British Columbia Hansard — Thursday, May 19, 2011 (39th Parliament, 3rd Session) (H0519pm-07) (H0519pm 07)

H0519pm-07

British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)

Third Session, 39th Parliament official rePort of Debates of the Legis Lative a ssemb Ly (hansarD) the honourable bill bari Soff, SPeaker iSSn 0709-1281 Thursday, May 19, 2011 Afternoon Sitting Volume 22, Number 7

Pro Vince of britiS h colu Mbia (entered c onfederation July 20, 1871) lieutenant -Go Vernor h is h onour the h onourable Steven l.

Point, obc Third Session, 39th Parliament SPeaker of the leGiS latiVe a SSeMbl Y h onourable bill barisoff eXecutiVe council Premier and President of the executive c ouncil .............................................................................................................. h on. c hristy c lark Deputy Premier and Minister of finance ............................................................................................................................h on. k evin f alcon Minister of a boriginal r elations and r econciliation ...........................................................................................................h on.

Mary Polak Minister of a dvanced e ducation .................................................................................................................................h on. n aomi Y amamoto Minister of a griculture ........................................................................................................................................................... h on.

Don Mcr ae a ttorney General ........................................................................................................................................................... h on. barry Penner, Qc Minister of c hildren and f amily Development ................................................................................................................ h on.

Mary Mcn eil Minister of c ommunity, Sport and cultural Development .................................................................................................. h on. ida c hong Minister of e ducation .........................................................................................................................................................h on.

George a bbott Minister of energy and Mines and Minister r esponsible for h ousing.........................................................................h on. r ich c oleman Minister of environment ....................................................................................................................................................h on. Dr. t erry l ake Minister of f orests, l ands and n atural r esource o perations......................................................................................h on.

Steve Thomson Minister of h ealth .................................................................................................................................................... h on. Michael de Jong, Qc Minister of Jobs, t ourism and innovation ................................................................................................................................... h on. Pat bell Minister of l abour, citizens' Services and o pen Government .............................................................................. h on.

Stephanie c adieux Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General .................................................................................................................h on.

Shirley bond Minister of Social Development and Minister r esponsible for Multiculturalism ............................................................ h on. h arry bloy Minister of t ransportation and infrastructure ................................................................................................................h on. blair l ekstrom leGiS latiVe a SSeMbl Y l eader of the official o pposition ......................................................................................................................................................a drian Dix Deputy Speaker .................................................................................................................................................................................... l inda r eid a ssistant Deputy Speaker ..................................................................................................................................................................Dawn black Deputy c hair, c ommittee of the Whole ...................................................................................................................................Douglas h orne c lerk of the l egislative a ssembly...................................................................................................................e.

George MacMinn, obc, Q c c lerk a ssistant ..................................................................................................................................................................................r obert Vaive c lerk a ssistant and l aw c lerk................................................................................................................................................. ian D. izard, Qc c lerk a ssistant and c lerk of c ommittees ............................................................................................................... craig h.

James (on leave) c lerk a ssistant and a cting c lerk of c ommittees ................................................................................................................. k ate r yan-l loyd Sergeant-at-a rms ................................................................................................................................................................................. Gary l enz

alP habetical liS t of MeMberS a bbott, h on. George (l) ........................................................................ Shuswap a ustin, r obin (nDP) ................................................................................ Skeena bains, h arry (nDP) ....................................................................Surrey-n ewton barisoff, h on. bill (l) ............................................................................Penticton barnett, Donna (l) ................................................................ c ariboo-c hilcotin bell, h on.

Pat (l) ..................................................... Prince George–Mackenzie bennett, bill (l) .............................................................................k ootenay e ast black, Dawn (nDP) ................................................................n ew Westminster black, iain (l) .............................................................. Port Moody–c oquitlam bloy, h on. h arry (l) ............................................................burnaby-l ougheed bond, h on.

Shirley (l) ...........................................Prince George–Valemount brar, Jagrup (nDP) ................................................................ Surrey-fleetwood c adieux, h on. Stephanie (l) ................................................Surrey-Panorama c antelon, r on (l) ..............................................................

Parksville-Qualicum c handra h erbert, Spencer (nDP) ................................Vancouver–West end c hong, h on. ida (l) ..................................................... o ak bay–Gordon h ead c houhan, r aj (nDP) ........................................................... burnaby-e dmonds c oell, Murray (l) ..............................................Saanich n orth and the islands c oleman, h on. r ich (l) ........................................... f ort l angley–a ldergrove c onroy, katrine (nDP) .............................................................. k ootenay West c oons, Gary (nDP) .........................................................................n orth c oast c orrigan, k athy (nDP) ..................................................... burnaby–Deer l ake Dalton, Marc (l) ..............................................................

Maple r idge–Mission de Jong, h on. Michael, Qc (l) .............................................. a bbotsford West Dix, a drian (nDP) ............................................................Vancouver-kingsway Donaldson, Doug (nDP) ......................................................................... Stikine e lmore, Mable (nDP) ................................................... Vancouver-kensington f alcon, h on. k evin (l) ..........................................................Surrey-c loverdale f arnworth, Mike (nDP) ............................................................

Port c oquitlam fleming, r ob (nDP) .......................................................... Victoria–Swan l ake f oster, eric (l) .......................................................................Vernon-Monashee f raser, Scott (nDP) ............................................................a lberni–Pacific r im Gentner, Guy (nDP) .........................................................................Delta n orth h ammell, Sue (nDP) .................................................... Surrey–Green t imbers h ansen, c olin (l) ............................................................

Vancouver-Quilchena h awes, r andy (l) ............................................................... a bbotsford-Mission h ayer, Dave S. (l) .................................................................... Surrey-t ynehead h eed, k ash (l) ................................................................ Vancouver-fraserview h ogg, Gordon (l) ............................................................... Surrey–White r ock h organ, John (nDP) .......................................................................

Juan de f uca h orne, Douglas (l) ..............................................c oquitlam–b urke Mountain h oward, r ob (l) .....................................................................r ichmond c entre h untington, Vicki (ind.) ..................................................................Delta South James, c arole (nDP) .........................................................Victoria–b eacon h ill k aragianis, Maurine (nDP) ........................................e squimalt–r oyal r oads k rog, l eonard (nDP) ........................................................................... n anaimo k rueger, kevin (l) ............................................... k amloops–South Thompson kwan, Jenny Wai ching (nDP) ...........................

Vancouver–Mount Pleasant l ake, h on. Dr. t erry (l) .....................................k amloops–n orth Thompson l ali, h arry (nDP) ..........................................................................f raser-n icola l ee, r ichard t . (l) .......................................................................burnaby n orth l ekstrom, h on. blair (l) .......................................................

Peace r iver South l es, John (l) .........................................................................................c hilliwack l etnick, n orm (l) ........................................................k elowna–l ake c ountry MacDiarmid, Dr. Margaret (l) ......................................... Vancouver-fairview Macdonald, n orm (nDP) ....................................c olumbia r iver–r evelstoke Mcintyre, Joan (l) ..................................................West Vancouver–Sea to Sky Mcn eil, h on. Mary (l) .................................................Vancouver–f alse creek Mcr ae, h on.

Don (l) ................................................................... c omox Valley Mungall, Michelle (nDP) ..........................................................n elson-creston Penner, hon. barry, Qc (l) ....................................................c hilliwack-h ope Pimm, Pat (l) ..........................................................................Peace r iver n orth Polak, h on.

Mary (l) ...............................................................................l angley Popham, l ana (nDP) ...................................................................Saanich South r alston, bruce (nDP) ................................................................

Surrey-Whalley r eid, l inda (l) .............................................................................r ichmond e ast r outley, bill (nDP) .................................................................. c owichan Valley r outley, Doug (nDP) ............................................n anaimo–n orth c owichan r ustad, John (l) ........................................................................... n echako l akes Sather, Michael (nDP) ......................................... Maple r idge–Pitt Meadows Simons, n icholas (nDP) ...................................

Powell r iver–Sunshine c oast Simpson, bob (ind.) .....................................................................c ariboo n orth Simpson, Shane (nDP) .....................................................Vancouver-hastings Slater, John (l) ..............................................................boundary-Similkameen Stewart, ben (l) ..................................................................... Westside-kelowna Stilwell, Dr. Moira (l) ......................................................... Vancouver-l angara Sultan, r alph (l) .....................................................

West Vancouver–capilano Thomson, hon.

Steve (l) ........................................................k elowna-Mission Thorne, Diane (nDP) .................................................c oquitlam-Maillardville Thornthwaite, Jane (l) .......................................... n orth Vancouver–Seymour t revena, c laire (nDP) .................................................................... n orth island van Dongen, John (l) .............................................................a bbotsford South Y amamoto, hon. n aomi (l) ................................. n orth Vancouver–l onsdale Y ap, John (l) .......................................................................r ichmond-Steveston Vacant ...............................................................................Vancouver–Point Grey liS t of MeMberS bY riD in G a bbotsford-Mission .......................................................................r andy h awes a bbotsford South .....................................................................John van Dongen a bbotsford West ......................................................h on.

Michael de Jong, Qc a lberni–Pacific r im ..........................................................................

Scott f raser boundary-Similkameen .....................................................................John Slater burnaby–Deer l ake ................................................................... k athy c orrigan burnaby-e dmonds ......................................................................... r aj c houhan burnaby-l ougheed ...................................................................h on. h arry bloy burnaby n orth .............................................................................. r ichard t . l ee c ariboo-c hilcotin ........................................................................Donna barnett c ariboo n orth ................................................................................ bob Simpson c hilliwack ...............................................................................................

John l es c hilliwack-h ope .......................................................... h on. barry Penner, Qc c olumbia r iver–r evelstoke .................................................. n orm Macdonald c omox Valley...........................................................................h on. Don Mcr ae c oquitlam–b urke Mountain .....................................................Douglas h orne c oquitlam-Maillardville...............................................................

Diane Thorne c owichan Valley ................................................................................ bill r outley Delta n orth ......................................................................................Guy Gentner Delta South ...............................................................................Vicki h untington e squimalt–r oyal r oads .....................................................Maurine k aragianis f ort l angley–a ldergrove ...................................................h on. r ich c oleman f raser-n icola........................................................................................ h arry l ali Juan de f uca .....................................................................................John h organ k amloops–n orth Thompson ............................................ h on.

Dr. t erry l ake k amloops–South Thompson ...................................................... k evin k rueger k elowna–l ake c ountry ...............................................................n orm l etnick k elowna-Mission .............................................................. h on.

Steve Thomson k ootenay e ast ....................................................................................bill bennett k ootenay West ............................................................................ k atrine c onroy l angley.......................................................................................h on. Mary Polak Maple r idge–Mission .....................................................................

Marc Dalton Maple r idge–Pitt Meadows ........................................................Michael Sather n anaimo ......................................................................................... l eonard k rog n anaimo–n orth c owichan ......................................................... Doug r outley n echako l akes ..................................................................................

John r ustad n elson-creston ........................................................................Michelle Mungall n ew Westminster ..............................................................................Dawn black n orth c oast....................................................................................... Gary c oons n orth island .................................................................................. c laire t revena n orth Vancouver–l onsdale ........................................h on. n aomi Y amamoto n orth Vancouver–Seymour .................................................

Jane Thornthwaite o ak bay–Gordon h ead ............................................................ h on. ida c hong Parksville-Qualicum ..................................................................... r on c antelon Peace r iver n orth ................................................................................Pat Pimm Peace r iver South ...............................................................h on. blair l ekstrom Penticton................................................................................... h on. bill barisoff Port c oquitlam ..........................................................................Mike f arnworth Port Moody–c oquitlam ...................................................................... iain black Powell r iver–Sunshine c oast ................................................. n icholas Simons Prince George–Mackenzie .............................................................h on.

Pat bell Prince George–Valemount ...................................................h on. Shirley bond r ichmond c entre ............................................................................ r ob h oward r ichmond e ast ................................................................................... l inda r eid r ichmond-Steveston ..............................................................................John Y ap Saanich n orth and the islands .....................................................

Murray c oell Saanich South ................................................................................ l ana Popham Shuswap ...............................................................................h on.

George a bbott Skeena .............................................................................................. r obin a ustin Stikine ........................................................................................Doug Donaldson Surrey-c loverdale .................................................................h on. k evin f alcon Surrey-fleetwood ...............................................................................Jagrup brar Surrey–Green t imbers ..................................................................Sue h ammell Surrey-n ewton ................................................................................. h arry b ains Surrey-Panorama ........................................................ h on.

Stephanie c adieux Surrey-t ynehead ........................................................................... Dave S. h ayer Surrey-Whalley.............................................................................. bruce r alston Surrey–White r ock ....................................................................... Gordon h ogg Vancouver-fairview ................................................ Dr. Margaret MacDiarmid Vancouver–f alse creek ........................................................ h on.

Mary Mcn eil Vancouver-fraserview ........................................................................k ash h eed Vancouver-hastings ....................................................................Shane Simpson Vancouver-kensington .................................................................Mable e lmore Vancouver-kingsway..........................................................................a drian Dix Vancouver-l angara .................................................................Dr.

Moira Stilwell Vancouver–Mount Pleasant ..........................................Jenny Wai ching kwan Vancouver–Point Grey ...............................................................................Vacant Vancouver-Quilchena ................................................................... c olin h ansen Vancouver–West end ...............................................Spencer c handra h erbert Vernon-Monashee ...............................................................................eric f oster Victoria–b eacon h ill .......................................................................c arole James Victoria–Swan l ake.........................................................................r ob fleming West Vancouver–capilano ............................................................. r alph Sultan West Vancouver–Sea to Sky ........................................................

Joan Mcintyre Westside-kelowna .............................................................................ben Stewart Party Standings: l iberal 48; n ew Democratic 34; independent 2; Vacant 1

CONTENTS Thursday, May 19, 2011 a fternoon Sitting Page Routine Business introductions by Members .................................................................................................................................................... 7243 t ributes ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 7243 Jim Waardenburg J. van Dongen introductions by Members ..................................................................................................................................................... 7243 t ributes ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 7244 Shachi k url h on.

G. a bbott J. h organ introductions by Members ..................................................................................................................................................... 7244 introduction and first r eading of bills ................................................................................................................................ 7245 bill 13 — Miscellaneous Statutes a mendment a ct (n o. 2), 2011 h on. b.

Penner Statements (Standing order 25b) ......................................................................................................................................... 7245 c hild care providers and early childhood educators M. e lmore Vancouver Public l ibrary and literacy awareness M. Stilwell 'ksan Performing a rts Group participation in cultural exchange project D. Donaldson c hild and Y outh in care Week G. h ogg c ommunity theatre groups in c oquitlam D.

Thorne Surrey c anadian baseball a ssociation D. h ayer oral Questions ......................................................................................................................................................................... 7247 Pricing model for prescription drugs a. Di x h on. M. de Jong M. f arnworth f erry fares G. c oons h on. b. l ekstrom c. t revena c amping fees r . flemin g h on. t . l ake impact of harmonized sales tax on families b. r alston h on. k. f alcon r ate changes for seniors in residential care S. h ammell h on.

M. de Jong r eports from c ommittees ...................................................................................................................................................... 7252 Special c ommittee to a ppoint a c hief e lectoral officer, report J. van Dongen

Motions Without notice ......................................................................................................................................................... 7252 a ppointment of c hief e lectoral officer J. van Dongen S. h ammell r eports from c ommittees ...................................................................................................................................................... 7252 Select Standing c ommittee on Public a ccounts, Annual

Summary of Activities b. r alston D. h orne Orders of the Day Second r eading of bills .......................................................................................................................................................... 7253 bill 8 — i nternational interests in Mobile equipment (a ircraft equipment) a ct h on. k. f alcon b. r alston bill 10 — Wills, e states and Succession a mendment a ct, 2011 h on. b. Penner l. k rog h on. b. Penner bill 9 — Prevention of cruelty to a nimals a mendment a ct, 2011 h on. D. Mcr ae l. Popha m h on. t . l ake b. r alston M. f arnworth h on. b. Penner D.

Thorne r . c antelon S. f raser r . h awes J. brar J. Thornthwaite J. kwan V . huntington n. Simon s l. k rog h on. D. Mcr ae Proceedings in the Douglas Fir Room c ommittee of Supply .............................................................................................................................................................. 7280 e stimates: Ministry of a dvanced e ducation (continued) h on. n. Y amamoto M. Mungall c. Jame s M. Sather M. e lmore k. c orrigan c. t revena h. b ains S. c handra h erbert D. Thorne

7243 thurSD a Y , MaY 19, 2011 The h ouse met at 1:34 p.m. [Mr. Speaker in the chair.] Routine Business Introductions by Members C. James: i have a school group visiting us in the l egislature today from my community. St. a ndrew's e lementary School is here, the grade 3 class, with their teacher Mrs. bella and two parents. Would the h ouse please make them very welcome. Hon. T.

Lake: it's a real pleasure for me to introduce three members of the first n ations t ax c ommission that have been meeting in the precinct today. [1335] one of my heroes and mentors, someone who has de - voted his entire life to public service, as his father before him did, c hief Manny Jules of k amloops is here. i'd like the h ouse to please make him welcome. With Manny today is David Paul, who is the deputy chief commissioner and who hails from a tlantic c anada, and k en Scopick, who is the chief of operations. Would the h ouse please make them welcome as well. K.

Corrigan: it gives me a great deal of pleasure to be able to introduce Mr. barry o'n eill, my former em - ployer and the president of cuP e b ritish c olumbia. Hon. M. McNeil: i'm very happy to welcome some very special guests in the b.c. l egislature. We're de - lighted to have a number of children and youth in care watching in the gallery today. i'd also like to introduce some of the adults accompanying them: Jocelyn h elland, executive director of the f ederation of b.c.

Y outh in c are n etworks; Gary Mavis, executive director of the f ederation of a boriginal f oster Parents; and two repre- sentatives from the b.c. f ederation of f oster Parent a ssociations, Jo a xe and r ussel Pohl. They are joined by four ministry staff: c hristine k apoor, Michele h addon, Sobhana Daniel and c huck e amer. i would also like to extend a warm welcome to Mary e llen t urpel-l afond, the r epresentative for c hildren and Y outh, as well as a ndrew r obinson from the representative's Prince George office and Wilma c larke from the representative's l ower Mainland office.

The reason they are here is the celebration of a new week that is being created in b.c. today. it's called the b.c. c hild and Y outh in c are Week, and i will wear their button "n otice. l isten. r espect" with pride. Would the h ouse please make them all feel very welcome. D.

Black: i'm delighted to get up today to introduce a friend and neighbour from n ew Westminster, t ania Jarzebiak, who has worked with me in my past life as a Member of Parliament. i know that the member for coquitlam-Maillardville would also join with me, because this woman worked as her campaign manager. i ask all mem- bers of the house to please make tania Jarzebiak welcome. Tributes JiM WaarD enbur G J. van Dongen: i rise today to pay tribute to an outstand- ing british c olumbian whose life we will celebrate tomorrow in a bbotsford.

Jim W aardenburg came to c anada in 1953 from h olland when he was 17 years old and was hired al- most immediately by the r oyal bank because they needed someone who could speak Dutch to serve all the new Dutch immigrants moving to the fraser Valley. a fter 16 years with the bank he started dairy farming with two brothers in Matsqui and ran for office in a num- ber of dairy industry organizations. o ver the next three decades he rose quickly to the most senior positions in the dairy industry, including the board of directors of Dairyland, the executive of Dairy f armers of c anada and a number of farm industry advisory committees. h e also ably served for ten years as the federally appointed chairman of the b.c. f arm Debt r eview board, and in his community Jim served for over 20 years as director and chair of the MSa Society for c ommunity l iving.

Jim was an absolute gentleman and a skilful, dedicated leader. u nderneath his dignified, courteous and friendly demeanour was a man with tremendous capacity, know- ledge, and communication and negotiation skills. h e provided outstanding leadership and was highly respected in provincial farm meetings all across c anada. Mr. Speaker, as a colleague and as friends and neigh - bours of Jim Waardenburg, the Mla for a bbotsford West and i request that you send a letter of condolence to his family on behalf of the members of this h ouse. Introductions by Members J.

Horgan: Joining us in the gallery today is a con - stituent of mine, Diane bernard. People will know her as a former electoral area representative for the Juan de f uca district. They'll know her as a former school board trustee, and they'll know her, of course, today as the president and ceo of Seaflora, a wild organic seafood skin care product line which is thriving and creating jobs in my community of Sooke. Would the h ouse please make Diane very, very welcome. [1340] Hon. R. Coleman: Mr. Speaker, as you know, i am a big believer in peaceful and civil debate and good behaviour

british c olumbia Debates7244 t hursday, May 19, 2011 in this h ouse. in the gallery today we have our constitu- ency assistants from all across the province visiting us. r ather than allow each of our Mlas to introduce their ca s individually and tell us that they have the best con - stituency assistant in the province of british c olumbia, which would lead to some discourse on my side of the h ouse, we've decided to welcome as a group our con - stituency assistants from across the province. Would the h ouse please make them all welcome. G.

Coons: in the precinct today and the last couple of days is a good friend, ex-colleague and teacher from charles h ays Secondary School in Prince r upert, Dianne r abel, who's here with the teachers institute. Please make her welcome. R. Cantelon: i have three constituents in the h ouse today: Don c ampbell and Don Stewart, long-term employees with Mac and blo and then Pope and t albot after that. They continue to pursue the benefits and rights of the retirees of those firms very doggedly.

They are to be congratulated for that. a lso in the h ouse is a person i know well, e d Mayne, the former mayor of Parksville, who used to share the office next door to me. i miss him there. l et's wish them all a good welcome to our h ouse. D. Thorne: it's truly a pleasure for me today to intro - duce two of my constituents for their very first time in the precinct, c oun. Selina r obinson from the city of c oquitlam and her daughter l eya. B.

Stewart: i know last evening many of us from both sides of the h ouse had a chance to celebrate some of british c olumbia's finest wines at an event called bloom. i saw many on both sides there. More importantly, the people who do that every day for a living are represented by the british c olumbia Wine institute, which was cre - ated under the b.c. Wine a ct in a ugust of 1990. We have here today the chairperson, Josie t yabji from Vincor international, and Miles Prodan, the new executive director of the british c olumbia Wine institute. i'd like the h ouse and members of it to welcome them here to Victoria. S.

Simpson: i'd ask the h ouse to make welcome bill Pegler, who's with us today. bill has responsibility for providing education services to the many thousands of members of cuP e in british c olumbia as the education coordinator for the union. Please make bill welcome. Tributes Shachi kurl Hon. G. Abbott: in the gallery today is one of the very esteemed members of the press gallery, Shachi kurl. Hon. M. de Jong: Where? Hon. G. Abbott: Shachi is right up there in the gallery. i say this with great regret.

Shachi is going to be mov- ing on to other enterprises and leaving the gallery. it is notable that in a gallery that is noted nationally, if not internationally, for its fair, balanced and accurate re - porting, Shachi has so far set that high benchmark that others could only strive for. i'd also note, as we mourn the passing, so to speak, of Shachi from this place, that Shachi has been here for six years. t o me it was forgivable that for five years i called her Sachi because it always constantly reminded of Versace and the very high quality of style that she brought to a gallery that so often falls short in terms of fashion sense. l et's wish her the best in her next career.

J. Horgan: n ormally, when we're marking the passing of a member of the press gallery, there would usually be enormous applause at the departure of one from what Mike h arcourt used to call the scrum of the earth. but of course, with the passing of Shachi, we all feel a little bit of sadness. [1345] She taught me what has become known as the h organ hop in my stance before the camera. e verything i know about media presentation i learned from Shachi k url, so i suppose i will miss her more than anyone else. She's moved to tears, hon.

Speaker. but i think we need to add, on this side of the h ouse, to the testimonials from the e ducation Minister. Shachi was formerly with cbc television. She was formerly with the c anadian Press in t oronto and in Vancouver. She did a stint as an associate producer on Global National and of course has been here as the anchor, the pillar, of a -c hannel in Victoria for a number of years. She is the recipient of a Webster f oundation award and participated in the e dward r . Murrow a ward to a -c hannel.

The accolades go on and on and on. t o all of those assembled, to those watching at home, this is Shachi's last day at the scrum of the earth. We're going to miss you. Thank you very much, Shachi. Would this side of the h ouse join with that side of the h ouse to give one round of applause to Ms. k url. [a pplause.] Introductions by Members R. Lee: Visiting the Parliament buildings today are over 100 a lpha students from burnaby n orth, my rid - ing. a lpha School just celebrated its 60th anniversary. Would the h ouse please join me to give the students, the parents and the teachers a warm welcome.

british c olumbia Debatest hursday, May 19, 2011 7245 Introduction and First Reading of Bills bill 13 — Mi Scellaneou S Statute S aMenDMent a ct (n o. 2), 2011 h on. b. Penner presented a message from h is h on- our the a dministrator: a bill intituled Miscellaneous Statutes a mendment a ct (n o. 2), 2011. Hon. B. Penner: i move that the bill be introduced and read a first time now. Motion approved. Hon. B. Penner: i'm pleased to introduce bill 13, the Miscellaneous Statutes a mendment a ct (n o. 2), 2011.

This bill amends the following statutes: c hild, f amily and c ommunity Service a ct; c lean energy a ct; environment and l and u se a ct; f orest a ct; f orest and r ange Practices a ct; l aw and e quity a ct; l egislative a ssembly Management c ommittee a ct; Medicare Protection a ct; Milk industry a ct; Ministry of f orests and r ange a ct; Motor Vehicle a ct; Protected a reas of british c olumbia a ct; and Special a ccounts a ppropriation and c ontrol a ct. in case i missed any, the bill also makes consequential housekeeping and clarifying amendments to a number of other statutes. i move that the bill be placed on the orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the h ouse after today. bill 13, Miscellaneous Statutes a mendment a ct (n o. 2), 2011, introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the h ouse after today.

Statements (Standing Order 25B) chilD care Pro ViDerS anD earl Y chil Dhoo D e Ducator S M. Elmore: May is c hild c are Month, and today, May 19, we celebrate c hild c are Provider a ppreciation Day. it's a great time to recognize the value of child care and those who work in the field. i'd like to thank all child care providers for their hard work, dedication and com- mitment to nurturing and educating our children in their most crucial stages of growth. c hild care providers provide quality early learning ex- periences that build a foundation of success for families and children in b.c.

They don't only provide services, but they also provide that comfort and sense of security for parents when they have to drop off their children at their child care space to ensure that they're well cared for. They also often become known as a part of the extended family in the provision of their care. We currently have 11,900 actively licensed early child- hood educators and more than 4,000 early childhood educator assistants in the province. l icensed child care operators are highly skilled but also steeply underpaid professionals for, arguably, doing one of the most im - portant jobs in our society.

Wages are comparatively very low for early childhood educators, on average $17 an hour, which makes staff recruitment and retention extremely difficult. e arly childhood educators need a living wage. it's a priority to support their professional development and their efforts towards establishing a bachelor's degree for early child - hood education. [1350] in addition, only 20 percent of b.c . children have access to regular child care.

While public spending on child care in b.c . is low compared to other countries, we need to support child care providers and implement a provincial early care and learning plan provides affordable, accessible and high-quality care to children and families. c hild care builds communities, creates jobs and sup - ports the economy. investing in child care is investing in the future of our society. i ask everyone to please join me in thanking child care providers in b.c. for their exceptional work. Vancou Ver Public librar Y anD literacY a WareneSS M.

Stilwell: The Vancouver Public l ibrary f oundation was set up in 1997 to raise funds to enhance Vancouver Public l ibrary programs and services. Their goal is to enhance literacy in Vancouver with innovative library outreach programs and resources aimed at children and families, people with disabilities and new c anadians. n ationally 48 percent of c anadians aged 16 and over have inadequate literacy skills.

That's close to 12 million people. it is a shocking fact that many c anadians lack the necessary literacy skills to succeed in today's economy, a situation that is eroding their standard of living. a lmost four in ten c anadian youth lack adequate literacy skills. This increases to almost five in ten c anadian adults and six in ten immigrants who have inadequate literacy. This poses a serious material cost to the individuals, businesses, the economy and all of society.

Did you know that a 1 percent increase in literacy produces a 2.5 percent increase in level of labour productivity and a 1.5 percent increase in output per capita? The implication is that every 1 percent improvement in literacy would boost the national income by $32 billion. illiteracy is costing c anada billions of dollars and thousands of jobs. l iteracy materials, programs and resources are essen- tial to keep our community healthy and vital. The reality

british c olumbia Debates7246 t hursday, May 19, 2011 is that publicly funded institutions such as the library continue to be faced with making tough choices among competing priorities. With libraries now providing more than books, these tough decisions are not getting any easier.

The library provides residents of Vancouver and be - yond with universal free access to learning in person and on line; expert help in connecting people with informa - tion, knowledge and inspiration; places and spaces for people of all ages to learn, socialize and dream; a home away from home through the branch system; a place where children and their families can learn together; and important contributions to the social and economic health of Vancouver, the region and the province. Strong libraries build strong communities. 'k San Perfor Min G art S Grou P ParticiP ation in cultural eX chan Ge Pro Ject D.

Donaldson: Simigigyet, sigidim hanak, gan kubawilsx — "c hiefs, princes, princesses." Those are the Gitxsan words that will ring out in c hengdu, c hina, next week when the 'ksan Performing a rts dancers begin their cul- tural exchange project in that country.

The performing arts group is based out of the 'ksan h istorical Village and Museum in h azelton and Gitanmaax. its members are from many of the Gitxsan villages in the u pper Skeena region. 'ksan Performing a rts has been undertaking these international initiatives for almost four decades. it de - velops understanding and relationship-building between cultures.

That is one reason why supporting the arts is so important to building an economy for the well-being of all. a successful market economy between cultures is based on trust that is only built through understanding and knowledge best conveyed through our stories. 'ksan Performing a rts conducted fundraising locally to help pay for the trip and are still awaiting word on a b.c. a rts c ouncil grant. i attended a fundraising feast known as a Gwee-ii-a at the Skeena ice arena in h azelton earlier this month. The songs, dances and regalia were outstanding.

We also learned at the Gwee-ii-a that part of the May 23 to June 9 itinerary in c hina will be to meet up with another aboriginal matriarchal society, the Mosuo. t rip organizer and Gitxsan performer Shirley Muldon said that one of the potential benefits is to link with c hinese tourist agencies to bring more c hinese visitors to h azelton and the northwest. but above all, it's about raising spirits and doing something positive. a s Muldon said: "Y ou have to have a good time, be happy, and you need to smile." So good luck, Shirley and the other 17 members leaving on Monday. k eep on smiling.

Safe journey. h ave a good time, and thank you for being our cultural ambassadors. chil D an D Youth in care Week G. Hogg: a s the Minister of c hildren and f amily Development mentioned, we have guests in the h ouse here to celebrate c anada's very first c hild and Y outh in c are Week. [1355] This week was the idea of youth in care. They wanted a week to call their own. They wanted a week that would recognize and celebrate their resilience, their ac - complishments, their talents and their dreams.

Their message to us all is: "n otice. l isten. r espect." They wanted a week that recognized the importance of community support for kids in care — community sup - port provided by such organizations as the f ederation of b.c. Y outh in c are n etworks, the f ederation of a boriginal f oster Parents, the b.c. f ederation of f oster Parent a ssociations and the r epresentative for c hildren and Y outh. There are 8,400 children in the care of the province, and they are raising community awareness about their contributions. They are shifting the negative percep - tions that some have of children in care.

They want and they deserve — indeed, we all want and we all deserve — to be recognized not for the weaknesses that each of us has but for the talents and gifts that each of us brings. a s former foster parents, l aVerne and i were fortun - ate to have youths live with us. We learned from them, and we learned from each other. We have made lifelong friends. one of them is now using his experiences, edu - cation and talent to work in the field of child care. h e, like so many children in care, is now a wonderful, caring and contributing citizen of our province.

These youths inspire us with their contributions, with their resilience and with their vision. They help to make our communities better for everyone. Please honour them, and honour their message to us: "n otice. l isten. r espect." co MMunit Y theatre Grou PS in co Quitla M D. Thorne: t oday i pay tribute to two special com - munity theatre groups that have been presenting quality productions in c oquitlam for more than 20 years.

Stage 43, named for the school district that serves the t ri- cities, was formed in 1982. one of the best community theatre groups in the province, last year Stage 43 won the prestigious Theatre b.c. best Production award. The company offers traditional mysteries, dramas and de - lightful comedies. Theatrix Y outheatre Society celebrates its 20th anni - versary this year. its mandate is to ensure accessibility to the performing arts for all children, regardless of age, culture, ability and family income. Theatrix productions

british c olumbia Debatest hursday, May 19, 2011 7247 are written and performed by the children themselves, and they are delightful. i know because i have enjoyed many of them myself. e arlier this month Stage 43 and Theatrix sponsored the Theatre b.c. f raser Valley Zone drama festival at e vergreen c ultural c entre. i had the pleasure of helping to open the festival and attended the Stage 43 production that evening. i offer my congratulations to all of the volunteers who perform, direct and make up the backstage crew, and the executives of the two companies.

Without these volunteers, community theatre would not be able to carry on in these tough economic times, especially with the recent loss of gaming grants to the arts. c ommunity theatre brings the magic of live theatre to men, women and children, with productions that are affordable, close to home and warmly received. They love to play, and it really shows. Surre Y canaD ian ba Seball a SSociation D.

Hayer: Spring has finally sprung, and with it comes baseball season. i had the honour of attending opening day of one of the major volunteer organizations in my city of Surrey, the Surrey c anadian baseball a ssociation. The association is not only well known in Surrey; it is recog- nized across n orth a merica as a development ground for highly skilled baseball players, some of whom have gone on to play at the highest professional levels.

The association is made up of countless volunteers and parents dedicated to enriching the lives of youth and providing mentorship, coaching and guidance towards successful professional careers and healthy profes - sional lifestyles. in addition, the association's volunteers freely contribute their time to maintain Surrey's base - ball diamonds and parks, keeping them in top-notch condition. [1400] t oday i would like to thank them for their hard work: association president Steve cramer; vice-presidents r ob Masson and k evin Phelan; past president brian Davis; secretary l ynn l egris; treasurer Silvana Dodd; umpire- in-chief f rank l ove; commissioners t revor h aqq, bruce l awson, Don Schwartz and Jennifer k ingwell; parent coordinator Sandi Phelan; equipment manager r ick h unter; game scheduler Vito Musso; tournament direc- tor Petty a ulenback; uniform manager Julie l ove; bingo coordinator c athy f armer; sponsorship and fundraising chair t ommy l owry; concession manager Pat Mchugh; website manager a l t aylor; and directors-at-large bob Petersen, David breen and Dale baxter. i ask all the members of the h ouse to join me in con- gratulating and thanking the hundreds of volunteers who work so hard in the Surrey c anadian baseball a ssociation and all the youth who help to make them so successful.

Oral Questions Pricin G Mo Del for PreScriPtion DruGS A. Dix: i'd like to ask today why the Minister of h ealth thinks it's okay that b.c. families' drug plans and our Pharmac are program pay 30 percent more for prescription drugs than in ontario. Hon. M. de Jong: What i am actually gratified to have confirmed by the c anadian institute for h ealth information, independently, is the fact that in british c olumbia our per-capita cost for drugs is the lowest in the country. interjections. Mr. Speaker: c ontinue, Minister. Hon.

M. de Jong: What i am also gratified to learn is that if ontario were to follow a similar overall policy to that which is employed in british c olumbia, they would save a billion dollars, and if we were to follow the advice of what i think i am going to hear next from the l eader of the opposition, you could add an additional $3 billion to the cost that british c olumbians pay. We're proud of the fact that we were able to negotiate an agreement that respected the unique circumstances that rural pharmacists face and that we have the lowest per-capita drug costs in the entire country. Mr.

Speaker: The l eader of the o pposition has a supplemental. A. Dix: That's about the sorriest set of excuses i've heard for spending…. They're spending $157 million too much, and they put forward that list of excuses. What are the reasons? What are the reasons why we spend less on prescription drugs in british c olumbia? Might it be referenced-based pricing? They were against it; we were for it. Might it be the Therapeutics initiative? They just cut it by 30 percent; we introduced it in british c olumbia.

Those are the reasons why we spend less on prescrip - tion drugs, but it is not an excuse. it's not an excuse to set prices 40 percent higher in british c olumbia, then spend 30 percent more on prescription drugs here — $157 million. e very day they stand up and say that we can't afford something, and then they negotiate an agreement. i know it's the Minister of finance that they put in charge. h e wrestled them to the ceiling. Just wait for those hS t negotiations. Why, hon. Speaker?

What possible justification is there for not going to the ontario model, when they can save taxpayers money, when they can save drug

british c olumbia Debates7248 t hursday, May 19, 2011 plans money and when they can save families money in british c olumbia? Hon. M. de Jong: Well, what's illuminating and en - lightening, in fact, from the l eader of the o pposition today is that under his leadership, he would have no qualms about unilaterally legislating his version of a solution.

That's what they did in ontario. [1405] f olks in rural pharmacies across british c olumbia should know this. if given the opportunity, the l eader of the o pposition would not have sat down and negotiated the kind of agreement that actually respects the fact that we have the lowest per-capita drug costs in british c olumbia, that takes us essentially to where they are in o ntario but does so on the basis of a negotiation, as opposed to the unilateral imposition of legislation in this chamber. Mr. Speaker: The l eader of the o pposition has a fur- ther supplemental. A.

Dix: W ell, i know who had no place on the government side at the negotiating table. That's b.c . families — let down again. MSP premium increases, h ydro rate increases, ferry rate increases, the hSt — the list goes on. What possible reason? We're talking about people with type 2 diabetes. f or what possible reason would their interests not be at the bargaining table? Why did the government fail british c olumbia so badly? Why doesn't it do what Quebec does and join ontario and reduce costs for b.c. families? Hon.

M. de Jong: i generally don't ever try to impugn the motives of any member when they pose a question or engage in debate, but through technology, i had some - thing very interesting land on my desk this morning. it's interesting, because it actually comes from a journalist, one of the anchors for one of the networks in this prov - ince. h ere's what it says, following a newscast: "nDP flak calls, complains leader didn't get face time in our News Hour coverage of hallway health care, tries to influence News Hour Final coverage." Then from a reporter from the same network…. interjections. Mr.

Speaker: Just take your seat, Minister. c ontinue, Minister. Hon. M. de Jong: Then from another reporter from the same network: "b.c. nDP …." interjections. Hon. M. de Jong: n o, you're going to want to hear this. Y ou don't want to hear this on the news, do you? "b.c. nDP offered up health story details, didn't like 6 p.m. version, wants leader included, asked for recut of the story." it would be funny if it didn't demonstrate how this l eader of the o pposition is prepared to manipulate the sufferings of others for no other reason than to try to score political points. interjections. Mr.

Speaker: Members. c ontinue, Member for Port c oquitlam. M. Farnworth: i hear the Minister of f inance say: "c ue outrage." i'd just like to point out to him that whenever the next election is called, there will be a queue, all right — of voters waiting to cast their ballot to turf him and his government out. The bottom line is this. i know it's not the current Minister of h ealth's fault.

The fact of the matter is the former h ealth Minister, the current Minister of finance, got schooled by the province of ontario when it comes to striking a good deal for the families of their province, and they didn't do that in this province. [1410] The bottom line is this: $157 million could have been saved here in the province of british c olumbia that could have gone to improving services at r oyal c olumbian h ospital, that could have gone to providing cheaper drugs for families in british c olumbia, who don't buy things on the basis of per-capita cost but on the basis of actual cost. once again to the Minister of h ealth: why did that government fail families of british c olumbia, and how is that deal putting families first?

Hon. M. de Jong: i know that the hon. member, the h ealth critic, would have reviewed the agreement in de- tail, and he would know and would want the rest of the h ouse and british c olumbians to know that at the con - clusion of the third year on the term of this agreement we will have saved almost $400 million…. interjections. Mr. Speaker: c ontinue, Minister. Hon. M. de Jong: We would have done so on the basis of an agreement that was negotiated. but fair enough.

The n DP have staked out a new position. it is revealing, and it is instructive. it is the message that says that when they have decided upon a course of action, if they were ever in the position to act on that, they would simply unilaterally legislate. They would not sit down. They would not negotiate. They would not discuss. That is not the approach this government has taken, nor is it the approach we intend to take in the future.

british c olumbia Debatest hursday, May 19, 2011 7249 Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental. M. Farnworth: What this side of the h ouse has decided to unilaterally do is put families first in this province. interjections. Mr. Speaker: Just take your seat. Members. c ontinue, Member. M. Farnworth: When the province of Quebec had the opportunity to look at what ontario did to protect its families versus what the former Minister of h ealth did to not protect british c olumbia families, which way did they go? They went with the ontario model.

They recog- nized that cheaper drug costs are better for families, as opposed to the agreement that this government came up with, which cost us an additional $157 million a year. That does not help families in this province. interjection. M. Farnworth: it's $157 million. That's what jumps out of the report, Minister. The question, again, to the Minister of h ealth is: why should b.c. families pay for this government's and that former minister's incompetence in a deal? Hon.

M. de Jong: Well, i guess while we're doing a comparative survey on the performance of h ealth min- isters and former h ealth ministers, it is worth observing that at the time that the hon. member was the Minister of h ealth, b.c. was paying 60 percent. a s a result of this agreement, we will be paying 30 percent. it is a negotiated agreement. it is an agreement that respects the fact that there are a variety of differing circumstances confronting pharmacists across british c olumbia. They do not all operate in the l ower Main- land. They do not all operate in large urban centres.

They also operate in small rural settings. This agreement was structured in a way that respects that uniqueness and also protects the interests of british c olumbia families by ensuring that we have the lowest per-capita drug costs in all of c anada. ferr Y fareS G. Coons: Well, it's a long weekend, and ferry users are paying more. f ares are up 3.8 percent on major routes and 6.7 percent on minor routes. a nd next long weekend families will be paying even more — another 2.5 percent on majors and 5 percent on minors.

The new ferries commissioner announced a review of fares, but this review should have been started years ago, when this side of the h ouse and families up and down the coast told the b.c . l iberals that fares were too high. [1415] t o the t ransportation Minister: will he commit to freezing fares until the review is complete? Hon. B. Lekstrom: i am very pleased today to know that the independent ferries commissioner is embarking on an independent review to talk about what's going to take place for b.c. families.

The issue is — and i think the member would agree…. i think i've heard him say that we have one of the best ferry systems in the world, and i agree with that. What we have is a challenge, and the people i've spoken to and had the opportunity to hear from are worried about the sustainability and affordability of that system. i'm looking forward to the results of this report that the independent commissioner is going to bring forward to me. h e's going to have recommendations.

We're going to have a look at that, and my commitment is the same as it has been from the first day i took this job. i'm going to ensure that we do have an affordable, sustainable ferry system for everyone in our province. Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental. G.

Coons: The only challenge is b.c . f erries under this b.c. l iberal government. in the last eight years fares have more than doubled on some routes and ridership has dropped by a million people. it's already obvious. c oastal families and small businesses simply cannot afford this. a gain to the t ransportation Minister: will he commit today to freezing fares until the report is done? Hon. B. Lekstrom: it's interesting. Something that most british c olumbians are going to look forward to is this review. i do want to point out… interjection. Hon. B. Lekstrom: it's interesting.

The member for n orth c oast…. ...that we have just had a 50-year anniversary at b.c. f erries, and we have the best ferry system in the world. a pparently, a lot has changed in the last two months for the member. The commitment that i gave earlier is what i stand by. i'm looking forward. The independent ferries com - missioner is going to do his job. We have one of the best ferry systems in the world. We want to ensure that what was asked of b.c. f erries in the c oastal f erry a ct from 2003 is meeting the needs and meeting the public interests of this province. C.

Trevena: The minister said that he wants an affordable ferry service. The a lert bay run — up 102 percent, serving

british c olumbia Debates7250 t hursday, May 19, 2011 quite a vulnerable, poor community. The c ampbell r iver to Quadra run — ten-minute crossing, up 124 percent. The t ransportation Minister represents a rural com - munity. h ow would his constituents feel if they had to pay a toll like that to use h ighway 97? i'm sure they wouldn't be happy, so why would my constituents and other coastal families have to pay these rates to use their highways? Minister, will you rein in the fares? Hon. B.

Lekstrom: We've had the opportunity to speak. i've spoken with a number of people on the opposition side. i think it's fair to say that we would all agree. a re the fare increases a concern? Most definitely, they are. i stand here and tell you that. So 8.23 percent — is it sus - tainable for families to see that kind of increase year over year over year? i don't believe it is. i do want to point out that fare increases are not new. between 1991 and 1999 ferry fares in this province increased by 70 percent.

So to indicate that it's a new phenomenon…. it's not. n ot only did ferry fares increase by 70 percent, but the debt of the ferries increased by 1,800 percent, a pretty substantial increase. Do we share the concern about rates going up and the impact that has on the families of british c olumbia? We share that. a m i looking forward to the independent ferries commissioner's review and report that's coming back? i most definitely am. h opefully, all together we are going to find a solution to this. Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental. C.

Trevena: i think the minister forgets the history of his own government in the past eight years. it was his government that took ferries out of the highway sys- tem under the b.c. c oastal f erry a ct. h is government actually promised that when they did that, there would be stable fares. [1420] What are we seeing? Well, we've seen another broken l iberal promise. There's no question about that. We've seen skyrocketing fares. We've seen communities that are being crippled and families that are being forced out of their homes because of this.

So much for b.c. l iberal promises, Minister. if the minister says, as he keeps professing in answer to these questions, that he is so concerned about what's been happening, why will he not today stand in this h ouse and say that he will freeze fares until the review is complete? Hon. B.

Lekstrom: i guess when we look at our ferry system — which is a world-class ferry system, agreed by the member for n orth c oast — i think we do have the opportunity to look at some opportunities to enhance the c oastal f erry a ct. i've heard the opposition talk about that. i just recently met with the ferry advisory committees — the chairs of them. They talked about, actually, both the things that are working and the things that aren't. What i have heard loud and clear is that people are proud of the ferry system. They think we have good service. We have good vessels.

What they're concerned about is the affordability and sustainability of this system. i share that concern. We are going to have an independent f erry c ommis- sion report put forward to the province of british c ol- umbia. We will look at that, and we will do what we can to ensure that this meets the needs of british c olumbians. but we want to be very clear. This is not about freezing rates or rolling back. i could put quotes on.

Y ou have to be responsible. if what i heard the member say is that the op- position is going to make ferries free in british c olumbia, stand up and make that your new policy, Member. caMP in G feeS R. Fleming: The May long weekend traditionally be - gins camping season in communities across b.c., but it too is an activity under the b.c. l iberals that's become far too expensive for many b.c. families. a nnual visits to b.c. parks are down in the millions of overnight stays and day visits. c amping fees have increased by a whop - ping 75 percent under this government.

My question is to the Minister of environment — some good news going into the long weekend: will he stand up in this place, stand up for b.c. families and an - nounce that camping fees will be rolled back in british c olumbia? Give them some good news, for once, going into the long weekend. Hon. T.

Lake: i was happy to stand beside the Premier when she announced some very good news for b.c . families, when parking fees were removed from b.c . parks, celebrating their hundredth anniversary. i will be in Wells Gray Park in the beautiful n orth Thompson Valley this weekend, celebrating Parks 100. a s the unofficial start to summer, many, many families across british c olumbia will be enjoying our beautiful parks here in b.c. We'll be announcing lots of activities to celebrate a hundred years of a wonderful park system, the third-largest in n orth a merica. Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental. R.

Fleming: i think we were all pleased that the Deputy Premier, now Premier, reversed the error of her ways. That was the disaster that was parking meters slapped on b.c. parks. i want to encourage the government to keep going, because this government has increased fees in places where british c olumbia families actually want to camp by 75 percent.

british c olumbia Debatest hursday, May 19, 2011 7251 it is the hundredth anniversary of b.c. Parks, as everybody knows, in 2011. but for the last ten years this government has done nothing but gouge people on camping fees across b.c.'s parks. Will the minister stand up today, and will he use the occasion of the May long weekend to give b.c. families a break? Hon. T.

Lake: Well, b.c. families know one thing — that we have a first-class park system in this province, over an 80 percent approval of our b.c. parks. o ur new reservation system has been very successful. o ur reservations are up quite remarkably this year. We look forward to celebrating the unofficial start of sum - mer with young families across this great province of british c olumbia. i'll be happy to be in Wells Gray cele - brating with many of those families this weekend. [1425] iMPact of harM oniZeD SaleS taX on faMilieS B.

Ralston: Prescription drug costs, ferry costs, camp- ing fees — there seems to be a theme in these responses from b.c. l iberal cabinet ministers. They're trying to save us from themselves. The h St is a perfect example. The b.c . l iberals will do anything or say anything to try and save it. This long weekend families will be paying the hS t on activities that are supposed to be fun, but there's always the ching of the cash register in the background charging the hSt . is the Minister of finance so out of touch he doesn't understand the impact of the hS t on real b.c. families? Mr.

Speaker: Minister of finance and Deputy Premier. Hon. K. Falcon: Well, thank you, Mr. Premier. i hope no one…. o h, Mr. Speaker. i apologize, Mr. Speaker. Y our authority sometimes affects me in very strange ways. it is sometimes uncanny how…. i just heard a question suggesting — and, apparently, some insight into nDP policy-making.... a long weekend approaches, and just make no reservation costs on our parks — a fascinating in - sight into how the nDP apparently makes public policy.

What i can tell the finance critic — happily, as i have always said with respect to the hS t — is that 80 percent of consumer spending does not change at all. it either had no PSt or GS t , or it had the same 12 percent that is currently applied to 80 percent of consumer spending under the hS t .

We have always acknowledged that on 20 percent of consumer spending, there is the additional provincial sales tax. but as i and more and more british c olumbians are realizing and recognizing, as the invisible PS t that is passed along to consumers in all of the purchases they make is removed, there are benefits to consumers. We recognize, overall, that that is good for the economy. That is good for the future of this province. Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental. B. Ralston: Well, the government's spending $5 mil - lion of taxpayer money in order to convince us of that very neutral message.

The government's own report admits the average family is spending $350 a year minimum more on the hS t . That money is being spent for things like sum - mer camp, tourism, recreation, bicycles, dance lessons, sports fees, restaurant meals and even prepared food at the grocery store. This b.c . l iberal assault on families from all sides has one common goal: to benefit the f inance Minister's big-business friends. When is he going to give b.c. families a break? Hon. K.

Falcon: a s the member would know…. i'm sure by now he's read the independent panel report, which has received very wide recognition for being a very balanced report into both the pros and the cons of the hS t . a s it pointed out very clearly and as we ac - knowledge, there is for the average family about a $350 additional cost annually as a result of hS t .

We acknowledge that, and one of the things we are doing — and one of the reasons why we have engaged in the largest listening exercise in the history of the prov - ince, with 275,000 british c olumbians participating in telephone town halls — is looking for ways that we can improve the hS t . a s our Premier pointed out last week, we intend to do just that. We intend to improve the hS t and recognize that we are going to have an improved hS t that lightens the load for families in british c olumbia. rate chan GeS for SeniorS in reS iDential care S.

Hammell: The seniors who built this province and the families who care for them are amongst the hardest hit financially by the b.c. l iberals, a 30 percent increase in long-term-care facilities this year alone. That nearly doubles the maximum fee since the l iberals took office, the highest in the country. [1430] The Minister of h ealth claimed that all the money from the increase in fees would go to improve ser - vices, but now we find it's to offset previous cutbacks.

Question: why are the b.c. l iberals clawing more and more money from seniors through exorbitant increases and forcing them and their families to pay more? Hon. M. de Jong: Thanks to the member for the question, because it does speak to a change that has taken place.

british c olumbia Debates7252 t hursday, May 19, 2011 but i have to correct the member. The objective, one that i think has largely been realized, is to have a fairer system in which, yes, people are asked to contribute up to a certain percentage of their income, but they are left with at least $275. Despite what our friends across the way might think, when you are a low-income, fixed- income senior, actually $275 is a lot of money. We asked them to contribute, but as a result of the change, thousands of seniors in british c olumbia actually pay less and keep more money in their pockets.

So before the member makes the assertion that she has in this chamber, she should do her homework. She should get the facts, and she should understand this. a ll of the sav- ings that are accrued are being put back into residential care for seniors in british c olumbia. We have a system of which we can be very proud. [end of question period.] Introductions by Members Hon. D. McRae: Mr. Speaker, i'd like to make a late introduction. The students from h uband Park e lemen- tary School were here and enjoyed all of question period.

They came after we started and left before we finished, but i'd like to say a welcome to them. They are led by their passionate and long-serving teacher, Valerie Sherriff. i also want to extend a very special welcome to a young woman who i've known all her life, Sarah r ebet. Please make them welcome. Reports from Committees J. van Dongen: Mr. Speaker, i have the honour to present the report of the Special c ommittee to a ppoint a c hief e lectoral officer. i move that the report be taken as read and received. Motion approved.

J. van Dongen: i ask leave of the h ouse to permit the moving of a motion to adopt the report. l eave granted. J. van Dongen: i move that the report be adopted. Motion approved. J. van Dongen: i ask leave of the h ouse to permit the moving of a further motion requesting the l ieutenant- Governor to appoint Dr. k eith a rcher as the c hief e lectoral officer for the province of b ritish c olumbia. l eave granted.

Motions Without Notice aPPoint Ment of chief electoral officer J. van Dongen: by leave, i move: [That this h ouse recommend to h is h onour the l ieutenant Gov- ernor the appointment of Dr. k eith a rcher as a statutory o fficer of the l egislature, to exercise the powers and duties assigned to the c hief e lectoral o fficer for the province of british c olumbia pursuant to the Election Act (rS bc 1996 c. 106).] Motion approved. J. van Dongen: in conjunction with the moving of this motion, i would like to provide a brief profile of the committee's unanimous selection for the position of c hief e lectoral officer.

Dr. k eith a rcher brings excellent experience in a variety of areas relating to election administration, from de - velopment of electoral reference materials to providing expertise and advice in assessing the practice of election administration in c anada. h e is a leader in the field of electoral administration. k eith a rcher is a professor of political science at the u niversity of c algary and also the director of research at the banff c entre. [1435] in addition to his academic appointments, Dr. a rcher held senior positions in post-secondary administration, where he served in senior roles relating to board govern- ance, budget management, strategic planning and program delivery.

With this background and knowledge, the committee is confident that Dr. k eith a rcher will contribute to the tradition of excellence established by his predecessor, Mr. h arry n eufeld. a s well, i would like to note the appreciation of the h ouse for the exceptional service of Mr. craig James, who has served in the role of acting c hief e lectoral officer since last June. in closing, i would extend my sincere appreciation to all members of the committee for their dedication and contribution to this excellent selection process. S. Hammell: h on.

Speaker, i rise to concur and also to say to the h ouse, as Deputy c hair of the committee, how delighted we are to have Dr. a rcher take over the role as c hief e lectoral officer. h e has outstanding leadership abilities and huge communication skills, which i know will serve all of us in the h ouse and our province well. We are delighted to support this appointment. Reports from Committees B. Ralston: i have the honour to present the report of the Select Standing c ommittee on Public a ccounts for the second session of the current parliament.

british c olumbia Debatest hursday, May 19, 2011 7253 Mr. Speaker: Proceed, Member. B. Ralston: Mr. Speaker, i move that the report be taken as read and received. Motion approved. B. Ralston: i ask leave of the h ouse to permit the moving of a motion to adopt the report. l eave granted. B. Ralston: i move that the report be adopted, and in doing so, i wish to make a few brief comments. This re - port, entitled Annual

Summary of Activities, summarizes the committee's activities during the second session of the 39th parliament. The committee held ten meetings, and for the first time in many years the committee also succeeded in eliminating the backlog of audit reports requiring review. During the second session the Public a ccounts c ommittee received and reviewed 24 full-length reports, two follow-up reports, a

summary report, two best-practice guides and a management letter.

The completion of this considerable work was made possible through the cooperation and hard work of all committee members — particularly the Deputy c hair, the member for c oquitlam–b urke Mountain, to whom i am indebted — and the support of the offices of the a uditor General and the comptroller general. i also wish to acknowledge the contribution of the former comp - troller general, c heryl Wenezenki-Y olland, who left her position to take up new responsibilities in october 2010. a s c hair, i extend my personal appreciation to all committee members as well as the staff of the office of the c lerk of c ommittees for their assistance with this report.

D. Horne: i just wanted to add to the member for Surrey-Whalley in his comments and thanks. i think this is an example of how our committee system, with collaboration and working together, can accomplish great things, and i think this committee did great work over the last little while. i thank all the members of the committee, and i thank the c hair, the member for Surrey-Whalley, for all of the hard work. Motion approved. Orders of the Day Hon. R.

Coleman: This afternoon in this h ouse we will be debating in second reading, to start with, bill 8, intituled international interests in Mobile e quipment (a ircraft e quipment) a ct. if there's time, we will then continue on to bill 10, which is intituled the Wills, e states and Succession a mendment a ct, 2011. if there's time after that, we would then try to do second reading of bill 9, intituled the Prevention of cruelty to a nimals a mendment a ct, 2011. in the little h ouse this afternoon, in c ommittee a , we will be debating the estimates of the Ministry of a dvanced e ducation.

Second Reading of Bills bill 8 — international intere St S in Mobile eQui PMent (a ircraft eQui PMent) a ct Hon. K. Falcon: Mr. Speaker, i move that bill 8, international interests in Mobile e quipment (a ircraft e quipment) a ct, be read a second time. This bill is necessary to implement two important international aviation agreements in british c olumbia when c anada ratifies them.

They are the convention on international interests in mobile equipment and the associated protocol on aircraft equipment, which have operated internationally since 2006. [1440] The convention and protocol establish a framework for registering and enforcing security interests in aircraft equipment and an international registry. a ircraft equip- ment includes aircraft frames with eight or more seats, aircraft engines, and helicopters with five or more seats.

The aircraft equipment is used as security for payment in the same way that a car is used to secure a car loan. [l. r eid in the chair.] r egistration will be in the international registry in - stead of the provincial personal property registries. r egistration determines the priority of the security interests of competing lenders based on the time of registration. This modern asset-based framework significantly reduces the risks in international aircraft financing.

This makes financing more available and affordable for companies in convention member states. t o date 43 countries are members, including the u nited States and the e uropean u nion. The federal government and all provinces except british c olumbia, Manitoba, n ew brunswick and P .e.i. have enacted their implementation legislation.

The major c anadian airlines and aircraft manufacturers are asking the federal minister to ratify the convention and protocol soon, because they are seeing increased economic activity in their industry. it is important for british c olumbia to participate in this modern aviation financing framework, because it will support the competitiveness and the economic growth of the british c olumbia aviation and aerospace in- dustry. f or example, b.c . aviation companies can benefit

british c olumbia Debates7254 t hursday, May 19, 2011 from lower interest rates offered by lenders to countries that are members of the convention and protocol. i move second reading of bill 8. B.

Ralston: i wish to address this bill. c ontrary to what the Government h ouse l eader said, i doubt we'll take the entire afternoon on it. but i do want to address this bill briefly. it arises out of the obvious necessity that given that aircraft by their very nature are highly mobile, in order to secure an interest in a loan on such a mobile piece of property, this treaty has come about. it's global in scope and will afford companies and financial institutions that participate in the treaty the opportunity to reduce costs and carrying charges of loans for individual aircraft.

So we on this side of the h ouse support that intention.

The minister does raise issues of competitiveness. i suppose the question would be, like some other international treaties or legislation that promises increased competitive benefits to business…. one might well ask — if, for ex - ample, one were working as a maintenance operator for a ir c anada — how that reduced cost of operation might actually benefit that person and the willingness of that company to keep their maintenance jobs in c anada. a ir c anada a couple of years ago spun off one part of its operation conducting maintenance repair and overhaul to a firm called a veos fleet Performance. it was formerly a part of a ir c anada and spun off.

The workers there, notwithstanding the commitments made some time back, are properly concerned that this company may move the entire operation of maintenance of a ir c anada aircraft to low-wage countries such as Guatemala. indeed, the international a ssociation of Machinists has expressed that concern very recently. The current agreement expires in 2013, and after that, there is a concern.

While we on this side of the h ouse are prepared to agree that the aviation business receive the benefit of the reduction in their business costs by reducing the cost of loans, we are concerned about the reciprocal commitment by c anadian companies in this industry to hiring and maintaining jobs here in c anada.

That isn't part of the agreement, but one would think that it's part of an im - portant social contract between business and the country in which they operate, particularly a ir c anada, which is sometimes referred to as c anada's national carrier. [1445] The other aspect of international competitiveness and the reduction of business costs — this legislation, if indi - vidual companies are able to take advantage of it, would reduce some of their costs — is the commitment from those airlines that transport passengers to stable prices in their fares or indeed lower fares.

We've heard famously in the hS t debate that the price reductions will be passed on. but i'll tell you, when i have conversations with people in my constituency or throughout the province, no one discerns that alleged reduction of price that supposedly was passed on.

So we support the legislation, but i do want to note that caution — that reduction in business costs, when conferred freely, one would expect that companies would make those similar reciprocal commitments to hiring c anadians and keeping operations here in c anada where possible and to keeping their fares, if they're commercial carriers, low or at least keeping the rate increases minimal. With those brief comments at second reading, Madam Speaker, i conclude my remarks. Deputy Speaker: Seeing no further speakers, the minister closes debate. Hon. K.

Falcon: i move that the bill be referred to a c ommittee of the Whole h ouse for…. o h, excuse me. i apologize. i move a motion for ending second reading debate. Motion approved. Hon. K. Falcon: i move that the bill be referred to a c ommittee of the Whole h ouse for consideration at the next sitting after today. bill 8, international interests in Mobile e quipment (a ircraft e quipment) a ct, read a second time and referred to a c ommittee of the Whole h ouse for con - sideration at the next sitting of the h ouse after today. Hon. K.

Falcon: Madam Speaker, i would ask for a five-minute recess so that we might have the a ttorney General prepare for the next session. Deputy Speaker: Members, the h ouse will stand recessed for five minutes. The h ouse recessed from 2:47 p.m. to 2:52 p.m. [l. r eid in the chair.] Hon. B. Penner: i confirm that we have called second reading on bill 10, the Wills, e states and Succession a mendment a ct. bill 10 — Will S, eState S an D SucceSS ion aMenDMent a ct, 2011 Hon. B.

Penner: i move second reading and will proceed accordingly. i move that bill 10, Wills, e states and Succession a mendment a ct, 2011, be read a second time. The amendments to the Wills, e states and Succession a ct ensure that the act meshes with the n isga'a and treaty first n ations laws regarding land. f or example, it

british c olumbia Debatest hursday, May 19, 2011 7255 will address situations where a member of a treaty first n ation who owns treaty land dies without a will. There are also some housekeeping amendments. f or example, we've updated the legislation to refer to the new Supreme c ourt civil rules. There are also provisions that ensure recently passed legislation will correctly refer to the Wills, e states and Succession a ct when it is brought into force. i look forward to the always interesting comments from my friend on the other side. L.

Krog: i have to rise with some sense of amusement. i thought that, given the length in committee stage that i spent on this bill with the former a ttorney General — if you will forgive me for saying this, hon.

Speaker — it was well and truly buried on the legislative agenda. but clearly this has arisen once more, i might add with some amusement, before it's even been proclaimed. i think the hope of the british c olumbia bar is that this legisla - tion will in fact be proclaimed this year. in the meantime, we have a fairly significant number of amendments. i have tried to review them as best i can, and i think it's safe to say that the a ttorney General can rest easy.

This will not be the subject of a long debate in second reading, i assure him, and probably committee stage will only require some fairly straightforward ques- tions surrounding this. i do want to put the a ttorney General on notice, however, and i'd ask him to take a look at

section 18. i myself am having some difficulty understanding

section 18, which reads — and i read it quite literally: "Section 32 is amended (

a) by striking out 'the purchase of the spousal home' and substituting 'the purchase of the spousal home,'." n ow, i've been reading it and reading it and reading it, but i cannot see a difference between those phrases. i see the a ttorney General looking very excited.

We finally brought him to his feet with interest in this bill. i know he's excited about it, and i'm sure he's going to be able to explain that during the course of committee stage, but for me it's a bit of a problem at the present time. i am also somewhat concerned that it appears we may be requiring an application now for small estates that wasn't necessary before. i thought the whole purpose of the Wills, e states and Succession a ct was, in fact, to simplify the process and make it more user-friendly if you will. a part from that, i don't think there are signifi - cant issues with this bill. [1455] it does a number of things, as the a ttorney General pointed out. it appears we're improving wording now, dropping the term "jointly owned" to "owned in com - mon," which is an interesting turn of phrase. a nd i do understand that there's a clarification that a will is in - valid if the witness that signed is under 19, in fact. n ow, apart from those comments, i am happy to see the second reading of this bill approved by the h ouse, and we can move on to things that will require more interest. c learly, what we have before us — i mean this not dis- respectfully, of course — is what happens when you pass complex legislation.

Y ou discover that in fact, the rea - son this h ouse exists is to scrutinize legislation. So for whatever fault i may have had in this undertaking by not going through this bill even more thoroughly than i did in committee stage, which leads us to this stage that we have to make all of these amendments, i do apologize. Deputy Speaker: Seeing no further speakers, the minister closes debate. Hon. B. Penner: Thank you, hon. Member. c ertainly, the apology is accepted, although i'm not sure it's en - tirely necessary.

The member can breathe a little easier. h e won't have to live in suspense over the holiday long weekend wondering what the answer is to his question about what exactly is the difference that we're correcting in

section 18. it did take me a little while, but i'm pleased to dem - onstrate that my eyesight is still maybe just a little better than the critic's, because we're adding a comma to the end of that phrase. "The purchase of the spousal home" will now include a comma. i was able to stump a num - ber of my staff with that question, and i was able to pick that out, surprisingly, during scrutiny of this legislation a number of weeks ago. With that, hon. Speaker, i move second reading. Motion approved. Hon. B.

Penner: i move that the bill be referred to a c ommittee of the h ouse at the next sitting of the h ouse after today. bill 10, Wills, e states and Succession a mendment a ct, 2011, read a second time and referred to a c ommittee of the Whole h ouse for consideration at the next sitting of the h ouse after today. Hon. B. Penner: a s h ouse l eader, i call bill 9, Prevention of cruelty to a nimals a mendment a ct, 2011, for second reading. bill 9 — Pre Vention of c ruelt Y to aniMalS aMenDMent a ct, 2011 Hon. D. McRae: i move bill 9, Prevention of c ruelty to a nimals a mendment a ct, 2011, be read a second time.

This bill originated from the reported mass killing of sled dogs that generated global attention and condem - nation for b.c.'s sled dog industry. The report of the

british c olumbia Debates7256 t hursday, May 19, 2011 provincial Sled Dog t ask f orce brought forward recom- mendations to update the animal protection laws in british c olumbia and ensure that offences under the act were subject to severe penalties. a lthough the focus of the task force in its report was on sled dogs, the public consultation process brought forward concerns for animal welfare in general.

With a total of over 40,000 people making submissions in vari - ous forms to the task force, it is clear that the public interest in this legislation is very strong. o ur review of the Prevention of cruelty to a nimals a ct has resulted in improvements in three key areas: deterrence of future crimes, including higher penalties with maximum fines of $75,000 and up to two years in jail; holding owners and others more accountable for causing distress to animals; and new ability for govern - ment to regulate specific activities pertaining to the use and care of animals.

These changes are needed not just for the sled dog industry but for the well-being of all animals in british c olumbia. in terms of sled dogs specifically, govern - ment will introduce this regulation shortly, pertaining to all aspects of care for sled dogs from birth through training, career, retirement and death. in developing the proposed amendments, the min - istry recognizes that many animals are raised for food consumption and that different standards may apply to those animals. it is therefore recognized that generally accepted practices of animal management, particularly in the livestock industry, would not be considered an of- fence under the act.

That's the situation currently, and it would continue to be the case should these amendments be passed by this h ouse. a pril 23 was recently proclaimed a nimal a buse Prevention Day. These proposed amendments will cre - ate the changes in law needed to help prevent animal abuse every day. i am hopeful that the opposition will support this bill. i know that animal welfare is an issue that touches all of us and that we all want to see a greater accountabil - ity for law.

The proposed amendments demonstrate that b.c. is reacting quickly and decisively to show that acts of cruelty against animals will not be tolerated in this province. a s an animal owner myself, i welcome these changes and look forward to speedy passage of this legislation. [1500] L. Popham: it's a pleasure to stand up and respond in second reading of this bill. bill 9, Prevention of cruelty to a nimals a mendment a ct, came about because of a horrendous situation that happened in british c olumbia this year.

We all woke to the news that 100 sled dogs had been destroyed in Whistler, in most likely a very inhumane way. it caused a lot of grief and sadness in people who live in british c olumbia. a nimal cruelty does resonate very deeply with people. i have to say that i'm glad the situation caused the government to act quickly. This is a debate that we've probably had over the years regarding the treatment of animals in general. i'm going to get into the different as- pects of this bill and some of the amendments that have been brought forward, even as early as today. it really brings up the question….

We spent $100,000 on the task force, bringing forward this new legislation. a lthough it pertains to sled dogs, i question the reason why we didn't go a little bit further and allow it to look into the millions of animals that are used for food pro - duction and food consumption in this province. The treatment of animals for food production is something that is controversial. When we look at the agriculture industry, there's a big debate over how ani - mals should be treated.

The images that come to mind for me are the feedlots in a lberta and how the livestock is treated in that way. i am heartened to know that the situation around the sled dogs was taken very seriously as well as other animals that are in service, but i really wish, with the money that was spent, that we could have gone a little bit further and looked at animal husbandry, as far as agriculture goes. i have a very soft spot in my heart for animals, and i've always been an animal welfare activist. i own two rescued dogs myself. a nimals give you basically all of their trust.

When they're mistreated, they are put in a situation where humans are the only ones that can step in and help them. So when we see that animals were treated as basically used equipment in the situation with the sled dogs — a business plan failed, and the animals were thrown away like used photocopiers — it speaks to the idea that perhaps there should be a business plan, a business requirement for an exit strategy for animals that are used in businesses such as dogsledding or horse-and-carriage rides.

Perhaps there should be a requirement that with your business licence you show what would happen to those animals if your business did fail. Putting them down in an inhumane way and discarding them is not the direction that i think is acceptable. i think that's some - thing that we could have also looked at a little bit more carefully. The idea of animal cruelty resonates because we see something that's very, very helpless. When we see these animals in distress, we want to call somebody in that will take a look at the situation.

When we look at the legislation that's being brought in and the penalties that now will arise from being caught…. i think the penalties have increased to a level where they're quite good, but we are going to be putting our already very stressed court systems into even more of an overloaded state. i'm not sure how the government side of the h ouse expects us to carry out this legislation by having these

british c olumbia Debatest hursday, May 19, 2011 7257 stiff penalties. i don't know how that will happen when we can't get cases regarding humans through the court system right now. i am in support of having these stiff penalties, but i'm not sure how we're actually going to carry that out. [1505] The bcSPca is required by legislation to carry out animal cruelty prevention and investigations. it's a legis- lated responsibility that they have. When you look at that legislation and the funding for it, there isn't any funding in place.

There isn't wholesome funding in place from the government to carry out what they're legislated to do. it seems to me that if we actually want to prevent the cruelty to animals, we don't just want to convict people for doing it. We want to prevent it. So funding a preven- tion program properly is probably what we should have addressed. The $100,000 was given to the task force to spend to try and come up with these recommendations. i know the bc SPca is pleased with them.

They're happy this was done, but the $100,000 is actually a one-time offer to carry out this investigation. it's not $100,000 a year to help them prevent animal cruelty. i think the funding is in question. i know that this bill was actually put together quite quickly. When i look at the amendments that were put forward today on the orders of the day, i'm sort of won - dering, sort of questioning if this was not rushed too much. a lthough i'm generally in support of what i see here, the amendments that are proposed do bring up quite big questions in my mind. one of the examples is in

section 7. i'll just read it out here. "a person must not be convicted of an offence under this a ct in relation to an animal in distress if (

a) the person is (

i) a registered veterinarian...." it used to say: "...or acting under the supervision of a registered veterinarian...." That was crossed out, and added instead was: "an employee of a registered veterinarian who is acting under the supervision of the registered veterinar- ian...." in that case you cannot be convicted.

There's another part of this amendment that brings up questions about: can anybody actually fall under this part of the bill? a person must not be convicted of an of- fence under this act in relation to an animal in distress if "the person is practising veterinary medicine in ac - cordance with the standards of the profession." i guess i wonder if somebody would just pick up the book of standards and read it and then practise in a way that they think they're in accordance, are they exempt from being convicted under this offence. i'm not sure who we're exempting from being con - victed here.

That's something that was added in as an amendment today, and i think that's pretty big. We've only tabled this bill as of last week, and already such amendments are coming forward. i guess that's one of the things that comes to mind, and we'll get to that when we debate that next week. The increase to the penalties and the fines. The max - imum jail time, i think, is quite good. but as i alluded to before, we've already got a court system that's quite jammed up, so i can't see that we're going to be able to use these penalties to the best of our ability.

The bcSPca is legislated to carry out these investiga - tions and prevention programs. The budget for that…. a lthough it was funded a lot more over the beginning of the last eight years, the funding has been slowly whittled away. We see that there are other groups in b.c. — other animal activist groups, animal rights groups — that are also trying to fulfil some of the same things that the bcSPca is doing. The funding for those groups…. They fight for every penny, and often it's given by donation.

The bcSPca runs most of its services on donations by the public. i think $25 million is the annual budget for the bcSPca, and from 2001 to 2009, the govern - ment provided an annual grant of only $71,000. The cost of the prevention and investigation program is quite substantial. in fact, i believe it's $2.3 million. So when you look at a gaming grant of $71,000, this hardly ad - dresses the concern there. [1510] The bcSPca opted out of getting gaming grants be - cause they're now participating in a lottery system where they sell tickets to raise money for their society.

The programs that they fulfil with that money are the spay and neuter program, the adoption program. Those pro - grams are funded by donation, but they're not legislated. That's a service that they're providing, that the commun- ity wants. They really do add a lot to our communities. Without that work being done by the bcSPca and other animal welfare groups, we would see a lot more animals that are neglected and abandoned. it's funny, because it's really a human-caused problem, and we are really the only ones that can solve this problem as well. u nfortunately, it does take money.

Most people realize that, and they're very generous to the bcSPca and other animal groups. but when a service is legislated like investigation and prevention, that means to me that the government thinks it's quite important. it's important enough to be legislated. in that case it would mean to me that the government would find it important enough to fund properly. a nd it's not. That's basically the problem with this legislation as it stands now.

We still don't really address the situation of preventing it altogether. i know that the minister is happy with the work that was done. a s well, the bcSPca is quite happy, but i think there's still such a big gap in this legislation. i've got a list of speakers that are going to be speaking. a s we go through the points next week, point by point in this bill, there will be questions. i think that some of the legislation is quite vague. it really needs to be addressed, and questions need to be asked. a t this point i'm going to ask my colleague to stand up and speak to this.

british c olumbia Debates7258 t hursday, May 19, 2011 Hon. T. Lake: i rise to speak to the Prevention of cruelty to a nimals a ct, to the amendments to that act that are introduced today. i commend the member opposite for her dedication and contribution to ani - mal welfare issues in the province of british c olumbia, something that is in fact extremely important to all british c olumbians.

We certainly saw a demonstration of that earlier this year with the news of the reported killing of sled dogs in the province of british c olumbia in a manner that was described as what can only be termed extremely in - humane circumstances. a t the time of the news i was on a volunteer vacation in Sri l anka. Part of the project there is to put together a sterilization program for the dogs and cats of the com- munity of t angelle, where feral dogs are numerous and not well cared for due to the lack of ownership and the lack of sterilization procedures which are very common in the western world.

So i was very dismayed to hear the news coming from my home in british c olumbia about this incident. u pon arrival back in b.c. i received a call from for - mer Premier c ampbell asking me to chair a task force to look into this reported event and to have a very short time frame of 45 days in order to come up with recom - mendations to ensure that this type of incident never happens again here in b.c. on that task force was the executive director of the bcSPca, Mr. craig Daniell, and the president of the u nion of b.c. Municipalities, c oun. barbara Steele from Surrey.

We quickly came together, with the support of the Ministry of a griculture and also some support from the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, to determine a terms of reference and seek guidance on the scope of the task force and the stakeholders that we would bring together to provide information which would inform the work of the task force. [1515] in short order we found representatives, and i must say very willing representatives.

There were offers of help from all over n orth a merica from experts in the field — from those in veterinary medicine, those in the sled dog industry, those in the animal welfare organiz - ations throughout n orth a merica. We brought several groups together in about three different forums, one in person and several by teleconference, to discuss the situ- ation and to look at ways and means of making sure this type of situation never happens again. The member mentions that this legislation may be a little rushed, and i would say that the public was not in the mood to wait for action.

We were given a very short time frame in order to come up with suggestions that the government could respond to. We did that, and i am very indebted to the people working for our public service and the volunteers who came forward from dif - ferent organizations to help us do that. one of the issues that we dealt with was, in fact, the practice of sled dog operations and whether or not there is a standard, voluntary or otherwise, that these oper - ators adhere to.

While there is a voluntary standard with an organization called Mush with P riD e, these stan - dards are not necessarily applied equally by all operators throughout british c olumbia and the rest of n orth a merica. i can say that there is a range of quality of operations in the sled dog industry. by and large, i would say that our work showed that the vast majority of operators are extremely responsible. The animals working for them as part of their operations are not just work animals. They're companions. They're their best friends, and they're treated much like we would treat our pets in our homes.

There's a huge bond between the handlers and the animals in these organizations. That is true for the vast majority of sled dog operators in british c olumbia, but it was clear that that was not the case in every situation and that there was a need to develop a code of practice which we could suggest to the government be made mandatory so that we know that animals used for sled dog operations are cared for in a way that british c olumbians could be proud of.

The working group that is putting together the code of practice is currently meeting to develop a code of practice that, by regulation, can be attached to the amendments to the Prevention of c ruelty to a nimals a ct.

That provides the flexibility the member opposite was re- ferring to when discussing the nature of these changes and future ways to address animal welfare issues that british c olumbians, we know, find so important. one of the positive qualities, i think, of approaching the amendments with regulation to provide for codes of practice means that as british c olumbians decide that other areas of animal welfare issues need to be ad - dressed, they can be addressed through a regulation of codes of practice.

While these amendments refer to service dogs as well as sled dogs in british c olumbia, certainly the future opportunities to include other activities involving ani - mals are there as the public and the government looks at those issues and addresses the needs in a consulta - tive way. i think that is extremely important.

We spent a lot of time talking to stakeholders in the industry and, in con- sultation with them, developed the approach to a code of practice. i think that as we address other issues of animal welfare, we should be as consultative with other organizations and stakeholders that may be involved, may be affected by those changes. The member referred to our domestic animals that we raise for food production. c anada is certainly a leader in terms of animal welfare for food-producing animals. There are national farm codes of practice across canada

british c olumbia Debatest hursday, May 19, 2011 7259 that have been developed with assistance from our federal government and organizations across canada. [1520] We have worked extremely hard in c anada to develop practices that are considered humane, that develop a way of raising animals that british c olumbians and the rest of c anadians can be proud of. a re there ways and means of exploring opportunities to improve the welfare of animals, those raised for domestic food production and those that we use for companion purposes? a bsolutely.

We always want to improve the way we look after our animals. a s i mentioned, the structure of these amend - ments allows for that to happen in the future.

The issue of animal welfare is one that's extremely important to me. i've dedicated much of my adult life to looking after animals. i was very proud, as a veterinarian working in c oquitlam, to lobby the local government there to ban the use of exotic animals in circuses and, upon moving to k amloops, accomplish the same bylaw in that community as well. f or me, working on this committee was extremely rewarding, knowing that i was improving the lives of animals all over british c olumbia. i want to commend the Minister of a griculture and the government for tak- ing the recommendations that were put forward by this Sled Dog t ask f orce — in fact, adopting every one of those and, in fact, going further in terms of implementing the strongest penalties for animal cruelty in all of c anada.

Some of the amendments that the member referred to in terms of veterinarians i can speak to, and i know that she will probably want to canvass these further in the next stage of this bill. but the language in

section 7 is lifted from the Veterinarians a ct and is more specific to ensure that those veterinarians and employees of vet- erinarians, including registered veterinary technicians or students of veterinary medicine, are not encumbered, if you like, because the act refers to causing an animal distress. i can tell you, from my experience as a veterinarian, that neutering and spaying animals does cause them a little bit of distress, but it is, of course, done in a way that minimizes that. but we wanted to make sure that the modern practice of veterinary medicine would not be subject to be considered cruel.

The normal practice of raising food animals to the standard that we are ac - customed to in c anada would not be included at this time as well. a gain, in closing, i want to commend former Premier c ampbell and the current Premier of british c olumbia for taking this incident so seriously, understanding the passion that british c olumbians have for the welfare of animals and acting quickly to enact the toughest penalties for animal cruelty in all of c anada; for agreeing to put a working group together to develop a code of practice for sled dog operators; and for allowing the flexibility to ad- dress future animal welfare issues through regulation. i'm extremely proud of this work, Madam Speaker, and i will urge my colleagues to put their full support behind these amendments.

B. Ralston: i rise to address this bill. This is a response from the government to what took place at Whistler, and i do have a few brief comments that i want to make about the bill. The issue here is enforcement and the effectiveness of enforcement, or not, and some of the consequences of enforcement of the investigations that relate to the cruelty of animals.

There's no doubt that many in the province, if not the majority of citizens, view animals either as companions or pets, as an important ingredient in their daily lives. indeed, for many, life would be unimaginable without the comfort or the companionship of a family pet. So these are important, deeply felt issues, and i understand that this bill is brought forward in that spirit, and i speak in that spirit. [1525] but the issue of enforcement just referred to by the previous speaker, referring to

section 8 and talking about increased penalties, one wonders…. i suppose one can contrast that statement with what the a ttorney General said here in this h ouse just Thursday, May 10, referring to impaired driving investigations, on the policy of the ministry. h e was putting this forward as something that he was proud of.

"in the first few months several thousand cases fewer have been approved to go to court because we're dealing with them quicker on the roadside." The thrust of the Ministry of a ttorney General is, if i can paraphrase what he's saying, in order to control what are referred to as climbing court costs — the costs of hiring judges, prosecutors, sheriffs, court clerks and of running the court system — legislation has been de - vised specifically to divert cases from the courts. a lthough the penalties, nominally in this case, are in - creased dramatically, given the constraints in the court system, one wonders whether any of these investigations will ever result in a prosecution that gets placed before a judge and that judge comes to a conclusion that requires the imposition of a sentence in accordance with these new provisions. in effect, i'm suggesting that it's a hol - low remedy, given the practicalities of getting to court in british c olumbia these days.

The issue of enforcement is one where there is some sharply divided opinion. When the initial legislation creating this act was passed, there was discussion about the unique role of the Society for the Prevention of the cruelty to a nimals, its unique role as a private society in enforcing what i think we would all regard as important societal concerns about the cruelty to animals. indeed, the now Minister of h ealth, then a member of the opposition, said in 1994 in that debate, expressing some concerns: "n ot least of these is the dangerous pre- cedent in endowing any private organization, no matter

british c olumbia Debates7260 t hursday, May 19, 2011 how benevolent, with police powers bolstered by statu - tory immunity from damage claims." i raise that in the spirit in which it was given, not to cast any particular aspersions upon the society but to point out the structural problem with this act that is not dealt with by these amendments. indeed, there's very divided opinion upon the efficacy of this organization in the way in which it handles these investigations.

Some of that is due to the funding that is not provided. a gain, one talks about tougher enforcement, stricter penalties, but if the organization isn't given the financial support to do those investigations, to take those cases to crown counsel and to get them to court, it's a very hol - low remedy indeed. on the other side of those issues of investigation — and this is not raised directly by the Whistler events — there is the issue that arises about effective remedies for those owners who do have animals who are seized as part of an independent cruelty investigation.

When one's automobile is seized under the Motor Vehicle a ct, in many circumstances there is resort to an independent review, an adjudicator whom one is en- titled to make some arguments to. it's a fairly

summary process — it's in the Motor Vehicle a ct — in a num - ber of instances where automobiles are seized. Y et when one's pet is seized, there's no similar mechanism to af - ford that measure of, i suppose, independent review of the decision. There are cases where that decision is not always one that most people would support. a t least it's arguable. n ow, the Deputy Minister of a griculture, in response to someone who has addressed some correspondence to me, did say, and i think in fairness i should…. [1530] This is Mr. W .h.

Shoemaker, Deputy Minister of a gri- culture. h e did say — and i quote from the letter: "The task force was not tasked with a broader investigation into animal cruelty investigation systems in british c olumbia. h owever, as we effect changes to increase the fines and penalties for animal cruelty offences, we will consider the approach taken in other provinces with respect to the establishment of review boards." That would appear to be a commitment that the deputy minister was, perhaps, recommending to his minister. it doesn't appear to be reflected in this set of amendments, but given that the commitment that has been made on the other side is to an ongoing review of this legislation, and given the high level of public concern about animal welfare, i would commend that to the minister and to the government to consider just how that might be best effected and also to bear in mind the comments of the now Minister of h ealth in deciding how those investiga- tions might be conducted. i also will address at committee stage some of the amendments, in particular the proposed amendment to

section 9.

There are some drafting concerns that i think make it a particularly problematic proposed amendment, but i'll argue that or suggest that at committee stage. in conclusion, then, i want to urge that at least the opening suggested by the Deputy Minister of a griculture, that there be an independent review board, a statutory mechanism for the review of the seizure of animals, be considered, much along the lines of perhaps…. i'm not attempting to trivialize this, but something along the lines of what's in the Motor Vehicle a ct, in the sense that it appears that there's a sharp contrast between seizing an animal and seizing a motor vehicle in terms of statutory review available under a provincial statute — and that the efficacy of enforcement be considered in a real context, rather than the notional context that appears to be being urged upon us by members of the government.

The reports of the court system and, indeed, the policy of the a ttorney General appear to militate against more aggressive investigations and prosecutions. With those comments, i'll conclude my remarks. M. Farnworth: it's a pleasure to take an opportunity to speak on bill 9, the amendments, the Prevention of cruelty to a nimals a mendment a ct, 2011. This is a very important issue for many british c olumbians.

We all saw the horrible scenes of the sled dog slaughter, which triggered this piece of legislation — the outrage that occurred within the province, within the country and internationally. it was very much a black eye for british c olumbians. Many british c olumbians were demanding, and in fact c anadians were demanding, tougher and stiffer penalties when it comes to animal cruelty here in our province. i am glad to see these amendments here before us, because i think they're long overdue and they're much needed.

This h ouse has made changes before to animal cruelty legislation, supported by both sides of the h ouse. What this does, i think, is respond to the public demand that we give it an even higher priority than this l egislature had done in the past. a s my learned colleague from Surrey n orth indi - cated…. B. Rals

Document details

Collection	British Columbia — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	H0519pm-07
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	H0519pm 07
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	dad34f0b07f08b76f28adfac90106cf06305c3eb

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