Fourth Session, 41st Parliament

(2019) OFFICIAL REPORT

OF DEBATES

(HANSARD)

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Afternoon Sitting

Issue No. 208

ISSN 1499-2175

The HTML transcript is provided for informational purposes only.

The PDF transcript remains the official digital version.

CONTENTS

Orders of the Day

Budget Debate

(continued)

J. Martin

Hon. R. Fleming

D. Barnett

A. Kang

D. Ashton

Hon. G. Heyman

S. Thomson

Hon. H. Bains

L. Larson

Hon. D. Donaldson

S. Gibson

Tabling Documents

Office of the Auditor General, Access to Emergency Health Services ,

independent audit report, February 2019

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019

The House met at 1:33 p.m.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

Orders of the Day

Hon. M. Farnworth: I call continued debate on the budget.

Budget Debate

(continued)

J. Martin: It’s good to be back and resume my response to Budget 2019. The

previous speaker, the Minister of Energy and Mines, used the word

“beautiful” multiple times to describe the budget.

[R. Chouhan in the chair.]

When I think about beautiful, I think about the old Minter Gardens,

and I think about an early sunrise over Victoria harbour or a big slab of

brisket that’s been smoking all night. I usually don’t think about budgets

as being beautiful, so I’m probably going to be using different adjectives

for the next 20 minutes. But it is a pleasure to have the opportunity to

respond.

No government begins its mandate with a clean slate. Every government

incoming at every level of government in this country inherits what came

before them with a previous government.

[1:35 p.m.]

In 2001, the B.C. Liberals inherited the worst-performing economy in

the country — runaway deficits, overspending, mismanagement, the poorest

economy in Canada. In 2017, things were very different when a new government

was formed after the election and some negotiations. That government

inherited the best-performing economy in the country, impressive surpluses

that were not being equalled anywhere in Canada and a robust plan for the

future to keep B.C. on track.

Obviously, it’s much better to be in the position that the present

government is in to inherit a very strong economy than it would be for the

example I gave of the incoming government in 2001.

But a government can only survive so long on the merits of its

predecessor. Sooner rather than later, this present government is going to

realize that there is going to have to be some management of the economy in

terms of investment, which has dried right up, and in terms of our natural

resources, which are going in the wrong direction. Even by its own measure,

the budget didn’t even mention the word “jobs” until about 20 minutes in —

as though it’s an afterthought, and somehow: “Well, the previous government

has taken care of that for us. We don’t have to worry.”

Whereas the budget had the potential of being a blueprint for the

future and opportunity, what we saw was something quite disappointing. The

budget 2019 continues the NDP’s charade of smoke and mirrors and games of

the past 18 months or so. For instance, they introduced a speculation tax

that has nothing to do with speculation. They introduced a school tax that

has nothing to do with schools. They brought in a community benefits

agreement that really only benefits one particular sector: generous donors

of the NDP.

So a balanced budget. Kudos to the government. They did manage to do

that. I don’t know that they’re going to be able to pull it off again, but a

balanced budget is more than just simply having spending a little bit less

than revenues. A balanced budget is much more comprehensive than that. It’s

about making sure that the spending you commit to today, the promise you

make today, can be paid for tomorrow.

That’s where the 2019 budget is on a very, very weak foundation. Have

they taken risks into account? Are they confident that they can afford to

pay for the promises that they continue to make in this House? In other

words, is it sustainable over the long term — not over an election cycle but

over the long term?

Governments come and go, but the province needs to persevere in a very

strong and orderly fashion. I would submit, hon. Speaker, that this budget

is not sustainable. You would think that maybe the Green Party could have

worked a little bit harder in their negotiations with the NDP to get some

concept of sustainability into the budget, but we haven’t actually seen

that.

What we have seen is that this government is very quickly maxing out

its spending and is making some very rich, very reckless predictions about

the future, suggesting that in 12 months ICBC is going to be out of debt.

That’s a bit of a stretch.

Housing starts, a key driver of our economy, are set to drop 25

percent. Resource revenues are set to fall 30 percent. B.C. is a resource

province — always has been, always should be. Resource revenues are set to

fall 30 percent.

Spending has skyrocketed, $13 billion. That’s 26 percent since the NDP

took office 18 months ago. So what’s fuelling this rocket? Let’s look at

what’s actually happening here. The NDP’s balanced approach is a “tax and

tax some more, and spend and then tax again” budget. I long for the days of

just the old tax-and-spend budget, but we’ve gone far beyond

that.

[1:40 p.m.]

British Columbians will be forking over an extra $1,100 in taxes over

the life of this budget. This is very problematic to the government’s claim

that it’s trying to make life more affordable for British Columbians,

because while they’re repeating that mantra, at the same time, they’ve

turned off the revenue-neutral component of the carbon tax to make it a

simple cash cow. It has nothing to do with the climate. It has nothing to do

with the environment. It’s just simply a tax on fuel, a tax on other parts

of the energy sector that government puts into general revenue. It would be

no different than any other particular tax.

The claim that, somehow, this is part of a climate change strategy,

that this is about protecting the environment for our kids ended the day

that the NDP government decided to cancel the revenue-neutrality component

of the carbon tax. The only way I could ever support a carbon tax would be

with that revenue neutrality in it. That’s long gone.

This government is extracting $6 billion over the next three years in

new taxes. That’s money that comes out of the pockets of hard-working

British Columbians every time they visit the gas pump. When you drive your

kids to soccer practice, you’re sending money to the government. When you

drive to work, you’re sending money to the government. When you take your

family out for dinner, you’re sending money to the government.

The spin now is: “Be happy. You’re helping to fight climate change.”

Well, those taxes are not going to do a single thing for the climate. The

reality is that a mere 15 percent of the carbon tax is going to any effort

to reduce carbon, and 85 percent — probably more — is simply just going to

government coffers. It seems that the main role of the new carbon tax, the

way the NDP has worked it, is to increase the NDP’s tax

footprint.

There’s a double dip on the MSP and employer’s health tax this year.

Well, that’s not just going to impact big, big corporations that can weather

the increase. That’s going to affect everyone on every single purchase you

make. Every service that you employ is going to cost more as a consequence

of that.

Many small businesses are struggling to find a balance between paying

the double tax hit and keeping prices competitive for their customers. Do

they raise prices? Do they lay off staff? Do they start to cut back on their

operations, or do they just shut down altogether? These are the challenges

that small businesses are facing each and every day in this

province.

Many municipalities having to deal with a new taxation are simply

hiking their own taxes. Renters and homeowners will pay more so local

governments can send more money to Victoria. Tax, and tax some more, and

spend, and then tax some more again.

Why deliver today what you’re promising tomorrow? The NDP promised a

child tax benefit that won’t take effect until 2020. So put it in the 2020

Budget. Despite the big spending promises, the NDP still haven’t delivered

on the long-promised $400 rebate. Where is the poverty reduction plan we

heard about? Universal $10-a-day child care? Where are they? They’re not in

this budget.

Let’s get back to the concept of balance, a balanced budget. So far,

we’ve seen an awful lot of taxes for British Columbians, and we’ve seen an

awful lot of spending by this particular government. But what we don’t see

is any commitment to sustainability over the long term. Much like the throne

speech a few weeks ago, the budget has absolutely no plan to grow the

economy. It has no forward-looking measures to drive the economy, to

increase revenues, to increase jobs, to increase investment. There is

nothing in there to stimulate the economy. There is nothing in there that is

going to be preparing this province for a downturn which…. These things are

cyclical, and it will happen.

Make no mistake. Growing the economy is critical. It is crucial. It is

central to sustainability, both economic sustainability and environmental

sustainability. Encouraging entrepreneurship and encouraging investment

grows the economy. Show me anything in Budget 2019 that encourages

entrepreneurship, that encourages investment in British Columbia.

[1:45 p.m.]

A balanced budget should be about creating jobs. It should be about

supporting business. It should be about driving individual and business

spending. It should be about increasing revenues. It should be about

building communities. It should be about laying the blueprint for a stronger

tomorrow. Yet, the entire concept seems to have vanished under this

particular budget.

There will be a downturn, possibly a global economic downturn. If

you’re not certain about your job in the next year or two, you have to take

a hard look at your spending and try not to commit to spending what you

might not be able to afford if your situation changes. But when you’re this

particular government, you can take a different approach — the ostrich

approach, head in the sand. There are no problems. The money will keep

flowing. The previous government has assured us of that. It doesn’t work

that way.

B.C. depends on global trade. The reason British Columbia was so

successful when every other place was struggling is because we diversified

our economy. We diversified our trading partners. When the housing market in

the U.S. went in the dumpster, we were able to withstand that because we had

built ties in other parts of the world — in India, in Asia.

Well, that’s not taking place right now. There’s instability right now

in U.S.-China relations. That will impact us. The Chinese economy, very

possibly, is going to be slowing. The situation in Europe with Brexit

threatens economic disruptions. What’s the plan from this government in that

budget in that eventuality?

Here in British Columbia, this particular budget fails to do anything

of note to buffer against a potential downturn or to promote areas of

strategic growth in the eventuality of a shift in the economy. It’s a

stand-pat budget. Everything’s fine. Don’t worry. We’re going to get through

the next little while. It’s a stand-pat budget hoping that things get better

so we can eventually afford all these things that are promised in the

budget.

The thing is it’s not up to a government to determine what that future

is going to look like with all of our global connections, with all of our

trading partners, with all of the uncertainty that’s happening in other

places around the world. At the end of the day, it will be taxpayers who

will have to pay more taxes and will have seen more attempts by the

government to come after their wallets, to come after their

assets.

If you have a second home, you’re going to be taxed. Well, why not a

second car? Tax them on that, on a second barbecue. Who needs more than one

barbecue? Tax it.

Interjection.

J. Martin: My wife isn’t going to let me get another one. I’ll guarantee you

that.

At the end of the day, British Columbians deserve a budget that

creates opportunity for each and every one of them, rather than one that

creates more opportunities for the government to extract revenue from the

taxpayers. The best way for this government to get more money from taxpayers

is to see more people earning bigger paycheques. They’re paying more taxes,

and they’re happy to do so because they’re coming out ahead of it as well.

Well, right now that’s not happening.

Budget 2019 is a stand-pat budget. It is, technically, balanced. That

is due to the economy that they inherited. It’s not nearly as horrendous a

budget as NDP governments have put forward in the past. I will not be

supporting it.

I can tell you that in my previous profession, over 25 years, I had

the opportunity to evaluate and assign grades to literally thousands of

papers and reports. So I’m going to call on my expertise in that manner, and

I’m going to give this budget an F-plus.

Hon. R. Fleming: It’s always a pleasure to follow a grilling from the member for

Chilliwack.

I do appreciate the opportunity to respond to Budget 2019 this

afternoon and talk about a number of areas where this will benefit and

strengthen middle-class British Columbians, will invest in public services

that have been long neglected and will help build a strong economy here in

British Columbia that is sustainable for prosperity well into the future in

B.C., because that’s exactly what this budget is all about at the top

level.

[1:50 p.m.]

It’s about maintaining the lowest unemployment rates that we’ve ever

had in British Columbia, continuing to see job growth, continuing to see

foreign investment confidence in British Columbia. After all, we’ve already

had confirmed a $40 billion investment from the energy sector, the largest

in Canadian history. There are other investments in the tech economy, in

aeronautics, in all kinds of industries, whether it’s manufacturing or

primary resource extraction, or whether it’s the dynamic service economy and

the tourism economy in British Columbia.

The point, I think, for British Columbia that stands them well and in

sharp contrast to the previous government is that we are finally starting to

see balance. Not only is the budget balanced this year and for the next

three years, but the spending priorities of government are finally

balanced.

For years and years and years, who came first when the old government

tabled a budget was those at the top, time and time again. We had corporate

income taxes that were cut. We had earnings, an entire tier — the top tier

of the income tax bracket in British Columbia — eliminated, which benefited

the top 2 percent. Those were spending decisions, if you like, to forgo

revenue that cost British Columbia hundreds and hundreds of millions of

dollars.

It came at the neglect and expense of health care, of education, of

never seeing, for example, a raise to the rate for foster parents and some

of the other things that are long overdue and that are contained in the

pages and pages of Budget 2019. This is about balance. This is about

strengthening the economy where people actually live. This is about

strengthening the paycheques, jobs and communities of British Columbians in

every part of the province.

Before I go any further, I meant, at the top of my remarks, as other

members have, to have taken this opportunity to thank some people who work

for us and help us do our jobs in our constituencies. I have some new staff

in my constituency office in Victoria–Swan Lake, and there are a number of

people whom I want to thank, on the record, who’ve been doing amazing work

helping my constituents.

Sheridan Hawse is a young woman who joined our staff very recently and

really enjoys doing the casework, bringing results and helping people who

have inquiries of our government. Christine Rousseau is my senior

constituency assistant, who has been running the show there for the longest

of my three staff. We have a young man named Greg Schindler, who is just

finishing his university degree, working part-time for us, who really,

really enjoys working with neighbourhoods and communities in my

constituency. I want to thank all three of them.

I also want to thank somebody in my minister’s office. In fact — and I

don’t want members to take this the wrong way — it’s her last day in my

office. I do want to thank Andra Hahn, who’s my administrative coordinator,

for just doing an incredible job of getting our office organized as we

formed a new government, post July 2017. Andra has been an amazing person to

work with. I have known her over many, many years. I was delighted to be

able to hire her in my minister’s office, and I’m very, very sad to see her

moving on to other opportunities.

Thank you, to all of those individuals I’ve just mentioned, for

allowing me, certainly, to do my job in here. I know that members similarly

rely on lots of good people to help them do their jobs.

Back to the budget. Look, what the opposition has had a hard time

attacking in the budget is that this budget, writ large, makes life more

affordable for middle-class British Columbians. It delivers on the

government’s central promise — it was a central election issue — of how to

make life more affordable in a province that had become increasingly

expensive. In fact, parts of British Columbia are among the most expensive

places to live and work in the entire world.

We saw runaway housing prices. We have talked in here about what some

of those drivers may have been. We have talked about a government that

failed to control money laundering and foreign purchases that were out of

control. They denied that it was even a problem. How many years did we hear

that for? There was no effective policy response.

As the member for Chilliwack was mentioning, governments inherit

situations from the previous government. We inherited a very, very bad

situation on housing affordability. There’s no arguing that.

[1:55 p.m.]

We are starting to see some very good signs that are part of the

context of the tabling of Budget 2019. For the first time in years, we have

started to see the vacancy rate go up. That’s good for renters in British

Columbia. In my community, 60 percent of my constituents rent the homes that

they live in. More supply, more rental options for them, will moderate the

skyrocketing prices we saw for renters.

We are starting to see, in some parts of the market, single detached

homes having their prices at least not rise anymore — in some cases, to

moderate slightly. This is good. We are starting to see that in the

condominium market and all other types of housing. In other words, we’re

moving in the right direction, finally, after seeing unsustainable

growth.

Let’s face it. It was on the front page of world publications not too

long ago. The Economist talked about Canada’s housing bubble in a

special issue. I think it was just two or three years ago. We had six

feature pages on how much risk the Canadian economy and the British Columbia

economy was in, in particular from unresponsive governments.

Today we’ve brought in some policies, some tax measures, that are

helping the affordability challenge around housing and turning this province

around in the right direction when it comes to home ownership and rental

supply. For that, we should be very, very thankful that not a minute too

late, government has changed directions and is starting to get some positive

results.

I also want to commend the Finance Minister for finding some ways to

put money back into people’s pockets — the people that deserve it in B.C.,

the people who have seen their purchasing power eroded over many, many

years. It’s easier to say than to do, but the Finance Minister has delivered

on the biggest middle-class tax cut in a generation in this budget. We’re

going to be eliminating the MSP. Now we’re bringing in the child opportunity

benefit fund, which further puts money into people’s pockets and helps

reduce child poverty. Those are significant achievements for a government,

after all, that is only 18 months old.

I think what the opposition is really discouraged by is how much good

news, how many commitments, we’ve been able to deliver in such a short

period of time. It demoralizes them. There’s no question about

it.

Interjection.

Hon. R. Fleming: I’m trying to get a reaction.

I think the other story about this budget…. It’s a triple play. First

of all, it puts out the fiscally reckless dumpster fires that we inherited

as a government. The member for Chilliwack did not mention this. We

inherited an absolute, disastrous mess at ICBC, sliding off into the dirt —

billions of dollars in losses, no plan to fix it. That’s what we

inherited.

We had B.C. Hydro — the crown jewel of hydroelectric companies on the

continent once upon a time — which had been treated like an ATM machine by

the previous government, having hundreds of millions of dollars taken out as

dividends to “balance their budget,” literally taken from ratepayers out of

our province’s utility, unsustainable in the extreme. That has been fixed in

Budget 2019.

Look, we have also been able to invest in services. That’s what the

budget is about here in many areas. There were areas of neglect in every

part of British Columbia, and people know what I’m talking about. They’re

talking about transportation infrastructure that may have been announced but

never funded. They’re talking about schools that were never built, health

care infrastructure that was aging and that wasn’t getting done. Our

government has made significant strides to do this.

Now, let’s not forget that the opposition was predicting — I don’t

know if it was within months, weeks, minutes, days — an imminent economic

collapse in British Columbia. If you think back to the summer of 2017, when

the Lieutenant-Governor dismissed them to the opposition benches and allowed

for the formation of a new coalition government, they predicted that B.C.

would collapse, investment would flee, business would riot.

It hasn’t happened — quite the opposite. We have, today in British

Columbia, economic growth that’s the strongest in the country, unemployment

that’s the lowest we’ve ever seen, 4.7 percent. The province has maintained

a triple-A credit rating from all three international rating agencies, and

the budget, as I mentioned, is balanced this year and will be balanced in

the next two years hence. Now, what bothers the opposition is that we’ve

been able to do all of this — maintain strong economic performance, clean up

their messes — at the same time as making record investments in things this

province needs.

[2:00 p.m.]

I want to go back to the Economic Forecast Council, because in the

run-up to the formation of Budget 2019, they evaluated Budget 2018. One of

the gentlemen — I forget which banking institution he was the chief

economist for — actually credited Budget 2018, a year ago, with maintaining

and expanding economic growth in B.C. He actually said that the GDP growth

in the last fiscal year would have been an entire half-point lower had our

government not invested record amounts in infrastructure, creating jobs,

creating the infrastructure to allow the free movement of goods and services

and grow the economy. That’s an independent economist.

Budget 2019 builds upon that short but very, very positive record that

our government has established, and it does it by this. There is $20 billion

in this budget that will build schools, that will improve roads and

transportation networks and that will build hospitals in communities where,

let’s face it, for 16 years they never did, even in communities that have

only known Liberal representation. They failed to get things done. It will

build college and university infrastructure, and it will support, through

this infrastructure investment, the creation of more than 80,000 jobs over

the next three years.

That is good news for economic growth, for job growth and for building

the kinds of infrastructure projects that we need to improve our quality of

life and our affordability of living in British Columbia over the next three

years.

This budget, as I mentioned, launches a bold new initiative called the

B.C. child opportunity benefit, which will put nearly $400 million a year

back into the pockets of families throughout B.C. This is fantastic for kids

and families. We all know that a number of our constituents have struggled

with affordability. They have struggled to sometimes pay the bills, put food

on the table. Certainly, they have struggled with paying for sports programs

or dance or Scouts and Guiding activities — all of those kinds of things

that are a part of life and the costs of raising families and

kids.

That $400 million that goes back into the pockets of middle-class

British Columbians is going to improve the quality of life and affordability

of life for families right across British Columbia, and this is a bold,

major new initiative in Budget 2019. So members who say proudly in this

House that they’re going to vote against the budget are voting against

putting $400 million back into the pockets of B.C. families that need it to

make life more affordable for themselves and their kids.

We have fulfilled our commitment as a government — again, an

18-month-old government — to eliminate unfair MSP premiums. We are now part

of the normal landscape of Canadian health care that no longer taxes people

with the most regressive flat tax imaginable for access to health care. The

premiums are gone in this budget, and we are now…. British Columbia takes

its rightful place alongside every other province in the country that has

moved towards an EHT-style system that B.C. has. It is fairer. For

middle-class families, again, it eliminates $1,800 of a health care tax that

came out of their pockets — or for single people, $900 a year. Very

expensive. Very unfair.

The MSP was raised ten times. Budget year after budget year after

budget year, they were addicted to this flat tax that taxed somebody making

$40,000 a year the same as it did somebody who earned $4 million a year. I

mean, it was the most failed right-wing, ideological tax scheme you could

ever concoct, and I’m happy to say it is going into the dustbin of history

in British Columbia thanks to Budget 2019.

We are eliminating interest on B.C. student loans through Budget 2019.

I want to acknowledge my colleague sitting next to me here, the Minister of

Advanced Education, for pushing this through the budget-making process. This

is a much-needed bit of relief for students right across British

Columbia.

Look, we all know that there is no greater investment that a person

can make in themselves than their education — to get ahead in life, to

invest in yourself, to invest in your skills and the career opportunities

available to you. Sometimes government needs to help people be able to

incentivize those kinds of decisions. High costs of student loans for those

that needed to borrow to be able to afford their education, who didn’t come

from wealth — it had become a burden.

The previous government across the way doubled tuition fees. The first

thing they did when they became government in 2001 was they eliminated the

B.C. student grant program, instantly transferring thousands of dollars onto

student debt.

[2:05 p.m.]

It is long overdue to take a step like this. And I’m happy to say that

it’s not just…. An 18-year-old can’t just go and get a stereo,

interest-free, or some other — I’m not going to say “frivolous” —

consumption item. They can now get zero percent on the investment they make

in themselves to take out a student loan, to take a trade or take a college

program, a vocation or a university program in British Columbia. It’s long

overdue, and that’s going to help transition many more young people to

pursue their hopes and dreams in B.C.’s colleges and

universities.

This budget also invests $902 million in CleanBC to meet climate

commitments. Our government is sincere and ambitious in trying to achieve

carbon reductions in our economy.

We need leadership in the world right now when it comes to climate

change. There are paralyzed governments across the globe that do nothing to

help the environment, that do not join with other nations and other states

and provinces in an effort that we all must make together as humanity to

turn around carbon pollution and the devastating effects that it’s

having.

We see it here in British Columbia with wildfires and other

weather-related disasters. We see it all over the globe. It is the leading

cause of human instability in the world, and this budget commits nearly $1

billion of carbon tax revenue toward carbon reduction activities in our

economy.

The member for Chilliwack had said that he doesn’t like carbon taxes

that get spent on transit, on innovation, on energy efficiency and on carbon

reductions. Well, we do on this side of the House, and it’s long time that

we invested money in carbon reduction.

We’re also funding a historic revenue-sharing agreement with First

Nations people in B.C. I’m very, very proud of this. There are so many

things I could list that this government has achieved around the file of

reconciliation, which is all our responsibility, as British Columbians, to

achieve. Our government takes it very seriously.

We have a long list of accomplishments, but what I will highlight in

this budget is that there is $3 billion of gaming revenue being shared with

First Nations communities over the next 25 years to help them develop their

economies, to help them do economic development projects in First Nations

territories in British Columbia, to help First Nations people take their

rightful place in the economy, which they have been shut out of for

generations in B.C. — by sharing those revenue sources to pursue economic

diversification in British Columbia. I’m very proud of that being a feature

of this budget.

We have also made investments in mental health, particularly around

children, youth and young adults. We are bringing this, in a very strong

focus, under the Ministry of Education. I’m very happy to see that there are

significant new resources, over the next three years, to do this.

To start the conversation, one of the first things I was able to do as

the Minister of Education was to bring all 60 school districts together to

have a mental health symposium. People have been talking for years about how

young people were experiencing anxiety or, worse, self-harming themselves.

The school system was ill-equipped to be able to identify this, to get them

into contact with counsellors or whatever services they may need.

In Budget 2018, we announced the expansion of the Foundry program.

Budget 2019 adds an additional level of support to have services that are

school-based, that are coordinated with law enforcement, with health

authorities, with child and youth mental health workers. I take my hat off

to the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions for her leadership on this

file and the inclusion of $74 million in new funding to improve mental

health and the well-being of children and young people across

B.C.

Now, let me turn to my own ministry. Here’s another story that we

inherited. After 16 long years, B.C.’s K-to-12 education system had gone

from the second-best funded in the country to the second-worst. We had a

government that picked fights with teachers at every opportunity it could.

It litigated against them for 12 years in the courts. They presided over

overcrowded classrooms growing right across British Columbia. And educators

were disrespected, in every sense of the word, by their own

government.

They failed to properly invest in schools. They left older schools

with hundreds of millions of dollars of routine maintenance deficits,

projects not done. They promised to seismically upgrade schools. They did

not get good results; they failed to deliver. They didn’t build enough

schools in fast-growing communities. I can think of Sooke, Chilliwack,

Langley, Surrey. We know some of the districts that I’m speaking of where

portables proliferated. The number of portables in Surrey, for example,

doubled under their watch, under the previous government.

[2:10 p.m.]

Again, we’ve inherited this situation as a new government. But rather

than bemoan the cards that were dealt to us by the previous government and

their neglect, we got on with the work. We knew what needed to be done, and

we set to it immediately.

We have started to fix some of these problems they left behind. In

just 18 months, I’m proud to say, we’ve already invested $1 billion in new

school investments. That’s expansions, seismic upgrades, property purchases

for future schools. The list goes on. We’ve approved three times as many

seismic projects just in the last year compared to the three years

previously. These projects have already created or will create 18,000 safer

student spaces that will protect kids in the event of a major seismic

earthquake event on our coast here.

We’re doing things differently. We’re seeing results by working

closely with school boards and city officials in communities like Surrey.

We’ve already approved $171 million of school investment in our short period

of time as government, creating more than 2,500 new spaces. We have 7,000

new seats underway being constructed and designed or in the tendering phase

right now in Surrey that will be available by the 2021 school year, and we

have an opportunity now to do more even than that in Budget 2019.

To give you an illustration, had the government chosen our way of

investing in schools, rather than their way, which was typically to have a

photo op and not deliver on it, if they had allocated funds and got to work

building 2,500 new seats in the space of time that we have done as a new

government, there wouldn’t be a single portable in Surrey today. But we have

to clean up that mess. We have to do it as quickly as we can.

We weren’t left with the benefit of any projects in any pre-planning

stages or with funding attached to them, so we’ve had to start from square

one. I have to say that working with the mayor’s office in Surrey, working

closely with the superintendent and the board of trustees in Surrey, we are

getting it done. And it’s not just Surrey. It’s communities throughout the

Fraser Valley. Here in Sooke, as well, which is the fastest-growing district

per capita. We will continue to do more, because Budget 2019 allows us to do

more.

I’m also pleased to say that we fulfilled the playground equipment

program last year that Premier Horgan had committed to parents. We’ve

already announced 51 playground projects. We will have a similar number to

announce this year. It is an annual program.

This is, as you will recall, help for parents and PACs at schools to

not have onerous, ridiculously excessive fundraising goals and targets that

were very, very difficult to achieve. I remember hearing about a school

fundraising effort to have a new playground that took 12 years of bake sales

and scrimping and saving to be able to achieve new playground equipment.

That is ridiculous. There’s no surprise that was in a low-income

area.

We as a new government have helped school communities and parent

organizations — alleviated them from that kind of a fundraising burden with

this new program. I’m delighted to see that it will continue in very strong

fashion in this next budget. It will deliver playground equipment in all

parts of British Columbia. Some of the members opposite have thanked me

personally for some of the announcements that have been made in their

districts, and I can tell them that there’s more good news on the way

there.

We’ve hired 3,700 new teachers. The previous government fired

teachers. We’re hiring them by the thousands in B.C. We have the smallest

class sizes in school in generations. We’re building better supports for

students throughout the province. We have an additional 1,000 educational

assistants to help kids who have special learning needs do better in school

and be successful.

We have addressed the shortages of some specialist teachers. For the

first time, we’ve actually funded directly from the Ministry of Education

new spaces in B.C.’s teacher education programs to bring teachers into

high-demand areas. We want to help all parts of the province be able to

successfully hire the teachers they need — rural, urban and suburban British

Columbia. We are doing it, and we’re seeing a significant improvement

there.

I have to say that one of the things, going into Budget 2019, that

makes me very pleased as the Minister of Education is that we are starting

to see student outcomes improve, especially in the areas where they have

lagged for a long, long time.

Look, 20 years ago the province of B.C. started reporting on First

Nations student outcomes, knowing that there was a problem, knowing that

First Nations students were not well supported and eventually discovering a

number of things. Having no cultural reflection in the school system, having

no additional supports for First Nations learners did not help them achieve

graduation like it was for other students. It has been a 20-year

effort.

What I would like to say is that, with the additional resources, the

additional teachers, the additional supports we’ve offered, we saw a 6

percent growth in the Indigenous graduation rate last year. That’s an 18

percent gain just in the last four years. Last year was the best of those

four years. We have serious momentum in the school system now.

[2:15 p.m.]

I think that we can actually say in the House that in a year, in the

not too distant future, hopefully, we’ll be able to see students’ life

chances at kindergarten, or when they start school, and their graduation

rates be exactly the same for Indigenous and non-Indigenous kids. We are

well on the way to doing that, and there are some school districts who have

already achieved that, and they should be commended for it. Our budget will

help continue to move in that direction.

To this end, we’ve invested $400,000 towards Indigenous training seats

at B.C. universities. The percentage of Indigenous students does not meet

the percentage Indigenous teachers in our school system, and we would like

that to be more reflective. We would like to recruit the best and brightest

in Indigenous communities to become role models and become influential

teachers in their communities to further our efforts to help the Indigenous

graduation rate.

One more point on Indigenization of education. I’m very pleased, as

the Minister of Education, to have concluded what’s called the Tripartite

Education Agreement, with the First Nations Education Steering Committee and

the federal government. This is a national agreement that will bring in 100

million new dollars to benefit all Indigenous students in the province,

whether they study in on-reserve schools, in district schools or First

Nations independent schools.

This is a big deal. This is going to help First Nations communities

invest significantly in educational excellence in First Nations communities

around British Columbia. We’re the only province in the country that has a

deal like this. I suspect other provinces are looking exactly at what

British Columbia has achieved and will seek to replicate that. We are happy

to provide them with the moral support to be able to do that with our

federal partners.

I want to go over some of the specific funding areas in the education

system, too, in my ministry. What we’re seeing here is the highest school

operating and capital funding ever — full stop. This budget is very, very

good for the K-to-12 education system. There are $552 million in new

operating funding over the next three years. It will allow us to hire

hundreds of additional classroom teachers, having hired thousands already.

We will hire additional specialist teachers — like counsellors,

teacher-librarians, special education teachers and ELL teachers.

We’ll hire more educational assistants to help diverse learners, no

matter where they are in British Columbia, and we’ll provide more support to

teachers who are teaching on call. The substitute teaching workforce is

very, very important, and we will be investing in its

development.

We also know that after nearly two decades of declining enrolment, the

student population of B.C. is now increasing. This is good news. It’s good

news, as well, that fewer students than ever before are dropping out of high

school.

Here’s the context for this budget. With 18 months in government,

we’ve seen enrolment increase by 3.2 percent in our time as government.

We’ve seen funding for K-to-12 education increase by 17.1 percent. A school

system that was starved and neglected for way too long. A workforce that was

attacked and disrespected by the previous government for decades — dragged

through the courts. The government rolled the dice and lost. Now it’s

receiving a 17.1 percent rise in operating funds, which is long overdue.

That has been achieved in 18 short months and will help B.C. students into

the future.

The other story in this budget is that the three-year capital budget

for the education system is now $2.7 billion. This is the largest investment

in school infrastructure that we’ve ever seen. We need to invest. We have

schools that were neglected that are seismically unsafe that we need to get

at too. We have portables that we need to eliminate and give neighbourhoods

and fast-growing communities — like Surrey, Langley and Chilliwack — real

schools that anchor real communities. We need to ensure that old, outdated

schools that have been neglected for a long time finally get the kinds of

maintenance and expansions that they deserve.

We need to plan for the future. That’s why this budget also includes

money in that $2.7 billion to acquire and buy new school sites.

Contrast B.C.’s safe harbour that is contained in Budget 2019 with

what other provinces are experiencing in terms of instability. You look at

the roller-coaster ride that the U.S. economy is on under an unstable White

House. You look at what the Tory party has brought on to Britain through

their reckless, disastrous Brexit plan — the Tory compatriots of the members

opposite.

You look at the instability in certain European countries where growth

is declining and joblessness is increasing. That’s not the story here in

British Columbia. Unemployment is down. Spending on needed infrastructure is

up. Strengthening the middle class with tax cuts, and giving relief to

people in British Columbia is part of Budget 2019, and I will

enthusiastically vote for it.

[2:20 p.m.]

D. Barnett: Wow. I’m a little aged. I’m one of those ones that’s…. Probably

they’re looking, over there, at the grey hair over here and saying: “Maybe

you should move along.” But you know what? Those of us that have been around

for a long time really understand financial matters. We understand budgets.

We are so proud of the past 16 years and what we left on the table so that

the new government would have an opportunity to carry on the good work that

was done by this side of the House.

It is my privilege today to respond to Budget 2019 on behalf of my

constituents in Cariboo-Chilcotin. Before I begin, however, I would like to

take a moment to reflect on and acknowledge those who have enabled me to

fulfil my role as MLA — my staff, both here in Victoria and at home in the

Cariboo-Chilcotin. Thank you to my constituency assistant Bev Marks in the

100 Mile House office, who has been with me for six years, and to Toni

Taylor in Williams Lake, who took over from Jenny Hoffman, who is now a

full-time rancher, wife and mother. And, so importantly, I’d like to thank

all of my constituents.

Cariboo-Chilcotin is very diverse and large, spanning over 44,000

square hectares. It includes three First Nations languages: Shuswap,

Tsilhqot’in and Carrier. All of my constituents continue to trust in me to

represent them here in Victoria. It is both an honour and a

privilege.

Since 2017, many changes to the Cariboo-Chilcotin landscape have

occurred. We all remember the 2017 wildfires, when nearly 30,000 residents

from the Cariboo-Chilcotin and Thompson-Nicola regions were relocated. In

response, the past government committed $100 million to the Red Cross, the

feds committed $38 million, and another $28 million was donated by many of

the wonderful people across the province and country who cared. Many are

still suffering the trauma of the fires, and 2018, once again, caused more

devastation on the landscape, destruction of communities and fear of the

future for many in northern British Columbia.

I was sincerely hoping the 2019 budget would provide sustainable

funding for fire mitigation, grassland restoration, fencing replacement,

wildlife protection and assistance for the agriculture and forest

industries. Wildfires have cost the government almost $1 billion over the

last two years, yet the NDP has budgeted only $101 million.

Where did that number come from? Let’s see what Pre­mier Horgan

had to say. “Clearly, the traditional means of budgeting for fire season is

laughable, and it’s not something that’s just developed in the last 13

months. It’s been going on for 30 years. Choose an arbitrary number, put it

in the books, and hope for the best.”

That is an insult to 70 percent of the landscape of British Columbia

and to all British Columbia. The surplus is already razor thin and could be

burnt up by unpredictable fires in a flash. This is plain

irresponsible.

This House often talks about climate change. From these conversations

has developed a carbon that…. Over the next three years, this carbon tax

will collect $6 billion from taxpayers. The price per tonne will rise to $40

this year and will eventually reach the $50 mark. As a result, the carbon

tax is no longer revenue-neutral, as it was for many years.

As the price per tonne rises, the costs of gasoline, home heating,

groceries and other goods and services for all British Columbians will rise,

yet only $902 million has been allotted for clean energy plans, and most of

the programs involved came from the previous Liberal government.

[2:25 p.m.]

Further, why will only 15 percent of the carbon tax go to CleanBC?

Where is the balance of the $6 million going? To general revenue to balance

their budget. “Let’s look into the future,” says the government. But if

things keep going as they are, I’m profoundly concerned by what the future

will look like. Instead of giving British Columbians the prosperous future

they want, this government’s budget and policies will chase private sector

investment away.

They derelict their duties to the people on a hope that LNG will solve

all. Now, I sincerely hope that the LNG project in northern B.C. becomes a

reality. I sincerely hope the NDP will bring it home. But I also hope that

the NDP government has not sold the farm in their negotiations with LNG

Canada.

I also ask: where is the government’s transparency in their

negotiations? I wish this secrecy wasn’t a trend, that British Columbians

could be privy to some of the most important agreements of their time. Yet

this seems to be what you get with the NDP. Public consultation is now, and

seems like it will remain, a dream. But that isn’t because it hasn’t been

requested.

Let’s be clear. Local governments, citizens and we, as the official

opposition, have asked for open, public consultation on the caribou issue,

treaties and land use negotiations with First Nations. No one is opposed to

working on these issues, but open, public, transparent consultations to

bring British Columbians together…. The closed-door discussions of the

present government cause nothing but separation and division.

I’d like to turn my attention to another issue in Budget 2019: the

Cariboo connector. I see only one item in the Cariboo-Chilcotin Highway 97

Williams Lake Indian Reserve to Lexington Road project. This four-lane 6.2

kilometres of highway project has been going on since 2012 and will be

completed in the spring of 2019. This is not a new project. This is a

project that is going to be completed, and the only one that I

see.

[J. Isaacs in the chair.]

It was enabled by a great partnership between First Nations, the

Williams Lake Indian Band, the private sector and the past provincial

government. I am very proud of this project and how it will improve the days

and lives of those who travel along it. But the government needs to get the

entirety of this incredible, important project done. I ask: where in this

budget is funding for the future of the Cariboo connector and rural capital

maintenance projects?

Yet another profound problem with the budget has to do with the health

and well-being of British Columbia. Issues like these really shouldn’t be

put to the side in favour of a tax-and-spend agenda. Yet that is exactly

what the NDP is doing as we enter the year of the double dip into the

pockets of British Columbians.

For 2019, they have actively chosen to maintain collection from

individuals for the Medical Services Plan at the same time as employers will

be taxed to the same ends. The employer health tax makes things worse. It

came without warning or mention during the NDP’s election campaign and, once

again, without public consultation.

Municipalities are now forced to raise property taxes to cover the EHT

costs. How does this make life more affordable for British Columbians?

Certainly not for businesses of all sizes that will now get hit twice by the

increased property tax in addition to the health care tax.

I wonder: how much income will this really generate? I’ve said it

before, and I’ll say it again. Small business is big business in British

Columbia. In many rural communities, the only businesses around for hundreds

of miles are family-run small businesses providing food, clothing, services

and jobs. Everywhere small businesses are helping their communities

diversify, growing the creative sectors and finding new markets for

resources and services.

[2:30 p.m.]

Our small businesses are remarkably diverse, ranging from the family

corner store to the self-employed computer programmer to the small

lumber-milling operation, and the government of the day seems not even to

notice, or at least their budget doesn’t.

Now, being on the topic of health, I can’t help but speak to the

Williams Lake hospital. Some of you know it as the Cariboo Memorial

Hospital, or perhaps you may not — as, according to the NDP, it deserves no

mention whatsoever in Budget 2019. The former government announced upgrades

in February 2017. Then the present government reannounced these upgrades one

year later, in February 2018, yet the budget makes no mention of the

promised provincial funding, which is expected to be around 60 percent of

the $100 million estimated total cost.

That’s a lot of money — which, if actually delivered, would do

profound good — yet it appears that the NDP government just doesn’t

understand how important this project is. The hospital desperately needs

more functional space, improved technology capabilities and an increased

capacity to serve patients. Harkening back to the beginning of this

statement, as we quickly move towards another wildfire season, redeveloped

facilities would save lives. It’s about time that this project moved ahead —

and fast. I will, of course, in estimates, ask the minister when it will be

built.

Now yet another omission from Budget 2019. Our agriculture sector,

which in the Cariboo-Chilcotin is mainly ranching, faces many challenges.

Many of the 4,000-plus cattle ranches that operate in British Columbia are

located in the Cariboo region. B.C. ranches occupy over five million acres

of private land. They also have tenure on 21.5 million acres of Crown

rangeland. In fact, two-thirds of the agricultural land reserve is owned by

ranchers.

The industry supports our economy, as well as many family and

community businesses. The total economic contribution of the industry is

estimated at $600 million annually, and an estimated 8,700 persons are

employed in the B.C. beef sector. However, the industry is facing many

challenges, including an aging population and regulations.

In addition, over the past several years, wildfires, some of the worst

in the history of B.C., have had a devastating impact on the ranchland.

People lost their homes and buildings. Ranchers lost miles and miles of

fences, and pastures used to sustain cattle through the summer and fall were

all burnt up, with the tragic loss of prime grazing land, yet there’s

nothing in Budget 2019 for them.

I was very pleased that the Minister of Agriculture was in my riding

and at TRU University just two weeks ago so that students could give her

their success stories on the program. I know her support for this program

will help keep the funding going. The cattle industry has made a profound

impact. I can only hope that government continues to recognize

this.

Under the previous government, at the university in Williams Lake —

where, I was grateful, the minister came — we launched the program three

years ago, where students gain the expertise to build and sustain ranching

enterprises within B.C.’s ranching community. The students go out and apply

that knowledge to agriculture businesses in any region. This is the only

such program in British Columbia, and the success stories are amazing. I

hope the government does continue to support it, but I saw nothing in the

budget.

[2:35 p.m.]

I have a long-term care facility in my riding at which the hours were

extended by the Ministry of Health, and we thank the minister for that. Yet

there were no care aides or licensed practical nurses available to do the

work. We have a university that needs programs to supply these workers who

are so needed in rural British Columbia, in our seniors and long-term-care

facilities.

I hope the NDP government will recognize that these lapses exist and

address them. I thank the Minister of Ad­vanced Education for coming

to my riding and to the university. Hopefully, we will see some funding come

from her ministry and from the Ministry of Health for these courses, which

are needed not just in my riding but throughout British Columbia. Of course,

I will ask, in estimates, how much and when.

Like in Budget 2018, but hardly even addressing rural British

Columbia, Budget 2019 fails to bridge the divide between rural and urban

voters. That’s why it surprised me that the NDP is now ready and willing to

estrange urban voters as well — and has, through their speculation tax. That

the government of British Columbia would introduce negative-option billing

in 2019 is astounding to me. British Columbians who, for whatever reason, do

not fill out the declaration form will end up paying substantially more tax

than they should owe.

I had a constituent come to my office, whom I know quite well. I did

not know he had a little apartment in Vancouver, due to health issues with

him and his wife. I’ve never seen anybody quite as upset as this gentleman

was. He had to fill out papers because they thought he was a speculator. He

asked me to deliver a message to the Premier, but I can’t. At the end of the

day the tax doesn’t actually address speculators; instead, it just taxes

assets. On top of that, the declaration is unnecessarily invasive of

people’s privacy.

Speaking of issues for rural and urban voters alike, the much-promised

$10-a-day child care is nowhere to be seen. Only 2 percent of child care

spaces in British Columbia are $10 a day. Further, the lottery system for

daycare services really only benefits a few randomly selected communities,

while many families are left behind, and the child care opportunity tax

credit is still 20 months away. In the realm of child care — and most

everything else, for that matter — there’s really nothing new in Budget

Let me temper my remarks, however, as there are a few bright spots in

Budget 2019. I am pleased to see the rural development fund, for example,

still there, which, I will gladly say, this side of the House initiated

when, in government, I had the privilege of being the Minister of State for

Rural Development. But what happens to rural development beyond 2020? Where

will the fund go?

I am also pleased by the rate increases for foster parents. These will

benefit some of the most deserving of people, who spend years loving and

raising those who will soon be the difference-makers in our province. In

addition, the substantial funding provided to much-needed child and youth

mental health supports is fantastic. I would only say that it is important

that this funding be disbursed appropriately throughout the province to

those who need it.

Fundamentally, however, Budget 2019 returns to old NDP ways. There’s

no jobs plan, no economic growth plan, no private sector investment plan and

no tax competitiveness plan. The government is betraying its obligation to

support British Columbians by abandoning the economic development which

supports them.

Planned revenue will increase by roughly $6 billion over the next

three years, some of which will be covered by the 19 new or increased taxes

introduced by the NDP over the past two years since forming government. That

is a per-capita increase of $1,100, or $2,500 per family, over the next

three years.

[2:40 p.m.]

Increased taxes will lead to increased food and fuel and pretty much

everything you, as British Columbians, do and buy.

The NDP has clearly resorted to taxing and spending. But that taxing

and spending doesn’t account for the possibility that the economy might

slow. Resource revenue is already down by 30 percent, and housing starts

will drop by 30 percent, as well, over the next few years.

Further, we must question whether ICBC can really be turned around in

just one year. The Crown corporation is expected to go from a loss of $1.8

billion to a profit of $50 million in just one year? Benefits and expenses

will be clawed back, including minor injury caps. Most importantly for all

of us who drive, premiums will increase over 30 percent over the next three

years.

This is what the NDP has promised, and this is what part of their

budgetary foundation relies on. Wildfires and other unexpected events, in

addition to devastating the Interior, could wipe out the very thin

surpluses.

Finally, there are public sector contracts that have yet to be

negotiated. I am convinced that budget B.C. leaves B.C. vulnerable to

circumstances beyond our control.

Taking all of this into account, thank goodness the past Liberal

government left this province with strong economic foundations, a hefty

surplus and low unemployment. What a misdemeanour it is for this government

to say that this budget is making life more affordable for British

Columbians. Perhaps for a few friends of the NDP, but not for your average

British Columbian.

I certainly cannot support this budget, nor can I or will I support

any budget that includes no jobs plan, no growth and no investment in rural

British Columbia.

S. Thomson: I seek leave to make an introduction.

Leave granted.

Introductions by Members

S. Thomson: Thank you. My apologies for interrupting the process for the next

speaker.

Madam Speaker, I’d just like to introduce…. In the introductions

earlier this morning, the presidents of the colleges were recognized, who

are in the precinct today and visiting with government. I had an opportunity

to meet with them.

One who wasn’t introduced at the time was Jim Hamilton, who is the

president of Okanagan College in Kelowna, with campuses in Vernon, Salmon

Arm and Penticton as well. Jim does a great job of leadership at the college

— a great institution in our communities. I’d ask the House to make him

welcome to the precinct today.

Debate Continued

A. Kang: Today I am rising to speak in support of Budget 2019. And in the

spirit of reconciliation, I want to acknowledge that we are on the unceded

territories, traditional territories, of the Songhees, the Esquimalt people,

who have lived here before us, and I thank them for giving us the ability to

meet and work on their land.

As the MLA for Burnaby–Deer Lake and as Parliamentary Secretary for

Seniors, I am honoured to rise today to speak on behalf of my constituents

and seniors all across British Columbia — those who have bestowed their

trust upon me and those who I have pledged to serve with all my

heart.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many people who

have played a major role in my life and supporting me during my time here. I

would like to thank my CAs, Apollo Chung and Felix Liang; as well, my LA,

Gurbrinder Kang; as well, my executive and everyone who volunteers and works

in my office; the work experience youth who are from Moscrop, who have done

a fabulous job for their work experience; and the community volunteers and

the community partners that I have.

[2:45 p.m.]

I especially want to thank my parents and my family for being there

for me. I especially want to take some moments to just thank my parents

here. They are the ones who kept giving me life and instilled in me the

value of giving back to the community.

Ever since I was young, I volunteered alongside my father, who is now

a retired United Church pastor. My father is the one who taught me the

passion of giving back to the community. This explains one of the reasons

why I love standing up in the Legislature almost once every week to pray for

the opportunity that is offered, to pray for sincerity of our services,

dignity as representatives of the people and unity as one legislative body

of many members with a diversity of opinions.

Life as an immigrant back then was very challenging, but we still

refer to our life back then as the good old days. The challenges of

adjusting to a new country, learning new languages, finding a new home,

making new friends, starting a new career and starting one’s life all over

again — these challenges never stopped my parents from giving their time to

helping others.

As a pastor’s kid — that’s what I was called, a PK — my parents

constantly reminded me that life is a gift. Life is a privilege. And with

this life is a responsibility of giving back in any way, small or

large.

At the end of the day, at its dawn, it is not about what we have

achieved. We come to this world with empty hands, and we will leave this

world with empty hands. It is about what we can do to help others and make

the world a better place than we were given. It is what we have done to lift

up others and what we have done to give back.

I carry this in my heart all the time, whether I’m a teacher, whether

I was a city councillor or whether I’m a Member of the Legislative

Assembly.

So, Mom and Dad, thank you so much for raising me up to be who I am

today, and thank you for your wisdom and guidance.

I share this story today because my upbringing helped shape my

dedication and my service to my community, and it helped shape my career as

a teacher and a politician. I believe that government is the voice of the

people and that government should be making people-centred policies and

working to make life better for its citizens. It is one of the reasons that

I began my service in politics, first as a Burnaby city councillor and then

as a Member of the Legislative Assembly representing Burnaby–Deer

Lake.

I want to help improve the services so much needed by the people on a

day-to-day basis, and I want to improve the confidence of those who have

bestowed their trust in me to serve them. I want to do what I can to keep

our province moving forward as we all work together to build a better

B.C.

It has been 18 months since I was newly elected. It has been a little

bit over a year since our New Democratic government has been here. And it

has been three balanced budgets that continue to put us on the path of

building a better B.C. for everyone.

Budget 2019 works to ensure that everyone has the opportunities they

need to succeed. This is a government about the people of British Columbia,

and with another balanced budget presented by the Finance Minister last

week, we are making a strong statement that everyone in this beautiful

province is our priority.

Before becoming a politician, I was a teacher. I began my teaching

career as a piano teacher and then as an elementary school teacher. I love

teaching. I was also a teacher of special ed and intermedia. So a lot under

my belt. I still love teaching. It’s something that I have great passion

for, and it’s something that comes very naturally to me.

I am who I am today also because I had teachers who cared about me and

who taught me, not just about academics and books but about life. A wise

Japanese saying inspires with the words: “Better than a thousand days of

diligent study is one day with a great teacher.” Nobody inspires us like

great teachers can. They seem to come along just at the right moment, at a

time when we need them the most. Teachers are caring, thoughtful and

inspirational. Everyone loves teachers.

Oh, but we can’t say the same for politicians. Not everyone loves

politicians. In fact, most people don’t like politicians. The term

“politician” carries a connotation that is often derogatory and

uncomplimentary, suggesting that a person of that status is in the job for

their party, cause or their own advantage.

[2:50 p.m.]

literacy terms. We were taught the word “oxymoron,” which is a figure of

speech containing words that seem to contradict each other. The textbook

example that we were given was “an honest politician.”

While the boys in the class broke out in laughter at the mere thought

of “moron,” I furrowed my brows and frowned at the example. I tried to make

sense of the example. At the age of 16, I couldn’t understand why the two

words “honest” and “politician” contradicted each other. I kind of see now,

but I hardly believe that’s always the case.

My teacher, probably seeing me abnormally quiet and staring into

space, called me out and asked me if I would like to give another example. I

was surprisingly startled and just coming out of deep thought. Oxymoron. So

I blurted out what I thought would be a witty remark. I said: “What about

smart teacher?” What happened after that is another story for another

time.

What I’m trying to tell with this story about oxymoron and honest

politician is that over the history of time, people have lost faith in

politicians that they have elected to represent them. Many people feel left

behind. People feel that their needs are not being met, and their interests

are not being served by their government — that politicians say one thing

during elections but never follow through. Many are disillusioned by the

political process and do not come out to vote, leaving those decisions up to

others. The choices of the past hurt people and left communities

behind.

Our government, the New Democrat government, is making different

choices and working to make life better for people. Making life better

starts with choices that we make today — from affordability to providing

services that work for people, from creating a sustainable economy to a

CleanBC. Our government is fixing the problems of the past and making

progress on the things that matter most to the people of British

Columbia.

The first thing I want to talk about is health care. I work very

closely with the Minister of Health, and I admire all the work that he’s

doing. The throne speech underscores our government’s work to provide

better, faster access to health care in all corners of the

province.

Part of the commitment includes improving care to seniors so that they

can access co-ordinated primary care services and receive more hours of

direct care in residential care homes, and family and friend caregivers can

get more support that they need through increases to respite and adult

daycare programs.

During the election, I spent many hours on the doorsteps talking to

people and listening to constituents about their needs and their concerns.

Since being elected, I have not stopped. I continue to spend my weekends

visiting and knocking in different neighbourhoods, meeting people on their

doorsteps. I want to make myself accessible to my constituents, whether it’s

on doorsteps, whether it’s in my constituency office or whether it’s in the

community, attending events.

One of the things that I hear is that many British Columbians still

struggle to find a primary care provider. Our government knows how hard it

is for people to find a doctor. Many people are still struggling with this.

But Budget 2019 invests more than $1.3 billion in total health spending over

three years, which means more doctors and more nurses and shorter wait times

for you and your families. This investment includes supports for the B.C.

Children’s and Women’s Hospital to provide services to women, children,

newborns and families.

This investment will also support the B.C. Cancer Agency and provide

for new drugs to be covered under PharmaCare. This is in addition to the

$3.8 billion that has been provided in the past budget, Budget 2017, for

services for seniors across the continuum of health care, expanding

team-based care, improving affordability of prescription drugs for low-and

middle-income individuals.

Our government knows that the people of Burnaby have been waiting for

a long time, and the people of British Columbia have been as well. So we are

increasing access to primary care. As part of our strategy, we are shifting

our focus to team-based care by bringing together doctors and nurses and

nurse practitioners and other health care professionals to create community

networks of care — primary care networks, including urgent primary care

centres and community health centres.

[2:55 p.m.]

These will be implemented to coordinate care and improve access for

people of all ages. This will help to make sure British Columbians,

including those with medically complex problems or our frail seniors, will

gain timely access to specialized community services.

Our government is also addressing the shortage of primary care

providers by providing funding for up to 200 new general practitioners, 200

new nurse practitioners and 50 clinical pharmacists and other care providers

over the next three years. We have been talking and listening to the people

of British Columbia, and we are doing something about this.

We are making it easier to find family doctors or a nurse

practitioner. As a result, we would experience more doctors and more nurses,

and there would be shorter wait times and we would be able to have our

health needs looked after. I think these are big changes that, over time,

will have a profound effect on our health care system.

Not only do I stay connected to constituents on doorsteps; I also have

the pleasure of visiting many senior groups and community groups across B.C.

I’ve heard from many families, especially families with seniors, that they

are concerned about the long wait times for surgeries. One individual

described her situation like this: as if her life was put on hold while she

waits for that call. This is no way for us to live. This is no way for

seniors to live and no way for people who are waiting for surgery to

live.

That is why our government launched the B.C. surgical and diagnostic

imaging strategy. Under this plan, we are working to increase the volume of

surgeries performed in B.C. to reduce wait lists for specific procedures and

keep waits for other procedures from growing. More procedures will be

performed this year, including hip and knee replacement surgery, dental

surgeries and other surgeries.

As one of the ways to make this possible, we’re opening five hip and

knee replacement programs throughout B.C. We have already announced four of

them — at Vancouver General Hospital, at Burnaby Hospital, at the University

Hospital of Northern B.C in Prince George and at Royal Jubilee Hospital in

Victoria.

I want to take a moment to talk about seniors, as this is my portfolio

and this is something that I’ve been working really hard on with the

minister and with my community. As the Parliamentary Secretary for Seniors,

I deeply care about the seniors in our community. We all have senior

parents. We all have grandparents or a neighbour who is in their elderly

age.

Our government’s budget is about the people of B.C., young or old. A

better future for British Columbia should be available to all of us. By

improving health care services, we can give seniors the dignity and peace of

mind they deserve. We can make sure that people have the support they need

to succeed.

We know that more than one-fifth of B.C.’s population is over 65, and

the number of seniors is expected to rise from 833,000 to 1.4 million

seniors in the next 15 years. This growth is an incredible opportunity for

society. I say this with most optimism, because with more seniors in our

province, it enriches our community with an opportunity to learn from one

another, to live full and involved lives.

It also calls on us to confront the very real challenge of providing

significantly increased levels of care. Our government is committed to

addressing this challenge.

I deeply and sincerely respect seniors and elders in our society. I

have neighbours and friends and community partners who are seniors. My

parents and relatives are seniors. My grandfather is a senior, and he is

turning 94 years old this year and still living at home with the support

that we’re able to give him. Even though they may be seniors in years, they

have the youthful spirit of a hummingbird.

As Parliamentary Secretary for Seniors, I have been speaking to senior

advocates and visiting senior care homes. I find that our seniors are filled

with such wisdom, such jokes that I have heard so often. They’re still

coming back, being still funny. But seniors are important to us, because of

their long, accumulated knowledge and experience and wisdom.

[3:00 p.m.]

Over the past year visiting different senior homes, I had a good chat

with one of the seniors. Her name is Wendy Yu. I would learn about life

experiences and practical experiences, such as being reminded that we should

always be kind to others and always give back to the community. This advice

might seem pretty obvious, but sometimes we just need a reminder or two now

and then.

While I was speaking to Wendy, who is now the young age of 96…. She’s

very active — still dancing, still teaching other people what she knows,

Wendy: how does she keep herself going, and how is she still able to be so

involved? She told me that we all live once and pass through this world just

once. But between the times when we open our eyes to the time when we close

our eyes, it is called life. So she tells me to make the best of it, for all

of us and be the best to everyone for every moment you have.

That is why our government is investing in seniors, so that we can

keep these wise words flowing, that we can keep our conversations going and

continue to learn from our seniors. We want our seniors to retire with

dignity. When our seniors are in care, I want them to be able to take a bath

for more than once a week and be able to get the care and attention needed

when they need basic care or to use the washroom when they need

to.

For way too long, under the previous government, too many B.C. seniors

were denied personal care, comfort and dignity. Past surveys and reports

reflect that nine out of ten care homes previously did not have enough staff

and that seniors didn’t get the support that they needed and the help that

they need to stay in their own homes.

Staff who care about seniors at B.C.’s residential care homes do a

great job, so I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you. Thank you

for everything that you’ve been doing and the patience and passions that you

have for our seniors. I know that, because I have visited many facilities

over the time that I have been an MLA.

When residential care homes are understaffed and overstretched,

everyone loses. Our goal is to make sure the resources are in place to

deliver quality senior care and the quality of care seniors need and deserve

every day. Around the province, we are improving residential care homes by

restoring the hours of care seniors need after years of cuts. Almost 270,000

more direct care hours have been added to support seniors and people in

long-term care. More hours make sure seniors are getting the care they need

and deserve.

This year an additional 1.2 million hours of care will be added all

across facilities. The Health Minister and I are working hard every day to

make sure our seniors are receiving enough care through increasing care

hours. We’ve already significantly added more care hours for patients by

converting part-time and casual to full-time. Taking care of staff and care

providers is one of the steps to taking care of our seniors.

By 2021, seniors will receive an average of 3.36 care hours per day.

Over 300 part-time and casual health care aides have already been converted

to full-time, and now we have another 500 to follow this year. We are

putting action into our promises — our promises to take care of our

seniors.

Not all seniors are requiring a care home or long-term care. Many

seniors choose to live independently, and many seniors are renters. Renters,

young or old, deserve greater security. Understandably, the stress of rent

increases, renovictions and unfair leases can leave renters, and especially

senior renters, feeling unsure about where they will be living the next

month. This is no way for anyone…. This is no way for a senior to live or

retire.

Budget 2019 is expanding benefits to seniors living independently by

increasing the amount that they receive through Shelter Aid For Elderly

Renters, otherwise known as SAFER. The SAFER program will be offering an

average of $930 per year. This investment combined with lifts to the rental

assistance program, which is called RAP, represents a $106 million increase

over three years in making housing more affordable for people with lower

incomes.

[3:05 p.m.]

When we invest in infrastructure projects to help keep British

Columbians moving, we also keep in mind our seniors. As my colleague’s

previous…. Maybe after my budget response, they’ll mention more about the

modernizing of our infrastructure. But for my purposes, I will be speaking

to this in respect to seniors.

Budget 2019 sees an investment of $21 million for B.C. Transit to

expand bus services in 30 communities around the province and make

improvements that are needed so much to help seniors and people with

disabilities in both rural and urban communities access transit

services.

When I have conversations with seniors about transportation and

lifestyle, they often reflect back to their good old days when ferry fares

were more affordable or even free. They tell me stories of their adventures

to the Sunshine Coast and their frequent visits to Victoria.

They would say: “We often have days when, you know, us old pals had

nothing to do and nowhere particular we had to be, so we hopped on the

transit, took the ferry, strolled along the Legislature and hung out in

Victoria’s downtown. That’s what we did.” A small group of them would board

the ferry to Victoria, enjoy the sea breeze and the beautiful ocean view,

order a cup of coffee, enjoy the breakfast and play cards or read magazines.

It is their way of enjoying a local cruise on the ferry.

In Budget 2019, we are making life more affordable by continuing the

freeze on ferry fares for major ferry routes, reducing fares on small routes

and keeping ferries free for seniors, Monday through Thursday. This is also

part of a commitment to making life in coastal communities more affordable.

When we announced this last year, many seniors visited my office, and they

said: “Thank you. Thank you so much for providing that local cruise back to

us again.”

Next I’d like to touch on the topic of education. I have two children

enrolled in the Burnaby school district, and I have also been a very proud

Burnaby school district teacher. I strongly believe in the principle of

education as a vehicle for social mobility. Education is a right. It is not

a privilege. It is a right for every child to have a good education in

British Columbia.

With this government’s budget, we are giving the students back their

right that has been taken away, bit by bit, for far too long in the past

years. A quality education should not be accessible only to the wealthy and

privileged, but it should be accessible to everyone. For the past ten years

as a teacher, I saw an entire generation of students being left behind as

they went to schools with overcrowded classrooms and inadequate resources,

and many schools were in need of seismic upgrades.

As part of Budget 2019, we are investing $2.7 billion to maintain,

replace, renovate and expand K-to-12 facilities over the next three years.

There will be at least eight projects across B.C., but I want to

specifically name one school that is in Burnaby. Burnaby will be welcoming a

new seismically safer school for Burnaby North Secondary students, and this

is good news for us all. As well, we are creating 5,500 new student spaces

throughout B.C. to help to move kids out of portables and into

classrooms.

I remember the first three jobs I had as a school teacher. Being a

music and resource teacher, guess where my classroom was. In a portable. It

was especially difficult as a teacher to be in a portable while pregnant and

having to go to the washroom at all times, as well as looking after the

safety of students who were going from the portables into the main building

to access the washroom facility or go back to their classrooms to get

resources that they had forgotten to bring to the portable.

As well, many schools will be receiving support funds for new or

upgraded playgrounds, which is a part of healthy living development for our

young children. This was celebrated with the PACs, and this was celebrated

with the school community. I know a lot of communities have been working

really hard to fundraise for a playground, some for many, many years, and

still have not gotten their playgrounds replaced.

Budget 2019 will also be delivering over $550 million in additional

support for our public education system. As a resource teacher for students

with special needs, I have seen the struggles of students with special needs

and their parents and families not getting the help that they need

immediately. Within the $550 million is an increased investment of $50

million for the classroom enhancement fund. This fund also includes hiring

more than 5,000 new teachers.

[3:10 p.m.]

I have been really busy this weekend and speaking with lots of people

about what they thought about Budget 2019. On this particular occasion, on a

Friday afternoon, after a pro-D day in Burnaby, and perhaps across British

Columbia, I was speaking to a teacher. His name is Mr. Cockram. Mr. Cockram

told me that his elementary school was one of the recipients of the

classroom enhancement fund. His school has now added two new divisions,

which means two new classrooms and two new classroom teachers, and built

four new resource rooms to better support students who have additional needs

outside of their classroom learning.

Mr. Cockram said: “With our classroom composition language restored by

the courts, here in Burnaby, we now have more supports for students and more

manageable classes.”

As a mom and a former teacher, I believe that no investment is more

important than a quality education, and I am proud that we are keeping our

promises to invest in our children, their education. This year students,

parents and teachers can continue to look forward to a better school

year.

Next I’d like to talk about student loan interest relief. This has

been a really huge topic in my community, because I work a lot with youth

and young workers and young students. Going back to my community last

weekend, I had a chance to engage in a meaningful conversation with youth in

high school and in college. I talked to them at length about the budget

report. I was surprised I actually had their attention for that long. But I

brought up the good news that our government is eliminating interest from

all British Columbian student loans, and they were extremely

happy.

All B.C. student loans will stop accumulating interest as of February

19, 2019. What would that look like to a student? Well, for a student with a

$28,000 combined federal and provincial loan debt, it will save

approximately $3,300 in interest charges over ten years of repayment period.

This is great news for low-income students who rely on student loans to

finance their education and often end up paying thousands of dollars in

interest more than students whose family can afford their educational costs.

So this was quite applauded and well received by the students that I was

talking to.

Very well received also was the B.C. child opportunity benefit. Last

week, after the budget speech, I received a call from Brad, a very excited

father, who has two young kids, one five years old and the other one ten

years old. He lives in my constituency, and he called me. He was very

excited about the B.C. child opportunity benefit program. He asserts that

our government is in touch with the everyday family and that we understood

the challenges of hard-working families.

There are so many bills to pay, and sometimes there are unexpected

expenses that just throw life off balance — for example, an illness, an

accident, a divorce. He appreciates how helping with this most important

item of family expenses levels the playing field for his children and other

children in British Columbia.

As the mother of two children, both of whom have phased out of the

support they got from the early childhood tax benefit, I would like to

particularly emphasize this new benefit program. Our government believes

that every child should have the opportunities they need to succeed and to

work towards their full potential, and that is why, in Budget 2019, we’re

expanding the current early childhood tax benefit into a new B.C. child

opportunity benefit. And opportunity is the key word there.

D. Ashton: Before I start my comments on the budget, there are a few people I

would like to thank and recognize. First of all, many, many thanks to the

people of Naramata, Penticton, Summerland, Peachland and the areas in

between that have allowed me to represent them in this wonderful institution

of democracy. I don’t take the position lightly or the responsibilities that

go with it, and whether you voted for me, didn’t vote for me or didn’t vote

at all, I and the wonderful staff at home…. We’re here to help, just like

each and every one of the other MLAs in this House, I’m sure.

The incredible staff on the front line at home in Peachland — I call

Penticton Peachland; it’s actually just called the Penticton riding — are

Sue, Dick and Rudy. These individuals make such a positive difference for

all that seek our offices for advice or help.

[3:15 p.m.]

Downstairs, a young lady by the name of Shala runs our office. I share

that office with several other elected peers. Shala rules the roost with a

thundering velvet hand. I don’t know how she does it, but all the requests

always get done. So, Shala, thank you very, very much.

Also, the volunteers in the constituency that not only help at

election time but are there day in and day out to respond to the requests

for information or are there to give direction. They have the ears and the

feet on the ground and are the ones front and centre with many of the issues

that we all face here.

I get the information, as many do, firsthand, and that can make an

incredible difference when you are talking to your peers in the House and/or

ministers of the government to seek leave and help for those individuals

that do have some concerns about direction and problems that they face in

their day-to-day lives.

My children — one in Whitehorse taking criminal justice at Yukon

College and another one here in Victoria at the University of Victoria,

who’s trying to do his best to become a veterinarian…. Chantal and Coleton,

I love you both dearly. As your grandfather said: “Keep your face to the

sunshine, the wind at your back. Set your eyes on your future and shake it

for everything that it’s worth.” I know you’re both doing that, and again,

keep up the incredible good work that you’re doing.

Again, just before I start, there was an incident in Penticton — or

just north of Penticton at Summerland — about three weeks ago, where a part

of the hillside gave way at a particularly difficult

section of the

four-lane highway that goes between Summerland and Greata Ranch. I would

really, really like to thank the highways ministry staff in Penticton and

the contractors that have gone above and beyond to address this rock

slide.

These individuals have been working in incredibly inclement weather.

If we look here in Victoria, what the Victoria people have gone through,

well, you can times that by ten — not 100 like the north, when I’m looking

over at a peer from the north end of the province. But the weather has been

awful, and these individuals have been working on that slide by hand,

because it was too dangerous to get machines up there, and doing an

incredible job to get the highway reopened.

Together with the highways ministry and the ministry staff at FLNRO,

they were able to open two alternative routes, one on each side of the

valley, to try and facilitate the vast amount of valley traffic that came to

a dead standstill. These roads that were opened up were logging roads. They

weren’t perfect by any stretch of the meaning, but they saved an awful lot

of time by having to divert around Highway 33 or head over to Princeton and

go up and join onto 5 and come back down into West Kelowna by Gorman’s

Mill.

Again, I would like to thank the staff in both of these ministries,

and I really hope that the Minister of Transportation will give all the

accolades that these individuals deserve and to the contractors. All I can

say is: “Well done, folks. Without you, we’d really be in a pickle in the

valley.”

I also would like to thank the Finance Minister at this point in time

for taking up budgetary items that were brought forward from the Finance and

Government Services Committee. This committee, in my mind, hears every year

directly from the citizens and then puts forward those ideas in a report

that is presented here in the Legislature. It was very enlightening to see

that some of these requests were granted.

Many thanks to the MLA for Maple Ridge–Mission, who happens to chair

the committee, and the other members of the committee that are on it. It’s a

bipartisan committee. It’s a committee that works very, very well. I look

around here and see some other members that are on it and have been on it.

We all work very hard on that committee with the uptake and trying to ensure

that those that do present are represented in the report. Again, many thanks

to the Minister of Finance for bringing those ideas forward and helping fund

in some way some of those ideas.

I would like to recognize all the MLAs that sit in this wonderful

Legislature. You know, we are all here representing all the citizens of

British Columbia. It doesn’t matter what political party we affiliate

ourselves with; we look at everything through a democratic eye. Whether

you’re a Green or a Liberal or an NDP — part of the government — in my

opinion, we each do our job pretty decently, and I think the people that we

represent should be proud.

[3:20 p.m.]

The MLA for Burnaby–Deer Lake brought up an oxymoron about politicians

and the perception of politicians, but I wish the people of British Columbia

could spend some time here, not only to see the good debate that goes back

and forth at various times during the day but also to see the cooperation

and collaboration that takes place inside this chamber to make life better

for all.

That’s something that I think isn’t reported enough through the media

sources that the people of British Columbia should really be aware of.

Again, to my peers — not only on this side of the House but on that side of

the House and the Green members that aren’t here: thank you for your time

and efforts that you put forward representing the people of British

Columbia.

Last but definitely not least, I look around here at the wonderful

staff, not only those that are present in this House today but those who are

out in the hall, those that help us in our offices and those that help run

this incredible building. Without them and the incredible job that they do,

this institution wouldn’t be functioning to the ability that it

functions.

To each and every one of you, I personally want to say: thank you.

Keep up the good work. I don’t know how you do it with the long hours that

you put in here, but you’re always there at a person’s beck and call if

something is needed. Once again, on behalf of myself and, I’m quite sure,

all the MLAs in here: wonderful, wonderful job. Thank you.

The 2019 provincial budget, in my mind, is a budget that I don’t think

quite addresses the concerns of the constituents of Penticton and the area

that I represent. We were sitting back and waiting for some of the promises

that were made, in the 2017 election, by the current government. They’re

halfway through their mandate at this point in time. I really thought it was

a good, bold platform of promises that they had put forward two years ago.

To be frank, I’d really hoped that they would deliver on a lot. To their

credit, they have delivered on some but not all. Some of the real

eye-catchers that were in there — $10-a-day care and $400 renters rebate —

we haven’t yet seen.

Coming back again to what was said about the hypocrisy that has a

tendency to come forward in political discussions, I think that if you do

put forward something, you should follow through with it. I would ask, under

consideration, that all of us, when we do make a speech in here or a

political promise, do our utmost to deliver it within a reasonable time

frame. I ask my peers on the government side of the House, when you do make

a promise to the people of British Columbia, that you do follow through with

it as quickly as possibly you can.

One of the things in this budget is the spending. I’m a well-known,

staunch, fiscally responsible, financially ac­countable individual

that has a huge social conscience. I’m really, really worried at this point

in time about the direction that is being taken. It’s one thing to lay out a

bunch of issues that you would like to see addressed; it’s another thing to

deliver on those.

This province, this country and pretty well all of North America has

enjoyed a very good ten-year run and a very strong economy, but it’s coming

to an end. I’m not an economist; I’m down-to-earth. My family owned a chain

of retail stores. We valued every day that we were able to carry on a good

business. We looked after the pennies, and the dollars followed.

Right now it’s somewhere here at the top of the bell curve. I don’t

know if we’re on the uphill side still or sliding over the top and on the

downhill side, but the economy is changing. Not only is it changing in

Canada, not only is it changing in the United States, but it’s starting to

change here in British Columbia. I really hope that there’s money that is

being put away for the future. That needs to be addressed.

I hope that the government, through their policies of taxation that

we’ve seen, will start winding that back. At some point in time here, we are

going to be facing a real downturn in the economy, which, I hope, doesn’t

last too long. People are taxed out. Whether it’s from the federal level of

government, the provincial level of government that we’re so ably proud to

be able to serve in, the municipal or the regional, governments have a

tendency to stick their hands in people’s pockets — in my opinion, too

much.

[3:25 p.m.]

Yes, there’s an opportunity, fair and balancing, that can be done

through taxation systems, but at some point in time, people are going to

say: “Whoa, enough taxation. Leave me something in my pockets to be able to

look after my family — not only now but into the future.” I really think

that some of these policies that we’re seeing coming forward have an inertia

attached to them that is going to bind us up, especially if the economies do

turn down. There’s going to have to be some adjustment because, in my

opinion, people are going to be saying: “Enough taxation.”

And spending. You know, there has been a terrific enhancement of

spending. One part of me says: “Good for you.” There was a very nice surplus

left by the previous government — and a strong economy, not just based here

in British Columbia but based across Canada. B.C. has been very fortunate,

compared to other parts of Canada. It’s approximately a 26 percent lift in

spending. A lot of that has been accomplished by additional taxation. I

think that we had better be a little bit careful as we go into the future

here. In my opinion, there are some storm clouds on the horizon. I think

that needs to be addressed.

There are all kinds of issues that have been brought up around the

speculation tax — some in a meaningful way and others in a not-so-meaningful

way. There are 1.6 million British Columbians that have to prove that

they’re not guilty of speculation. They’re counted as speculators until

proven innocent. I don’t think that’s fair. Underneath the guise of a

speculation tax, I hope, I assume, that there is something a little bit more

innocuous that is being held back.

I’m not in favour of this speculation tax. I am not in favour of the

opportunity of taxing wealth or taxing inheritance. You know, that money

stays in the system, and it keeps going on and going on. It perpetuates what

we’ve been so fortunate to have here in British Columbia. I really think

government should be very careful when they start trying to attach

it.

There’s a gentleman by the name of Paul Sullivan, one of the renowned

property tax specialists in British Columbia. In just the downturn that

we’ve felt so far, there has been approximately $10 billion in home equity

wiped out. Now, to government’s credit, they are trying to address some of

the things that have caused some issues, but I think the broad brush that

they have used is hurting a lot of other people.

I have to think about people that I know that have gone out and

purchased their first property or moved up into another property and are

quickly finding themselves — if not at this point in time, very quickly — to

be seen underwater, as far as their equity in the property that they own.

That’s one of the issues that I think governments have to be a little, tiny

bit careful of.

You’re not just trying to curb speculation. What you’re doing, in

effect, is affecting the price points that people have, as I said a little

bit earlier, of equity in their homes. It’s not just making “luxury” homes

cheaper. What you have to do is to address the people in this province that

are trying to get into their first home, their starter home. When they get

into it, the last thing in the world that they need is to have a lot of

equity disappear.

Whether it’s one year’s, two years’, three years’ or five years’

financing, they’re going to have to justify, at some point in time, the

value that they have in that house in equity. If it’s wiped out in a bit of

a downturn, that can cause them a lot of problems.

I would also like to talk about some forms of fiscal policy that have

been shown by the current government, in the taxation and the spending. The

slim balanced budget has been projected on future revenue based upon the

economy that we have — taking into consideration some of the growth that the

Finance Minister has been able to ascertain by some pretty talented

individuals in this province. But we’re still at the whim of what may or may

not be happening federally and, especially, in all of North America. So I

think we have to be a little, tiny bit careful about the

direction.

[3:30 p.m.]

[S. Chandra Herbert in the chair.]

I just hope those in the government are listening. You know, growth is

slowing, housing starts are down, and there are 19 new or increased

taxations that have taken place since the election of the government.

Unfortunately, from what I’ve seen…. I could stand to be corrected, but in

this budget, I don’t see a lot that’s focusing on growing the economy or

attracting investment to British Columbia.

B.C. has been so fortunate. It’s a province of haves, not have-nots.

Our economy is based on a province that has a terrific amount of assets. Not

only human assets but also assets in the ground, whether it’s the oil and

gas industry, the mineral industry, the lumber industry and, as I said first

of all, the human assets that B.C. has. I think we have to be very careful

how we engage in addressing the issues that government needs to put forth in

their mandate and also what it would require to do the balance of letting

people do what they need to advance their own lives.

I think a lot of foresight needs to be reassessed. Again, I sure hope,

but I have not seen in the budget that there are any plans for future

downturns. Again, I don’t think a downturn is that far away.

As I said a little bit earlier about my fiscal upbringing and all

that, I’d have trouble…. My dad always brought me up that the best pillow is

a clean conscience, and I do sleep pretty good at night. But I would have a

bit of an issue if I was in the government looking forward and saying:

“Okay, here’s what we’ve done to date. Here’s what we want to do. How can we

do this?” Again, the taxation window is, I think, getting a little bit steep

for most people in British Columbia.

I really think the members of the Third Party, the Green Party, here

in the House would have a problem with…. I think sustainability is front and

centre of what they like to see, and I think that they have a bit of

difficulty in seeing the direction. I hope that they would be a little bit

more vocal on some of the direction that the government is

taking.

The carbon tax is an issue. It was brought in by a previous

government. It’s been re-emphasized with the current government. There’s a

lot of money going forward and a lot of money to be utilized in the future.

We all want to leave British Columbia and Canada and North America and this

whole earth a better place for our kids and the future generations. We don’t

want to just look at one or two or three or four. We want to continue to

look into the future, that we do make a difference for those that are coming

forward.

As I said, there’s an awful lot of money being collected over the next

couple of years. And the amount of money that I’ve seen being put forward

for initiatives that are going to make British Columbia a better place to

live, with the environment, is not an amount that, in my opinion, should be.

It should be more, especially when that cash is being brought forward under

the guise of a carbon tax to make British Columbia a bit better

place.

To my friends in the Green Party, it was a PR referendum that went

through. In my opinion, I think that you’re un­shackled now, and you

have the opportunity to bring forward, to speak the truth and have the power

to fight for your principles. You are a partner of the government. You have

a good say in the government. You have the opportunity to say no and to not

demand but to work forward on concessions. I hope that you would exercise

that authority to ensure that more of this money that is being collected

through a carbon tax is being put to the right uses, which is for the future

environment that we want to leave British Columbia and a better environment

than what we have right now.

I would ask that you take a look at this, not only the Green Party but

also the members of government, the members on my side of the House, and

take a look at the flag that has been raised on this. Let’s see if we can

come up with something collectively that’s going to make everybody

happy.

That’s one thing I hear in this House on a continual basis — working

together. I can’t think of a better thing to work together on than the

future of this province for the next generations.

[3:35 p.m.]

Environmental concerns sometimes don’t ring well with some people, but

all you need to do is look at other places in the world today that haven’t

respected their environment or respected what goes on around them. That’s

why a lot of them actually, I think, come to British Columbia, because it’s

such a wonderful place to live.

Again, on the spending, there’s a substantial increase in spending. I

said approximately 26 percent, approximately $13 billion. God, as a kid

growing up…. Some of you here will remember the dollar bills. I do remember

reading that if you stuck a dollar bill end to end to end, one billion would

reach the moon. That will give you an idea about how much money a billion

is.

There is $13 billion of additional spending coming forward. A lot of

it’s going to good places — don’t get me wrong — but I think care should be

taken, because a lot of it’s being borrowed. That is one of the things that

we have to be cautious of.

Balancing budgets. I really think that the onus is on a government to

balance its budget and not to pass it along. The employer health tax is one.

In my small community of Penticton, which I call home, even though I live

outside of its boundary, a 1 percent tax increase is being directly

attributable to the employer health tax. It’s my understanding that here in

Victoria, it’s a 2 percent increase, and I think I heard something on the

radio the other morning about X amount of police officers that may lose

their jobs in some form of balancing that Victoria is having to

do.

There is an opportunity for government, in my opinion, to do some

balancing and rebalancing, where this taxation level just does not go on to

another level of government, which in turn has to pass it on to their

citizens — in a little bit the form of a broader brush. But it’s still a

taxation on individuals.

I’ll come back to what I said earlier. I think a lot of individuals

are getting taxed out at this point in time. It doesn’t make life more

affordable. That is something that I know many of the members on that side —

well, all the members in this House — would like to see for people — to make

life more affordable, to be able to enjoy the beautiful province and cities

that we live in here in British Columbia.

I come back to $10-a-day care. I would ask that if it’s something that

is going to transpire…. You’ve made the promise, government. Please deliver

it. We on the Finance and Government Services Committee heard this on a

continual basis, how it will change people’s lives. It was brought forward

in an election. Now it’s time to do it. It’s been almost two years. Please,

government, you made the promise. Let’s bring it forward.

I think people in the province of British Columbia have listened to

the talk of the current government, and I’m not so sure that this budget is

delivering on what was promised or what could be delivered. I really, really

hope that the government will reconsider how they plan to tax individuals in

this province and what they plan to do with the money.

I don’t think that a short-term gain is what the people of British

Columbia want to be utilized with their money. They want governments —

whether it’s municipal, regional, provincial or federal — to take a look at

the long term. Put the actions and the plans in place for long-term

sustainability so that everyone can enjoy the benefits that governments are

able to put forward.

To me, again, just touching on it…. I know I look at what’s happening

— I’m a voracious reader — in China these days, in the United States these

days, what’s happening in Canada and, unfortunately, now what’s happening in

British Columbia. I really think that at some point in time here, there’s

going to have to be some sober second thought in the government about the

future.

I had the opportunity, when the current government was in, to be in

Treasury Board, to see the requests coming in from various ministries and to

have to be part of an entity that could say yes or no. That entity, at least

in my tenure, was always looking forward and doing the things that could be

best done going forward.

[3:40 p.m.]

I think that the government of British Columbia currently can do

better. I would ask them, not only on my behalf, not only on behalf of many

in this House at this point in time but, most important to me, on behalf of

all of the citizens that we represent: make it fair. Make it balanced. Give

us the opportunities that you promised or that you have put forward. Let’s

make sure that everybody is included in this rise that the government would

like to see. Let’s just make sure that the money that is acquired is spent

wisely — not just, as the nice young lady, the nice peer of mine, from

Burnaby–Deer Lake said….

Let’s not carry on that entity of politicians being assumed to be

spreaders of untruths all the time but spreaders of information that is only

political. Let’s make sure that everybody can enjoy the benefits that this

province provides, in a fair and equitable way.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to be here today. Thank you to

each and every one of my peers for allowing me to stand.

Again, to my kids, keep up the good work. You don’t want to follow in

my footsteps; you want to go a different direction.

Hon. G. Heyman: It’s an honour to take my place in this debate on this

budget.

First of all, I want to begin with some acknowledgments and some

recognitions. Let me start by acknowledging my family — my immediate family

and my extended family — that offer me support in myriad and countless ways,

whether it’s moral support, whether it’s physical support, whether it’s

helping me, as everybody’s family in this place does, balance the competing

demands of work in this chamber — of policy development, of getting around

our community and of still having the important, personal lives we all need

to lead in order to stay in touch.

I also want to thank the many staff with whom I have the honour of

working. First, in my constituency office, my constituency assistants, Nadja

Komnenic and Lisa Dekleer, as well as my part-time constituency assistants,

Nicholas Bragg and Donalda Greenwell-Baker. There is a reason that people in

the community of Vancouver-Fairview feel that if they have an issue, it will

be addressed, and that if they have a concern, their voice will be heard. It

is the empathy and openness and knowledge that all four of these wonderful

staff bring to their jobs on behalf of all British Columbians.

I also want to thank the staff — my ministerial assistants, Caelie

Frampton and Eveline Xia, as well as the administrative staff in my office,

Kirsten Neilson and Ashley Drew — for managing the demands that come with a

ministerial office and doing it with a sense of humour, and offering me

support on the long days, which we all need.

I also want to thank the people of Vancouver-Fairview, the

constituents and, as the member for Penticton said, not just the ones who

voted for me but all of them. All of them taught me on the doorstep, in our

conversations, whether it’s during an election campaign or a casual visit,

about the issues that they think about every day. The issues that they think

about every day are the issues that we need to think about every day and the

issues that should inform the budgets that we develop as government and that

are debated and voted on in this House.

They are clear. They are appreciative of the challenges. They are

often very appreciative of the things that government accomplishes for them,

even when they come to the office with a different issue or a complaint.

Whether they are small business people, whether they are students, whether

they are parents, whether they are health care workers, whether they are

teachers, they bring a perspective that we, as legislators, need to listen

to and that we benefit from listening to. They keep us honest. They help

inform the things that we make priorities.

I also want to thank, beyond Vancouver-Fairview, the people of British

Columbia.

[3:45 p.m.]

I was listening to the member for Penticton speak. I know, for all of

the last term, the member was the Chair of the Finance Committee. I was a

member of that committee for three years, along with the current Finance

Minister, and we annually heard from British Columbians.

It is difficult, if not impossible, for anyone who has served on a

Finance Committee and travelled the province to hear from British Columbians

not only about what they need to make their communities strong and healthy

but about the challenges they face as individuals or as small, non-profit

organizations in trying to cobble together the funding to provide important

services, whether it’s supporting women who’ve been victims of violence,

women and children; whether it’s advocating and supporting literacy

programs; whether it’s streamkeepers or conservation organizations; whether

it is teachers or administrators of the school system, or parents or

students who let us know what’s needed, what they experience on a day-to-day

basis…. It is difficult to ignore the issues they bring forward.

They talk about what they do to promote the arts in their community,

what they do to promote amateur sport in their community, what they do to

make sure their community has the infrastructure that’s needed to be

healthy. What often struck us on the committee — and I’m sure current

members of the committee experience the same thing — is the amount of work

that British Columbians in every community do on a volunteer basis, or over

and above their daily job, to make their communities a better

place.

To support people who are trying to get established. To learn literacy

skills or come back from a health issue or from a difficult time in their

life or from having made a couple of mistakes or from overcoming certain

challenges. To become productive members of the community to the greatest

extent that’s available to them as individuals, while also getting the

support that they need. They teach us much. They contribute much. They are

what makes British Columbia great.

That’s why it is such a pleasure and an honour to speak to this

budget. I recall listening to the Finance Minister’s speech introducing the

budget, listening not only to the elements of the budget but to the

narrative that wove the budget together, that began with a local community

and ended with a local community. For most people, that’s where they spend

most of their time. That’s where they place most of their focus.

What I heard and what, I’m sure, the member for Penticton also heard

was many of the issues that have been raised by people repeatedly in

communities around this province — in Finance Committee public meetings but

also on the doorstep and also with people who attend our constituency

offices — the little things that would make their life better.

When I meet with people in my constituency, they talk to me very, very

clearly about the struggles they face on a day-to-day basis to make ends

meet and how a little thing like support with child care would make it so

much easier for them to have a few extra dollars to spend on their kids, a

few extra dollars for recreational activities that are educational for their

children or that just mean that they don’t have to wring their hands at

night wondering if they’re going to be able to make ends meet and pay the

bills.

How they struggle to deal with the cost of living — endless lines of

people over the last few years have come to my office to talk about housing

challenges or the challenges they worry about for their kids or that they

face as renters. Whether it was Joanna who came to my office to talk about

how she and all of the fellow tenants of her building, who had lived there

for years, were all of a sudden being confronted with a proposed 35 percent

rent increase….

That was allowable under the rules that existed before this government

closed the loopholes and changed the rules and made life safer for people

who wonder from month to month if they’ll have a place to live and, if they

do find a place to live, if they can afford that place.

[3:50 p.m.]

Sean and the group that he put together from his heritage building in

Vancouver-Fairview, who one by one, were being picked off by questionable

proposals for renovation that either made their lives intolerable or

resulted in renovictions…. The kinds of pressures that were put on people

who didn’t have the skills or experience or knowledge of the law to

withstand them — these are the kinds of issues that got raised with me, with

my colleagues and, I’m sure, with members on the other side on a regular

basis.

Issues of housing. Issues of affordability. Issues of justice. Issues,

particularly for renters, of being able to have a place to live that they

could afford, where they felt like the playing field wasn’t tilted

drastically against them. Those are the kinds of issues that we have

addressed with legislation, with funding dedicated to housing, with measures

to slowly but surely turn around the housing crisis that British Columbians

and, in fact, many Canadians, whether it’s in big cities or small

communities, identify as one of the single greatest challenges they

face.

The members opposite and others have talked about child care, as we

have. We have, incrementally over time, made substantial contributions and

investments in building a child care system through reducing fees; providing

more money for people, for parents, in their pockets; supporting child care

workers; increasing the number of child care spaces; and working on

building, step by step, a holistic system that can provide affordable,

accessible child care.

It’s not just parents and families and children who will benefit from

this. It’s our econom