1979 Legislative Session: 1st Session, 32nd 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)

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 1979

Afternoon Sitting

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CONTENTS

Routine proceedings

Speech from the Throne (Hon. Henry P. Bell-Irving) — 2

An Act to Perpetuate a Parliamentary Right (Bill 1). Hon. Mr. Gardom.

Introduction and first reading –– 3

Presentation of reports –– 4

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 1979

The House met at 3 p.m.

This being the first day of the first session of the 32nd

Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia for the

dispatch of business, pursuant to a proclamation of the Hon. Henry P.

Bell-Irving, Lieutenant Governor of the province, dated May 29, 1979,

hon. members took their seats, after having taken the prescribed oath

and having signed the parliamentary roll.

His Honour the Lieutenant Governor, having entered the House, took his seat on the throne.

HON. MR. CURTIS:

Members of the Legislative Assembly, I am commanded by His Honour the

Lieutenant Governor to announce that he does not see fit to declare the

cause of his summoning you at this time and will not do so until you

have chosen a Speaker to preside over your honourable body. His Honour

the Lieutenant Governor hopes to be able to declare, during the

afternoon, his reason for calling you together.

His Honour the Lieutenant Governor retired from the chamber.

HON. MR. GARDOM:

Mr. Clerk, I move, seconded by the member for Shuswap-Revelstoke, that

Harvey Wilfred Schroeder, Esquire, member for Chilliwack electoral

district, do take the Speaker's chair and preside over the meetings of

this assembly.

MR. KING: Mr. Clerk, I am pleased to

second the nomination of Mr. Schroeder for the position of Speaker for

the current session of this parliament.

CLERK OF THE HOUSE: Harvey Wilfred Schroeder, Esquire, member for the

electoral district of Chilliwack, has been nominated as Speaker. Are there any

further nominations?

There

being no further nominations, I declare Harvey Wilfred Schroeder,

Esquire, member for the electoral district of Chilliwack, duly elected

as Speaker, and that he do take the chair to preside over the meetings

of this assembly.

MR. SPEAKER: Hon. members, permit

me to return my humble acknowledgements to the House for this great

honour that you have bestowed upon me this day by selecting me to be

your Speaker.

Hon. members, I declare a short recess. May I suggest that hon. members keep their seats until I return?

The House took recess at 3:10 p.m.

The House resumed at 3:16 p.m.

Prayers.

CLERK-ASSISTANT:

Office of the Deputy Provincial Secretary

Parliament Buildings

Victoria, B.C.

June 6, 1979

Mr. Ian M. Horne,

Q.C.

Clerk of the Legislative Assembly

Parliament Buildings

Victoria, B.C.

Dear Sir:

RE: General Election, May 10, 1979

His Honour the Lieutenant Governor by his proclamation issued

on the third day of April 1979 was pleased to dissolve the Legislative Assembly

of the Province, and it was necessary to hold elections to fill vacancies caused

by such dissolution. The elections were duly held pursuant to the provisions

of the Provincial Elections Act.

Enclosed herewith is a letter dated June 6, 1979, (in duplicate)

of the chief electoral officer and registrar general of voters, setting forth

the names of members who have been elected in the electoral districts indicated

on the letter.

Yours very truly

Gerald H. Cross,

Deputy Provincial Secretary

Ministry of Provincial Secretary and Travel Industry.

Office of the chief electoral officer and registrar general

of voters

June 6, 1979

Mr. Gerald H. Cross, Q.C.

Deputy Provincial Secretary and Deputy Minister of Government Services

Parliament Buildings

Victoria, B.C.

Dear Sir:

RE: General Election, May 10, 1979

The 31st Legislative Assembly of the Province of British

Columbia was dissolved on April 3, 1979, and writs were issued

on that date calling for a general election. The writs were made returnable

on June 5, 1979. April 26, 1979, was designated as the day for

the nomination of candidates, and May 10, 1979, was designated as polling day.

Because of a request made under

section 130(1) of the Provincial

Elections Act for a judicial recount in the Atlin electoral district, and a

further appeal to the British Columbia Court of Appeal arising from the judicial

recount, and in accordance with the Provincial Elections Act, an order-in-council

has been passed to extend the return of the writ for this electoral district,

pending the determination of the said appeal.

The date of the return of the writs from Shuswap-Revelstoke

and Surrey electoral districts was amended to June 6, 1979, as a result of the

length of time required to complete the final counts.

I therefore now certify that the following persons have

been elected to represent their respective electoral districts in the Legislative

Assembly:

Alberni — Robert Evans Skelly

Boundary-Similkameen — James Junior Hewitt

Burnaby-Edmonds — Rosemary Brown

Burnaby North — Eileen Elizabeth Dailly

Burnaby-Willingdon — James Gibson Lorimer

Cariboo — Alexander Vaughan Fraser

Central Fraser Valley — William S. Ritchie

Chilliwack — Harvey Wilfred Schroeder

Columbia River — James Roland Chabot

Comox — Karen Sanford

Coquitlam-Moody — Stuart Malcolm Leggatt

Cowichan-Malahat — Barbara B. Wallace

Delta — Walter Davidson

Dewdney — George Mussallem

Esquimalt–Port Renfrew — Frank J. Mitchell

Kamloops — Rafe Mair

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Kootenay — Terence P. Segarty

Langley — Robert H. McClelland

Mackenzie — Donald F. Lockstead

Maillardville-Coquitlam — Norman Levi

Nanaimo — David Stupich

Nelson-Creston — Lorne Nicolson

New Westminster — Dennis G. Cocke

North Island — Colin Gabelmann

North Peace River — Anthony J. Brummet

North Vancouver–Capilano — Angus Ree

North Vancouver–Seymour — John Davis

Oak Bay–Gordon Head — Brian Smith

Okanagan North — Patricia Jordan

Okanagan South — William R. Bennett

Omineca — Jack Kempf

Prince George North — John H. Heinrich

Prince George South — William Strachan

Prince Rupert — Graham Lea

Richmond — James A. Nielsen

Rossland-Trail — Christopher D'Arcy

Saanich and the Islands — Hugh Curtis

Shuswap-Revelstoke — William King

Skeena — Frank Howard

South Peace River — Donald Phillips

Surrey — William Vander Zalm

Surrey — Ernest Hall

Vancouver Centre — Gary V. Lauk

Vancouver Centre — Emery Barnes

Vancouver East — David Barrett

Vancouver East — Alexander Macdonald

Vancouver–Little Mountain — Grace McCarthy

Vancouver–Little Mountain — Evan Wolfe

Vancouver–Point Grey — Garde Gardom

Vancouver–Point Grey — Patrick McGeer

Vancouver South — Charles S. Rogers

Vancouver South — Peter Hyndman

Victoria — Charles Barber

Victoria — Gordon Hanson

West Vancouver–Howe Sound — Louis Allan Williams

Yale-Lillooet — Thomas Manville Waterland

Yours very truly

K.L. Morton,

Chief electoral officer and registrar general of voters

HON. MR. CURTIS: Mr.

Speaker, I move that the letter of the Deputy Provincial Secretary and

the correspondence of the chief electoral officer of the result of the

election of members be entered in the Journals of the House.

Motion approved.

His Honour the Lieutenant Governor re-entered the chamber and took his seat on the throne.

MR. SPEAKER:

May it please Your Honour, the House of Assembly has elected me as

their Speaker, though I am but little able to fulfil the important

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

should at any time fall into error, I pray that the fault will be

imputed to me, and not to the assembly whose servant I am, and who,

through me, the better to enable them to discharge their duty to the

Queen and country, humbly claim all their undoubted rights and

privileges, especially that they may have the freedom of speech in

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

and that their proceedings may receive from Your Honour the most

favourable

interpretation.

HON. MR. CURTIS: Mr. Speaker, I am commanded by His Honour the Lieutenant

Governor to declare to you that he freely confides in the duty and attachment

of the House of Assembly to Her Majesty's person and government, and not

doubting that their respective proceedings will be conducted with wisdom, temper

and prudence, he grants, and upon all occasions will recognize and allow, their

constitutional privileges.

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

access to His Honour the Lieutenant Governor upon all seasonable

occasions, and that their proceedings as well as your words and actions

will constantly receive from him the most favourable construction.

SPEECH FROM THE THRONE

HON. MR. BELL-IRVING (Lieutenant Governor):

Mr. Speaker and members of the Legislative Assembly, again it is with a

sense of great pleasure that I have this opportunity to deliver the

Speech from the Throne to the first session of the 32nd Parliament of

British Columbia.

Earlier this year, on March 22, it was my

duty to deliver the Speech from the Throne to members of the 31st

Parliament of British Columbia. Since that time, the people of British

Columbia have elected this new parliament. It would seem appropriate at

this time for me to offer my congratulations to the members who now sit

in this new assembly. I would also like to thank those who served their

province in the 31st Parliament.

The speech delivered on

March 22, 1979, to the 31st Parliament refers to commitments, policy

directions and principles which my Government will ask this Parliament

to carry forward. Therefore the members of this new assembly may wish

to refer to that speech, and my government would ask the Speaker to

deliver it to members in due course for their consideration along with

this new document.

With respect to the Speech from the

Throne delivered to the 31st Parliament, my government would like

members to give particular attention to the following commitments,

policy directions and principles which my government offered then and

reaffirms now:

Senior citizens continue to have a high priority in the programs my government wishes to place before you.

government wishes to add to what many consider the best program of

health care in North America through the introduction of a denticare

plan.

My Minister of Human Resources will have before you

initiatives for the handicapped and other disadvantaged people in our

society.

My government intends to eliminate any

discrimination based on age, sex, marital status or geographical

residence in the setting of car insurance rates in British Columbia. I

am sure this measure will be especially welcomed by the younger

citizens of this province.

My government will pursue an

aggressive policy of eliminating the problems created by "big

government" which affect the day-to-day routine of our citizens. The

ending of needless and outdated regulations will be part of this effort.

government will ask you to ensure that a bill of rights will enshrine

in

an Act of this Legislature fundamental freedoms for all of our

citizens.

My government will ask you to ensure that the

rights, privileges and responsibilities which are involved with the

private ownership of the business and industry of this

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province will be encouraged through amendments to the British Columbia Resources

Investment Corporation Act.

During

the course of this year major contract negotiations are underway in

both the private and public sectors of our economy. My government is

confident that both labour and management will this year come to fair

agreements under the collective bargaining system.

My First

Minister advises me that to these commitments, policy directions,

principles and attitudes, which are the substance of the speech of

March 22, 1979, there should be added a comment on energy.

British

Columbia is fortunate in having the traditional options of hydro,

thermal coal and petroleum hydrocarbons as energy sources. To this

there can be added newer options of solar and geothermal energy in

which my government is taking active interest. In addition my

government, in cooperation with the forest industry, has underway major

initiatives with respect to the use of wood waste as an energy source.

are fortunate that we do not have to consider nuclear power as one of

the options necessary to meet our energy requirements. My government,

however, shares the concern of many British Columbians at developments

in the nuclear field taking place outside our borders. My government

hope that it will act nationally and internationally when required to

safeguard the interests not only of British Columbians but of all

Canadians.

Since March 22, 1979, the people of British

Columbia have participated in a provincial election, and have also

joined other Canadians to vote in a federal election. In this

connection my government wishes to state on behalf of the people of

British Columbia that, although there has been a change in the

province.

It is the belief of my government that Canada is

better served if provincial and federal governments approach one

another with a firm commitment to cooperation. This first assembly of

the 32nd Parliament, I am sure, will wish to endorse this belief during

its deliberations.

Honourable members, I recognize that the

matters placed before the 31st Parliament and now before this

parliament will merit your most careful consideration. Therefore I give

into your capable hands these matters with the fullest confidence that

you will approach with good will and diligence all the tasks placed

before you.

I pray that Divine Providence will guide your deliberations.

Mr.

Speaker and honourable members, I leave you now to discharge your

legislative duties on behalf of the people of British Columbia.

His Honour the Lieutenant Governor retired from the chamber.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Introduction of Bills

AN ACT TO PERPETUATE A

PARLIAMENTARY RIGHT

Hon. Mr. Gardom presents a message from His Honour the Lieutenant Governor:

a bill intituled

An Act to Perpetuate a Parliamentary Right.

Bill

1 introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of

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

HON. MR. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, I move that the speech of His Honour the Lieutenant

Governor be taken into consideration at the next sitting of the House

and that this shall have precedence over all other business, except

introduction of bills, until disposed of.

Motion approved.

HON. MR. CURTIS: Mr. Speaker, I move that the Votes and Proceedings

of this House be printed, being first perused by Mr. Speaker, and that

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

shall appoint do presume to print the same.

Motion approved.

HON. MR. BENNETT:

Mr. Speaker, I move that the select standing committees of this House

for the present session be appointed for the following purposes:

(1) On Standing Orders and Private Bills;

(2) On Public Accounts and Economic Affairs;

(3) On Agriculture;

(4) On Municipal Affairs and Housing;

(5) On Labour and Justice;

(6) On Health, Education and Human Resources;

(7) On Transportation and Communications;

(8) On Environment and Resources;

(9) On Crown

Corporations; which said committees shall severally be empowered to

examine and inquire into all such matters and things as shall be

referred to them by this House, and to report from time to time their

observations and opinions thereof, with power to send for persons,

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

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

compose the above select standing committees of this House under

standing order 68(1), said committee to be composed of the Hon. H.A.

Curtis, the Hon. Grace McCarthy, Mr. Davidson, Mrs. Jordan and Messrs.

Smith, Cocke, Gabelmann and King.

Motion approved.

HON. MR. GARDOM:

Mr. Speaker, I move that the special committee appointed this day be

authorized to appoint a select committee of the House on statute

revision for the purposes of the Revised Statutes Act.

Motion approved.

HON. MR. GARDOM:

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. member for

Shuswap-Revelstoke, that Charles Stephen Rogers, Esquire, first member

for Vancouver South electoral district, be appointed Deputy Speaker for

this session of the Legislative Assembly.

Motion approved.

HON. MR. GARDOM:

Mr. Speaker, I move that report No. 9 of the Select Standing Committee

on Standing Orders and Private Bills adopted by this House on February

27,

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1973, relating to all questions, be adopted by this House for the present session.

Motion approved.

HON. MR. GARDOM:

Mr. Speaker, I move that on each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and

Thursday of this session there will be two distinct sittings on each

day, one from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and one from 8 p.m. until 11 p.m.; and

on each Friday there will be one sitting from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.

unless otherwise ordered.

Motion approved.

Presenting Reports

The following reports were presented:

By Hon. H.A. Curtis:

Pacific National Exhibition, financial statements for the year ended November 30, 1978 — not 1931 as observed on the cover.

Applications pertaining to the Public Service Labour Relations Act dealt with by the B.C. Labour Relations Board in 1978.

The British Columbia Lotteries Branch annual report for the period April 1, 1977, to March 31, 1978.

Public Service Commission's 60th annual report for the year January 1, 1978, to December 31, 1978.

By Hon. J.J. Hewitt:

Annual report of the Ministry of Agriculture, 1978.

By Hon. G.M. McCarthy:

Annual report of the Ministry of Human Resources, 1978.

By Hon. G.B. Gardom:

Annual report of the B.C. Racing Commission.

Annual report of the Legal Services Commission.

Annual report of the Ministry of the Attorney-General.

The report of the Law Reform Commission of British Columbia on creditors' relief legislation.

The report of the Law Reform Commission of B.C. on execution against land.

Hon. Mr. Gardom moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

The House adjourned at 3:45 p.m.

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