1976 Legislative Session: 1st Session, 31st Parliament

HANSARD

The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.

The printed version remains the official version.

Official Report of

DEBATES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

(Hansard)

THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 1976

Afternoon Sitting

[ Page

15 ]

CONTENTS

Privilege

Admission of parliamentary interns to floor of House.

Mr. Wallace — 15

Mr. Speaker — 15

Routine proceedings

Oral questions

State of B.C. Hydro court award. Mr. King — 15

Pacific Western Airlines takeover. Mr. Gibson — 15

Purchase of Michell farm. Mr. Wallace — 16

Vancouver East by-election. Mr. Macdonald — 16

Government reception at Empress Hotel. Mr. Stupich — 17

Calgary hostage-taking incident. Mr. Wallace — 17

Special warrants from Education dept. Mrs. Dailly — 18

BCR strike negotiations. Mr. Gibson — 18

Throne speech debate

Mr. Veitch — 18

Mr. Kemp — 22

The House met at 2 p.m.

Prayers.

HON. K.R. MAIR (Minister of Consumer Services): Mr. Speaker,

in the galleries today are four members of my constituency, the great

city of Kamloops and surrounding area. I'd like the House to welcome

Mr. and Mrs. Rick Hook, Mr. William Seminoff, Mrs. Sandra Mossborough

and Mr. Helmut Alert.

Mr. Speaker, if I may, in addition a school that has survived the

onslaught of four of my children is represented by grades 10 and 11,

government and law class, Brocklehurst Junior Secondary School.

MRS. P.J. JORDAN (North Okanagan): I'm sure you wouldn't wish

to acknowledge this, but we would like to draw to your attention and

ask for a warm welcome from the House for a number of members of the

Social Credit board of the Social Credit Party who are in the gallery

today.

MR. G.S. WALLACE (Oak Bay): Mr. Speaker, on a point of

privilege. Since this is the first year that we have had legislative

interns in the House, or at least in the precincts, I wonder if you

would care to take under advisement the suggestion that either they

should be able to sit on the floor of the House at question period or,

at the very least, have unfettered access to the galleries. It seems to

me that the very essence of their being here is to learn the

parliamentary procedure. There are times when, of course, public demand

on gallery seats is extremely keen and I feel that it would be

reasonable if you would consider taking the matter of some privileged

access by these parliamentary interns to the gallery. Or, in my

preference, I think it would be an encouragement to them and more

helpful if they could be allowed to sit on the floor of the House

during question period.

MR. SPEAKER: I thank the hon. member for bringing the matter

to my attention. It's something that we have never had to deal with in

this House since there has never been a class of parliamentary interns

assigned to this parliament before. I would think that perhaps it is a

matter the members and the House itself should address their thoughts

to with respect to whether they should have privileges to sit or to

come onto the floor of the House. However, I'll take the matter under

advisement, hon. member, and perhaps so will all of the members of the

assembly, and bring you in a report as soon as I can.

Oral questions.

STATE OF B.C. HYDRO COURT AWARD

MR. W.S. KING (Leader of the Opposition): I'd like to direct

a question to the Hon. Minister of Finance. Can the Minister tell me

whether or not the $36 million court award against B.C. Hydro has

indeed been placed in the custody of the court? If not, when will that

occur?

HON. E.M. WOLFE (Minister of Finance): Yes, Mr. Speaker, I'd

be pleased to answer that question on behalf of the member. The answer

is yes, it has been placed in the court.

MR. KING: On a supplementary, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister

of Finance then tell me why that $36 million amount did not show in the

Clarkson, Gordon report?

HON. MR. WOLFE: Mr. Speaker, perhaps the member is not aware

that the amount indicated has been revealed in the Clarkson, Gordon

report, as he'll recall, as a separate memorandum in that report. I

believe, in fact, that it was not indicated as a part of the indicated

deficit shown in the report, but it was indicated definitely in a

separate memorandum as a contingency.

MR. KING: As a contingency. I wonder, Mr. Speaker, on a

supplementary again, if the real reason it wasn't shown as part of the

overall deficit was because that charge was incurred by the previous

Social Credit government.

MR. SPEAKER: Hon. member, you're out of order with that supplementary question.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: No, no.

PACIFIC WESTERN AIRLINES TAKEOVER

MR. G.F. GIBSON (North Vancouver–Capilano): A question for

the Premier: in the extremely serious and unneighbourly act of the

Government of Alberta in proposing to move the headquarters of Pacific

Western Airlines from our province, could I ask the Premier for the

record whether there was any advance consultation with his government?

HON. W.R. BENNETT (Premier): The Minister of Transportation

and Communications (Hon. Mr. Davis) of record has met with other

transport ministers and I think the Member might direct the question to

him. There has been no meeting concerning that subject with the

Premiers of the provinces.

MR. GIBSON: Well, on a supplementary, then, either to the Premier or to the hon. minister: I would

[ Page 16 ]

ask what measures the government proposes now to

take to prevent this move, either in law before the Canadian Transport

Commission, or the supreme court for a cease and desist order, or

directly with the Government of Alberta to guarantee that none of these

jobs will be transferred.

HON. J. DAVIS (Minister of Transport and Communications): Mr.

Speaker, a submission has already been made to the chairman of the

Canadian Transport Commission in this connection, and it has been made

public.

PURCHASE OF MICHELL FARM

MR. WALLACE: Mr. Speaker, I would like to address a question

to the Minister of Environment, who is responsible, as I understand it,

for land and the Land Commission, with regard to the government

purchase of the Michell farm on Island View Road on the Saanich

peninsula. In light of the well-documented and vociferous opposition by

the government to the state ownership of land, does the purchase of the

Michell farm represent a reversal of government policy in regard to

state ownership, and are other purchases pending?

HON. J.A. NIELSEN (Minister of Environment): Mr. Speaker, to

the hon. member for Oak Bay, the answer to the question: no, it is not

a reversal. The purchase had been arranged some time previously. It was

continued up at the advice of the Land Commission and other responsible

officials. It may be disposed of to the best advantage of the citizens

of the province in the future.

MR. WALLACE: A supplementary, Mr. Speaker. Could I ask the

minister whether in fact there were other bidders for purchase or was

the price agreed to between the government and Mr. Michell?

MR. SPEAKER: Hon. minister, before you answer, I'd just draw

to your attention the fact that there can only be one member at a time

on the floor of the House, and you have to yield to the person who is

asking you the question.

HON. MR. NIELSEN: Excuse me. In response to that question, I,

at this moment, would have to ask your indulgence. I will investigate

that on your behalf.

MR. WALLACE: Yes. A further supplementary, then, Mr. Speaker,

and I appreciate the minister's wish to be precise and research the

matter. Could the minister at the same time disclose to this House what

price was paid per acre and if there was an independent appraisal of

the land prior to the purchase?

HON. MR. NIELSEN: Once again, I would have to decline at this time, but I shall have the information for you.

VANCOUVER EAST BY-ELECTION

MR. A.B. MACDONALD (Vancouver East): Mr. Speaker, I can't get

my mike up; I've been put on a short leash. (Laughter.) I want to ask

the Premier: has he given any consideration to the fixing of a

by-election date for the by-election in Vancouver East?

HON. MR. BENNETT: Mr. Member, yes.

MR. MACDONALD: Supplementary, Mr. Speaker. Has the Premier made any statements or exercised any influence on the setting of that date?

HON. MR. BENNETT: Yes. Subject of my statements, upon being

advised that a vacancy had been created in front of the session, I

immediately, on my return to the province, called for a door-to-door

enumeration. Subject to the completion of that enumeration, the

consideration will be for the naming of the date.

MR. MACDONALD: Mr. Speaker, a supplementary. Has the Premier

read

section 59 of the Constitution Act, in which a resignation of this

kind charges a public official, namely the Deputy Provincial Secretary,

with the sole duty to issue a writ accordingly upon receipt of that

resignation? Is the Premier therefore breaking the laws of this

province and using political intermeddling...

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Order!

MR.MACDONALD: ...in what is the plain duty of a civil servant...

MR. SPEAKER: Order! Order!

MR.MACDONALD: ...as set out in the statute?

MR. SPEAKER: Order, Mr. Member. The hon. member, as a former

Attorney-General, well knows that he is interpreting a statute on the

floor of the House, which is not....

MR. MACDONALD: Mr. Speaker, my question was: has the Premier read that section? That is a question of fact, and I want an answer.

HON. MR. BENNETT: Mr. Speaker, I am showing the same

consideration in making representation available as was shown by the

previous administration and the previous Premier, and the Deputy

Provincial

[ Page 17 ]

Secretary who was there also.

AN HON. MEMBER: No, you're not.

MR. MACDONALD: Have you read the section? Have you read the section, Mr. Premier?

MR. SPEAKER: Hon. member....

MR. J.R. CHABOT (Columbia River): Where's Williams?

MR. MACDONALD: You're in breach of the law.

MR. CHABOT: Williams was just elected there.

GOVERNMENT RECEPTION AT EMPRESS HOTEL

MR. D.D. STUPICH (Nanaimo): Mr. Speaker, to the Provincial

Secretary: did she attend a reception in the Empress Hotel after the

opening ceremonies yesterday?

HON. G.M. McCARTHY (Provincial Secretary): Mr. Speaker, yes, I did.

MR. STUPICH: Supplementary, Mr. Speaker, Was the reception sponsored by the government?

HON. MRS. McCARTHY: Yes, Mr. Speaker. It was by invitation of the Premier and the government.

MR. STUPICH: I noted, Mr. Speaker, as far as I have been able

to determine, the only member in the official opposition to receive an

invitation was the member for Revelstoke-Slocan (Mr. King), I wonder

whether it was the government's intention that only Social Credit

members and supporters would be issued with these invitations, apart

from the one exception,

HON. MRS. McCARTHY: Mr. Speaker, as far as I know....

Interjections.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please.

HON. MRS. McCARTHY: As far as I know, Mr. Speaker, invitations were issued to all members of the Legislative Assembly.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: No, no.

HON. MRS. McCARTHY: I did see people present from the members

of the opposition, and we were happy to see them there, and very many

members of the public who were not recognizable as Social Credit

members. There were many thousands there.

MR. STUPICH: Mr. Speaker, in that the Provincial Secretary

has said that certain members of the opposition did receive

invitations, I would like to ask her which members did receive those

invitations.

MR. SPEAKER: A supplemental, I presume.

HON. MRS. McCARTHY: To my knowledge everyone in this House

has received an invitation. If you would like to.... You say yourself

that you have received an invitation, so I think that you're confirming

that.

MR. STUPICH: No, I did not. Mr. Speaker, I did not, and to

the best of my knowledge the only member in the official opposition to

receive one was the hon. member for Revelstoke-Slocan. I would ask the

Hon. Provincial Secretary to check and find out just who was issued

with such invitations.

CALGARY HOSTAGE-TAKING INCIDENT

MR. WALLACE: Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Attorney-General with regard to the hostage-taking incident in Calgary.

HON. G.B. GARDOM (Attorney-General): I'm listening, Mr. Member.

MR. WALLACE: Yes, I would like you to listen. (Laughter.)

Interjection.

MR. WALLACE: This is not a humorous subject that I'm asking questions about.

The hostage-taking incident in Calgary on March 12, which involved

two B.C. men, both of whom were out on bail, one charged with murder

and the other charged with attempted murder, and where a citizen was

killed in the process: is the minister satisfied with the report on the

incident which he requested from his department?

HON. MR. GARDOM: I'd like to respond first of all to the

levity Mr. Member. It was occasioned by the former member standing up

first. It was not directed to your question at all, and I thoroughly

agree it's a very, very serious situation.

I have received an interim report from my department. I have not yet

received a full report, but I would like to make one statement dealing

with this. As the member is perhaps aware, there is a bill before the

federal parliament at the present time to amend this particular statute

to shift the onus onto the accused in a number of cases. Certain of

those cases

[ Page 18 ]

are — for example, in the cases where the accused is charged with

the offence of murder or the offence of conspiracy to commit murder,

and also where the accused has been charged with trafficking in a

narcotic, possession for the purpose of trafficking in a narcotic,

importing or exporting from Canada a narcotic, or conspiracy to commit

any of these offences. I think it would be a very appropriate thing for

me to state — I think it's the position not only of the government but,

I think, of the members of the opposition and of the people of this

province — that they would be thoroughly supporting that legislation

and indeed hope that it will pass parliament as soon as possible.

MR. WALLACE: A supplementary. Could I just ask quickly, Mr.

Speaker...? I understand the Attorney-General has been in touch with

the Alberta Attorney-General (Hon. Mr. Leitch), and I wonder if, in

fact, they have any specific proposal to put to the federal government

regarding the expediting of the change in legislation. As we all know,

things are not moving as fast as they might in Ottawa.

HON. MR. GARDOM: Well, I would hope that the message would

get across that I articulated today, Mr. Member, but I have not had

personal discussion with the Attorney-General in Alberta. Maybe some

members of my department have. I don't know.

MR. G.V. LAUK (Vancouver Centre): This is supplementary to the other question.

To the Attorney-General, supplementary to this area: it is my

understanding of the law that the Crown has a present onus. Is the

Attorney-General satisfied that the Crown prosecutors are doing the

best they can to meet that onus? I am thinking not only of the charges

involving murder and trafficking in narcotics, but charges involving

violence, particularly rape.

HON. MR. GARDOM: Well, I think it would be inappropriate for me to make a comment upon that at this time.

MR. LAUK: Is the Attorney-General satisfied?

HON. MR. GARDOM: My answer, Mr. Member, is that I think it

would be inappropriate for me to make a comment upon that matter at

this present time.

MR. LAUK: It's your job.

SPECIAL WARRANTS FROM EDUCATION DEPT.

MRS. E.E. DAILLY (Burnaby North): To the hon. Minister of

Education. There have been a number of special warrants issued creating

considerable overexpenditure for the education budget since you

assumed office. The most recent was $7 million for the University of

British Columbia for operating. I wonder if the hon. minister, who has

certainly been providing us with considerable publicity on other

matters, would give us a little information on the details specifically

of what the $7 million involves for operating to the University of

British Columbia.

HON. P.L. McGEER (Minister of Education): No money has been

spent out on that warrant as yet, but I'll be happy to supply details

to the member if and when expenditures take place.

MRS. DAILLY: Supplementary. Surely the hon. minister would

not go before the cabinet with a special warrant without having some

idea of what the warrant is for. I would like to ask you again: what is

the warrant of $7 million for?

MR. G.R. LEA (Prince Rupert): Is it for your ears? (Laughter.)

HON. MR. McGEER: Details of that will be announced when the warrant is exercised.

Interjections.

BCR STRIKE NEGOTIATIONS

MR. GIBSON: A question for the Minister of Labour (Hon. Mr.

Williams). I would have no wish to ask him to prejudice in any way the

delicate negotiations he is involved in, but I would ask him if he can

tell the House anything about the current situation on the BCR strike.

HON. L.A. WILLIAMS (Minister of Labour): I wish to advise him

and the House that, as a result of meetings which have taken place over

the past two days, negotiations with regard to the four settlements

still outstanding will commence on Saturday morning at 10 a.m.

Orders of the day.

SPEECH FROM THE THRONE

MR, E.N. VEITCH (Burnaby-Willingdon): I would count it a privilege if I may have the opportunity of recognizing some people in the gallery. Could that be approved?

In the gallery are situated my wife Sheila, my son Brian, Miss

Tracey Blaine, Mr. and Mrs. Norman Ouellet, the Rev. Reginald Redmond,

Mr. Lorne Fingarson and Mr. Norman Kelsey, and I would like this House

to welcome them.

Mr. Speaker, I take great pleasure in presenting the

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following motion, seconded by the hon. member for Omineca (Mr.

Kempf), that the following address be presented to His Honour the

Lieutenant-Governor.

MR. SPEAKER: Hon. Member, will you read the motion?

MR. VEITCH: We, Her Majesty's most dutiful and loyal

subjects, the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in session

assembled, beg leave to thank Your Honour for the gracious speech which

Your Honour has addressed to us at the opening of this present session.

Mr. Speaker, it is with a sense of pride and profound humility that

I today have the honour of moving the Speech from the Throne. I stand

here gratified in the fact that the electorate of Burnaby-Willingdon

have chosen me to represent them in this honourable House, being

continually cognizant of the obligation and trust that has been placed

in me — a trust, Sir, that will never go unwarranted.

Mr. Speaker, let me take this moment to congratulate the electorate

of Burnaby-Willingdon in helping to elect the government which holds as

its basic philosophy and cornerstone what should be an inalienable

right in that the individual is mightier than the state and that

governments are placed in office to help people, not to rule them.

This government, Mr. Speaker, is dedicated towards providing the

impetus whereby individuals may, of their own volition, move with

maximum freedom in establishing enterprises which will develop our

province, employ our citizens and provide tax revenues which shall be

used to provide services for people.

Conversely, Mr. Speaker, one point above all is made eminently clear

during the last few months. That is the fact that private enterprise

has the right to gamble and go broke, but governments, being merely the

trustees of the citizens' wealth, do not have this right. No, Mr.

Speaker, rather, in being elected to office, we are entrusted as

guardians of the provincial wealth to leave at least those options open

to future generations which have been available to us, and our

predecessors and wherever possible provide an enlargement for the

potential of opportunity of our present generation and those who will

follow after them. To this end, Mr. Speaker, this government is

dedicated.

Let me take but a moment, if you will, Sir, to honour the memory of

a former member of this House who was dedicated to these preceding

principles. That person, Mr. Speaker, is the late Charles Willoughby

MacSorley. Mr. MacSorley was born October 2, 1895, in Picton, Ontario,

and moved to British Columbia in 1924. Mr. MacSorley started work

digging sewers for the corporation of Burnaby in 1928. In 1945 he was

elected to council in the municipality of Burnaby and served until

1957, the last three years as reeve. He was defeated for reeve in 1958,

topped the polls for council the following year and continued on

council until 1974. In 1963 he became the first Social Credit Member of

the Legislative Assembly for Burnaby and spent three years in this

Legislature. On November 18, 1970, Charlie MacSorley was unanimously

nominated as the Burnaby Good Citizen of the Year. Charlie passed away

on February 22, 1976.

Charles W. MacSorley had numerous accolades heaped upon him and did

so many things for Burnaby and for British Columbia that it would take

me an hour to tell you of them. Mr. MacSorley was a profound exponent

of private enterprise and individual initiative. In fact, he took

particular pains to apprise me of this during a lengthy conversation

which we held during the last election campaign. Burnaby and British

Columbia is a better place in which to live as a result of the work

that has been done by this late and lamented gentleman.

Mr. Speaker, His Honour, in the Speech from the Throne, dealt with

the necessity for restraint, particularly in these financially troubled

times within our province. However, he also alluded to the glowing

opportunities for growth and development, providing individuals are

willing to reach up and grasp them within British Columbia.

In my opinion, Mr. Speaker, government should not do more than help

those who cannot help themselves and provide unrestricted access to

opportunities for all others.

President Abraham Lincoln, in his famous Gettysburg Address, stated

that every person should have an inalienable right to life, liberty and

the pursuit of happiness. We must note here that he did not guarantee

happiness, but only the unrestricted pursuit of it.

If happiness then is the goal of British Columbians, we must define

the word, and the best definition I have ever heard is that happiness

is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal. You will note, hon.

members, the use of the word "progressive".

It is this individual's opinion, Mr. Speaker, that every citizen of

this province should be aided and abetted in their progress towards

individual goals and aspirations and should not be inhibited by the

heavy hand of big government.

Mr. Speaker, it is this administration's sworn duty to shepherd and

guard wisely the proper development of our priceless natural resources.

But conversely, what a certain local segment of our society fails to

realize is the fact that we can have all of the lumber, all of the coal

in British Columbia, all the minerals, natural gas and other resources.

These items are potentially valuable, but worthless until people

develop them and extract them and take them

[ Page 20 ]

somewhere. That, Sir, is individual initiative at work, and that, I believe, is the policy of this government.

Thankfully, Mr. Speaker, we have just completed an era where the

administration of that day believed that all economic activity within

this province should be channeled through the bureaucracy of government

and that eventually government would almost entirely administer our

financial affairs, and wherever a shortfall occurred, the

administration would inject government assistance to alleviate the

problem.

Mr. Speaker, hon. members, let us never forget that government aid

is only a process whereby one gives oneself a blood transfusion from

the left arm to the right one and spills half on the way over.

Let us never forget that governments have no funds of their own,

only that which they extract from the people. British Columbia can

never again afford the luxury of big government and the incumbent

wasteful, gigantic bureaucracy that goes with it.

It is gratifying, Mr. Speaker, to note that this administration will

soon appoint an auditor-general. This auditor-general will not be

responsible to the government of the day, but will be responsible to

the people and will report to them on a regular basis as to the exact

manner in which the elected officials who have been so entrusted are

handling the financial affairs of their province.

I am gratified also to know that we shall be appointing an ombudsman

who will counsel and help those individuals who may have been harmed,

either willingly or unwillingly, by government or government

bureaucracy.

With respect to revenue sharing, it is vitally important to our

municipalities so that the burden of costs with respect to

administering and providing services within our towns, villages and

cities would be more equitably shared between the municipalities and

the provincial government.

Do not expect that this will be a large legislative session. We will

not bring down large numbers of bills. Instead, let it be hoped that

this session will be known for substance and quality rather than for

numbers and quantities. Having said that, however....

MR. G.R. LEA (Prince Rupert): There'll be lots of bills.

MR. VEITCH: We, as government, are very aware of the promises

we have made during the election campaign, and let it be eminently

clear that we will honour these promises. It will not, however, be

possible to implement all of these obligations in the first year by

mandate. Any administration which has attempted to do this has simply

created a chaotic situation from which they could not extract

themselves.

Our first year in office will be a year of consolidation, a time of

putting things in order, a time of dealing with the most pertinent and

pressing problems of the times, and, given the degree of urgency, this

will be a very busy year indeed. This will be a period in time whereby

we will build a base wherein we may adequately and efficiently fulfil

the promises and commitments which we made to the people of British

Columbia. In the time to come, during the tenure of our mandate, we

will change the Mineral Royalties Act and provide incentive whereby the

mining industry will once again become a major factor in British

Columbia's economy.

It is a promise to increase homeowners' grants to end property taxes

for low-income senior citizens and for the handicapped of our province.

Some leaseholders of Crown-owned lots have already been given the right

to purchase their property and that right will be extended to other

citizens. It is a basic tenet of our government's policy, Mr. Speaker,

that every citizen should, if they so desire, be able to own their own

home and the land that lies under it.

In the field of services for people, British Columbia has once again

assumed the lead. We shall now raise senior citizens' benefits to the

highest level in all of Canada via the inclusion of the 55 to 59 age

group. Our party, Sir, has long been aware of the fact that many

persons falling within this age bracket were virtually unemployable,

due to no fault of their own, and therefore must be protected and

helped by government.

A programme of denticare is being worked out with the College of

Dental Surgeons and will be implemented when economically feasible.

It is gratifying for me to learn that many more of our youth will

now have the opportunity to become medical doctors through the

extension of training facilities at the University of British Columbia.

The protection of consumers will be high on our list of priorities,

and even Crown corporations will have to appear before a soon-appointed

commission should they desire rate increases in their particular area.

Mr. Speaker, we are not merely an accounting and clean-up

administration, but we are aware of the fact that in order to provide

proper services for people, the affairs of government must be conducted

in a businesslike manner. We will avoid at all costs any budget

overruns. It is our intention, Sir, to change the Revenue Act in order

that never again will the executive arm of government be able to

wantonly gamble in the market place and purchase shares in corporations

without first having obtained that permission from the complete,

elected representatives of the people of this province which is this

Legislative Assembly in British Columbia.

With regard to my own riding of

[ Page 21 ]

Burnaby-Willingdon, and Burnaby in general, due to the inordinate

flow of traffic that pours through our municipality, it is my hope that

we will proceed as soon as possible with such items as the Stormont

interchange and the Broadway extension which will connect North Road

and Gaglardi Way. Also, it is the desire of most citizens of Burnaby to

see the Marine Drive extension complete...

MR. G.S. WALLACE (Oak Bay): Listening, Alex?

MR. VEITCH: ...and thus end the horrendous rush-hour

traffic congestion problem which now prevails on Marine Drive in my

riding. When conditions permit, I would hope that we would look towards

the Hastings Street urban renewal plan which would be a tri-party

project in conjunction with the federal, municipal and provincial

governments. It would please the people of my riding to a very great

degree if we could, when conditions permit, develop a system of public

transportation which would move people to and from downtown Vancouver.

Mr. Speaker, I am confident that all the preceding, and more, will

be accomplished during the tenure of our mandate as economic and other

conditions allow.

I assume, Mr. Speaker, that all hon. members here assembled have

either heard or read the Premier's state-of-the-province address and

the accompanying Clarkson, Gordon report. Anyone, regardless of

political affiliation, who is sufficiently adept in the business of

adding and subtracting, will, regardless of bias, at once ascertain

that the financial position of our province is at a very low ebb.

Restraint must be the order of the day. The public expects it, and it

must be incumbent upon this government and this House to practice

restraint in all its undertakings, and it will be the responsibility of

each and every member of this Legislature to make that programme of

restraint work.

Some of us here may opt to dodge that responsibility. Mr. Speaker,

it is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the

consequences of dodging our responsibilities. It should be

inconceivable that any member or group would put short-term political

advantage ahead of medium- and long-term stability. For if we are not

prudent in our actions today, tomorrow we will no doubt create a legacy

of debt which our children, or our children's children, will never be

able to repay.

Hon. members, in an austere time such as this, such as we face at

present, we must be very careful not to fritter away our financial

resources to a point where we cannot adequately care for the halt and

the blind and the needy in our society. They must be our first concern.

Let this message go out from this place and time to all

organizations, influential or those aspiring to be influential, and let

this example go forth to the citizens of British Columbia: that message

being that British Columbia and British Columbians, starting with

government, have stopped living beyond their means, and that only when

we put more into society can we expect to get more from it.

For, yes, Mr. Speaker, there are enemies out there, enemies to the

future of the Province of British Columbia. Adlai Stevenson described

them in 1952 when he said:

"He is an enemy who offers no quarter. He cannot be

appeased. He can never be bought off by the surrender of territory, or

the betrayal of some trusted principle, for his aim, his total

conquest, is not only that of the country but of human minds. He seeks

to destroy the very idea of the freedom of the individual himself. Such

an enemy cannot be defeated by name-calling, by character

assassination, by the sowing of distrust among our people, He cannot be

shooed away by a brand of political DDT guaranteed to contain no taxes,

no anxiety and no effort. If any man or group promise you a soft path

towards the future, beware of them."

What we are asking British

Columbians to do, and I hope by our example, is to gird themselves for

battle and work, work towards their own future and the future of this

wonderful province.

In times of crisis, leaders, true leaders, have not promised

beguiling comforts. True leaders have led. True leaders have invited

you across that line which is the mark of greatness, and the people of

British Columbia have always emerged victorious. There is nothing that

will replace initiative. Edmund Burke pointed this out in his

Reflections on the Revolution when he said that those who advocate

alternatives to individual enterprise never had any kind of system,

right or wrong, but only invented occasionally some miserable pall for

the day in order to meanly sneak out of difficulties into which they

had so proudly strutted.

Mr. Speaker, this government and, I hope, this House will not be

guilty of that type of misdemeanor. Oh, I know, hon. members, many of

our opponents will point with glee to the fact that the gross

provincial product rose in 1975 by 10 per cent. However, when one

considers the effect that inflation had in producing this increase, we

should take little solace in this indeed.

What must be faced in the immediate days and months ahead must be

dealt with firm resolve. However, I do not believe that this great

province, with all its resources and, above all, the talents of its

great people, need despair. British Columbia was built on hope,

expectation and challenge, with the people always rising to meet that

occasion.

Who was it so many years ago who penned these words when they said:

"Life is a struggle for peace, a yearning for

[ Page 22 ]

rest, a hope for the battles to cease, a dream for the best.

He is not living who stays content with the work of the days and all that it

brings. He is dead who sees nothing to change, no wrong to make right, who travels

no new way or strange in search of a light, who never sets out for a goal that

he sees from afar, but contents his indifferent soul with things as they are.

Life isn't rest; it is toil. It is building a dream or tilling a parcel

of soil or bridging a stream. It is pursuing the light of a star that but dimly

we see, and in wresting from things as they are a joy that should be."

Yes, through the enterprise of our people British Columbia will once

again rise to new economic heights. But governments must never poise

themselves to spend the increase in advance of it having been attained.

The horrors of inflation, which saps the meagre income of seniors,

handicapped and less fortunate, must be contained. This Legislature,

and I hope by our example, must help our province establish a climate

of hope and optimism and building, coupled with government restraint.

Sir Harry Lauder used to tell the story of the lamplighter of old.

Sir Harry said that the lamplighter would come to the first pole on the

block, he would take his ladder, climb up the pole and he would light a

light. Then he would move further on down the block, take his ladder

and climb up a pole and light another light, and henceforth down the

block. Sir Harry said that you could always tell which way the

lamplighter had gone by the lamps he had lit.

The challenge I make this day is the challenge of example. Hon.

members, we have the privilege of conducting ourselves in this

Legislature in such a way as to truly be a benefit to the citizens of

British Columbia who elected us. This is your opportunity, ladies and

gentlemen, and I congratulate you upon it. Thank you.

MR. J.J. KEMPF (Omineca): Mr. Speaker, hon. members, I have

the honour to rise in this House as the newly-elected member for

Omineca. I would first like to tell this House how very proud I am to

be that member. It is an honour and a privilege, in my mind, to be an

elected representative from any constituency in this great province of

British Columbia, but more so from Omineca, a constituency made up of

people of many backgrounds, many ideals and many religious beliefs,

many political beliefs, hard-working and big-hearted individuals who

have struggled against what seemed at times to be impossible odds to

inhabit and develop that sometimes harsh piece of British Columbia, a

proud people who have bound together in the name of freedom and of

democracy to send me to this House. They have placed in me their faith

and their trust, a responsibility which I will hold very high and very

dear.

Mr. Speaker, I was pleased to note in the Speech from the Throne many areas

that will benefit the people of my constituency: the area of concern for the

economic position of this province, which will certainly be of benefit to all

British Columbians in areas such as land ownership and availability of Crown

land to the citizens of this province. If we are once more to become first among

the provinces of this nation we must instil in our people the feeling of pride

of ownership of a piece of this province; in the areas of concern for our senior

citizens and for those less fortunate than we in genuine need of assistance,

who presently do not receive a sufficient amount to enable them to live normal

lives; in the area of Indian land claims, where definite stands will be taken

that will relate directly to the well-being and development of not only Omineca,

but of all the north — that vast, untapped area of wealth, most of which cannot

be properly developed until those claims are settled; in the area of social

welfare, where we must once more ensure that the human resource becomes an asset

and not a liability.

Mr. Speaker, I am excited and look forward with anticipation to the

term of our mandate, availing us, as government, the opportunity to

implement programmes, which will return our province on the road to

recovery.

Mr. Speaker, hon. members, I turn your attention to Omineca — the

second-largest constituency in area in this province, which stretches

160 miles from east to west along Yellowhead 16 from Bednesti to Telkwa

and 480 miles north and south from the 53rd parallel to the Yukon

border — 56,956 square miles and over 36 million acres of this

province: Omineca, an area unequalled in its beauty, its wealth and its

friendliness, a virtual sportsmen's and tourists' paradise. Fishing in

Eutsuk, Tetachuk and Whitesail Lakes in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park;

Francois, Babine, Takla, Trembleur, Fraser and the Nation Lakes, with

10-lb. rainbow trout and 30-lb. char; the Morice River, famous

throughout North America for its runs of steelhead and salmon.

Hunting: from east to west, north to south, this magnificent part of

our great province, abounds with moose, deer, grizzly, black and brown

bear, caribou, mountain goat, mountain sheep. Industry: the envy of the

province if not of Canada and the world. Mining: coal and copper at

Granisle on Babine Lake with its two large mines, Granisle Copper

producing 13,000 tons of ore daily, 36 million pounds of copper per

year, employing 300 men and women, with a payroll for 1976 estimated at

$5.5 million. Noranda Mines producing 12,500 tons of ore daily, 41

million pounds of copper per year, employing 281 men and women, with a

payroll of $4.5 million yearly. Endaco Mines, with their molybdenum

property at Endaco, and town site at Fraser Lake, the third-largest moly

[ Page 23 ]

mine in America, producing 27,000 tons of ore daily, 14.5 million

pounds of moly per year, employing 586 men and women with an estimated

payroll for 1976 of $10 million.

The mining potential in Omineca, Mr. Speaker, is nothing short of

astronomical. A silver property near Houston is due to start

construction this summer, pending the blessing of the hon. minister,

and thousands of claims and properties are just awaiting sane and

sensible mining legislation.

Lumbering: existing lumbering and sawmill operations at Fort St.

James, Vanderhoof, Fort Fraser, Fraser Lake, Burns Lake, Houston and

Ootsa Lake harvest and manufacture 1.5 million cunits per year,

producing some of the finest spruce and pine dimension lumber in the

world, and, as a by-product from waste material, supply much of the

woodchip needs of the pulp mills located in Prince George.

Agriculture: although our growing season is very short — some years

we are without a frost-free month — our vegetable crops in the rich

river-bottom soils of the Nechako and Bulkley Valley can be bountiful.

Potatoes, turnips, carrots, cabbage, lettuce and peas do very well.

Our main endeavor in agriculture is cattle-ranching and the growing

of hay to feed these cattle over the long cold winters. Our ranches

raise some of the finest beef in British Columbia. Sheep-ranching is

also coming into its own in Omineca.

We have also, Mr. Minister, an egg-producer in Omineca, who, with

the possibility of my getting egg all over my face, we will be talking

about in the near future.

Mr. Speaker, these are Omineca's main industries. We have many more:

trapping, guiding and many hundreds of our people in support

industries, so vital to the welfare of our great constituency.

Our most important asset, however, is our people — almost 30,000 of

them — most of whom live in the eight main communities and in the rural

areas between these villages and municipalities, with some as far north

as Fireside on the Alaska Highway, people of whom all British

Columbians should be proud, asking so little of this province and

giving so very much.

These people, my constituents, look to this government and to this

assembly for the guidelines which will enable them to be successful and

to win from this abundance the reward that they so justly deserve.

Mr. Speaker, hon. members, there are two things that motivated me to

seek a place in provincial politics. One was the wish to represent such

a people — northerners, hard-working and patient people, accepting as

their lot with very little complaint the fact that they live in an area

in which it costs more to buy groceries and clothing, heat a home,

drive a car, do most anything else than it does in the lower third of

this province.

Yet these people are asked to be satisfied with less, less in the

way of medical and hospital facilities, recreational facilities. Some

even do without the very basics such as sewer and water systems. When I

travel through my communities in Omineca I see few paved streets,

sidewalks, curbs, gutters, shopping centres or supermarkets — swimming

pools or tennis courts, practically none of the amenities accepted as

everyday needs by our southern counterparts.

We find no taxpayer-subsidized transit systems in downtown Omineca.

When we are in need of services such as specialists we must find our

own transportation and drive, in many cases, hundreds of miles. When we

want to watch television most have the choice of one, some two,

channels, and enjoy some of the poorest reception in all of Canada.

Mr. Speaker, I have pointed out that Omineca plays a vital role in

the economy of this province, providing thousands of jobs, millions of

tax dollars, benefiting in so doing all British Columbians. Yet we are

too often forgotten by politicians and business people caught up in

their thinking that because all is on the lower mainland, that is where

it originated.

I pledge an attempt on behalf of my constituents to change that

thinking, to impress upon this House the fact that there is something

north of Cache Creek: people with needs and feelings that must see the

return to the north of our fair share.

I was happy, Mr. Speaker, to note in the throne speech that we as

the Government of the Province of British Columbia would adopt a policy

of sharing more of our resource revenues on a local and regional basis,

that we will give more autonomy to local elected officials in order

that they may better and more equitably provide for their people.

We must eliminate the present system where these officials must come

on bended knees to the province in order to receive grants to provide

for their electorate. Mr. Speaker, we must eliminate completely the

totally inequitable system of grants we presently have in this

province. Let us draw the guideline, give the locally elected

governments the responsibility and the finances to look after their own

jurisdictions. Decentralize government and responsibility, thus cutting

as is so badly needed today, the cost of big government.

We have seen good taxpayers' money spent on a report which tells us

how we may add several additional MLAs to this Legislature. I do not

believe we need more bureaucracy for the taxpayers of this province to

pay for.

MR. LEA: Against it?

MR. KEMPF: We do, however, have the need for better and more useful utilization of the levels of

[ Page 24 ]

government we already have. Give more of the responsibility and the

decision-making to the local administrations. If this is done, and if

all of us here do the job that we are given the mandate to do, there

will be no need to add to the tax burden by increasing the number of

MLAs in this province. Never again will there be the need for another

half-million dollar man in the north — a need only for dedicated,

sincere representation by a group of MLAs truly concerned for the

people of this province.

There are many areas during the months and years ahead in which I

will seek in this House a more equitable return to the people of my

constituency and of the north. I will name just a few: hospital

facilities and health care, a definite need in the north for a whole

new look at the provision of these services, a whole new approach to

emergency facilities to cover our vast region.

Road construction and maintenance: a chronic situation. The people

of Omineca pay as much as 20 cents more per gallon for gasoline at the

pumps than is paid on the lower mainland, and are required to operate

their vehicles on some of the worst roads in this province. Even the

primary highways, through the neglect that they have received in the

last three years, are in unacceptable condition.

Educational facilities: I believe there must be a move, not only in

the north but all over this province, toward additional vocational

training centres. We cannot hope to achieve the industrial development

so badly needed in the province of British Columbia unless we look

immediately to the training of personnel required to operate and

maintain these plants and operations. If we were to start construction

tomorrow on any large industrial complex anywhere in British Columbia,

whether it be a steel mill, pulp mill, mine or manufacturing plant, we

would not find the people in our province necessary to operate it by

the completion date. Yet we have almost 100,000 unemployed in our

province. We will not be successful in our endeavour to provide jobs

for our people unless we put emphasis on training them prior to the

jobs becoming available.

At this very moment, in my constituency of Omineca, industry is

unable to find the trained personnel they need to fill the positions:

welders, mechanics, millwrights, carpenters and many others. There is a

definite need for vocational training in the areas where there are

jobs, or will be jobs available.

The second reason for my looking to provincial politics is one of a

very serious nature: my deep love for all that is British Columbia — my

sincere and profound feeling for the need to preserve our freedom and

our democratic way of life, the need for every free-thinking British

Columbian to stand and be counted, stand and fight for the preservation

of that freedom for which our ancestors have fought, suffered and died,

a freedom which too many of us take for granted. Our foe is subtle,

dangerous and, if we are not careful, will be devastating to a way of

life which no British Columbian wants to lose — subtle, for if they

have their way we will not lose this freedom all at once, as happened

in Cuba, or Vietnam, or is taking place in Angola. Rather, we would

lose it little by little, a small piece at a time until, finally, the

result was the same: the rule and oppression of many by very few; loss

of our initiative; to become wards of the state; become as robots doing

exactly as we are told.

It has been individual initiative and individual enterprise that

have built our great province and our great nation to what it is today.

Our people have the highest standard of living in the world. They

have equal opportunity to make of themselves what they wish — freedom

of movement, freedom of speech, freedom of education. We have developed

a society which forgets no one — our senior citizens, our physically

disabled, our mentally ill — and we have attained all this through

individual enterprise.

Today, as never before in our history, we see in our land a movement

to discredit, belittle and condemn the very system that has given us

all this. There are among us, for want of personal gain and power,

people who work constantly to undermine and discredit the work of

honest, sincere people who strive to retain our system and our freedom.

Mr. Speaker, this administration, as the leaders of this province, must show

beyond any doubt that we are sincere and that we are a party which cares for

the people we represent. We must remove forever the doubt as to our motive.

We must remove forever a thought in the mind of any British Columbian that socialism

is a better way. The people of this province have put in us their trust. They

have given us a clear mandate. They have said they want no more of what has

gone on in British Columbia in the past three years. In the words of a most

respected statesman, Franklin D. Roosevelt: "They have asked for discipline

and direction under leadership." We dare not let them down. We must hold

this mandate high, remembering it constantly in our decisions and deliverances

in the days and months ahead. We must feel no exaltation, no sense of triumph

over the previous administration, but rather must feel a great sense of responsibility

to the people of British Columbia.

There are many problems ahead of us. There are many hurdles that

will be placed in our path in order to mislead the people of British

Columbia into believing our motives are sinister. I call upon us all to

be strong to face the next four years with the determination to provide

this province with a concerned government such as it has never seen

before.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I call upon the members

[ Page 25 ]

of the opposition to enter with us into an atmosphere of

cooperation, forgetting whenever possible personal differences and

political belief in order that we may better serve the people of

British Columbia.

Mr. King moves adjournment of the debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. Mrs. McCarthy moves adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

The House adjourned at 3:25 p.m.

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