2002 Legislative Session: 3rd 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, OCTOBER 10, 2002

Afternoon Sitting

Volume 8, Number 17

CONTENTS

Routine

Proceedings

Page

Introductions by Members

Introduction and First Reading of Bills

Workers Compensation Amendment Act (No. 2), 2002 (Bill 63)

Hon. G. Bruce

Statements (Standing Order 25 B )

Tourism in the Kootenays

W. McMahon

MLA and staff weight-loss contest

B. Kerr

Education facilities in Burns Lake area

D. MacKay

Oral Questions

Drug costs

J. MacPhail

Hon. C. Hansen

Hon. S. Hawkins

Deregulation in resource industries

B. Belsey

Hon. K. Falcon

Hon. R. Neufeld

Student achievement

J. Les

Hon. C. Clark

Lobbyists registry and drug costs

J. MacPhail

Hon. C. Hansen

Prevention of fetal alcohol syndrome

S. Orr

Hon. L. Reid

Motions on Notice

Reappointment of Health Committee (Motion 42)

Hon. G. Collins

Reports from Committees

Special Committee to Appoint a Chief Electoral Officer

R. Hawes

Motions without Notice

Appointment of Harry Neufeld as chief electoral officer

R. Hawes

Second Reading of Bills

Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act (No. 3), 2002 (Bill 62)

Hon. G. Collins

[ Page 3863 ]

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2002

The House

met at 2:03 p.m.

Introductions by Members

Hon. G.

Halsey-Brandt: Joining us in the gallery this afternoon is Consul General

Ian Kydd. Ian has been the consul general of the United Kingdom at Vancouver

since March of 1998. He's also served this past year as dean of the large and

dynamic Consular Corps of British Columbia. Under his leadership, the profile

and the impact of the corps continue to grow. Ian's time with us was capped off

in grand fashion with the visit of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to British

Columbia on the weekend.

Consul

General Kydd is in Victoria to say goodbye, as he will soon be travelling to his

next posting in New Delhi. However, I know Ian and his family are avid skiers,

and he assures me that they'll be back very soon to enjoy Whistler's world-class

skiing. Will the House please join me in wishing Ian and his wife, Louise, all

the best in their new posting.

[1405]

Hon. C.

Clark: I am delighted today to introduce two friends who are in the gallery:

Ken Lee, whom I've known since I was about 13 years old — that's a friendship

of about 16 years, I guess — and his wife, Sharon, from Nanoose Bay. I hope

the House will please make them welcome.

Belsey: I have the pleasure of introducing a couple of constituents and now

friends that live in the Bella Coola Valley, Kathy Nylen and Brian Roe, who have

joined us today. We've had a number of meetings. I would like the House, if they

would, to join me in making them welcome.

Hon. S.

Bond: I am delighted to have with us today a group of students who were

working with me over the lunch-hour as we were beginning to discuss and plan the

on-line strategy for British Columbia. I'm very pleased today to have students

in the House with us, and I am pleased to say that my colleagues in the Surrey

caucus would be happy to welcome them, as well, because they come from the SFU

Surrey campus.

I am

pleased to introduce Ian Buckley, who is in his final year of pursuing his

bachelor of science degree in interactive arts; Marie-Claude Lavoie, in her

third year of interactive arts at the SFU Surrey campus; Erika Glover, a

fourth-year student; and Robin Johnson, a second-year student. Accompanying them

today is Joanne Curry, the director of Simon Fraser University's Surrey campus,

and — no stranger to the House — Wilf Hurd, who is the director of

government relations for SFU. They did a great job presenting to me today. I'm

excited about working with them. Please join me in making them welcome today.

Hon. B.

Barisoff: Today it's a great pleasure to introduce Alberta's Revenue

minister, the Hon. Greg Melchin, who has flown here from snowy Alberta. With him

as staff today is the deputy minister, Robert Bhatia, and the executive

assistant Glenn Shepherd. Could the House give them a warm, B.C. welcome.

Nijjar: It's my pleasure to introduce three guests of mine here today —

three young British Columbians from the University of Victoria: Edrina Kumar, a

UVic political science student; Ms. Parvinder Sahota, a graduate of political

science from the University of Victoria who plans to go into law school; and

last but not least, my cousin Nick Nijjar, also a student at the University of

Victoria doing psychology. It especially brings me pleasure to introduce my

cousin, because it's one of the few times I can be sure that my last name is

pronounced properly in the House. That's very nice. Would everybody in the House

please make the guests welcome.

Hon. C.

Hansen: Earlier today government members and one opposition member joined

the B.C. Pharmacy Association for a very interesting and informative luncheon.

Some of the members of the B.C. Pharmacy Association and others who were at that

lunch are in the gallery today: Linda Gutenberg, president of the B.C. Pharmacy

Association; Geoff Squires, past president; Bob Kucheran, who is the CEO; Ian

Maxwell, the CEO of Peoples Drug Mart; Wendy Mays, the director of pharmacy at

Shoppers Drug Mart; and Brenda Osmond, who is the deputy registrar at the

College of Pharmacists of B.C. Would the House please make them welcome.

Hunter: It's my pleasure to introduce two people who have dragged themselves

away from the centre of Vancouver Island — Nanaimo — to join us today. Would

the House please welcome Frank and Ann Graves.

Chong: Visiting us today is another grade 11 class from another excellent

school in the riding I represent, and they are from Lambrick Park Secondary

School. These 22 students are honour students, and they are accompanied by their

teacher, Mr. Stu Barber, and another adult, Mrs. Barbara Bhalla. Would the House

please make them all very welcome.

[1410]

Krueger: I'd like to introduce the member for Powell River–Sunshine Coast.

[Laughter.]

H. Long:

Thank you for the recognition in this House. I really appreciate it.

Today from

Powell River I have some really good people here with me, some of my main

supporters, people that have been with me right through my campaign and who, in

fact, were instrumental in getting me nominated for this job. I don't know

whether I'm going to compliment them or not for that. I'd like to

[ Page 3864 ]

introduce to the House a good friend, David Formosa, his son Trevor, his son

Ryan and Ray Formosa, who is a brother here in Victoria. I also have Victor and

Lucy Formosa, the mom and dad of David here, and we welcome them. As well, we

have Mary and Charlie Spiteri, visiting us from Australia, here in the House.

I'd really appreciate it if you'd make them welcome.

Mr.

Speaker: Been taking lessons from the Minister of Labour, I see.

Introduction and

First Reading of Bills

WORKERS COMPENSATION

AMENDMENT ACT (No. 2), 2002

Hon. Graham

Bruce presented a message from Her Honour the Lieutenant-Governor: a bill

intituled Workers Compensation Amendment Act (No. 2), 2002.

Hon. G.

Bruce: I move that Bill 63 be introduced and read a first time now.

Motion

approved.

Hon. G.

Bruce: I'm pleased to introduce the Workers Compensation Amendment Act (No.

2), 2002. You don't know how pleased I am to be presenting that today.

This

legislation replaces Bill 56, Workers Compensation Amendment Act (No. 2), 2002,

which was introduced May 30, 2002. As a response from worker advocates and the

employer community has resulted in several changes to that bill, I have brought

this second revised bill to the House. This bill amends the Workers Compensation

Act to reform the system's appeal processes and structures. The amendments

illustrate our commitments to making the workers compensation system more

responsive to workers and employers alike.

The bill

will reduce the levels of review and appeal of Workers Compensation Board

decisions from three to two. Limits will be set on the length of time an injured

worker must wait for a final decision. This change will ensure a final decision

is given within 15 months, about half the average time it takes to move through

the current system.

The bill

will establish an internal review function at the board to provide timelier

reviews of initial decisions. It will also establish a new appeal tribunal

independent of the Workers Compensation Board. This tribunal serves as the final

level of appeal for workers and employers on the majority of workers

compensation matters. It will make WCB policy, as set by the board of directors,

binding on the workers compensation system.

I move that

the bill be placed on the orders of the day for second reading at the next

sitting of the House after today.

Bill 63

introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for

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

Statements

(Standing Order 25b)

TOURISM IN THE KOOTENAYS

McMahon: I rise today to speak about something very near and dear to my

heart, about an industry that has absolutely no limits to how large it can grow,

how far it can go and how many businesses and job opportunities it can create in

the best region of our beautiful province and particularly in my constituency.

[1415]

The region

I speak of is the Kootenays. The constituency I represent is Columbia River–Revelstoke.

The industry I'm referring to is tourism.

Every year

there is a growing volume of traffic entering this province from Alberta and the

eastern provinces. People come to British Columbia not only from the Prairies

but from the Pacific Northwest and beyond to experience the B.C. Rockies and the

Kootenays as a whole. They come to hunt, fish and hike. They come to golf and

mountain bike. They come with skis over their shoulders to explore the back

country and challenge the fresh powder at our many mountain resorts.

There are a

number of resorts in my riding that are expanding considerably, but it is not

just the resorts. It is tourism generally that is growing. The industry is

investing countless dollars in tourism for no other reason than they believe in

British Columbia. They believe in the business climate we have created in this

province, and they believe they will receive a return on their investments.

This region

is undiscovered by many simply because it is not easy to access. We must open

the Kootenays to the world and make it easy for tourists to come to Kimberley,

Golden, Invermere and Revelstoke. We need to upgrade the Trans-Canada Highway

and make it safer for all travellers. We need to improve our airport

charters. We are working hard on both these projects, and we will succeed.

We also

need to work together to spread the word about our tourism opportunities. We

need people from the East and West Kootenays to get together and take a Team

Kootenay approach to attract more investors and more tourism from other regions.

British Columbia has all the tools to be a North American leader in the tourism

industry, and it is because of the hard work, the dedication and the belief of

people in the Kootenays that we will be number one.

Before

closing, I would like to take this opportunity to invite everyone to come and

experience my part of the world. Come to the Kootenays and experience the very

best that we can offer.

MLA AND STAFF WEIGHT-LOSS CONTEST

B. Kerr:

It's my pleasure today to rise and give the results of a matter that's been

weighing heavily on a number of our members over the past three months — a bad

pun — and that, of course, is the contest we

[ Page 3865 ]

started last July to see if we could not only get ourselves in better shape

but also lose some weight. As you know, we're trying to get our fiscal house in

order in the province, and I thought maybe we should also get ourselves in

physically better shape. Studies have shown that people who are in better

condition rely less on the health care system. They have more energy. They have

a better sense of well-being and are more alert.

I'm really

pleased to say that this challenge was taken up by most of the members and a

number of the staff, and it was a tremendous success. People were coming up to

me through the summer, even though it's barbecue season, and were telling me how

much better they felt.

Well, the

weigh-in was today, and hundreds of pounds were lost collectively. There was an

average of about ten pounds to 11 pounds a member. To throw out a good

statistic, we are 5.63 percent leaner than we were last July.

An Hon.

Member: So are our paycheques. [Laughter.]

B. Kerr:

Possibly we should have taken our wallets out of our pockets before we got

weighed.

I would

like to say that although there is going to be only one prize-winner, one person

with the bragging rights, everybody's a winner in this situation because they

all feel better. It's a matter of changing of lifestyles. Just from the results

and things that people are telling me, we all feel better.

I have now

kept you in suspense long enough. The envelope is here, and the winner of this

contest is our member for Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows.

Mr.

Speaker, if I could just say one more thing. The staff also got involved, and

Heather James from Sustainable Resource Management won from the staff end.

EDUCATION FACILITIES

IN BURNS LAKE AREA

MacKay: I'd like to start off by using a quote that is quite frequently used

by the member for Peace River North: "More good news." During the

election we committed as a government to protect the funding for health care and

education. Have we lived up to those commitments? Not only have we protected the

funding to the health care system; we have increased funding by $1.1 billion.

An Hon.

Member: Billion.

MacKay: Billion dollars. Thank you. And yes, we have protected the funding

to education in spite of the declining enrolments. It is about the funding to

education that I wish to address this chamber.

[1420]

Thursday, October 3, I attended the grand opening of Decker Lake Elementary

School, which is a small community school located just west of Burns Lake. This

small rural school has a student population of about 150 students. The event was

well attended by school board officials, parents, grandparents, current and past

teachers. The school was a treat to view, and all the students who attended were

proud of the new school.

One of the

young students in his address to the crowd mentioned that he was in his final

year at this new school, and what was really exciting to him was that when he

left this new elementary school, he would be going to another new school. This

other new school of which the student speaks is called the Lakes District high

school. I am proud to tell this House that this new high school is being built

as I speak so as to address the needs of the students as they progress through

the school system.

Those are

but two new schools being built in the Burns Lake area, but I'm not finished

yet. In addition to the new schools, we are also doing renovations to the

College of New Caledonia, which will enhance post-secondary education in Burns

Lake. So when someone claims we are not living up to our promises made during

the election, I ask you to refer them to Burns Lake and see what we are doing

there. We are doing what we said we would do, and that was to protect funding to

education to ensure our students receive the best education possible. Our

students and educators deserve nothing less.

Mr.

Speaker: That concludes members' statements.

Oral Questions

DRUG COSTS

MacPhail: All across the province seniors are bracing themselves for January

1, when the Liberals start kicking seniors off Pharmacare. Yesterday the

Minister of Health admitted that he had considered putting generic drugs out to

open bidding, like Saskatchewan, but he decided to implement income testing

instead. Did the Minister of Health ever consider that option before deciding to

kick seniors off Pharmacare?

Hon. C.

Hansen: I would suggest to the member that she perhaps listen a little more

closely to the answers in question period. What I said yesterday was that we are

in the process now of actively considering a tendering process for generic

drugs. We're considering a whole range of initiatives to make sure that our

Pharmacare system is, in fact, sustainable for the future. When you have costs

rising at 14 percent to 18 percent a year, that is not a sustainable system. So

we are taking the initiatives to make sure that the Pharmacare system will be

there for seniors throughout the province this year, next year and ten years

from now. Anybody that tries to argue otherwise is spreading myths and rumours

and spreading fear among seniors, which is a great disservice to the seniors of

this population.

[ Page 3866 ]

Mr.

Speaker: The Leader of the Opposition has a supplementary question.

MacPhail: There are many things that this government has been trying to

consider in terms of options available, but they decided first to kick seniors

off Pharmacare before considering any other option.

I wonder

whether the minister has considered applying the open bidding process to the

brand-name drugs that are available. For instance, if you could actually apply

the open bidding process to brand-name drugs, one could save $20 million in, for

instance, antidepressant drugs. One could save another $12 million in applying

it to another category of drugs. Did the minister consider any of those options

before kicking seniors off Pharmacare?

Hon. C.

Hansen: No one will be kicked off Pharmacare — not a senior, not a child,

not a mother, no one in this province. We have a Pharmacare system in this

province that applies to every single British Columbian, and every single

British Columbian will continue to be eligible for Pharmacare benefits. We will

make sure that it's not just benefiting the rich more, as was the structure

under their government, but it is structured to benefit everybody proportional

to their ability to pay.

[1425]

When it

comes to brand-name pharmaceuticals, the member knows very well that there is

something in Canada, by federal government structure, called the patent drug

review board, which ensures that we get much better pricing in Canada than

really any other nation in the world but, in particular, compared to the pricing

in the U.S.

Yes, I

guess the short answer to the member is that we're looking at all of those

options in terms of ensuring sustainability in our Pharmacare system.

Mr.

Speaker: The Leader of the Opposition has a further supplementary.

MacPhail: This government has sat on a secret panel report on options

available to reduce the cost of Pharmacare — a range of options. It's a secret

report that they refuse to release. Just in the last two days the opposition has

presented available options to this minister now that could save $60 million to

$70 million.

Will the

minister table the government's secret Pharmacare option report today so that

seniors can know what's available to them? Will the minister also reveal what

meetings he has had with the industry in the last few months to talk about the

future of Pharmacare? Did he reveal the secret panel report to the industry? Did

he have his staff brief the industry on what's in that report? What did the

industry advise him he should do as a result of them seeing the secret report?

Hon. S.

Hawkins: There was a panel that was chaired by George Morfitt, who was the

auditor of this province. There is a whole range of options — some of them

very detailed, complex kinds of options — that Pharmacare is looking at. We're

considering all kinds of options.

Interjection.

Mr.

Speaker: Order, please. Order.

Hon. S.

Hawkins: There was a host of participants that presented to the panel. In

fact, if the opposition had wanted to present, there was an opportunity to do

that. I don't recall that this member or the other member presented to the

panel. If she had such good ideas…

Interjection.

Mr.

Speaker: Order, please. Let us hear the answer from the minister, please.

Hon. S.

Hawkins: …in the last ten years, I wish she had brought them forward,

because what we're trying to do is fix a Pharmacare program that they messed up.

We're trying to make it fair, sustainable and one that's there for seniors not

only today but into the future.

DEREGULATION

IN RESOURCE INDUSTRIES

Belsey: My question today is to the Minister of State for Deregulation.

Over the

past decade B.C. has lost thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in

investment due to unnecessary regulations and red tape. In the New Era

document, the government committed to reducing regulations and red tape by

one-third over the next three years.

Can the

Minister of State for Deregulation tell us what progress has been made to fulfil

this commitment?

Hon. K.

Falcon: That's correct. As you know, we made that commitment because we

recognized that over the previous decade in particular, there had been an

explosion of regulation and red tape in the province of British Columbia that

crippled industries like mining and forestry. We also recognized that there was

a cost associated with that, which was estimated to be in excess of $5 billion

annually.

We're

working to try and bring about what we call "smart tape," where we can

eliminate regulations that don't make any sense, so that we can improve the

competitive environment in British Columbia. I am pleased to say that as of the

end of our last quarterly report, we eliminated over 9,000 regulations so that

we can focus on competitiveness, restore British Columbia prosperity and, most

importantly, do it while protecting the important public values of public

safety, health and the environment.

Mr.

Speaker: The member for North Coast has a supplementary question.

[ Page 3867 ]

B. Belsey:

My supplementary question is to the Minister of Energy and Mines.

The oil and

gas industry has the potential to play a significant role in communities along

the north coast. However, excessive red tape and regulation has hurt the growth

of this sector over the last ten years.

Can the

Minister of Energy and Mines tell us what steps have been taken to reduce the

burden of unnecessary regulations on the oil and gas sector?

[1430]

Hon. R.

Neufeld: It's just more good news. It doesn't matter how you look at it;

it's more good news. The Ministry of Energy and Mines has streamlined a lot of

regulations to make it easier for the oil and gas industry to be able to invest

in British Columbia while protecting the environment — very good things. In

fact, the Ministry of Energy and Mines has reduced regulations, needless red

tape, by over 1,100 pieces. That's 1,100 pieces of useless regulation gone.

When I was

at home just recently in the great town of Fort St. John, in the Peace River

country, there was an oil and gas conference. There were people there from all

over North America in the oil and gas industry, and they commented constantly on

how the reduction in red tape and taxes has made British Columbia an investment

haven again. We're going to see the growth from that.

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

J. Les:

My question today is to the Minister of Education. Last week British Columbians

were astounded to learn that nearly 29 percent of grade 10 students in British

Columbia do not meet the reading skill levels that would normally be expected at

their level. Now, bear in mind that these were grade 10 students, so this was a

situation that took ten years to evolve. In light of that startling and

unacceptable result, can the Minister of Education tell us today what she is

doing to improve this unacceptable situation?

Hon. C.

Clark: For the last 15 months our government has been focused squarely on

improving student achievement, on making sure that we improve the quality of

education that's delivered to children in British Columbia. Now, when we

announced the foundation skills assessment results last week, we talked about

some successes too. First, children are doing well in the areas of numeracy and

writing. We've established an excellent trend in numeracy, but yes, there are

some issues with respect to reading.

What we've

done is appointed an achievement task force that will travel the province,

define a common measure of achievement, think about how we can do better, look

across the country and across the world for best practices and import those to

British Columbia. We've signed accountability contracts, one with every

district, where they benchmark their success, and we hold them accountable for

that success every year. We've created school planning councils, one at every

school, where parents hold the majority. They will set goals for improvement

based on their results year after year. We've launched the grad requirements

review, which we'll be making decisions about early in the new year so that we

can make sure the education we are delivering to children in British Columbia

meets world-class standards and puts them on a footing to compete anywhere on

this globe.

Mr.

Speaker: The member for Chilliwack-Sumas has a supplementary question.

J. Les:

The government has recently proposed, as well, that grade 10 courses be included

in graduation requirements, making the graduation program three years instead of

the previous two. Can the minister tell us how this change is intended to

improve the quality of education for students?

Hon. C.

Clark: Currently, our grad program is just grades 11 and 12. That means that

in two short years, we're asking graduates to cram their entire program into a

short period of time. We're proposing to expand that so that they have three

years to start thinking about what it is they would like to do with their

futures, get them focused a little bit earlier, get them planning a little bit

earlier. Our economy in British Columbia is starting to see a light at the end

of the tunnel — 88,000 new jobs created since December, over two million

British Columbians working for the first time in the history of our province. We

have an obligation as a government to make sure our education system is

preparing every British Columbia student as well as we can to take full

part in

our economy.

LOBBYISTS REGISTRY

AND DRUG COSTS

MacPhail: The New Era document — NED, as we like to refer to it —

promised that this Liberal government would put in place a lobbyists

registration act. The opposition asked for it eight months ago, six months ago,

three months ago. We still don't have a lobbyists registration act. If it were

in place today, as promised, seniors might know who has the minister's ear in

the drug industry. The Minister of Health Planning wasn't forthcoming earlier

when I asked the question, but maybe the Minister of Health Services agrees he

shouldn't wait for his own government to dilly-dally and pass the Lobbyists

Registration Act.

[1435]

Come clean.

To the Minister of Health Services: who did he meet with from the pharmaceutical

industry, and what advice did they give him when they saw the Pharmacare options

report? Was it the drug industry's idea to kick seniors off Pharmacare?

Hon. C.

Hansen: It is exactly that kind of fearmongering that is frightening seniors

around this province.

[ Page 3868 ]

Interjections.

Mr.

Speaker: Order, please. Order. Let us hear the answer.

Hon. C.

Hansen: I think the member is being totally irresponsible when she spreads

that kind of fear among seniors in this province.

I have met

with representatives of the drug manufacturing industry. I've met with the

generic industry. I have met with the Pharmacy Association. I have not shown

them any confidential information or any secret reports.

Interjection.

Hon. C.

Hansen: I would like to tell the member that some of the most constructive

ideas have come from the B.C. Pharmacy Association in terms of the submission

they made to us last year with very constructive ideas in terms of how to make

sure that our pharmaceutical program, our Pharmacare program, is sustainable

into the future so it is there for seniors tomorrow, the year after and the next

generation.

Speaking of

the lobbyist act, I think it's really quite hypocritical for this member to

criticize us for the time it takes to bring in a lobbyist registration act, when

she had ten years to do it.

Mr.

Speaker: The member for Victoria-Hillside has the floor.

PREVENTION OF

FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME

S. Orr:

My question is to the Minister of State for Early Childhood Development.

September 9 was Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Day. Fetal alcohol spectrum

disorder can result in problems such as poor mental health, substance abuse and

limited success in education and employment opportunities. Can the Minister of

State for Early Childhood Development tell us what steps the government is

taking to reduce the incidence of this disorder?

Hon. L.

Reid: We have some amazing individuals on the ground across this province

delivering a building blocks program. A building blocks program is all about

mentoring for individuals who have children who have special needs. The

mentoring aspect of that program will, indeed, reduce the number of babies born

with FAS in our province, which is an incredibly complex disorder and one that

requires, I believe, an incredibly compassionate response. We are doing that

today.

In terms of

reducing the incidence of fetal alcohol in the province of British Columbia,

there are three times in the life of an individual when they should not drink

— three times: when they're under-age, when they're driving and when they're

pregnant. If that message were to be more readily available across this

province, we collectively will have done our best to reduce the number of babies

born with fetal alcohol.

[End of question period.]

Motions on Notice

REAPPOINTMENT OF HEALTH COMMITTEE

Hon. G.

Collins: I move Motion 42 in my name on the order paper to recharge the

committee on health.

[That the Select Standing Committee on Health be empowered

to examine, inquire into and make recommendations with respect to responses

to the Committee's Report to the House on December 10, 2001 entitled

"Patients First" and those reports relating to health care and its

delivery that have been published since the Committee reported to the House.

In addition to the powers previously conferred upon the

Select Standing Committee on Health this present session, the Committee

shall be empowered:(

a) to appoint of their number, one or more subcommittees

and to refer such subcommittees any of the matters referred to the

Committee;

(

b) to sit during a period in which the House is adjourned

and during any sitting of the House;

(

c) to adjourn from place to place as may be convenient;

(

d) to retain such personnel as required to assist the

Committee;

and shall report to the House by December 13, 2002; to

deposit the original of its reports with the Clerk of the Legislative

Assembly during a period of adjournment and upon resumption of the sittings

of the House, the Chair shall present all reports to the Legislative

Assembly.]

Mr.

Speaker: Please proceed.

[Interruption.]

Mr.

Speaker: We'll just pause for a moment. We'll pause for a moment while the

galleries are cleared.

[1440]

Interjections.

Mr.

Speaker: Order, please.

The House

regrets the disturbance. It seems to have been removed.

The

question in front of us is Motion 42, moved by the Government House Leader.

Motion

approved.

Hon. G.

Collins: By leave, I move that the Select Standing Committee on Health be

composed of Mmes. Roddick, convenor; Brice and Sahota; Messrs. Bray, Cobb,

Harris, Hawes, Johnston, Long and Suffredine; and Ms. MacPhail.

Mr.

Speaker, I expect that when that committee goes out and does what it's going to

do, which is listen

[ Page 3869 ]

to the people of British Columbia and discuss the various reports that are

out there, the member from the opposition will have the opportunity for the

first time in ten years, as well, to listen to what the people of British

Columbia have to say about health care.

Leave

granted.

Motion

approved.

Reports from Committees

Hawes: Hon. Speaker, I have the honour to present a report of the Special

Committee to Appoint a Chief Electoral Officer. I move that the report be taken

as read and received.

Motion

approved.

Hawes: I ask leave of the House to suspend the rules to permit the moving of

a motion to adopt the report.

Leave

granted.

Hawes: I move that the report be adopted.

Motion

approved.

Motions without Notice

Hawes: I ask leave of the House to permit the moving of a motion to request

the Lieutenant-Governor to appoint Mr. Harry Neufeld the chief electoral officer

for the province of British Columbia.

Leave

granted.

APPOINTMENT OF HARRY NEUFELD

AS CHIEF ELECTORAL OFFICER

Hawes: I move that this House recommend to Her Honour the

Lieutenant-Governor the appointment of Mr. Harry Neufeld as statutory officer of

the Legislature to exercise the powers and duties assigned to the chief

electoral officer for the province of British Columbia pursuant to the Elections

Act.

[1445]

Mr.

Speaker, I'd like to introduce this House to Mr. Harry Neufeld. He's somewhere

in the gallery today. He brings 20 years of experience in electoral management

to the position of chief electoral officer. He's held several senior-level

positions in three electoral management bodies: Elections B.C., the United

Nations and Elections Canada. In addition, Mr. Neufeld worked as an electoral

management consultant with the Canadian Royal Commission on Electoral Reform and

with various international organizations and electoral agencies around the

globe. All committee members are very confident that Harry will be able to

contribute effectively to the ongoing tradition of excellence established by his

predecessor, Mr. Robert Patterson.

The

committee itself was tasked with selecting a new chief electoral officer. It is

an all-party committee, and its recommendations have been unanimous. We received

many applications from very qualified individuals and interviewed many who had

excellent credentials. Mr. Neufeld, however, stood out above the rest, and it is

him that we have recommended today.

I am

informed by the Clerk's office that this has been the least costly selection

committee process that they are aware of. That's primarily due to the excellent

work done by staff and all of the committee members from both sides of the

House. I'd like to offer my personal thanks to Craig James and his staff and to

each of the committee members for a job well done.

Motion

approved.

Hon. G.

Collins: I call second reading of Bill 62, the Miscellaneous Statutes

Amendment Act (No. 3), 2002.

Second Reading of Bills

MISCELLANEOUS STATUTES

AMENDMENT ACT (No. 3), 2002

Hon. G.

Collins: I move that Bill 62 be now read a second time.

The British

Columbia Railway Act is amended to remove from B.C. Rail and any of its

subsidiaries the statutory obligation to provide passenger services on any of

its rail lines. This is in accordance with their approved service plan, which

went through the Legislature earlier this year.

The

Employment and Assistance Act and the Employment and Assistance for Persons with

Disabilities Act are amended to clarify that the minister has the authority to

prescribe forms. The acts are also amended to deter people from quitting or

refusing suitable employment without just cause or being fired with cause and

then applying for assistance.

The

transition amendment to the Employment Standards Act is a housekeeping measure

to ensure that wage complaints filed before the new employment standards

legislation took effect are treated under the old rules.

The

amendments to the Escheat Act will reduce the number of orders-in-council

required by the act and streamline the decision-making process by replacing the

need for orders-in-council with ministerial orders.

The

amendment to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act ensures

that the substance of deliberations of cabinet and its committees is protected

from release under the act as was originally intended. The clarification that

committees of the executive council include committees that have some

non-cabinet members is necessary to maintain the integrity of the cabinet

committee system.

There are

two amendments to the Highway Act. One amendment removes the statutory provision

that only the Ministry of Transportation can fund arterial highway construction

and maintenance. This is in ac-

[ Page 3870 ]

cordance with the ministry's approved service plan as well.

The second

amendment to the Highway Act and the consequential amendment to the

Municipalities Enabling and Validating Act (No. 3) relieves the city of

Vancouver from the statutory obligation to seek the approval of the Minister of

Transportation for zoning bylaws affecting lands adjacent to controlled-access

highways.

housekeeping amendment is being made to the Interjurisdictional Support Orders

Act to correct the reference in that act.

The

amendment to the Ministry of Transportation and Highways Act is also

housekeeping in nature and allows for the effective operation of provisions of

the act dealing with contract arbitration.

The Motor

Vehicle Act amendment establishes that a person who is issued an administrative

driving prohibition for failing an alcohol breath test or refusing an alcohol

breath test does not have the right to cross-examine any person during an oral

review requested by that person.

The

amendment to the Public Guardian and Trustee Act is twofold. Firstly, it is to

relieve the public guardian and trustee from the requirement to arrange for

periodic, independent evaluations of the effectiveness of the four adult

guardianship acts. Significant portions of each of the four acts remain

unproclaimed.

Prof.

Albert McClean released his report in February 2002, which reviewed the

effectiveness of the Representation Agreement Act. Further review would

duplicate the costs and effort of work that's already completed.

[1450]

Secondly,

it is to eliminate the Public Guardian and Trustee Advisory Board, as

recommended by the core review and deregulation task force on September 17,

2002. Elimination of the board is consistent with government streamlining and

deregulation.

The Special

Appropriations Act is repealed. The act is no longer required, as the six

program purposes ad-dressed in the act are now funded through traditional

budgeting and other legislative arrangements.

The

amendment to the Vancouver Charter provides a specific property tax exemption

for the British Columbia Cancer Agency branch at premises on West 10th Avenue in

Vancouver, to the extent that the property is occupied by the British Columbia

Cancer Agency branch and used for cancer research and charitable purposes. This

legislation is supported by the city of Vancouver and fulfills a government

commitment to the B.C. Cancer Foundation. The amendment will allow the B.C.

Cancer Research Centre to use funds for research, not for property taxes.

I know that

these items will be debated at length and voted upon, most likely, in committee

stage. With that I move second reading.

Motion

approved.

Hon. G.

Collins: I move this House do now adjourn. I'm sorry. I apologize. I gave

the Clerk a heart attack.

I move that

the bill be referred to a Committee of the Whole House for debate at the next

sitting of the House after today.

Bill 62,

Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act (No. 3), 2002, read a second time and

referred to a Committee of the Whole House for consideration at the next sitting

of the House after today.

Hon. G.

Collins: I would have been the second person to do that, but probably for

different reasons. I move that this House do now adjourn.

Hon. G.

Collins moved adjournment of the House.

Motion

approved.

The House

adjourned at 2:52 p.m.

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