member opposite is suffering from a severe case of premature expectation."

We will see the budget tomorrow. My colleague the Minister of Finance will present it here tomorrow afternoon, and we'll have more to discuss at that time.

It was the member who was just asking the question, who just last week made the following comments on CKNW in reference to our climate change plan and the announcements in the throne speech, saying: "It's very aggressive. If it's achieved, that will be great." Later on, on CBC radio: "I think everybody needs to be happy about those targets." We are committed to the throne speech, and unlike that party, we will deliver.

[1455]

[End of question period.]

Petitions

S. Hawkins: I would like to table two petitions.

Mr. Speaker: Proceed.

S. Hawkins: The first is for constituents from Kelowna-Mission regarding child care services. The second is 2,500 signatures from around the central Okanagan concerned about privatization and the Gordon Drive liquor store.

B. Simpson: I table a petition with 266 signatures from the Williams Lake area calling for a moratorium on coal-fired electrical generating plants in British Columbia.

A. Horning: I table a petition from my riding of Kelowna–Lake Country with approximately 472 names of constituents who are concerned with child care funding.

Orders of the Day

Hon. M. de Jong: I call continued debate on the throne speech.

Throne Speech Debate

(continued)

Mr. Speaker: The member for Burquitlam continues where he left off.

H. Bloy: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity to talk about the throne speech. I want to reiterate what I said last week when I finished — that I support this throne speech. I support the vision that comes from the leader of this government, the hon. Premier.

I ended last week talking about skilled labour, demands that our government is meeting and the work that I've done with the Minister of Health in regards to having more foreign-trained doctors. I'm excited about the progress that we're making. I'm excited about the work that our Ministry of Health is doing to bring more skilled labour into the health industry.

We're creating many opportunities, and where I started last week was that I wanted to talk about the accomplishments of our government over the last year so that you will know the truth and that what we say is what we do. By accomplishing, I know that next year at this time I will also be standing here talking about the

[ Page 5373 ]

accomplishments based on this throne speech from our government.

Helping students. You know, we have capped the tuition at the rate of inflation. We've created more seats, and I'll just talk about my area. There are 329 new seats at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. At the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design there are 64 new seats. There are 23 new seats at the Justice Institute. There are 472 new seats at Douglas College. There are 291 seats at Simon Fraser University on the mountain. This is going towards the 25,000 seats that we committed to a few years ago.

Not only are we creating these seats, we're funding the capital expansion so that there's a place for them. Before we were elected, in my first year of being elected I had so many parents come to me and say: "My child cannot get into higher education in the province." The grade point average kept going up and up. That's because of the NDP and their lack of vision in freezing the tuition rates and not allowing any new spaces. I am happy to say that every student who completes high school with a 75-percent average has the opportunity to attend a college or a university in this province.

[1500]

Our government has created new firsts with the new relationship with the first nations. We're learning to work with the environment. We have done so much in the environment. The climate change we talked about in our throne speech is backed up by so much work that our Minister of Environment has been doing.

In British Columbia we're number one in our health care system. We're ranked best in Canada, in the nation, by the Conference Board of Canada. Cancer care and cancer treatment — there is basically no waiting time at all in British Columbia.

We are doing more for our patients in British Columbia. We have more doctors in training. We have more nurses in training. We've tripled our residency training for foreign-trained doctors. I talked about that a little earlier. I want to see that number keep growing. We have so many people with such expertise here, but I know that we're going to put these doctors to work in one capacity or another within the health care system in British Columbia.

Over the last year we've been helping B.C. seniors stay independent. We've launched the Premier's Council on Aging and Seniors Issues to examine the coming demographic shift in the province and how to support seniors' independence and health. We provided $4.2 million for 411 seniors centre societies to purchase and maintain their own heritage buildings.

We've invested $60 million to reduce wait times for hip and knee operations. We've contributed $15 million to the Pacific Alzheimer Research Foundation. We've brought legislation in to allow B.C. workers who need to care for terminally ill loved ones to take extended time away from work without losing their job.

[S. Hawkins in the chair.]

We've worked over the past year with women in British Columbia. We've provided funding for mentoring programs to help more than 400 women re-enter the workforce. These programs help women identify their skills and goals and develop a strategy to find a job.

We have provided $1 million to 53 organizations in 70 communities to address domestic violence and improve safety for women. We've expanded Respectful Relationships, a violence prevention program for adolescents between 12 and 18.

We've been working with municipalities. We have $80 million for the B.C. community water improvement program — funding for 87 safe-drinking-water and wastewater infrastructure projects in 80 communities. We've secured funding for 184 water quality– and 146 air quality–monitoring units in British Columbia.

We've doubled the unconditional grants for small communities and regional districts from $27 million to $54 million. We've increased funding for regional film commissions to help communities develop their local film industry.

Did you know that nearly 5,500 subsidized housing units have been built since 2001 and that another 3,500 are under construction or in development? B.C. spends more than $3.6 million a year for programs with persons with disabilities.

A family of four earning $30,000 now pays $1,300 less in taxes than it did in 2001. A senior couple with an income of $30,000 now pays $1,000 less in total provincial taxes.

Tourism. Tourism in British Columbia is a leading job provider for the citizens. We've doubled the budget of Tourism B.C. to $50 million. We've provided $25 million to the Union of B.C. Municipalities for its community tourism program. I could go on and on. Our government is working with the tourism industry to develop a road map to 2015.

In 2009 we're going to have the World Police and Fire Games come to British Columbia. It's the second-largest sporting event in the world after the Summer Olympics. With the great support that we have from the Minister of Tourism and the Arts, we're the major sponsor with the World Police and Fire Games. It will bring over 12,000 competitors and over 25,000 family members and coaches to British Columbia. It will leave over $100 million in the economy of British Columbia. This was all started and driven by two firemen from Burnaby, British Columbia.

[1505]

We're building Canada's gateway. We are the gateway to all of Canada. British Columbia has made a commitment, and we're working. We've secured federal funding for the Pacific gateway strategy, including $590 million for the transportation infrastructure to move goods from the Asia-Pacific to the rest of Canada, where construction continues on the Sea to Sky Highway.

Capturing the Olympic opportunities, which will be held in 2010, developing British Columbia–Canada Place to market our province to the world and to the Torino Olympics is what we've been doing over the past years to keep promoting British Columbia. Our

[ Page 5374 ]

government has created the second-largest economic region in Canada by signing a groundbreaking trade and labour mobility agreement with Alberta.

According to the Conference Board of Canada, the B.C. and Alberta agreement has the potential to add $4.8 billion to the real GDP and create over 78,000 new jobs here in British Columbia.

We want to keep British Columbia competitive. Did you know that between 2001 and 2006 we've reduced red tape by over 40 percent? Since 2001 we've introduced 53 tax measures that are saving taxpayers close to $2 billion annually, and 98 percent of all British Columbia businesses are small businesses.

Powering up B.C.'s energy sector. We've revitalized the mining industry in British Columbia over the last six years. Exploration has now reached $220 million. I believe that at the end of 2001, before we were elected, it was about $15 million. B.C.'s share of exploration dollars in Canada has risen 16 percent. Mining is now a $5 billion industry in Canada. Mineral claims are up over 400 percent.

B.C.'s Mineral Titles Online has received three major awards. We've been growing with technology and moving ahead to keep British Columbia leading all of Canada, where it should be. We have growth in research and technology, over $33 million in funding for research infrastructure under the British Columbia knowledge development program. The fund will leverage an additional $62 million from the federal government. There's $45 million to Genome British Columbia to support related research in British Columbia.

That's where we've come from, so that this throne speech today can become a reality. Again, I have to say how proud I am of this throne speech. It's only because of our accomplishments that we've been able to move ahead.

You know, in part of the throne speech we talked about those most in need. When I was first elected, people said: "Why did you run?" Well, there are a lot of reasons I ran, but one of the major reasons was to help those people that were most in need in our province. I'm proud of that.

In housing, I've worked in our community, the Tri-Cities community and Burnaby, all part of the riding of Burquitlam. I've worked with Coquitlam city council. I've worked with the Tri-Cities Housing Coalition. I've set up meetings with them in Coquitlam to meet with the minister of housing. I've been working with them. I want to help them achieve their goals. We may not agree in all areas, but we agree in how we can help the people most, and I've set this up.

The city of Coquitlam has set aside land for some affordable housing within our region. They're looking ahead to the future. They want to help everybody in the community, and I've worked with Mayor Maxine Wilson. I've set up meetings with her and the Premier so they can discuss this.

[1510]

I've had meetings on the Burnaby side with the other Burnaby MLAs, the Burnaby MPs and the Burnaby city council on making affordable housing a reality. But a difference does exist. Coquitlam has put land aside. The city of Burnaby is probably the most difficult city in the whole province in which to work on social issues.

You know, Burnaby had a housing project for some people with disabilities. They insisted that a car wash has to go in. These people would never, ever drive a car, but the city of Burnaby put this group to an added expense.

There are many other examples of where our government has put money aside, and we just haven't been able to get the cooperation from the cities. That's why this throne speech is so important that we're putting the onus on the cities and municipalities of this great province to start to look at areas and to set aside land so that when the money is made available from the province, there will be an opportunity.

I'll just read one example here. Howe Sound Rehabilitation Services Society. They first approached the municipality of Burnaby in August 2005. The project received a building permit in November 2006. No relaxation on DCCs was given. They forced compliance to bylaws for unnecessary features such as a car wash, and required extensive off-site work as part of the subdivision approval. They had to make repairs that weren't even part of the subdivision. This challenge has cost the project over $500,000.

A second one was the Fraser Health group home — six to 12 beds for mentally challenged individuals. First approached in the spring of 2003; project withdrawn in the fall of 2003. So six months later this group withdrew their application. A site with an existing building was identified by Fraser Health and B.C. Housing. Rezoning was required to house up to 12 individuals. The city and the councillors of Burnaby did not support that rezoning application.

There is a letter that I received, and it was about Luke 15, a group home in Burnaby that had been there for many years, and the city of Burnaby went and forced a bylaw and forced them to move. The letter was: "Why should Mayor Corrigan treat the homeless in Burnaby any better than he treated the residents of Luke 15?"

He used a city bylaw to restrict the maximum number of unrelated people who can live in one dwelling to five in order to turf Luke 15, a well-supervised group of residents, onto the street. Not only did he do that, but he forced them out early. They didn't want to leave. They'd been in Burnaby a long time. They found a new location in Surrey. They had a move-in date — but not this city of Burnaby, this uncaring city, the mayor and the few council members who forced them to move two weeks early at a cost of $6,000, where they wouldn't let them stay.

In my riding of Burquitlam I work with all groups. Victoria's the place for the politics, and in the riding you work with everybody in your riding, from all causes and all people. I'm proud to say that I've worked with so many people in my riding to make for a better community.

I could list all the community groups, but I've been very active with Burnaby Family Life; SHARE Family

[ Page 5375 ]

and Community Services; the Crossroads Hospice in the Tri-Cities; Burnaby Hospice; PADS, the group that trains animals for people with disabilities; scouting; all the community schools; the work that I do in the schools by giving a book to every child and every kindergarten child in my riding to encourage them with literacy, to take the book home and to read with a parent or a family member or a sibling. It's something that I do on a regular basis.

Now that we've made it this far, Madam Speaker, there are just two things I would like to read before the throne. From the British Columbia School Superintendents Association, this was dated on February 14, and it was addressed to Minister Bond.

Deputy Speaker: Member, please restrict your names to the member's title and not the formal name.

[1515]

H. Bloy: Thank you. To the Minister of Education.

Dear Minister:

On behalf of the B.C. School Superintendents Association, I would like to thank you for your continued commitment announced in the throne speech to the successes of all students. The student-centred dedication to improving quality, choice, accountability is embraced by my colleagues and educational leaders in British Columbia.

We are particularly pleased that our concerns and recommendations with regard to school fees, as expressed in the letter to you of January 17, were heard and that you have acted upon them. Your resolve to give boards, with the advice and support of school planning councils, the tools they need to offer students access to programs that might otherwise be closed will be well received in every district and school.

We look forward to our next meeting and continued collaboration to make British Columbia the best-educated, most literate jurisdiction in the continent.

You know, more approval on the throne speech from last week.

Here we have: "Industry applauds provincial sustainability initiative announced in the throne speech." David Negrin, president of the Urban Development Institute, UDI, says: "The development industry welcomes the sustainability initiatives that were announced yesterday in the provincial throne speech. These announcements are some of the most progressive in the country and will certainly have a significant, positive impact on making our communities sustainable."

Negrin also noted that the institute has undertaken initiatives of its own on housing, affordability and the environment. "Over the past year, we have worked with other stakeholders to look at ways to create more social housing and to reduce housing costs for low- and middle-income families. It's a big challenge, but the development industry has some solid recommendations."

Then we can move to the support that we've received in the environmental areas from Dr. Andrew Weaver and many other experts who have spoken in favour of our throne speech and the climate changes that we want to make. They've compared it that the NDP….

Deputy Speaker: Thank you, Member.

R. Chouhan: Thank you for the opportunity to talk about the residents of Burnaby-Edmonds and Burnaby city in general.

In Burnaby-Edmonds the majority of people who live there are ordinary people working hard — the working poor, refugees and new immigrants. They are working hard to make sure that their children get a good education and good health. Unfortunately, every day in their struggle to provide that good health, good education for their children, they are facing many barriers.

Last summer I went door-knocking. I didn't wait until the last year of election. I started last year, and I went to about 1,000 families that I did the door-knocking and found out from them how desperate and how bad the situation was for ordinary working people in Burnaby. They are struggling for basic needs.

At the same time, Burnaby is very beautiful — the most livable, wonderful city in Canada. Everybody is working hard to make sure that it remains that way. The Burnaby city council, under the leadership of Mayor Derek Corrigan, has done everything. They work hard every day to make sure that all the needs of Burnaby's citizens are met.

I am totally disappointed that a few minutes ago the member for Burquitlam, in his speech, trashed the entire city of Burnaby. I am disappointed. I'm sure the residents of Burnaby will be totally disappointed when they find out the kind of picture the member for Burquitlam has painted for Burnaby.

[1520]

On one hand, these members and this government are talking about how great they are about climate change in the throne speech, but at the same time, it seems like this member particularly did not understand what it really meant. It's very revealing.

He talked about car wash stalls in the multi-unit buildings. If he had done any homework, he would have understood that that was a requirement — to make sure that when people wash their cars in a multi-unit residential building like that, soap and other chemicals would not go into the creeks, into the river. To protect fish — that was the need for it. Obviously, he didn't know that, and he just simply made a statement.

Now, let's talk about the throne speech. I understand the Premier is a big fan of Arnie Schwarzenegger, the Governor of California. We also have seen the Governor when he was in the film industry making films and making all kinds of stunts in the films. I guess the Premier likes the stunts. He made a big flip. A few weeks ago he and his cabinet were talking about how they were against climate change. They were not even willing to talk about global warming. Suddenly they are friends of the environment.

[ Page 5376 ]

What a big flip, but I think it's a dangerous flip. It's a dangerous flip because the Minister of Finance has now admitted to the media that there won't be a lot of green in tomorrow's budget. It seems like the throne speech was nothing but a political stunt.

Let's talk about the Liberals' record on climate change. The B.C. Liberals have no meaningful plan to address climate change and have refused to commit to time lines and targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Now, in the throne speech they're talking about targets, but they are ten years, 20, 30, maybe 40 years away. What kind of targets are they? The B.C. Liberals scrapped the comprehensive and progressive climate change business plan which had been implemented by the NDP. Had this plan not been scrapped by the Liberals, B.C. today could be a leader on climate change.

The B.C. Liberals also eliminated the cross-government $3 million climate change working group, which coordinated government actions to cut climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. In 2001 B.C.'s GHG emissions were trending downward, but under the B.C. Liberals, GHG emissions have skyrocketed. It's a fact.

The B.C. Liberals are allowing up to half of all new electricity generation to come from polluting sources. Last summer the B.C. Liberal government signed two 30-year contracts for B.C.'s first coal-fired power plants. These plants could double the amount of GHG emissions from energy production in B.C. Meanwhile, other jurisdictions across North America are closing down their coal plants, and for good reason.

For every 1,000 homes that are powered by hydroelectric and natural gas, there are approximately 325 tonnes of GHGs emitted annually, as compared to 8,800 tonnes of GHG for every 1,000 homes that rely on coal power. What a shame.

[1525]

By cutting environment programs, the B.C. Liberals drastically reduced our ability to mitigate or adapt to climate change. One of the only NDP initiatives to continue under the Liberals has been the greening of the government fleet through the purchasing of hybrid vehicles, but this program is meaningless without a comprehensive climate change plan — just a single piece in the enormous puzzle. It's not going to help what the Liberals are doing to make the change in the climate to protect our environment.

In Burnaby-Edmonds the biggest workload in my office is regarding housing. Every day we receive a minimum of four or five different new applications from people who are suffering from not having adequate housing.

Only a few days ago we had two families walk into my office. One is a single mother. She has six children ages 14, 12, nine, seven, three and one. The family is currently living in a two-bedroom apartment. The crowded conditions are intolerable.

When we met with this woman, I became concerned about the general health of not only that woman but also her children. The overall housing situation in Burnaby-Edmonds is such that we need immediate help. We have written letters to the government, but up to this date we haven't received any meaningful, constructive answers.

Similarly, we received another complaint from another family with three children. They're living in a very overcrowded condition in a substandard two-bedroom apartment. This family is on income assistance, and therefore does not qualify for the rental assistance program. There are very few units suitable for their family size, and those that do exist do not become available very often. These are just two examples

Now the Liberals are asking us to cheer up for this throne speech. My question is: for what? The economy, we have heard so many times, is booming. People have made so much money, but the reality is very few people have benefited from that economy. A vast number of people, a huge majority, have been left behind. The poverty rate amongst children is the highest in Canada. So what kind of economy is that? Why are we so proud of this kind of economy when we are not helping those who need the help?

[1530]

In Burnaby-Edmonds I have also met with many women over the last few months. These are the women who are victims of so-called sham marriages. What's happening is that under the sponsorship debt collection program of B.C., many of these women are unable to pay that money back.

Let me give you a couple of examples. There was one woman who got married to this man. When he came here, he immediately started abusing her physically, emotionally. They separated. They had not been living together for at least two and a half years before she got a letter from the government advising her that she owed $32,000 because that man, when he separated from that woman, collected welfare. Now after two and a half years working hard — she started her life and was trying to re-establish herself — she suddenly got a lien on her house. We are revictimizing those victims.

There's another woman. We have evidence of abuse. She was beaten. There are photographs. There are medical reports. She received a bill for $27,000. What's going on here? If we really are a compassionate, caring society, then we must look into situations like these women are facing. We have to make sure that there's some sort of help for them.

Last year I called a meeting in Burnaby-Edmonds. I thought that there would be about 20 or 30 women that would come — these victims. I had over 200 people

[ Page 5377 ]

attend that meeting. One should have to be there to understand and see the level of emotions, of suffering they have gone through. These women were crying for help.

What's happening now, after all of that work we did working with various different ministries? We had a letter from the government last year advising that if these women are not living in a harmful situation, then they must pay that money back. In other words, the government is saying: "If you don't want to pay, then go live in that situation where you were beaten and you were abused." That's not acceptable.

Just before lunch today I got another call from another woman who has now received a bill for $62,000 — a single mother. Where will she get the money from? She doesn't own a house. She has no property. She has two children. Now she is facing that huge bill.

What we have also seen is that people who are working hard, those who are poor, have a great deal of difficulty finding affordable child care. On one hand, we are talking about shortage of labour, but how would you address that situation if a larger number of people cannot work because of lack of child care? They want to work, but they don't want to leave their children in a situation where they can be harmed. What they're looking for is a child care system where they feel safe, where their children feel safe.

[S. Hammell in the chair.]

On January 5 the Minister of State for Childcare announced that B.C.'s child care budget would be cut by $40 million a year effective April 1. Then we see that the minister has the nerve to stand up here and say that they're there protecting and defending child care. What's going on here?

[1535]

We need to see some truth in this government. What we have seen over and over again is denial after denial. The cuts that this government has imposed include reducing spending for the child care resource and referral centres from $40 million a year to only $3 million.

The other day, last week, we attended a rally which was attended by more than a thousand people. They can't all be wrong. We have seen rallies in other parts of British Columbia. Hundreds of people are asking for protection of child care. They can't all be wrong.

These members of the Liberal government sitting here are trying to create a situation out there. Maybe they think that because they have friends in the media, they will tell their side of the story, but the people of British Columbia know the truth now. The time has come for the Liberal government to be truthful and stop lying.

Interjection.

R. Chouhan: Okay, be truthful.

Now I also want to talk about one more issue, and that is private colleges.

Deputy Speaker: Member, take your seat.

Minister.

Hon. G. Abbott: I sense that the member wished to formally withdraw the unparliamentary language that he expressed there. Perhaps it would be good for the record if he formally did that.

R. Chouhan: Madam Speaker, I do.

I also want to talk about one more issue, and that is the private colleges. In Burnaby there's one college where a number of students from India, China and Korea took admission with the understanding that, at the end of their two- or three-year course, they would be issued a degree which would be legitimate. It could be used to get a job either in Canada or back in their home country. To their disappointment, we have found out that 45 of those students, who were from India, spent approximately $40,000 with the understanding that they had joined an institution where they would receive the degree that they hoped for.

What they have found out: that college was not even affiliated with any university, which they had claimed earlier. After two and a half years of their hard work, they were left out in the cold. Questions have been raised here in this House. Letters were written, and rallies were held, but so far we have seen nothing to help those students. There's nothing in the throne speech to help those students.

I would like to say that the document we have seen, the so-called throne speech, is nothing but fiction. There's nothing to be proud of about this document. It's such a shameful piece of writing that we have seen, which people will be laughing at. I urge all members, including some of the members sitting on the other side who may have some conscience, to vote against this speech.

[1540]

J. Nuraney: As tradition dictates, the throne speech lays out the plan of action for the government in the coming months. Each year that I've had the privilege of listening to the throne speech, I have come away with a feeling of great vision for our province.

When we formed the government in 2001, we inherited a situation of despondency and despair. Our economy was at its lowest level and our financial house was in disarray. People had lost confidence in the government and were not sure of their future. Our leader and our government took charge and stood firm on the commitment to turn the tide.

Our first order of business was to bring our financial house in order and to set goals for ourselves, which involved some painful exercise — painful in the sense of controlling and reducing our spending — and creating an atmosphere of partnership among all communities. We were successful in achieving our goal of balancing our budget and thereby showing not only to our nation but to the world that we were serious in re-establishing a sense of confidence and good governance. The years that followed reinforced our assumptions that economic

[ Page 5378 ]

prosperity follows when you create an environment of good government and financial responsibility.

We are now in 2007 and are witnessing the best period British Columbia has ever experienced. Our economy is firing on all cylinders. The unemployment rate is at its lowest. People on social assistance have decreased. The investor's confidence in all sectors of our economy — be it business, industry, high-tech, mining and exploration — has peaked. Government revenues have consequently increased, and we are now enjoying surpluses. It is now the responsibility of our government to invest these funds wisely so that we are not only continuing on this favourable trend but also helping those who need our help the most.

The world as we knew it a decade ago is also going through an enormous change. The emerging economies of China and India are making a huge impact. The advent of technology has made a significant difference in our lives. Affluence has also brought about decadence. We are living lives of excessive material possessions and very little regard for our environment.

God has entrusted us with the gift of nature and the responsibility to protect it. It is written in the holy Koran that it is our responsibility to leave this world a better place than when we found it. Our total disregard in the pursuit of more has left our environment in a state of deficiency. As we look around, we see the change in our climatic conditions. The topical subject of discussion globally is that of global warming. Our government will take responsibility and leadership in this very important matter.

[1545]

We have learned through the throne speech that we will establish goals and targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 33 percent from the present level by 2019. We will achieve self-sufficiency in our power needs by 2016. All electricity produced in British Columbia will be required to have net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2016.

A couple of weeks ago I got a call from a teacher from a school in my riding in Burnaby. The message said that the students of this teacher wanted a message conveyed to me that they are not in favour of coal-fired electricity producing plants with those greenhouse emissions. Today I have good news for my students in my constituency. They do not have to fear the emissions of these plants, as our government has now established stringent conditions and will not approve any such production. We have now decided that all our electricity productions will come from clean and renewable resources. With these announcements, we will be a leader in reversing the trend in global warming.

My constituency of Burnaby-Willingdon has seen the results of our successes on all fronts. Construction, both commercial and residential, is at record level. Buildings that were plagued with vacancies in the '90s are now enjoying almost full occupancy. Every residential building under construction is presold. Burnaby has now become the centre for high-tech and biotech industries. World leaders like Electronic Arts, PMC-Sierra, Xenon, Xantrex, Ballard and others have made Burnaby their home.

Let me share one of the latest success stories. Xenon, which is a biotech company, had more than $300 million invested in the research endeavour by Swiss and Japanese pharmaceutical companies. This is indeed not only the sign of a successful economy, but the confidence that we enjoy in British Columbia.

We have a large influx of refugee populations in Burnaby. I must mention that the service agencies like South Burnaby Neighbourhood House are doing a commendable job in helping these families adjust to their new environment. I have had the honour to work with these agencies and to ensure that they have the means to carry on with this very laudable work.

I have also had the pleasure and pride in helping open facilities in our community for assisted living and also break ground for the first-ever assisted-living facility for people with disabilities.

The throne speech also talks about another very important subject: our first nations people. For the first time in the history of our province, our government, under the very able leadership of our Premier, has been successful in establishing mutual confidence. Trust and confidence are the very pillars for any agreement to be successful. The leaders of the first nations are feeling comfortable in moving forward with our government, which has the best interest of their people at heart.

The transformative change accord will for the first time give them control over their own destiny. They will be able to manage their needs for health care, education and housing. Our Premier must be congratulated for this hard work and determination to bring about agreements with our first nations so that they can move forward with us in the 21st century and take advantage of the opportunities.

[1550]

Housing has become a real challenge for the residents in urban areas. Our government will work with municipalities in identifying opportunities for low-cost housing.

Homelessness also needs to be addressed. In a country like Canada there should be no one who should either go hungry or go without a roof over his or her head. It is a disgrace for those conditions to exist. Our government is determined to help those who cannot help themselves. This is also a fundamental obligation of any government.

Housing and systems of support are issues that come up regularly in my community. They are complex issues, and this government recognizes the importance of providing supports for our most vulnerable citizens; 2006 marked the announcement of several supportive housing development projects in Burnaby. Seton Villa has been renovated to provide 28 one-bedroom assisted-living apartments for seniors and people with disabilities under the Independent Living B.C. program. The provincial government through B.C. Housing provided $8.3 million in funding for this project.

At Courtyard Terrace the province and the Fraser Health Authority are providing more than $800,000 annually to fund 40 newly converted assisted-living units. B.C. Housing will provide up to $228,000 in rent supplements annually, and the Fraser Health is

[ Page 5379 ]

funding $618,000 annually in personal care and hospitality services.

Construction is set to begin for a pilot project that will provide 20 units of assisted living for young adults with disabilities in Burnaby. The project, under the working title of "Howe Sound North," will receive $1.7 million from the province in land equity and funding under the Independent Living B.C. program.

The issues of affordable housing and homelessness are also prominent in my community. The only way to adequately address these issues is for all levels of government to work together.

In the field of education we have made tremendous progress. Starting in 2001 we gave the school boards full authority and latitude to manage their own funding and administration. Our graduation rates have improved, and in spite of the extra load of immigrant population and children with special needs, our boards should be complimented in managing well.

As demands increase, so has the funding for education. I had the pleasure of chairing the special Select Standing Committee on Education with the special mandate on literacy. In the course of my work I had a huge learning exercise. I can tell you that I'm very proud of the progress that this government has made in the public education system.

Despite declining enrolment throughout the province, K-to-12 education funding is at its highest level. Through the Learning Roundtable, the Education Minister and the Premier have listened to the concerns of teachers, administrators, parents and students. Both have listened to the concerns and have come up with innovative solutions.

Bill 33 was introduced last year to address the concern of classroom conditions. Now, one year later, we are seeing positive results in this legislation. Recent reports show that there are only 85 classes in grades 4 to 7 this year with more than 30 students, compared to 648 in 2005-2006 — a decrease of 87 percent.

[1555]

In Burnaby school district 41, classes are shrinking as well. This year there are only 96 classes from kindergarten to grade 12 with more than 30 students, compared to 539 in 2005-2006. That's an 82-percent decrease.

The throne speech is evidence that the Education Minister is committed to addressing another concern, and that is the recent ruling on school fees. This government plans to introduce an amendment to the School Act to allow flexibility for school boards to charge fees related to special academies and also to the areas of trade and band instruments — a number of areas that the boards and parents have expressed concerns about. It is important to provide our students with choices and with opportunities.

We also have challenges in our health care system. The demand exceeds what the system can offer. Demands put on the system with the increase in our aging population outstrip the ability of our system to meet these demands. It is learned that there needs to be a change in the method of delivery of our health care, and a more innovative approach is necessary. Our initiative of the Conversation on Health is for that purpose — to invite the public to share their ideas and knowledge, to guide us to what needs to be changed and to improve on what we now consider to be a health care in great need.

Our untiring efforts will continue to ensure that best care is provided for the citizens of British Columbia.

As the world moves to becoming a global economy, we as British Columbians must stay tuned to the goings-on around the world. Our Gateway initiatives will give us the ability to move people, goods and services to take advantage of the rising demands and productions. Creating associations and partnerships with countries like China and India will move us forward and stay close to the emerging opportunities.

The throne speech delivered on February 13 is visionary and ambitious, focusing on solutions and targets related to climate change, better choices for students and patients, reducing homelessness and addressing housing affordability.

Looking three years ahead, government has asked itself two questions. What can we do to secure the future of our children and grandchildren? Can we find the resolve to ask more of ourselves than we as government demand of others?

Madam Speaker, we have answered these questions with bold actions. We will reach higher in education and literacy, reduce the weight of our footprint on the environment, sustain our publicly funded health care and address homelessness and housing affordability.

British Columbia has established itself as a leader in Canada, and I agree with the Premier when he says that we have a responsibility to do better. We are obliged to act individually and collectively to achieve stronger partnerships with first nations, tackle the challenges of global warming, increase affordable housing, improve education and health care and open up Canada's Pacific gateway to some of the world's fastest-growing economies.

This throne speech lays down the path for our government, and inshallah , we will get there.

[1600]

N. Macdonald: I want to use the time available to talk about issues people in my area want raised here in the House. These are things that they've brought to me. Before I start, however, I want to address quickly the main theme of the throne speech, which was around climate change.

In Columbia River–Revelstoke the impacts of climate change have been dramatic and clearly visible. We have lost a huge volume of permanent glacial ice. As well, the forests are changing. I can look from my house and see the forest around. We can see the red starting to come in. Pests that used to be killed off with winter no longer are. Dramatic changes are obvious. People accept them and want action.

I believe in the ability of people to come together and solve problems, but I want to be completely clear. I'm not going to spend a great deal of time with this, but I want to be clear that this Premier will not be a

[ Page 5380 ]

willing part of that solution. He absolutely will not be. I know that.

The Premier has not shown any interest in environmental issues up to this time. He got rid of the Ministry of Environment for the first four years. I could go on and on, but to me, there is no credibility. We saw that starting even today, where the promises, even the very simple ones about getting rid of beehive burners…. There's no plan to actually do that.

This Premier also doesn't mind making sweeping commitments that he does not keep. Therefore, nothing will happen unless this Premier is pushed relentlessly, and I'll be working to do that. I think it's our job as opposition to push him on that issue, and it is, more importantly, the public's duty and responsibility to push the Premier as well.

What I want to spend the balance of the time that I have available to me doing is talking about issues that people have brought to me. There are other environmental issues that this government needs to act on. It needs to make intelligent decisions on species at risk. That is a complicated issue that needs to be handled. If handled poorly, the consequences for the communities that I represent will be dire. But it needs to be handled, and it needs to be handled properly.

The government also needs to keep old promises to return conservation officers and biologists to my areas. This is another example of what the Premier cut as soon as he came into power back in 2001. The government also needs to make intelligent decisions about land use that consider the interests of locals as well as the environment.

A second issue is that this government needs to stop the gutting of child care in Columbia River–Revelstoke and, in fact, around the province. In a pattern that is sadly familiar, the government was removing a service that is cost-effective and works well and is desperately needed. Child care resource and referral centres are part of that. They are in Revelstoke, Golden and Cranbrook, and they provide a valuable service — in fact, an invaluable service.

Since the Minister for Childcare announced the cuts, I've been inundated with parents, child care workers and business people as well, all concerned about a cut that weakens the child care system that needs improvement, not weakening.

A third issue. I have heard another consistent message from residents of Columbia River–Revelstoke, especially in the north — Revelstoke-Golden, that corridor — around the maintenance of highways. It is unacceptably poor. People who have driven for 30 years say snow clearance is the worst ever this year. We have followed proper channels to register complaints, and the government tells me standards are being met, but the standards are, then, clearly ridiculously low. The quality of highway maintenance is not acceptable. This is something in our area that is a matter of life and death, and the government needs to meet its obligation on this issue.

Fourth, the government is changing the wildlife harvest allocation policies. Now, hunting is an issue that is particularly rural. Resident hunters are an important part of our rural lifestyle. Hunting is an important rural recreational activity and a good source of food. It's hunters who turn out and do a lot of the valuable habitat work and who advocate for the wilderness and for public access to our land. This government changed policies to the detriment of resident hunters. That's wrong. I'll continue to work with resident hunters in my area to make sure that the government gets that right.

[1605]

A fifth issue that I was asked to bring forward. Here I'll be working closely with the families and the community as we start the Kimberley mines coroner's inquest. This was an inquest that was needed. We need answers to what went wrong last May that left four people dead. At this time I want to salute George Weitzel, the husband of Kim Weitzel, and to say to the House that he has set a standard for courage on this issue and has shown himself very able to articulate his concerns.

I also want to thank the member for New Westminster for all of his work. He has been a tremendous help, and he makes me proud to be his colleague. I thank, as well, the local governments of Kimberley and Cranbrook, and the Minister of Labour, for a phone call she made that meant a lot to the families. I particularly want to say how proud I am to represent a community that pulls together at times like this. It's part of what makes the Kootenays, and the East Kootenays in particular, a very special place.

Another issue of concern that I've been asked to bring forward, especially by those who are seniors, is around the issue of property taxation, the real fiscal inequality. It was laid out very nicely by the mayor of Radium, Greg Deck, who talked about the real fiscal inequality in the country, and that is between the provincial level of government and local government. Property taxes are becoming too much of a burden for many people. I'm sure all constituency offices are hearing this, especially at this time of year. It is in many ways a regressive way to raise money.

The province is putting a great deal of pressure on property tax payers, and it's something that I think we need to address here.

Seventh is a huge area, and it's just around health care concerns. There are still very strong feelings that health authorities are unaccountable, and there are continuous horror stories that are brought forward. A current story would come from Angela Howe, who is a Revelstoke resident. I know this is something that is being worked on, but she is dealing with having to try to keep her parents together. They were married for 60 years, and they're having difficulty finding facilities that will accommodate both of them.

It's one of many stories that are constantly coming forward about seniors. Basically, they are caught by a rearrangement or a reorganization of a health system that was mismanaged. It was a far too cavalier approach to that reorganization, and seniors have consistently paid a price over a series of years.

There are issues around travel costs that I hope to bring forward in this session. This is a distinctly rural

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issue, and the details of that I will bring forward to the minister.

I also want to say quickly that with the Conversation on Health I did encourage people to participate. I found that while people did sign up, most had a very jaded view of what the outcome would be. I think that British Columbians feel pretty strongly that the Premier has his mind made up on this and that the decisions are made before consideration is given to what people have to say. Nevertheless, people have signed up and will go. It is difficult, though, to justify the $10 million that's being spent on this.

Around education, the eighth issue is something coming out of the throne speech. It does raise a number of concerns that will be raised as legislation comes forward. What immediately jumps out is the idea of another whole level of bureaucracy with a new type of superintendent. It is hard to believe at the outset that this will be a useful thing, but with the education issues, we'll see when legislation is brought forward.

I want to talk for a minute about tourism. This is an important part of the province's economy. For it to grow in Columbia River–Revelstoke, we need a few things dealt with. We need to deal with the housing affordability issue, and we also need to deal with the provision of quality child care. There is a labour shortage. These issues have been around for a long time. They need the provincial government playing an active

part if they're going to be solved.

[1610]

I want to mention the B.C. Arts Council. There was no mention of arts in the throne speech. For a relatively minor investment, I feel that we get a huge value. The arts are too often seen as a frill, but communities need to gather, and people need creative venues. So I would look forward to moves in the budget that would show that the B.C. Arts Council will get the bump in funding that it needs.

Related to that is museums. There's no mention of the need to support our community museums. I hope to see in the budget that this is going to be recognized. This week is Heritage Week in British Columbia. We have rich histories to protect and to proudly display. Small museums in particular are in a terrible bind right now, and again, for small investments we can get tremendous results. Cuts by this government and the federal government have created a crisis. If we do nothing, then we risk losing a great deal of importance about our past.

A 12th issue is still around recreation sites, and there has been some movement in this. We need to rebuild what was in the 1990s a really wonderful system of recreational sites and recreational trails. The abandonment of the system in 2002 was a huge error. There are investments being made, and I applaud those. I've met with the minister to say that that's the right direction, but there needs to be far more. These are crucial to small communities, not only for quality of life but also as an attraction to visitors.

As a 13th issue I want to talk about the excitement that the Kimberley-Cranbrook area has as they anticipate the B.C. Games. I've had the pleasure of attending B.C. Games over the years. This is a wonderful enterprise, and when you go, you feel the uplift of the event. We're proud to be hosting them in 2008.

I do want to mention, related to fitness, that I find very difficult to justify the ministry of ActNow. Certainly, during estimates I will be exploring what the actual expenses of this ministry are. You could not find a more congenial minister — there's certainly no argument there. But the ministry of ActNow — I find it very difficult to have anyone take that seriously, and we will need to see that there is some value to that ministry.

A 15th issue that comes up repeatedly is around development on public land. There was some mention in the throne speech which may involve Jumbo Resort. The Jumbo Resort has been a contentious issue in the Columbia Valley for 15 years. For that reason, it needs to be treated properly. You have had citizens on both sides of this issue.

More than anything, you need a public, transparent, local decision. There cannot be a backroom deal on this one, and I want to be clear on that. The people of the Columbia Valley were promised by the minister of the day that the decision would be made locally by elected regional district members and that the government would not subvert that process. That must be how it is, or you do great disservice to the people in the area. You cannot have an issue that people on both sides of the issue have spent so much time on and undercut that. So that's something that we'll be watching closely.

I want to mention at the same time that the east side of Columbia Lake looks like it is going to remain undeveloped. This is a special place. It's culturally, spiritually and naturally a special place. It's our expectation in the valley that it is going to continue to be treated with the respect it deserves. The clear message delivered by local residents, in particular the first nations group in the area, was that they did not want the park boundaries changed to put a road through to allow development on the east side. That's something that seems to have been successful.

A 17th issue is around archaeology. That's a complicated issue that the government needs to get its head around and make sure that it does properly. It needs to provide certainty for property owners, and it needs to preserve irreplaceable artifacts — in most cases it's first nations artifacts — but certainly, this has to be something that is done properly.

[1615]

An 18th issue is that we're going to be exploring cost overruns at the convention centre. As well, there are questions we'll be raising around B.C. Place.

I want to wrap up with something that really very few people often will notice, especially in a small community. It relates to the rates. Well, it relates, really, to poverty and the unacceptable level of poverty that you see even in small communities.

Poverty is always an ugly thing. It is especially so when there is an opportunity to do something about it. I think it's unforgivable that we have it still within our

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midst, that we do not properly address poverty issues at a time when wealth is so abundant.

It often seems that the government treats those in poverty with indifference and contempt. It is something that cannot be acceptable. I'll just give you one example. I think the advantage we have as MLAs is that we get these concerns coming into our offices in a way that ordinary citizens often don't. So we should be more acutely aware of the problem than others.

A gentleman came into my office. He's hearing impaired. His shelter allowance is $325 a month. His rent is $650, which is cheap for Golden. His allowance is such that after paying for rent, he had $175 left for food for the month. When he ran out of food, he came to the office, and we sent him for an emergency food voucher. The answer he got was that because he runs out of food every month, it cannot be an unexpected item. Therefore, it's not an emergency, and so he received nothing. He was told to go to the food bank.

Well, the food bank is open once a week. It is supported as much as the community can support it, but these food banks are under tremendous pressure. Quite frankly, even needing a food bank points to the failure of our government. An example from Revelstoke and the food bank there — in 2000, 50 hampers per month. Now they're up to 130 per month. Things like this are pathetic and need to be addressed.

It's always my pleasure to come here and a privilege to represent the people of my area. We have a session, unlike the fall. We have an opportunity to move things forward for people, and I look forward to that.

B. Bennett: The government's 2007 throne speech started out with a sombre tone for me as well as the member for Columbia River–Revelstoke. The deceased victims of the 2006 Sullivan mine accident were honoured, and rightly so.

The anguished families of Doug Erickson, Bob Newcombe, Kim Wietzel and Shawn Currier struggle to understand how this tragedy could have happened. The provincial coroner has decreed that an inquest into these deaths will be held. That's a very good thing, and perhaps over time, with much sorrow behind them, these good people will be able to make some sense of this catastrophe.

This is really the first time, other than introductions, that I've had an opportunity to get on my feet since the election in 2005. It's not by choice. It's just a fact that when I was a minister responsible for mining, the opposition for two sessions deemed the mining file, I guess, unworthy of any questions during question period, at least when I was in the chamber. I certainly hope in the future that they ask a lot more questions of the minister responsible.

It perhaps wasn't disinterest. It may, in fact, have been that the story is so positive that they would just prefer to let it lie and not talk about it.

[1620]

I think that there's probably no better example of how this government's policies have unleashed the constructive and creative power of private initiative. When we were first elected in 2001, there was one lonely mining project in the environmental assessment process. Today we have 25 major projects in B.C. that are either in the assessment process or are coming up to the process. So in B.C. we have 25 of 52 major mining projects in all of Canada.

The mining story in this province is a uniquely B.C.-Liberal-government success story. We've gone from exploration investment in 2001, when we were first elected, of $29 million to our recent record-setting $265 million of exploration investment. That was in 2006.

We've gone from having 250 projects around the province to 700. We've gone, in terms of the Fraser Institute's annual mining rating, from almost the very bottom…. I think that at one point we were second in the rating, and Wisconsin was at the very bottom. Wisconsin has legislation that prevents mining, and we were just barely above them.

We've now gone to the point where the Fraser Institute's annual rating of mining jurisdictions in the world rates B.C.'s geological database as the very best in the world. That's our Mineral Titles Online program and our MapPlace program.

What I heard for a year and a half when I had that job and what I've heard here in the House is that the real reason why mining is doing so well in British Columbia is because of commodity prices. "We're just riding the commodity prices." That's what I hear from the other side of the House.

Somebody said to me the other day that they didn't realize the copper plumbing in their house would be worth as much as their house. But I can tell you, Madam Speaker, that the success story around mining in B.C. really has…. It has something to do with commodity prices for sure, but there's one other statistic that I like to use, which shows that in fact, it has more to do with the policies of this government.

When we were first elected, British Columbia had 6 percent of the exploration investment in Canada. Today, or at least in 2006, we had 16 percent of the mineral exploration investment in Canada. We've gone from having 6 percent of the share to 16 percent of the share.

Commodity prices are the same across the country. I don't think that you pay more for an ounce of gold in Ontario than you do here in British Columbia — or for a pound of copper. I think it's the same across the country. So what in the world is B.C. doing that is attracting a larger and larger share of mining investment?

I know that the opposition sometimes becomes annoyed when we refer back to the bad old 1990s. I don't intend to do a lot of that here today, but there was a ten-year period in the history of this province when the economy went from best to worst in Canada; when B.C. experienced net out-migration for the first time in our history; and when the mining industry — get this — awarded a New Democrat mines minister with a tongue-in-cheek award, the Mining Person of the Year award for Chile, because all of the B.C. companies had fled to Chile and Argentina. They took their money and their jobs to South America.

[ Page 5383 ]

These companies are back in B.C. There's confidence once again in all these companies coming back to B.C — and just in the nick of time, because mining is going to be able to help us in areas of the province where we've got a pine beetle problem, where we're going to need jobs over the next ten to 15 years, where the economic dynamics of some of those rural regions are changing.

[H. Bloy in the chair.]

In the Leader of the Official Opposition's response to the throne speech, she used the term "dirty coal" a number of times. I'd like her and the members of the opposition to know that the 4,000 families in British Columbia who depend on the coal industry heard what she said. They heard those gratuitous remarks.

I want her to know that British Columbians in the communities like Elkford, Sparwood, Fernie, Chetwynd and Dawson Creek know that she is deliberately sacrificing rural voters to make some cheap political points here in Victoria. Or maybe it's worse than that. Maybe the Leader of the Official Opposition does not herself understand that coal is a hydrocarbon — just like natural gas, just like oil.

[1625]

She should maybe take a look in her Brita water filter and see what's keeping her water pure. It's a tiny piece of carbon, a little piece of coal. Coal itself is not intrinsically evil. In fact, coalmining uses fewer chemicals in its mining process than any other type of mining in the world except gravel mining.

Fording River mine is in my riding. It is the second-largest metallurgical coalmine in the world. There is a river that runs through the middle of this metallurgical coalmine. It's called Fording River, of all things. This river is as clean, as pure and as cold as it was 35 years ago. The fishing is as good today as it was 35 years ago, and that mine's been operating for almost that length of time.

I question the Leader of the Official Opposition not understanding that it's not the substance — it's not coal — that's bad. How it's used is the key.

In the very near future the energy that exists in coal hydrocarbons will be released to power economies around the world without increasing greenhouse gas emissions. The B.C. economy, like all economies in the world, needs a baseload of power — electricity that is always available 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.

Run-of-the-river power, as renewable as it is, is subject to seasonal changes to water flow. Wind power is subject to the same inconsistencies, the same unpredictability. The wind doesn't always blow. Not every community wants a few hundred windmills perched above their community. Certainly, British Columbians are not begging government to dam up more rivers in this province.

A certain amount of electricity is going to have to be generated from completely reliable and predictable sources. That's the baseload. That's what we need in this province to run the economy 24 hours a day. Since we've decided — at least this government has decided — that we don't use nuclear, this baseload of power — and it's going to have to be very significant in terms of the volume of electricity that we're going to have to generate — is going to have to come either from oil, natural gas, coal or large hydroelectric dams until the technology allows us to do otherwise. In the province we have ten times more coal hydrocarbon resources than we do natural gas or oil.

The flat-earthers in the New Democratic Party want to simply dismiss the potential to use this amazingly abundant hydrocarbon resource in B.C. "It's dirty coal," they say, a little smirk on their faces when they say it. They hope that this unprovoked attack on my constituents and on the constituents in the northeast will maybe buy them some votes. It's easy to do down here.

"Don't confuse us with the facts," they say. "We can make more political points by sacrificing the rural families that depend on the coal industry than by actually attempting to understand the science of coal liquefaction, coal gasification or sequestration of carbon dioxide." So I urge the Leader of the Opposition, as we go forward and we have our new energy plan unveiled, to try and restrain herself from her political posturing and stop taking cheap shots at my constituents in the Elk Valley.

The throne speech is an expression of the government's vision for the future. It isn't a detailed plan, and it isn't the budget. For me the key line in this speech this year asked the question: what can we do to secure the future of our children? That's a question that all of us here ask every day, or we should, and it's a question that I think is answered quite differently by the two sides of this House.

We here on this side tend to start this difficult task by identifying priorities. Then we tend to move on to: how do we pay for all of the things that people want from government and expect from government, and how do we deliver those services more effectively? Implicit in our approach is the simple, unmitigated reality that the opposition fails to grasp and certainly failed to grasp when they were in government — that there will never be enough resources to do everything we would like to do for people in the province. The government that tries to be all things to all people is a government that will be nothing to anyone.

Now a little more than a sword-length away, the opposition tends to start with the need and the humanity, and they like to talk about how much they care. They'll figure out how to pay for it later. I believe that our government's approach is supported by the evidence at hand. There are hundreds of millions of dollars more going into health care, education for the disabled, for seniors and for children than at any time in the history of our province.

The Conference Board of Canada last year said we had the best health care service in Canada. We have a triple-A credit rating now in B.C. — the first time since the 1980s. We've got jobs chasing people. We've got young people in the Kootenays, where I come from, that can now actually choose to come back home after their advanced education is over and build their life in

[ Page 5384 ]

their home region, if that's what they choose to do. They could not do that in the 1990s.

[1630]

Further afield around the world, if you take a look at socialist regimes like the former Soviet Union and China, they've recognized that the natural entrepreneurial forces of their people are the smartest policy they could embrace.

I was in China in November, and I was at a dinner meeting that the Premier attended. We had the chair of the national reform commission there. That's basically the agency in China that is trying to convert their economy into a free enterprise economy. After all of the officials like myself and the Premier were introduced at the head table, this gentleman stood up and took the microphone. He looked out beyond the head table, and he said that the people in the room who were really most important were the Chinese and the British Columbia mining entrepreneurs there, because they're the people who have the power to change the world.

The member for Columbia River–Revelstoke mentioned the Jumbo Glacier Resort project in his riding. He's right, at least to the extent that the project has been talked about for a long time. It's actually more than 15 years now. It seems to me that it's time for a decision.

I would just put on the record that with regard to that project, that area was planned in the early 1990s. In fact, there was an NDP government in power at the time. They did an East Kootenay land use plan and a West Kootenay land use plan. They put them together and created what's known as the Kootenay-Boundary Land Use Plan. The area where the Jumbo Resort is proposed today was actually zoned for resort development.

At that time, the environmental organizations and communities and other people who sat at the CORE table for two years made a lot of compromises. People gave up things that they didn't want to give up, but they did so with a view of coming to a final resolution on how the land in the Kootenays would be used.

At that time, as I say, they all agreed at this table. They all signed off. In fact, some of the people who are making the most noise today about the Jumbo Glacier Resort in the environmental community are the same people who sat at the table for two years, and they signed off on it. They said yes, this should be developed. This resort should be developed.

So here we are 15 years after the proponent started to work on this. They finally got an environmental certificate with over 200 conditions on their certificate. I can't imagine why he's still interested in doing this, actually. It's a beautiful place. I've been there. Great place for a ski resort. Create a lot of jobs. But he still wants to get going on this thing. So 15 years later, what does the NDP want to do? They want to have more meetings. They want to talk about it some more. I truly think that the people in at least the East Kootenay want to get on with this and just have this project go forward.

There was another line in the throne speech that I liked. It said that we either tackle these difficult challenges, or they'll go from the tipping point to the breaking point. I think there's no question we all have our different perspectives in this place, but we're here to solve problems, and we're here to leave this world in better condition than what it was in when we got here.

If we fail to meet the challenges of things like sustainable health care, fail to meet the challenges of aboriginal people, fail to open our hearts and minds to the success of aboriginal people in British Columbia and fail to act responsibly within our natural environment that gives us our very lives, we will not be doing the job that we were elected to do.

For over 150 years in this province, successive governments in B.C. of all political stripes were often biased. They were pretty much always patronizing towards aboriginal people and almost universally failed to recognize what aboriginal people actually wanted. I'm going to take a shot at what they wanted from my own experience, with all due respect. From my own experience, what I think aboriginal people want is the same as what the rest of us want — respect, self-determination and opportunity. They want to control their lives. They want to control their culture, and they want to control their destiny.

At the end of the last term, in late 2004-2005, the Premier came to a courageous conclusion. He said that with what we were doing, regardless of the resources that we had put towards first nations issues and the many things we had tried to do, we were not going to get to the breakthrough with first nations people that we really need to and what we want to see in this province.

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So together with first nations leadership, the Premier developed a bold, progressive vision for a new relationship with aboriginal people. In retrospect, it seems so simple, and it seems so right, but it took us 150 years to get there.

We're trying not to take a legalistic approach to first nations issues any longer. For many, many years — in particular, since 1982 when the constitution was brought home and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms was created….

Section 35 and

section 25 were created in our constitution dealing with aboriginal rights and title. Basically, what governments did was they did only as much as their lawyers told them they had to do. So we went from one court case to another and scrambled around and fought and expended our resources hiring lawyers and consultants and trying to do only what we had to do. I think all governments in this country are guilty of that.

Today with the new relationship, what we're trying to do is have a mutually respectful and trusting relationship with first nations, where we go beyond what is legally required and do what is right or do the best we can to do what is right. Today this government expends a huge amount of resources in every ministry of government working with first nations, consulting and accommodating on every Crown land project, and helping with items like education, health, children's issues.

In my role as Minister of State for Mining I was very fortunate to spend some time — in fact, a fair bit

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of time — with first nations people. Not long ago I attended a ceremony with the Taku River Tlingit where they celebrated the signing of an agreement with our government to work cooperatively on mining projects. It wasn't too many years ago when the Taku River Tlingit would not be having a ceremony celebrating anything with the provincial government in British Columbia. It was a very, very important day to them, and I know that their leaders said at the time how pleased they were with the leadership that the Premier of this province is providing on this file.

Other examples that I came across in my mining file were NovaGold's Galore Creek project in the northwest. It's a joint venture between the Tahltan and NovaGold. Polaris Minerals on Vancouver Island also have a joint venture with three first nations to develop a large aggregate operation that, believe it or not, will be shipping aggregate all the way down to San Francisco and making money doing it.

I want to say just a few words about energy and climate change. Effective immediately, we will become the first jurisdiction in North America — I suspect the world — to require 100-percent carbon sequestration for any coal-fired electricity plant. So it's not dirty coal. It's how you use it. If you use it responsibly, it's a marvellous resource to have, and we have lots of it. We have a thousand years of coal in this province.

We've got a $25 million innovative clean energy fund that can be used to help research and develop the technologies that are going to be needed. I talked earlier about needing a base load of electricity. Right now that base load has to come from conventional sources, and we have to do the very best we can to make sure they're as clean as possible. But in the future we will have other sources of electricity, like tidal that hopefully will eventually provide that base load.

I wanted to just mention something that has regional significance to me and to my constituents. The Premier announced not long ago that the province is going to improve its policy with regard to the exploration and production of coalbed methane gas. Coalbed gas is a clean natural gas. It's actually the cleanest natural gas that there is. It can go directly into the pipeline without being refined. So the gas itself is very, very clean. But when you drill for coalbed gas, you quite often — unless you're lucky and live in Alberta and don't get any water — get what's known as produced water. This produced water can in some cases be saline, or it can have other impurities in it.

What we have decided to do as a government to allay the fears — and, I think, the justifiable fears — that my constituents and other people in the province have about coalbed methane is require the companies to reinject that produced water into deep aquifers well below groundwater levels.

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As far as I know, we are the only jurisdiction in North America to require that. What that will mean, essentially, is that companies that want to get into the coalbed gas business in this province are going to have to be companies that have the wherewithal to do it right, to reinject the water into deep aquifers and to make sure they've got the resources to spend the time with communities to do the baseline environmental studies, to spend the time with first nations and make sure that we do this right. That to me is a better alternative than what has been suggested by the other side of the House — that we should just forget about it and leave it in the ground.

I said earlier that the Conference Board of Canada said we had the best health care in the country. I know that my colleague from Columbia River–Revelstoke mentioned health care in the East Kootenay, where we both live. I'm always astonished, I guess, that the opposition can paint such a bleak picture when things on the ground are so much better than they used to be.

I know that in every community in the East Kootenay, we have new seniors homes going up. We have mental health facilities that we could never dream of five or six years ago. In Cranbrook we've got a regional hospital now for the East Kootenay that has seen about $50 million of investment.

When I first got elected, there were about half a dozen specialists in our so-called regional hospital, which had never been funded by the former government as a regional hospital. We now have a regional hospital with three of every specialist that you need in a regional hospital. We've got an MRI that comes in and is there a third of the year. We've got a brand-new CAT scan machine. We've got a brand-new emergency ward — all kinds of new equipment in the hospital. As I say, $50 million has been spent on that regional hospital.

Last week I opened a seniors home in Cranbrook with over a hundred beds for seniors — long-term residential care. The other side of that development that is already completed has — I don't know how many — a lot of assisted-living units for seniors who don't need to be in that long-term residential care.

As I said a second ago, every single community in the East Kootenay is either getting a new seniors facility or having one rebuilt. I don't see how that's anything but progress.

When I was at this event the other day, the chief operating officer of the Interior Health Authority, who the member for Columbia River–Revelstoke likes to speak harshly of, told me that the waiting times for seniors to get into long-term residential care have gone from two years — so they and their families would wait for two years — to 45 days. Again, I can't imagine how that's anything but progress, and I know that seniors are very, very happy with the care that they're getting today.

I hear a lot of comments about health care in the throne speeches that I've managed to listen to. From the other side of the House, it seems like they're talking about spending more money and doing more. You know, I understand that we want to do more for people, and it takes more money often to do more for people. But I don't think they understand personally what the conversation on health care is about. We have a problem in terms of going from the tipping point to the breaking point in health care. We have a problem in this province. We have a problem in the country.

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When Tommy Douglas brought in his universal hospital program in 1947…. [Applause.] Yeah, well, you're lucky you don't have that program today. We've got a much better program today than that.

In any case, in 1947 B.C. was using 1.2 percent of its provincial budget to pay for health care; 1.2 percent of the provincial budget went to health care in 1947. Last year it was 44 percent. I've heard people argue whether it's 44 percent, 40 percent or 38 percent or whatever it is, but the trend line is clear. The