2005 Legislative Session: 6th Session, 37th 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)

THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2005

Morning Sitting

Volume 27, Number 24

CONTENTS

Routine Proceedings

Page

Petitions

B. Lekstrom

V. Roddick

Budget Debate (continued)

R. Stewart

D. Hayer

B. Penner

H. Bloy

Hon. C. Hansen

[ Page 12265 ]

THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2005

The House met at 10:01 a.m.

Clerk of the House: Pursuant to standing orders, the House

is advised of the unavoidable absence of Mr. Speaker.

[J. Weisbeck in the chair.]

Prayers.

Petitions

B. Lekstrom: Today I rise to submit a petition on behalf of

the member for Skeena, the Minister of State for Forestry Operations, who is at

home recovering right now. I know that all of us in this House and in our

province wish him the best in his recovery.

[1005]

This petition reflects the hard and dedicated work of one of his

constituents, Yvonne Nielsen — a person who, as a result of an automobile

accident, is brain-injured herself. This petition calls on the government to put

in place a card for people with disabilities that will allow them easier access

to services for people with disabilities across the province, wherever they may

live. This petition reflects the hard work and dedication of Yvonne. She has

worked tirelessly over the past three years garnering support for this

initiative, so that all of us can make life a little better for all of those

people who live life on a daily basis with a disability.

V. Roddick: I seek leave to table a petition.

Deputy Speaker: Proceed.

V. Roddick: I am presenting a petition delivered to me by

my constituents concerning the lack of overall agricultural bylaws in Delta

South, which would include environmental greenhouse guidelines.

Orders of the Day

Hon. R. Coleman: I call continuation of budget debate.

Budget Debate

(continued)

R. Stewart: I rise today to speak to the 2005-06 budget.

This will be my last budget response during this, the thirty-seventh parliament

of British Columbia. It has been my honour to have been able to serve my

constituents in Coquitlam-Maillardville for the past four years. It is my hope

that my constituents will reflect on the work that I've done on their behalf and

the work that this government has done in the past four years, and that they

will send me back to this House with the privilege of serving them for another

four years.

I want to take the opportunity to thank some people who have

worked with me during this time — my constituency office staff: Linda Kingsbury,

Stephanie Nightingale and Vicki Collins. These individuals have worked very hard

on behalf of countless constituents, and I've heard from a great many of those

constituents about how dedicated and helpful my office and my staff have been to

them. To them I offer my own deep gratitude for their service over the past four

years.

I also want to acknowledge my family. This job is a very

challenging job, and it takes members away from their families for long periods

of time. My family has faced some of those challenges and other challenges as

well. I want to thank my wife and my children for their constant support of me

in the task that we have taken on as a family to represent

Coquitlam-Maillardville in this House.

As I look back over the past four years, I'm actually amazed at

how far we've come as a province. Four years ago B.C. was in last place in

economic growth. Four years ago B.C. was in last place nationally in job growth.

While the entire continent enjoyed a decade of almost unprecedented economic

prosperity during the nineties, B.C. experienced what many economists refer to

as a lost decade.

[1010]

We had seen a decade when B.C. had slipped — no, actually tumbled

— from the most promising province in Canada to dead last in so many economic

indicators. We had seen a decade of debt-building deficit budgets, including the

infamous fudge-it budget upon which the NDP had been re-elected in 1996. We had

seen a decade when investment had been driven from this province, when young

people had been forced to leave the province for jobs and opportunity. We'd seen

a decade of mismanagement, a decade when the only opportunities seemed to flow

to government's friends and insiders.

The previous decade saw average aftertax take-home pay in British

Columbia decline by $1,700. That's the kind of change that we saw many people

having to endure. I personally know of families who suffered greatly because of

the challenges created by an economy that was completely going in the opposite

direction from North America's economy, from government policies that seemed

almost determined to drive away investment.

Like many of my colleagues, I was born in this province. In fact,

I've lived my entire life in the riding I am honoured to represent today. My

wife and I are raising our four children here in B.C., and like most parents, we

want the very best for them.

As the nineties were drawing to a close, we had some important

decisions to make for our family. Like all parents, I want our children to

inherit a future of hope and prosperity rather than the legacy of debt that my

generation had rung up because of the irresponsibility of the NDP government.

B.C. is no doubt the best place on earth. Our children deserve to inherit a

future of opportunity right here in this province.

When the people of B.C. entrusted to us the task of turning this

province around, I knew that the task

[ Page 12266 ]

would be enormous and difficult. Since then the people of B.C. have faced a

large number of challenges from outside. We know that on September 11 of 2001

the economy of the world changed as the largest terrorist attack ever to strike

North America was undertaken. As we were reeling from that, we faced challenges

from BSE — mad cow disease; from a softwood lumber dispute that has dragged on

with the United States; from SARS; from avian flu; from mountain pine beetle.

We had the worst forest fire season on record. I had the

opportunity during that summer — two summers ago — to visit the devastation that

was visited upon the people in Kelowna and the interior of this province. I got

to see the resilience of the people there. I got to see the volunteer efforts

that were undertaken to help so many people who were facing such loss.

There's no question that in the past four years we've had

difficult decisions to make. As I said, I knew that the task we had undertaken

would be difficult. The decisions we've had to take — and I preface that always

with the fact that we had to take them — were difficult decisions in many cases.

I acknowledge that I didn't want us to have to make some of those decisions.

Nonetheless, we had an enormous structural deficit to deal with.

We had government structures that were completely unsustainable. Decisions had

to be made so that the people of this province could rely on the government

services they'd come to rely on, at the same time as we would ensure that we

paid for them — that we didn't borrow the money from our children to pay for

programs we wanted today.

I remember protests in that first year. I remember the throne

speech day, for example, in 2002, when there were protestors outside — thousands

of them — against some of the challenging decisions that we had had to take.

I compare that to throne speech 2005. On throne speech day 2005,

just three or four weeks ago, there was another kind of protest outside, as

construction workers, construction crews and construction equipment paraded down

Government Street in support of this government's policies. I was heartened to

be able to stand there among former colleagues from when I was in the

construction industry and the development sector and realize that many of the

changes that we've had to undertake, many of the challenging decisions we've had

to undertake, have come back now and are finally paying dividends, with greater

employment, with opportunity and with growth in our economy. I think that one

throne speech day is a day I will long remember as we saw, as I say, a different

kind of protest.

[1015]

I'm proud to say that we weathered all those storms we faced and

that we kept to the plan that our Premier had laid out. Now, just three and a

half years later, we are number one in Canada in job growth. We'll soon be

number one in Canada in economic growth. We've added 180,000 new jobs since

2001, and B.C.'s unemployment rate is the lowest it has been since 1981.

We have made a commitment to truth in budgeting, and we have moved

to ensure that all government accounting is now done according to generally

accepted accounting principles. That's an important thing to say: generally

accepted accounting principles. In the past, those things haven't applied to

government accounting the way they should, and we have instituted that. I think

most people don't understand the significance of that — that we would apply

generally accepted accounting principles to make certain that we have truth in

budgeting and accounting.

We've instituted the largest personal income tax cut in B.C.'s

history. This has put money back in the pockets of working people. Plus we can

now boast that B.C. has a larger percentage of workers who are earning over $16

an hour — more than anywhere else in Canada. Having made all of those

contributions, this budget the Finance minister has tabled contains the largest

surplus in provincial history. With that surplus comes the largest paydown of

the provincial debt in our history.

Now, we're setting out on some very ambitious goals with this

budget. We want to build the best system of support for people in need in all of

Canada. We want to ensure that when the rest of the province moves forward with

opportunity, seniors, children at risk and people with disabilities aren't left

behind. We want to lead the world in the stewardship of our environment. We want

to pursue economic growth in a sustainable manner that will leave resources

intact for the generations to follow. We want to build on our economic successes

to seize every opportunity before us and to continue to lead the country in job

creation.

These are positive goals. This coming election, I hope, will be

about the positive, about the future of this province. Sadly though, we've

already seen some strong indication that some groups want this election to be

about the negative. The opposition seems to want to make the election about

vicious personal attack.

I saw some of that philosophy of vicious personal attack in the

last session of this Legislature, when on March 24 the NDP made a vicious attack

on myself and my family. They made an accusation here in the House, and they

made similar comments outside the House. At the time I was in the hospital and

unable to be in the House. Within a day the NDP had come to realize that their

accusation was false, and on March 26 they bowed to pressure and withdrew the

accusation and distributed an apology to the media.

They don't seem to want that apology on the record of this House.

I have waited for almost a year now for any member of the NDP opposition to

demonstrate the character to stand in this House and withdraw the comments in

this chamber. The accusation was made here, and it should be withdrawn here. The

NDP owed me an apology, to be sure, but they also owe an apology to this House.

However, it doesn't seem that we're going to get one.

At the very least, I want the record of this House to reflect that

the NDP withdrew their accusation, and it seems that the only way that will

happen is if I put that on the record myself. I ask that the record show that on

[ Page 12267 ]

March 26, 2004, the Leader of the Opposition said in a media interview: "I

made a mistake in the allegations. Therefore, I am offering an unqualified

apology to the MLA for Coquitlam-Maillardville."

Oddly, the Leader of the Opposition also said in the same

interview that as a result of her party's attack: "I certainly hope British

Columbians will not hold the institution of parliament in contempt." Therein

lies my hope. My hope is that our democratic institutions can once again be

viewed by the public as deserving their respect. My hope is that the calling of

politics will become less vicious and less daunting so that good people will be

able to consider running for political office as a valued calling.

[1020]

I applaud our Premier for the steps he's made to that end. I call

on the opposition to turn away from the vicious personal attacks they've started

and to return to the proper debate of public policy.

As I said a few minutes ago, though, it doesn't look like we're

going to see that from the opposition in the coming election. So far, we've seen

terribly negative ads that seem to play upon the fears of British Columbians and

that I believe will put democratic institutions in a negative light in many

people's minds.

I've heard from many of those people, who have already told me

that the election, as it's being played out right now, doesn't look very good. I

hope we can get back to public policy and away from that. I hope that for our

communities, because there are so many good people in our communities.

I want to take a moment here and sincerely thank and acknowledge

all of those people that dedicate the countless hours of volunteer time in

sport, from coaches to other volunteers, and in school — the parents and

volunteers that help make our schools as good as they are. We know that the

contribution we can make to a child's life through volunteerism is immeasurable.

As a parent I thank all of those volunteers.

There's one coach that I want to acknowledge particularly. His

name is Domenic Mobilio. Many British Columbians would know Domenic because of

his talent and skill on the soccer field playing with, among others, the 86ers.

Former teammate Steve Millar describes Domenic as far and above the most natural

goal scorer Canada has ever had. Steve talks about Domenic's pure magic in front

of the net. Sadly, we lost Domenic suddenly this last fall. For most Coquitlam

residents, Domenic was known as the head coach of Coquitlam City Soccer. Domenic

was also a dedicated coach at Archbishop Carney Secondary School in Port

Coquitlam. Yesterday, by coincidence, I introduced in this House a group of

students that included one of Domenic's cousins.

I ask my colleagues to recognize the skill and commitment of an

outstanding athlete and a dedicated coach and mentor. I know I join with all my

colleagues in sending this assembly's heartfelt condolences to the Mobilio

family as well as to all of those in our community and British Columbia's soccer

community who knew Domenic and the wonderful contribution he made.

In so doing, I also want to acknowledge thousands of other people

across this province who make enormous contributions to their communities. I

have spoken before in this House about the volunteer coaches that are essential

to amateur sports. I truly believe that as we move forward toward the 2010

Olympics, we will come to recognize even more and more the tremendous

contributions that volunteerism makes to our youth.

Of course, there are many other volunteers in our community,

volunteers that make enormous contributions. One of these groups is our Scout

leaders. As we have just celebrated world Scout movement founder Lord

Baden-Powell a few days ago, I want to acknowledge the Scout leaders in our

community. I had the pleasure of attending two ceremonies in my riding on

February 22, Lord Baden-Powell's birthday. At both of those events I met many of

the young Scouts of Coquitlam and some of their outstanding Scout leaders.

Scout leaders play a very important role in an organization that

does a great deal in the development of boys and girls in our province. This

year Maillardville will host a big celebration associated with Scouting in

British Columbia, as 2005 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the francophone

Scout movement in B.C.

It was in 1955 that Jean Lambert launched the francophone scouting

movement in the heart of Maillardville, in the parish of Notre-Dame de Lourdes.

In 1957 Suzanne Lambert founded the francophone Girl Guides, a group that

integrated with the francophone Scouts a decade ago. I want to acknowledge the

contribution that Jean and Suzanne Lambert and other early Scout leaders in my

community have made to three generations of young people.

I want to also acknowledge one of my own Scout leaders in the

francophone Scout movement who passed away on November 5. Fay Roset was born in

Rosthern, Saskatchewan on December 30, 1937 and lived much of his life in

Coquitlam. He was one of the Scout leaders I knew as I was growing up in

Maillardville.

[1025]

I ask my colleagues to acknowledge Fay Roset, a former master of

the fourth degree of the Knights of Columbus, a committed leader in the Première

Maillardville Scout troop and a committed volunteer in many ways in his church

and his community.

I was pleased to be able to host the Minister of Education as he

came to our community about a week ago. He visited programs in school district

43, including Ranch Park Elementary and the CAB-A, which is the alternative

education program run by the school district. We also toured Centennial high

school and saw the improvements and the additions to that school and the seismic

upgrading that's going on. We got a chance to meet with the school board; almost

all of the trustees were there.

We also had a chance to meet with the district parent advisory

committee and some of the PAC mem-

[ Page 12268 ]

bers. I want to speak for a moment about the PAC members who were there and

who met with our Education minister. These folks are, again, tireless volunteers

that are committed to the education of young people and committed to the

important contribution that they can make toward improving the success that we

achieve with our outstanding school system.

The district parent advisory committee in Coquitlam is a leader in

many ways, and I acknowledge all of those members of that group and all of the

members of PAC groups across Coquitlam and, indeed, across this province.

I was able to host another minister a couple of weeks ago at

Riverview Hospital. The Minister of State for Mental Health took a tour of that

facility with me. I, of course, have toured it many times in the past, as it's a

very large facility in my riding.

Yesterday I made a statement in this House about Riverview

Hospital and about some of the challenges that we face as we try to evolve the

delivery of mental health services in British Columbia. Riverview Hospital is

almost 100 years old. The buildings we toured included buildings that were built

in the twenties and thirties. Some of these buildings are incredibly antiquated.

They do not have adequate services, they aren't seismically upgraded, and they

are considered by some to have serious fire risks associated with them. They

were built in a different decade, a much different era for mental health, back

when Riverview was called an asylum.

Now mental health has changed a lot, and I'm proud that British

Columbia has adopted a mental health strategy and that this government has moved

us so far forward in the delivery of mental health services in British Columbia.

In the last election we actually saw NDP attack ads in my

community newspaper on the issue of Riverview Hospital. One of the ads pretended

to be a news clipping from 2003 — two years later — suggesting that we had by

that point shut down Riverview Hospital, sold it to developers, booted all the

people out on the street and left people with mental illness with no place to

go. Well, of course, that's not the case. It has now become clear that our

government is tackling the issue of mental health and addictions in a

responsible manner like no other government in the history of the province.

What was the history of the province on this issue? Well, in the

nineties we did boot some people out of Riverview Hospital. We sent some

patients back to their communities without adequate support, and that's a really

sad reality. It's a sad reality that the NDP attack ads against the Liberals at

the time were actually very close to what the NDP had done with Riverview

Hospital.

Most important is the patients. The patients of Riverview Hospital

will come first and must come first. I'm proud that the Minister of State for

Mental Health made that commitment again as we toured the facility.

This morning I received an e-mail from a British Columbian not

from my riding, and I want to read portions of that e-mail now.

"I just wanted to thank you for your member's statement

on mental health today. I just finished watching as much as I could of the

Legislature on television. I cannot stand the hypocrisy of the NDP party, so I

can only watch so much of it at a time. I was always very much against what

went on at Riverview Hospital, and I appreciate that you reminded us all of

that horrible decision and how those people were tossed out into the streets

in the last decade. I appreciate the recent decisions of government that make

mental health care more accessible. We do need to care for those who cannot

care for themselves. That is our duty as a society."

[1030]

This person, whose name I will not put on the record, to preserve

privacy, has stated a concern that many British Columbians share. I often get

asked how many of our society's challenges with homelessness and addictions are

the result of the decisions of the nineties that put mentally ill people back on

the streets without adequate support.

We also had the Deputy Premier and Minister of Health visiting my

community, and she was able to visit Dogwood Pavillion and Foyer Maillard, which

is our senior citizens' centre. She even visited Chimo Pool. Chimo Pool has

served my community for many years, and I am proud that our government has

contributed $2 million to the replacement of Chimo Pool with a more up-to-date

facility that is also more environmentally friendly. I myself played water polo

at Chimo Pool and worked as a lifeguard there for many years. The new facility

that will be partly funded by our government will be very welcome in our

community.

Education spending is raised in a great many formats and in a

great many contexts as being really important, and I agree. We have done more

for education as a government, I believe, than any government in the past. We

have protected education spending, and now, of course, we're doing as we

promised. We're increasing education spending. We've added $150 million to

education spending. We're ensuring that with these investments will come better

results for students. We already have record high-school completion rates in the

province, and we're going to continue to improve the results we get with

education.

The same thing is contained in this budget on health care. We have

added more money for health care than any government in the history of this

province. I acknowledge that we still have challenges in health care. We

inherited an enormous challenge with long waiting lists and a system that was

not sustainable. I am proud of the work that we've done in the province, and I

am particularly proud of the work that's been going on in Coquitlam and in the

Tri-Cities on health care and health care delivery.

Now is the time to look ahead to 2010 and beyond at the golden

decade that lies within our grasp. On May 17 the people of

Coquitlam-Maillardville and the people of British Columbia will reflect on the

record of this government in turning the province around, in instilling fiscal

responsibility to protect future generations and in ensuring that our health

care and educa-

[ Page 12269 ]

tion systems are there to serve the people of this province.

I am certain that when they do, they will reject the fear and

embrace the hope that lies ahead. They will turn away from the vicious personal

attacks of the NDP and embrace a positive future for this province. I am

saddened by the way in which the NDP wants to run the election, but I'm very

proud of our record. I'm proud of the way in which we are going to go about

convincing the people of British Columbia of the benefits that will come from

the golden decade that's ahead. They will decide — those people in British

Columbia and the people in my riding and elsewhere — that B.C. is back, and it

must never go back.

D. Hayer: I have stood often in this House to speak of the

success and accomplishments of this government under the leadership of our

Premier, Gordon Campbell. Today I take special pride in what I'm about to say.

In less than four years we have seen the economy of this province

soar from number ten to number one in our nation. We have seen a record-breaking

housing boom and a remarkable return in investment, jobs and opportunity. We

have seen thousands of people and hundreds of businesses come back to this

province, all in less than four short years since this government took office.

Why is that, Mr. Speaker? It is because this government promised

to get our financial house in order. It promised to kick-start the economy. It

promised to take us from the have-not province to the national leader. When we

were first elected in 2001, the economy was job one, and we have delivered. We

have brought our economy back from the worst to the first in Canada. We now have

the strongest economy.

[1035]

When we delivered our first budget back in 2001, we made it clear

that while there may be some short-term pain, there would be long-term gain. The

budget I am speaking to today makes it very clear that all British Columbians

are benefiting from the long-term gains we promised.

One of those gains will be in health care in Surrey. When this

government came to office in 2001, the province was spending $9.5 billion on

health care. Today that figure is $11.8 billion. By the end of our three-year

plan, it will increase to a record-setting $13.3 billion for a total increase in

annual spending of $3.8 billion. That's 43 percent of the total budget. In other

words, 43 cents of every dollar we spend goes into health care.

It sends a signal to all British Columbians that this government

truly cares about our health care, understands the demands that all of us place

on the system and is taking steps to cope with those demands. Those investments

are being made at Surrey Memorial Hospital, all to alleviate the crowding and to

improve services in our emergency ward, the busiest emergency centre in the

province.

The crushes that are currently being faced by my hospital, Surrey

Memorial, have been severely impacted by the huge growth in new residents and by

the aging demographics of our population. That is why I was happy to hear the

Premier call for the $28 million surplus from Fraser health to be spent

immediately on planning for and providing for an increase in capacity for

Surrey's emergency ward.

I have said many times in this House that there is a need to

expand not only the emergency ward but also the bed numbers in my hospital. Over

the past four years I have met on many occasions with doctors, nurses, health

care workers, union reps, patients and other individuals concerned about the

Surrey Memorial Hospital; with the volunteers, the foundation board of

directors, the president of Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation — who do a great

job for all of us at Surrey Memorial Hospital; and with the Fraser health

authority, the Minister of Health and my fellow MLAs to talk about the pressing

demands for expansion.

Therefore, I was very encouraged to hear the Minister of Health

say last week that we are going to move forward rapidly and aggressively to

address the pressures we face at Surrey Memorial Hospital. As well, this

government has increased the funding of the Fraser health authority by $200

million this year. That is a 16 percent increase.

Four years ago the South Fraser health region, which Surrey

Memorial Hospital was part of at the time, was the most underfunded on a

per-capita basis of any health authority at that time. It frustrates and angers

me to hear the opposition complain and criticize our health care system and the

situation at Surrey Memorial Hospital. They never moved forward with

improvements to the health care system and to the Surrey Memorial Hospital in

the decade they were in power. Now they are politicizing the efforts we are

making to resolve the crisis in Surrey. Shame on them.

Construction began in December 2004 on the new 300-bed Abbotsford

regional hospital and cancer centre. Not only will this serve the people of

Abbotsford and the Fraser Valley, but it will lessen the pressure on the Surrey

Memorial Hospital. This is a hospital the NDP failed to build in their decade in

power and one they have tried to stop since the election of 2001. Why do they

want those services cut? Nobody understands.

It is important to note that since Dr. Doug Cochrane, the chair of

the B.C. patient safety task force, completed his review of the patient safety

issues at Surrey Memorial Hospital in January, the 19 recommendations stemming

from the report are in the process of being implemented. Some highlights of the

progress made include: recruitment of additional health care professionals,

including an obstetrician, a radiologist and additional nursing staff; plans for

a short-term strategy to improve flow through the emergency department; clinic

practice guidelines for intoxicated and head-injured patients; community nurses

providing home care to post-natal women; giving additional education related to

Caesarean wound assessment and incision care; and strategies to report

post-operative maternity surgical infection identified in the community.

[ Page 12270 ]

[1040]

Surrey Memorial Hospital is playing an important role in meeting

the health care needs of Surrey. MRI scanners are being staffed and funded on an

ongoing basis to operate at maximum capacity. Fraser health will perform 9,200

MRI scans in Surrey and at the Royal Columbian Hospital in 2004-05 — more than

ever before. This makes an increase of 2,000 MRI scans from 2003-04. It is more

than double the number performed in 2001-02.

Again, let's look at the big picture in health care. When we came

into power, we found a health care system that was broke and simply not

sustainable. Because we have made the system more efficient, more of those

dollars than ever before will go directly to patient care. Building on

improvements made since we came to office and the new investment in Surrey

Memorial Hospital will help improve patient care in Surrey.

We are working hard to make sure we have the doctors and nurses we

need. We have made changes to allow us to hire more than 600 additional nurses

to practise in B.C. this year. Over the past four years we have added more than

2,100 seats in total to training spaces for nurses — a 50 percent increase and

25 times the amount added during the 1990s when the NDP was in power. Our

universities are set to graduate almost twice as many doctors by 2009. The most

recent statistics show that the number of surgical procedures increased by 8

percent. That's 68,000 more surgeries since we came to office.

I'd like to thank the working men and women and the volunteers at

the Surrey Memorial Hospital. Day in and day out, they are delivering important

services for people in need, and they are doing it in a professional manner.

There are challenges, but by hard work from everyone and working together, we

are going to get there.

The NDP also didn't recognize the power of a strong economy and

what it can do to accomplish all the things that British Columbians want and

need. The decisions we have made to make the economy as strong as it is today

are what make the budget so powerful. There is simply not enough time here today

to talk about all the positive aspects of Budget 2005.

As a member of the Select Standing Committee on Finance and

Government Services, I spent a large part of last year touring the province

talking to and listening to British Columbians from all walks of life who told

us what they wanted in this budget and how they wanted the government to invest

the surpluses. We listened to them, and we passed on their recommendations to

the Minister of Finance. This budget reflects the priorities of all those people

we met, all those people who wrote and e-mailed us, all those people who made an

effort to become part of this budget and part of forming the future of this

wonderful province of ours.

There are many, many positives in this budget. I will try to touch

on just some of the highlights that will benefit my constituents in

Surrey-Tynehead and will, in fact, benefit the constituents of all 79 ridings in

this great and wonderful province of ours.

This budget, like all others that this government has presented in

the past four years, is a plan that ensures long-term prosperity, long-term

growth and long-term stability. This budget sets the course that families can

bank on and that creates the climate for long-term job security and long-term

business success. That course, particularly for my constituents, contains $290

million in transportation infrastructure through the gateway project that will

benefit Surrey-Tynehead.

We will see a new bridge cross the Fraser River on the freeway in

the Port Kells area of Surrey and Surrey-Tynehead. We have four-laning of 176th

Street from the border to Highway 1, the Trans-Canada freeway. We have widening

of all parts of the freeway in my riding from 152nd Street to 168th Street and

then continuing to Langley. Highway 10 from Delta to 176th Street in Cloverdale

improves the interchanges and overpasses, especially at 160th Street and Highway

1. All of those projects will benefit the businesses, commuters and the

residents of my riding, as they will benefit the entire economy of our province.

[1045]

Even better news is coming. Our Transportation minister is also

working on twinning the Port Mann Bridge, improving all interchanges and

overpasses on the Highway 1 freeway in Surrey-Tynehead, completion of the South

and North Fraser perimeter road and widening the Highway 1 freeway all the way

from Langley to Vancouver, helping to solve the worst traffic gridlock situation

in the province.

Twinning of the bridge will reduce wasted time in traffic and

reduce pollution for my constituents stuck in the traffic gridlock going to work

and coming back home to their families. It will improve gridlocked commercial

and tourist traffic, faster and more efficiently — more investment in our

transportation infrastructure. Therefore, the commuters will be able to move

faster, as will the commercial vehicles, while at the same time decreasing the

pollution in the air. It will save the economy of this province more than $1.5

billion a year. That is forward-thinking and long-term planning.

Another example of long-term planning in decisions by this

government is committing substantial funding to combat crime. Municipalities

will now receive 100 percent of the fine revenue to assist the fight against

crime. Surrey, in fact, has already taken advantage of the $3.5 million in fine

revenue by announcing a safety-oriented budget which will see 41 new police

officers, 50 auxiliary officers and 28 RCMP staff members hired.

In addition, in communities across B.C., 215 more RCMP officers

will be added this year as part of the crime-fighting strategy. That will see an

additional $122 million invested in policing, corrections and courts over the

next three years. Add to that the new safe street legislation, and we have gone

a long way in just a short few years in the battle against crime, something the

people of Surrey really welcome and appreciate.

This budget, as a member of the press gallery said in his

newspaper column recently, is a budget that will

[ Page 12271 ]

stand up well. It is a budget based on a strong economy, something that was

sadly lacking in this province until 2001. This budget, because we now have a

strong, vibrant and dynamic economy, provides almost half a billion dollars in

tax relief to low- and middle income people who need it the most.

In fact, in an unprecedented move, people in British Columbia who

earn less than $16,000 a year — those who are most in need — will now pay

absolutely no provincial income tax, no B.C. income tax, at all. That is hard to

argue with. Those people will now be able to put a little more food on the table

or perhaps indulge in a luxury or two that they couldn't afford before, all

because we have got the province's finances under control and have made the

economy strong again.

We can now afford to share with people all those benefits that

come from a strong economy, from those difficult but prudent decisions and good

financial management. We can now share the success we achieved over the last

four years, because of the state of the economy today. When we entered

government, we were facing a structural deficit of almost $4 billion.

Today we are able to do a remarkable thing: we are able to pay

down the province's long-term debt by $1.7 billion — the largest one-time down

payment in British Columbia's history — because this government is running its

finances and planning its budget responsibly. That is why this government can

now begin to pay off its mortgage.

This year the $1.7 billion paydown is a huge step toward that goal

and is one more step toward the debt-free legacy we can pass on to our future

generations. Servicing our provincial debt consumes the fourth-largest portion

of our budget, trailing only after health care, education and social services.

This huge paydown will help that bottom line and will allow us to spend more

money on the three significant services that our tax dollars would.

[1050]

Speaking of those services, I mentioned earlier this year the

government's investment of a record $3.8 billion in health care over the next

three years. This budget also contains a $4,000 increase in the threshold for

the Medical Services Plan premium assistance program. This will reduce or

eliminate MSP premiums for almost 215,000 British Columbians — particularly for

seniors, couples and families.

To keep the economy rolling and to ensure our plan for job

creation continues to provide opportunity, there are changes to the small

business corporate tax threshold. This will mean more money available to small

business operators, who provide 90 percent of the jobs in this province,

incidentally. This incentive will mean that small business people will have more

money to invest to grow their businesses, to create more jobs and to continue to

grow our economy.

Economic growth is the key to our future, the key to opportunity

for our young people. Without that growth, without economic stability and a plan

for long-term stability — and that is articulated in this budget — our province

could slip back into the economic dark days we faced in the 1990s when the NDP

was in power.

This government has a plan to ensure our future and the future of

our children and grandchildren. Our plan has been the cause for this reawakening

of the mining industry, creating jobs in our resource communities. We have

changed our forest practices and are creating stability and growth and

opportunities in an industry that has been battered by U.S. protectionism and

devastated by wildfires and a horrific pine beetle epidemic.

On top of all that, in the past few years we have faced major

floods, fires, BSE, a terrorist attack on 9/11 in the United States, avian flu,

and we managed to live through the effects that SARS had on our citizens and our

tourism economy. Our plan contains ways to overcome these impacts to our economy

by creating new markets, a plan that moves away from the reliance on the United

States as the major consumer of our products and resources.

I was recently appointed vice-chair of the Asian Economic

Development Committee. We, with the support of our Premier, will be pursuing the

vast, virtually untapped markets of Asia — China, India, Taiwan, Japan,

Malaysia, Korea, Philippines and the many other countries across the Pacific

that need and want our products. Over the next few years we will be building

bridges to the world — to Asia, to Europe, to South America — to ensure that our

economy grows and that opportunities continue to grow in this wonderful province

of ours.

The bridges are two-way. They will be bringing immigrants to us as

we ship goods over to them. That is why I'm so very happy to see within this

budget an allocation of $14.5 million going into the B.C. Skills Connect

program, which will assist those immigrants to find work in their field of

expertise.

You know that we hear over and over that something has to be done

to help foreign-trained professionals find suitable work in this province, jobs

that will put their skills and talents to work for themselves and for all of us.

This funding allocation is going to make that a reality, and their contribution

will be beneficial to all of us. But this budget has not forgotten our own

homegrown skill development. This budget contains a huge investment in education

— for kindergarten-to-grade-12, for post-secondary skills and trade training

programs, for more seats and more options for university students.

We now have a limit on tuition increases, held now to the cost of

living, and more funding opportunities for students from low-income families.

This will make advanced education more accessible, more affordable for thousands

of young people. It will help them create a future for themselves and their

families. It will allow them to take full advantage of this golden decade that

this budget introduces.

[1055]

Yes, as our newspaper columnist said: "This is a budget that will

stand up well." This is a budget for our future. This is a budget that will lead

us along the way

[ Page 12272 ]

to the 2010 Olympics. This is a budget that will help the elderly, our

seniors and our youth; help people most vulnerable, such as the disabled, the

homeless and women seeking shelter from abuse; help those in need of health

care; and help our economy stay strong and grow so that we can pay for all the

services our growing population requires.

[H. Long in the chair.]

B. Penner: I want to thank my colleague for a good

summary

of some of the highlights in the provincial budget. It's true the budget

contains yet again more money for health care, yet again more money for

education, and yet again sets out key goals for our province to achieve as we

strive for a golden decade looking into the future.

Certainly, what's happening in British Columbia stands in stark

contrast to the dismal decade of the 1990s, when the rest of the developed world

went through an almost unprecedented economic boom, yet sadly, that boom passed

British Columbia by. It's interesting that at that time the NDP made all kinds

of excuses. They said it was due to factors outside of their own control. Yet

those same factors were applying to the rest of the world. Like I said, the rest

of the world saw an incredible boom. Just look to the south of us — Washington

State, Oregon, California. They were booming. Alberta was booming. Ontario was

booming. British Columbia was standing on the sidelines and watching it all go

by.

Now we're seeing the reverse happen. British Columbia is leading

the rest of Canada in economic growth, leading the rest of Canada in terms of

job creation, with almost 200,000 jobs since December 2001. We hear the NDP

saying: "Well, you've had nothing to do with it. It's due to low interest

rates." Those low interest rates apply around the globe as well. The western

world is enjoying those low interest rates, yet British Columbia seems to be

taking advantage of it more than other places — certainly more than Washington

State, more than Oregon, maybe even more than California. Certainly we're

catching up to Alberta in terms of our percentage growth in GDP. British

Columbia is doing incredibly well, but the NDP refuses to acknowledge that there

is something that you can do about it here at home to make a difference.

That's just my way of starting off by saying that there are many

interesting, exciting components to the budget and things happening that affect

the communities which I represent. From a Chilliwack-Kent perspective, I think

one of the most interesting, exciting things we've heard about in the last few

weeks is the announcement about the World Trade University and their plan to

establish a campus at the former military base in Chilliwack and educate up to

600 students at a time from around the world, teaching them various aspects of

international trade to help facilitate ongoing growth, not just in Canada but

around the world and in countries that need extra development badly, countries

that are still Third World status.

I've heard it said before, and I think I agree, that trade is aid.

It's funny how the left wing so often are the very people that engage in

protectionist rhetoric and say that we should not import products from those

Third World countries that most desperately need to trade with us in order to

advance their own economic standing.

This initiative to establish a World Trade University in

Chilliwack will not just benefit Chilliwack and Canada. I think it stands to

benefit developing countries around the world as we educate people here to go

back to those countries and help those countries access world markets so that

they can create job opportunities, economic activity and investment in their own

countries.

That's not the only education-related initiative that's benefiting

people in Chilliwack-Kent. We all know that last summer the Premier came to

Chilliwack and made an announcement about an additional 1,700 spaces at the

University College of the Fraser Valley. At the same time, he indicated the

government's support for the idea of establishing a new campus, again at the

former military base in Chilliwack, to help that college grow and utilize its

full potential — maximize its potential. That's something that has really

captured the imagination of people in Chilliwack.

It was a shock to our system ten years ago — almost exactly ten

years ago — when the former Finance minister, now the Prime Minister, Paul

Martin, stood up in Ottawa and announced that the base in Chilliwack would be

closing. It came as a real blow, psychologically, but we've recovered. We've set

ourselves a new goal and a new vision: to transform that closed military base

into a world leader in educational opportunities. Poised as we are on the west

coast here, near the Pacific gateway to the markets in Asia, I think there

stands a huge opportunity before us to use that university campus, the college

campus, as a launch pad to bridge the gulf across the Pacific and access world

markets throughout Asia.

[1100]

Last summer I had the happy experience to make an announcement

that the provincial government was supporting a request by the local school

board in Chilliwack to acquire property and fund the construction of a new

middle school to help accommodate our growing student population. I believe the

Chilliwack school district is one of only five school districts in the province

that's actually seeing some growth in student enrolment.

Overall in the province, of course, enrolment has been dropping. I

think it's down something like 29,000 students in the last few years. Despite

that, education funding continues to go up. I believe that per-student education

funding, if you look at it on a per-student basis, is up around $800 over the

last couple of years — a very substantial increase.

I'm hoping that in the weeks and months ahead, this new middle

school will start to take shape. I expressed my interest at the time of the

announcement last summer and challenged the school district to set

[ Page 12273 ]

the parameters for the construction of that building to include a geothermal

heat source as a way of reducing ongoing operating costs and showing leadership

in terms of environmental stewardship.

Just across the street from where the school site has been

proposed is a new residential development being built by Van Maren Construction,

a homegrown Chilliwack-based business. Well, last spring I was delighted when

one of the principals of Van Maren Construction contacted me to see if I'd be

interested to know that this housing project would be the first geothermally

heated housing project in all of Chilliwack. Of course I was interested and went

out and took a look at that project.

It's true. The project is well underway, and they have a heat

exchange system accessing geothermal heat under the ground, which is being used

not just to heat those houses but also to moderate the temperatures in the

summer to help them stay cool — substantial energy savings and a projected

payback time of about 11 years. So there's a business case to be made for doing

things smarter and more efficiently. I'm hopeful that the new middle school that

the Chilliwack school district is pursuing will include the same kind of

technology to help lower maintenance costs and ongoing operating costs into the

future.

Just a few moments ago I had a chance to speak to the Solicitor

General, and he reminded me of a couple of things that have recently been

announced just prior to the budget.

Traffic fines. We have not just met but exceeded our campaign

commitment to return 75 percent of all traffic fines collected in various

communities back to those communities. In fact, we're now going to make that 100

percent of all traffic fine revenue going back to communities, so that they can

reinvest in local policing to try and make our streets and communities safer.

In addition, there is the bait car program. Last week we had the

information out that in Chilliwack, we've seen a decrease of about 13 percent in

auto theft since the bait car program was implemented. That's progress. There's

a ways to go yet. In my view, property crime is still at unacceptable levels,

but we're starting to see the right kind of trend. We need to continue pursuing

imaginative programs such as the bait car program if we want to get a handle on

property crime.

Another initiative that the Solicitor General announced not that

long ago was an extra $30 million, I believe, for 217 new police officers around

the province. Putting more officers on the street means more eyes and ears

looking for people who would try to break the law, and it increases our chances

of apprehending those who choose to disregard the laws that the majority of us

respect.

It was just a couple of years ago that our government promised to

work in conjunction with the city of Chilliwack and the federal government,

through a joint funding program, to finally build a new overpass in Chilliwack.

I can remember that one of the very first speeches I gave here as a newly

elected member in 1996 was about the desire of Chilliwack residents to overcome

that barrier of Highway 1, which divides our community.

There was this old cloverleaf overpass — I think it was one of the

first cloverleaf overpasses built in the province, somewhere in the late 1950s —

which was the main thoroughfare connecting Sardis to the downtown part of

Chilliwack. What a bottleneck it was. It was dangerous. The lineups were getting

longer every day, and it was contributing to air pollution as cars sat and idled

in what sometimes appeared to be a vain attempt to get across that freeway.

Well, fast-forward a couple of years, and what a difference a

change of government makes. When the former NDP Transportation minister, Harry

Lali, scoffed at the suggestion that this should be a priority, we pursued it in

government. The former Transportation minister sitting across from me, the

member for Nanaimo-Parksville — I want to thank her for her support for this

initiative, because it has made a huge difference in our community.

[1105]

Today there are now four lanes of traffic making their way across

Highway 1. The bottleneck has been undone, and traffic flows much more freely. I

think that psychologically, it's made a difference in people's view of the

community as being more integrated. Before, there was this growing

balkanization, and we're now connecting the gap crossing the divide.

Other highway improvements. We had the straightening of a couple

of the curves, or at least the widening of the

section through the S-curves near

Bridal Falls. That was an area of Highway 1 where, I think, in just a five- or

six-year period there were something like 60 accidents, two or three fatalities

and an accident rate substantially above the provincial average per kilometre.

Since that construction work was completed last fall, I've heard

many compliments. People say they no longer dread driving that stretch of

highway, particularly at night or when they're alongside a major transport

truck. Previously it was very intimidating to be going through the S-curves up

against a transport truck in the dark when it was raining, because the lanes

were narrow. They were substandard in width. The concrete barriers right beside,

on either side of the highway, again created a psychological impression that you

really had less room than perhaps you had. It made many people panic, and when

people panic, they make bad decisions.

That's a substantial improvement. I believe that the total project

cost was something in the order of $6.9 million, shared jointly between the

federal and provincial governments. Again, it's something that we put on the

table — actually, the former Minister of Transportation put on the table — as a

priority, and we got it done.

Another transportation improvement which is creative and

imaginative in showing strong leadership involves the construction of the first

modern roundabout on a numbered highway in all of British Columbia. Other places

have done it, but as we saw in the econ-

[ Page 12274 ]

omy in the 1990s, British Columbia fell behind. We're catching up. We're

catching up not just in the economy but also in terms of transportation. We now

have the first functioning, modern roundabout on a numbered highway in British

Columbia, and it's right in Chilliwack-Kent.

Now, there certainly were naysayers who said that drivers

in British Columbia could never possibly understand how to go around a

roundabout, that this was something new and different, and that therefore it

shouldn't be done. Well, with that kind of attitude, no wonder we fell behind in

the 1990s. We have to embrace new ideas. We have to challenge ourselves to

change when, after you look at it statistically and scientifically, you know it

will lead to improvements. That's certainly what has happened.

Since that roundabout went into effect, I think in late November

of 2004, I'm not aware of any accidents taking place. Previously accidents were

taking place on a regular basis. There was broken glass visible at that

intersection every time I went through there. Now the roundabout is operating.

Traffic is actually having to slow down, which was the whole idea. Large trucks,

too, are slowing down as they make their way through the roundabout. But they

are still able to make their way through the roundabout, contrary to the

predictions of some.

Local opposition to the idea was led by the owner of a corner

store called the Popkum Market. I went back to that corner store two weeks ago

and talked to the young fellow working there, who says that their business is

up, that he loves the roundabout, and that their customers like the roundabout

because they can get in and out of the store safely and they know they can get

back on Highway 9 without waiting an inordinate amount of time looking for an

opportunity to scoot in between speeding transport trucks.

That's progress. It made sense financially. It made sense in terms

of human safety. It makes sense from a transportation perspective.

Moving more to the economic front, in Chilliwack we've been

watching with great interest the construction of what I think was billed as the

single biggest industrial investment in Chilliwack's history: a more than $20

million project and a new flour-processing mill. I'll just refer to some notes I

have about this project. I was in the mill the week they first started producing

flour, just before Christmas.

This is a state-of-the-art flour-processing mill that will handle

250 tonnes per day, turning wheat into custom, high-quality flours in bulk and

in bags and sold to commercial bakers, food processors and distributors in the

lower mainland of British Columbia, with exports to customers in Pacific Rim

countries. Again, it shows that in Chilliwack we do have access to the Asian

markets, and that's providing a benefit to local residents.

[1110]

When I was there at the construction site back in December, I

think there was something like 50 different workers crawling around that site.

They have built a 40,000-square-foot facility that is state of the art. As this

plant gets into regular operation, I'm guessing there will be something like 23

to 25 full-time jobs, with opportunity for growth. This mill is operated by

Rogers Foods Ltd., which is a subsidiary of Nisshin Flour Milling Inc., one of

the core companies of the Nisshin Seifun Group, the largest flour-milling

company in Japan.

So what we have is a Japanese investment in Chilliwack that is

creating jobs by processing, adding value to commodities such as wheat and then

exporting those products back across the Pacific to the Asian Rim countries.

It's about the Pacific gateway. It's about taking opportunities that await us

around the world, if we have the initiative and the vision to go out there and

pursue them.

Another change that's taken place in Chilliwack since the last

election is, I think, the largest single private sector employer east of the

Port Mann Bridge, and that's Stream International. It's a call centre with a

high-tech twist. They provide support services for companies like

Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft. When they first announced that they were going to

build that facility in Chilliwack, they promised that at some point they'd have

up to 600 employees at this call centre.

I have to acknowledge that I was a little bit skeptical that we

would in fact see 600 jobs in one place, because that's a huge number. Well,

today they employ 1,600 employees at that call centre. It is the single biggest

private sector employer east of the Port Mann Bridge in British Columbia. That's

progress. We don't want to go back to the dismal decade of the 1990s.

In recent days I had the opportunity to announce advancements in

emergency response times for the B.C. Ambulance Service. I had a chance to visit

the local ambulance station a couple of days ago. As a result of a $3 million

strategic investment on the part of the Ministry of Health and negotiations with

the union representing the ambulance workers, we've been able to restructure

their call-out

schedule and their hours of work so that we'll actually have

enhanced 24-hour coverage at nighttime for paramedics. That means more

paramedics right in the station waiting for the call rather than staying at home

waiting for their pager to go off and then having to get themselves down to the

ambulance station, into the ambulance and off to help someone.

I have to say how impressed I was at the professionalism of the

paramedics that I talked to. In fact, two of the gentlemen there were people

that helped me about a year ago in my hour of distress, when they came and

transported me to Chilliwack Hospital when I ruptured a disc in my lower back.

They were very competent, capable and professional in handling my situation

about a year ago, and they were again very competent and capable when I got a

chance to speak with them a few days ago. It was a real honour.

I think a couple of other changes are worth noting from a

Chilliwack perspective. You don't have to look too far to see signs of the

growing economy in terms of new housing construction, new housing starts. Many

young families are establishing a first home in Chilli-

[ Page 12275 ]

wack. Then once they establish their first home, perhaps at a townhouse

complex, you see them moving into a single-family residence, and often they may

be caught by the property transfer tax threshold. We have raised that threshold

to $325,000, which means that most new homes in Chilliwack will be below that

threshold. That's providing a real benefit to families as they're trying to

accommodate their growing families in bigger homes.

[1115]

A couple of other tax initiatives in the budget that was presented

a few weeks ago caught my attention. Something I've supported for quite a while

is increasing the PST exemption on hybrid vehicles. What's a hybrid? Well, a

hybrid is a car or truck that operates on a combination of a standard gasoline

motor with an electric motor. It requires a large battery pack and enhanced

electronics, and many of the vehicles — certainly the full hybrids such as the

Toyota Prius and Ford Escape — have regenerative braking. When you come to a

stop, instead of that kinetic energy being wasted and dissipated in the form of

heat and burning off the brake pads and causing further air pollution by

releasing that particulate matter into the air, it actually captures that

kinetic energy and recharges the battery, putting it back into the battery so

you can draw on that energy when you go to accelerate after stopping.

That's why full-hybrid vehicles like the Toyota Prius and the Ford

Escape SUV actually have better gas mileage in the city in stop-and-go traffic

than they do on the highway. It's a complete reversal of our expectation and

what we're accustomed to thinking. They actually get better gas mileage

operating in the city.

These vehicles promise huge reductions in emissions, because as

they do come to a stop, they don't just idle. Instantly the processor on the car

shuts down that gas motor and starts it up immediately when you need it.

Typically, you can accelerate up to perhaps 50 kilometres an hour solely on the

battery, before the gas motor has to kick in. That's why you get substantial

gasoline savings but just as significantly, or even more so, substantial

reductions in air pollution.

We've increased the PST exemption to $2,000 to give people a

greater incentive to go out and purchase these cleaner vehicles. Ontario's

incentive is $1,000. Again, we're showing leadership in Canada by offering twice

the incentive as Ontario for people to go out and make wise choices for

themselves and their friends, families and communities.

Well, that's not where we left it, because yesterday I joined many

members of the Legislature here, the Premier of British Columbia and the

Minister of Management Services — the member for New Westminster — in making the

announcement that the province will be acquiring 356 hybrid vehicles over the

next year to add to the government fleet. [Applause.] I thank the Minister for

Management Services for leading that round of applause.

That is showing leadership. It's doing the right thing. It's

showing that government can lead by example not just by offering individuals the

tax incentive to make those choices but also by directly using those vehicles in

the government fleet and reducing our emissions and operating costs into the

future. It's my hope that we'll be able to encourage greater use of these

hybrids, even beyond what we announced yesterday.

I know that by tradition the Ministry of Forests often likes to

get larger vehicles such as Jeep Cherokees, but it's worth noting that the Ford

Escape, which is an SUV, is available in four-wheel-drive configuration in the

hybrid mode. These vehicles offer substantial amounts of power. In fact, the

immediate torque available from the battery is greater than with a six-cylinder

engine, because that electric power is instantaneous. I think there are great

opportunities to revolutionize your thinking, do something good for the

environment and promote technological advancement at the same time.

Since we're talking about air quality and improving our standard

of living, I can't miss the opportunity to mention that the B.C. government

remains committed to opposing the Sumas 2 project. Our government has taken a

leadership role in opposing that threat to the Fraser Valley airshed. In fact, I

believe we've spent something in the order of $1.3 million or $1.4 million now

engaging the fight in Washington State and with the National Energy Board here

in Canada.

It was almost a year ago today that the National Energy Board of

Canada rejected the power line application from the backers of Sumas 2, but

unfortunately that's not where the matter stopped. Sumas 2 is seeking an appeal

to Canada's Federal Court of Appeal, and the British Columbia government will be

there. A number of people are actively involved as individual interveners. I

know the member from Matsqui, the Minister of Forests, and myself have gotten

involved personally as interveners. But in addition, of course, the province of

British Columbia is involved. I believe we have two lawyers dedicated to that

file, making sure that the Fraser Valley's interests are well protected and that

we put up the best argument possible.

It is my goal, my commitment and my belief that we will be

successful in opposing SE2's appeal. I think there are very good grounds upon

which the National Energy Board made their decision, particularly considering

the Canadian public interest. I'm confident that the Federal Court of Appeal

will uphold that decision.

Just when that appeal will be held remains to be seen. No date yet

has been set for the actual hearing. There has been some preliminary exchange of

documents. Something comes across my desk at least once a week in that regard,

but it is something we continue to monitor and the province remains committed to

fighting.

[1120]

That pretty well summarizes some of the key highlights from a

Chilliwack-Kent perspective. Let me just close by noting again that we are

seeing progress. We are moving forward. People are returning to our community.

In the late 1990s, there were people I knew personally who felt they didn't have

the economic fu-

[ Page 12276 ]

ture in British Columbia to warrant staying in the beautiful Fraser Valley,

and they actually left. They voted with their feet and got up and left the

province.

Today, according to Statistics Canada, that trend is reversed.

Instead of British Columbia having a net outflow of migration to other

provinces, we have reversed it to where it should be, which is a net migration

into British Columbia. That again is people voting with their feet, and I think

those results will be demonstrated on May 17.

H. Bloy: I'm very pleased and honoured to stand up here

today and respond to the Speech from the Throne, Mr. Speaker. You have heard

many comments from my colleagues, and my colleague from Chilliwack-Kent just

spoke on all the great and positive things that have come out in this budget.

There are a few things that I would like to add to their comments.

What a change it has been since we've taken office. I remember the nineties when

my…. They weren't my constituents at the time, but friends and business

associates, and we'd be together. We'd be having coffee, and we'd be talking

about the economy. I can tell you that I never heard a positive word in the

nineties about the economy in British Columbia.

I had friends that were moving to Washington State for better

opportunities. I knew of businesses that were going to Alberta for better tax

rates and for getting things done in an extremely fast manner. This was

disappointing, you know, to see your friends leave the province.

My family didn't leave the province. They were still pretty young

and at home, and they liked what I kind of provided for them. But when I watched

lots of friends leave the province, that was bad. Our economic growth was so

poor. Communities and families were struggling to make ends meet. Then things

started to change. Things started to change in May of 2001 when we elected a new

government in British Columbia led by our Premier.

Over the first few years we had to make tough choices. We made

those choices. We had to get business back on track. We had to provide more

money for health care and education. Government is about choice. The choice is:

do you want fast ferries, or do you want better health care? Do you want to

waste money on bailouts like Skeena Cellulose, or do you want to spend money on

health care and education? Do you want to drive businesses and families out of

British Columbia, or do you want people and businesses to do business in British

Columbia?

Because of this government, I believe that government should not

be in business. Government only sets the regulations and guidelines for business

to do what they do best, and that's do business. I believe we have proven that

over the past three and a half years. We have set the guidelines, we have

lowered taxes, and we have allowed the atmosphere in business to be positive.

They have shown their faith in us by the amount of business that has grown in

British Columbia — the 197,000 new jobs, the influx of people to British

Columbia.

This budget is right for British Columbia. It meets the needs and

priorities of all British Columbians. Wherever I travel in this province —

whether it's in my riding, constituents in the lower mainland or in northern

British Columbia — they talk about the budget and how positive it is. The budget

invests heavily in health care and education, which are the top priorities of my

constituents.

One of the goals of our budget that's closest to my heart was to

make B.C. the best-educated population in all of Canada. As most of you know,

every year I give a kindergarten child in my riding a book. I go into each

kindergarten class — there are 20-odd kindergarten classes — and talk about the

thrill of when my children were learning how to read. I give them a book and a

letter about literacy to take home to their parents.

They have some great questions. "Can I keep this book?" I say yes.

They say: "Can I keep it forever?" Yes. Another child will say: "Can I write my

name in it?" I say yes. We have to educate our children. This is what we're

doing. As the children grow, reading and literacy are what will make them

successful — but not just the child. It makes the whole population of British

Columbia successful, and this is what I'm doing to support the Premier's Read On

B.C. program.

[1125]

Our government recently announced another $150,000 for education.

That is a per-pupil funding of $7,079 per student. This is the highest amount of

dollars ever paid per student in the history of British Columbia. Our new

funding will provide more textbooks and more opportunities for music programs

and for special education needs, and basic access to many programs that schools

may not have at the present time.

The two Ministers of Education have visited my riding on numerous

occasions over the past three and a half years. They have taken a real interest

in the riding of Burquitlam in the province to provide the best education

possible.

In my riding is Simon Fraser University, the number one university

in all of British Columbia — but I'm somewhat biased in that. We were growing up

there. We have provided over $372 million in additional funding to advanced

education. This new funding will now fund all the seats that we announced. There

are 25,000 new seats. This is funding for 6,200 new seats, providing higher

education to the students of British Columbia. These new seats came about

through meetings with my fellow colleagues and talking amongst ourselves,

saying: "Parents are coming to us saying that their child can't get into

university because they only have 78 percent or 81 percent or 85 percent." Some

courses were 91 percent to get in.

So review was done, and it came up that any child who achieved 75

percent or more should have the ability to go to university. When the ministry

worked it out, that came to 25,000 new seats. I'm proud to be part of the

government that brought forward guaranteeing these 25,000 new seats and funding

these seats, so

[ Page 12277 ]

every student in the province who achieves a 75 percent average will have the

ability to go to university.

Another bright spot at Simon Fraser University is the Young

Liberals up there. It is the second-largest club on campus. It outshines

everybody up there. There's only one. There are some great people that work up

there — Woosang Lee, Brock Stephson, Grandy Chu and my colleague's daughter

Christina Stewart, who are active members of the Simon Fraser Young Liberals.

I'm so proud to be associated with them and to have them in the riding.

In health care, we've increased the threshold for premium

assistance by $4,000 for everyone in B.C. This will benefit countless families

in Burquitlam and will affect those most in need. That's one thing our

government said: "We will be there to help those most in need." The budget for

health care is projected to grow nearly $13.3 billion in 2007-08, which is $3.8

billion more than in 2001.

Health care wasn't always about money. Health care was about

getting control of the health care system back, not by having it run by special

interest groups out of the Premier's office and not by having 57 NDP-appointed

health authorities all over the province all re-creating the wheel every day to

re-create jobs for their friends and cronies and to do things. We came in and

said that it has to be run by professionals. We reduced 57 health authorities

down to six local health authorities and one provincewide health authority.

We've given them the ability to go in, and we're starting to get control of the

health care system.

There were so many things that went on in the health care system

that you might shake your head at, but it was true. If you were a

full-time–part-time position — I can't remember the technical word for it — you

could choose your two days off. If it was Monday and Tuesday, those are the only

two days you would work, and you'd be paid overtime from the first minute double

time. So we had to get control. We had to be able to move staff within a

hospital, and now we can do that. We are getting control of the hospitals.

Through the nineties there was never a mention of the shortage of

nurses and doctors by the former government, yet in 1996 it was identified that

we needed to increase the number of nurses. From 1996 to 2001, the number of

nurses graduating in British Columbia declined every year. Every year there were

fewer nurses graduating. We have now added, since we have come into government,

over 2,000 new nursing spaces, and we've doubled the number of doctors trained

in Canada.

[1130]

Our shortage of nurses and doctors in British Columbia is not

unique to the lower mainland or to British Columbia. It's unique to all of North

America. There is a shortage of doctors. I can tell you I have been working very

hard with the Ministry of Health to get more foreign-trained doctors here. There

is a blockage, and there's a lot of buck-passing outside of government about how

we get these doctors in training, but I'm working…. We have some really highly

qualified people that I know are capable of practising in Canada, and I want to

see them be able to practise.

In Pharmacare we have provided $465 million. More and more people

are getting Pharmacare for free because of the thresholds we've changed to allow

that to happen.

We're also making the right choices on the tax front. We are

making it easier for ordinary British Columbians across this province. In fact,

730,000 British Columbians will now pay less in income tax this year thanks to

our government. We've reduced income taxes again. Most individuals who earn less

than $16,000 a year will pay no income tax, and people earning $26,000 or less

will pay considerably less income tax.

For ordinary Canadians or ordinary British Columbians, at $85,000

or less…. We pay more dollars, per tax, than any other province in Canada. You

know, this will provide concrete benefits to many people starting out in the

business world, starting at jobs to support themselves and their families. It's

something we can afford to do because we have properly managed the economy.

On top of the new tax relief in this budget, we've increased the

threshold for MSP assistance by $4,000. The MSP premium will help 215,000

British Columbians — those who need it the most — to have MSP for free. The tax

reduction premium relief will cost $480 million over the next three years, but

it's something we can afford to do in the booming economy of this government.

That $480 million is going to be left in the pockets of British Columbians for

them to spend how they want to spend it. It's not for government to tell them.

They're going to go out and spend it how they want to do it for them and their

families.

My constituents are excited about the property transfer tax and

the increase in the vehicle surcharge thresholds and also about the increase in

the hybrid cars my colleague from Chilliwack-Kent mentioned earlier — about the

presentation made in front of the Legislature yesterday. Our government is

committed to buying 350 hybrid, fuel-efficient vehicles over the next three

years. Their tax benefit goes from $1,000 to $2,000 per vehicle.

My constituents are excited about the film tax credits. Many

movies have been filmed at Simon Fraser University and other parts of my riding,

including The 6th Day and Antitrust . These create good-paying jobs

for my constituents, and we welcome them.

Of course, the improvements in the homeowner grant…. The economy

has improved. Housing markets in my riding and across the province have been hot

for a number of years now, and they continue. In the nineties we saw a lot of

for-sale signs, but in this decade we see sold signs on them. We still see

for-sale signs, but they always have "sold" written across them. That proves our

economy is growing.

I would like to talk a little about some benefits brought to my

riding by our fiscal prudence. Thanks to our government and sound management

practices, we're able to put money in the communities of B.C. where it is

needed. Some of the programs. East Bur-

[ Page 12278 ]

naby Family Place received a $6,500 grant. Direct access grants totalling

$89,000 for the parent advisory councils in my schools. Traffic fines are now

being returned to each of the cities of Burnaby and Coquitlam.

[1135]

Community policing is working in our area. The Solicitor General

set up PRIME, which is helping to fight crime. In my area, crime is down, and

the police forces work quite cooperatively on the boundary of Burnaby and

Coquitlam — that's North Road, which I call the joining of my two ridings — on

fighting crime. Our crime rate is going down.

I would like to thank the many constituents who have brought their

concerns and their compliments to me over the last three and a half years and

the businesses that said we're doing this right. We are allowing them to do

business by the rules and regulations we're setting. They say: "Keep up the good

work. Keep going." I would like to thank the hundreds of visitors by ministries

and the ministers that have come into the riding of Burquitlam.

My colleague from Coquitlam-Maillardville thanked the scouting

movement, and I want to echo all the words he had to say about scouting. As many

of you know, I'm still involved in scouting, and my colleague was involved as

well. There are many great people. There are hundreds and hundreds of

volunteers. I would like to thank them for their commitment to our youth in

British Columbia. There's something about scouting…. I don't think I can ever

say enough. Did you know that over 50 percent of the elected officials across

Canada, at the provincial and federal levels, were involved in guiding and

scouting in their youth? It shows the true leadership potential.

There are so many volunteer groups to thank that it's hard to

start. There are Crossroads Hospice, Burnaby Hospice and St. Michael's Centre.

There are service clubs like the Lions, the Rotary, the Kinsmen, the Optimists,

the Special Olympics, the Fraser restorative justice society and Share Family

and Community Services.

There are festivals: the Festival du Bois taking place this

weekend; the Korean Heritage Festival, which will take place this July; the

Scottish festival; the Golden Spike Days. There are Oakdale Heritage Society,

Eastbourne Community Association, Burquitlam Community Association and hundreds

and hundreds of other volunteer groups and volunteer associations that make

British Columbia the best place on earth to live.

Mr. Speaker, I have brought millions of dollars into the riding of

Burquitlam on behalf of my constituents, for many concerns and businesses. I can

tell you that my most rewarding one was from the Ministry of Children and Family

Development, where I was able to get $50,000 for an after-school program at

Mountain View Elementary School. This is my most personally rewarding.

Last March the group that was running it phoned and said they'd

lost their funding and couldn't do it anymore. I worked with the principal of

the school and with the parent committee and a number of parents. We worked on

this committee and wrote grant applications. We went out and were able to get

the $50,000. There have been many more dollars come in. The after-school program

is just starting at Mountain View Elementary School.

I would like to thank my staff over the last three and a half

years. They are Richard Gettle, who has gone on to bigger and better things and

who worked for me pretty well from the beginning; Leslie Techy; Kevin Lee; and

many other volunteers that have been there.

I have to thank my family: my wife, Anita, for encouraging me — I

enjoy the job, and she says: "You can see it in his face when he goes out every

morning" — and my children, Jeremy, Katie and Candice. Most of all I would like

to thank my dad, who'll be 92 years old this May. He encourages me every day to

get out there and keep speaking. It has been an honour to represent the citizens

of Burquitlam.

When I come into this House, even after three and a half years,

I'm still in awe when I walk in here, look around and think of this close group

working to make British Columbia a better place to live. I'm truly humbled and

honoured to be able to do this. I look forward to serving in the golden decade

ahead and standing side by side with our Premier for the next four years.

Deputy Speaker: The Minister of Finance closes debate.

Hon. C. Hansen: It has now been 16 days since Budget 2005

was tabled in this Legislature. I must say that the feedback I've had from

British Columbians in all parts of this province, in all age groups and in all

strata of life, has been very, very satisfying.

[1140]

I think this budget has truly spoken to the vast majority of

British Columbians, and I think part of it is because there is something in this

budget for everyone. Everybody benefits from Budget 2005. You know, there has

been lots of discussion of the benefits for individuals with low and modest

incomes, because truly, there are big, significant advantages in this budget for

those individuals. In fact, everybody in this province benefits from one key

aspect of Budget 2005, and that is the record debt paydown we are able to do

because of the sound economic situation our province is in today.

We are going to come in, this fiscal year, at least $3.3 billion

less in debt than we had forecast just one year ago. Think about what a

difference that makes for individuals in this province. That saving in debt cost

alone is $125 million in the year ahead. Think of what you can buy for $125

million. Well, think of the $70 a month increase we've been able to do for

individuals with disabilities in this province — the largest increase ever in

monthly cheques to those people with disabilities and the first increase in ten

years.

In fact, if you think back during the NDP years in this province,

they had a very small increase one year — a very small increase in 1992, I think

it was — but then there was nothing. There was no increase at all in

[ Page 12279 ]

income assistance for people with disabilities. You know why? Because they

couldn't afford it. Because they had destroyed the economic foundation of this

province.

That's going to cost $56 million next year, and you can add on top

of that the increased funding — the largest increase in funding ever — for

transition houses and programs for women and girls in this province facing

abuse. That program is going to cost $13 million next year.

Then add on top of that the significant increase in policing

funding that the Solicitor General announced recently. That's the largest

increase ever in the budget for policing in British Columbia, and that's going

to cost $44 million in the coming year. If you add those three things together,

you still have $12 million left over out of the $125 million. That funds the

largest increase in social housing in the history of this province.

Those are things we can do because we've built the solid

foundation in this province. We've turned the economy around. We've got

government spending under control. We can actually reduce debt-servicing costs

so we can free up that money — not just next year but the year after, the year

after and the year after that. Those are programs that actually make a big

difference in people's lives.

We have been able to increase funding for health care. We've

increased it by $2.3 billion so far, and we've got another $1.5 billion increase

in the plan. For education, we're up by $1.2 billion so far, and there's another

$800 million of increase in education funding in Budget 2005. Services for

children increased by $241 million. You know what? We can do these things

because, finally, British Columbia can afford to do these things and offer these

programs.

The very first day that we were in office as government, we

brought in the largest tax reduction in B.C. history. We decreased personal

income tax by a minimum of 25 percent for all British Columbians. In this latest

budget, we were actually able to go further, reducing personal income tax for

people with incomes of up to $26,000 a year and totally eliminating provincial

income tax for individuals earning up to $16,000 a year. That one initiative

alone is going to mean that individuals in British Columbia are going to keep

$120 million in their pockets next year that would not have been there

otherwise.

Do you know who benefits probably more significantly than most

people realize from that change? That's our seniors. The median income for

senior households in British Columbia is about $26,000 a year. If you consider

what their per-person income would be in those households, they would benefit

from that income tax change, so it means more money is going to be in their

pockets to spend as they see fit.

If you look at our total income tax impact in British Columbia, it

now means that for those earning up to about $85,000 a year…. They'll be paying

less personal income tax in British Columbia than they would in any other

province in this country.

[1145]

The changes we've made to MSP premiums, the raising of the

threshold for premium assistance, means that 215,000 individuals in British

Columbia will benefit by paying less for their MSP premiums. Do you know who

benefits significantly from that? It's our seniors, because they fit right into

that income category. It means that a senior couple earning up to $37,000 a year

will now pay less for their MSP premiums, or in fact, zero. The change means an

additional $40 million will be kept in the pockets of British Columbians.

Budget 2005 really builds a solid foundation for the future. We've

turned the corner on the bad economy of the 1990s. We actually hear from people

who would like to turn the clock back, but what I hear from British Columbians

is that they want to move forward. We've built that foundation. We have a golden

decade ahead, and Budget 2005 is the foundation upon which we can build for that

golden decade.

I move, seconded by the Premier of British Columbia, that the

Speaker do now leave the chair for the House to go into Committee of Supply.

[1150]

Motion approved on the following division:

YEAS — 46

Falcon

Coell

Les

Chong

Locke

McMahon

Christensen

Bell

Barisoff

Roddick

Wilson

Bray

Cobb

Thorpe

Murray

Plant

Hansen

Bond

Bruce

Brice

Abbott

Neufeld

Coleman

Anderson

Jarvis

Hogg

Nuraney

Nebbeling

R. Stewart

Hunter

Long

Mayencourt

Johnston

Belsey

Krueger

J. Reid

Nijjar

Hayer

Visser

Lekstrom

MacKay

Halsey-Brandt

Whittred

Sultan

Hawes

Manhas

NAYS — 3

MacPhail

Brar

Nettleton

Hon. G. Bruce moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

Deputy Speaker: The House stands adjourned until 2 o'clock

today.

The House adjourned at 11:55 a.m.

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