2005 Legislative Session: First Session, 38th Parliament

HANSARD

The following electronic version is for informational purposes

only.

The printed version remains the official version.

Official Report of

DEBATES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

(Hansard)

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2005

Afternoon Sitting

Volume 1, Number 7

CONTENTS

Routine Proceedings

Page

Tributes

Terry Fox Day

Hon. G. Campbell

Introductions by Members

Introduction and First

Reading of Bills

Freedom of Information and

Protection of Privacy Amendment Act, 2005

(Bill 4)

Hon. M.

de Jong

Statements (Standing Order

B) Tri-Cities baseball teams

I. Black

Whalley Little League

Ralston

Dalai Lama centre

Mayencourt

Riverview Hospital lands

Thorne

Terry Fox

H. Bloy

Farnworth

Oral Questions

Budget priorities and corporate

tax reduction

C. James

Hon. C.

Taylor

Hon. G.

Campbell

J. Kwan

Funding for child protection

A. Dix

Hon. S.

Hagen

Government support for seniors

Farnworth

Hon. C.

Taylor

Funding for long-term care beds

Conroy

Hon. G.

Abbott

Government action on crystal meth

Conroy

Hon. J.

Les

Petitions

H. Lali

Budget Debate (continued)

Hon. R. Thorpe

M. Karagianis

Hon. L. Reid

S. Simpson

D. Hayer

B. Ralston

Hon. R. Neufeld

N. Macdonald

[ Page 93 ]

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2005

The House met at 2:02 p.m.

Tributes

TERRY FOX DAY

Hon. G. Campbell: On Sunday thousands of Canadians will

join together to carry on the vision of a remarkable British Columbian, Terry

Fox. This year the annual Terry Fox Run marks the 25th anniversary of Terry's

Marathon of Hope. It was April in 1980 that Terry took the first steps in his

epic journey with the dream of helping those who had — and helping us eradicate

— cancer. It was 25 years ago this month that he was forced to abandon his run.

He did not make it to his destination here in Victoria, but his run did carry

him into history and into the hearts of Canadians and people around the world.

Today it is an honour to welcome to the House some very special

guests: Terry's parents Rollie and Betty Fox, and Rob Reid from Victoria who has

led the effort to erect a memorial for Terry at Mile Zero that will be unveiled

at a ceremony tomorrow.

I know that Rollie and Betty are incredibly proud of their son and

his living legacy, and I know all of us are also proud of Terry as one of B.C.'s

greatest sons. To this day we're all inspired and we are all humbled by the

remarkable courage of a young man who dared to dream and to put his dream into

action. He remains an enduring hero — an enduring icon of courage, hope and all

that those two qualities mean to Canadians.

With the leave of the House, I would like to read a proclamation

that will be proclaimed shortly.

[1405]

The government of British Columbia recognizes Terry Fox as a symbol

for all British Columbians of hope, courage and determination in the fight

against cancer. Terry Fox, at the age of 21 and having a leg amputated due to

bone cancer, endeavoured to run across Canada to raise funds and awareness to

combat this deadly disease.

Terry Fox's run, which he named the

Marathon of Hope, covered 5,373 kilometres over 143 days,

equivalent to 42-kilometre marathons every single day, until he was forced to

stop due to the recurrence of his cancer. The selfless and heroic efforts of

Terry Fox have resulted in increased awareness and support for a growing

worldwide family dedicated to Terry's dream of eradicating cancer from our

midst.

The annual Terry Fox Run has grown into

an international event with an estimated three million

participants in more than 50 countries, and in every province and territory in

Canada. The funds raised by the Terry Fox Run to date total approximately $360

million, making it one of the largest cancer research funding events in the

world.

Whereas September 2005 marks the 25th

anniversary of the end of Terry Fox's original run and honours

the spirit of Terry's vision as a single dream and a world of hope,

now

therefore do we declare September 18, 2005, Terry Fox Day in British Columbia.

I hope the House will make the Foxes welcome and honour

the dream of Terry Fox.

[Applause.]

Introductions by Members

I. Black: I rise today to recognize over 25 players,

coaches, parents and supporters of the Coquitlam-Moody Reds baseball club, whose

reasons for being here will be explained further in the two-minute statements. I

am delighted to have these championship ballplayers in Victoria today and hope

that they enjoy the scintillating debate and discourse that is unique to this

chamber. Would the House please join me in making them welcome.

K. Conroy: It gives me great pleasure today to introduce to

the House — to some of you, he doesn't need an introduction — the former MLA for

Rossland-Trail, my husband Ed Conroy. He is here today, and he is quick to say

that he is enjoying the role reversal in our relationship.

Introduction and

First Reading of Bills

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AND

PROTECTION OF PRIVACY

AMENDMENT ACT, 2005

Hon. M. de Jong presented a message from Her Honour the

Lieutenant-Governor: a bill entitled Freedom of Information and Protection of

Privacy Amendment Act, 2005.

Hon. M. de Jong: Mr. Speaker, I move that Bill 4 be

introduced and read a first time now.

Motion approved.

Hon. M. de Jong: Bill 4 amends the Freedom of Information

and Protection of Privacy Act to ensure that this House, in fact, has the

broadest range of candidates to choose from when selecting an Information and

Privacy Commissioner to serve as a watchdog for access and privacy rights in the

province.

The amendments proposed in this bill specifically allow for the

Committee of Selection that will shortly be struck to consider the candidacy of

the incumbent. It also ensures that the acting Privacy Commissioner has all of

the legal authority necessary to continue in his role, pending the selection of

a new Privacy Commissioner.

[1410]

I move that Bill 4 be placed on the orders of the day for second

reading at the next sitting of the House after today.

Bill 4, Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Amendment

Act, 2005, introduced, read a first time

[ Page 94 ]

and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next

sitting of the House after today.

Statements

(Standing Order 25

b) TRI-CITIES BASEBALL TEAMS

I. Black: I'm honoured to be here representing the

constituents of Port Moody–Westwood in this Legislature. In the coming days I

will share in my inaugural response to the budget more about this great and

diverse riding and the four municipalities within it.

Today, however, it is a pleasure for me to rise in this House to

acknowledge a remarkable sporting achievement within our province. I would like

to pay tribute to an organization from my riding that is a shining example of

the ongoing pursuit of our goal to lead the way in North America in healthy

living and physical fitness.

When a local individual or a team achieves national success, it is

not unusual for this House to pause and share in the thrill of the victory. What

I'm bringing to your attention today, though, is something even more

commendable. Two teams of different age groups from the same baseball club were

crowned provincial champions: the triple-A peewee and the bantam teams from the

Coquitlam-Moody Reds baseball club. But the story does not end there. At the end

of August they represented our province with honour at the national

championships in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, where the peewee team won the

Baseball Canada national championship, while the bantam team won the silver

medal.

Today we are lucky to have players, coaches and parents from both

championship teams in our gallery. For two teams from the same club in the same

year not only to win the provincial championships but also to carry this

momentum forward to capture first and second place nationally is simply an

extraordinary achievement and reflects years of commitment in program

development within the club. Please join me in congratulating the Reds players,

coaches and the parents for all their hard work and dedication in representing

our province. They are a shining example of how British Columbia is the best

place to live and raise a family, and they are the current pride of Tri-Cities

athletics.

WHALLEY LITTLE LEAGUE

B. Ralston: There's obviously a baseball theme here today.

I want to speak about the Whalley Little League all-star baseball team who

returned from their recent trip to the Little League World Series in

Williamsport, Pennsylvania, where they were the international division

semi-finalists. Equally importantly or perhaps even more importantly, they were

also awarded the 2005 Little League World Series team sportsmanship award, which

is an award where everyone, including the people who work in the stadium, votes

on it. It's quite an honour, because you really have to be on your best

behaviour at all times, and you can't fake that.

The players are Justin Atkinson….

Interjection.

B. Ralston: That's why it's part of the new spirit of this

House. But I do want to mention the players individually: Justin Atkinson,

Mitchell Burns, Matt Catonio, Nathan de la Feraude, Jeff Degano, Alexander

Dunbar, Christopher Fischer, Conrad Gallagher, Jerrod Gray, Richard Lankmayr,

Tanner Morache, Kristopher Robazza, Nick Rohla and Talon Van Horn — coached by

Joe Burns and John Atkinson and managed by Glenn Morache. I know that all

members will want to join me in congratulating this team from Whalley for their

great job in representing Surrey, British Columbia and Canada.

I also want to extend an invitation at this time, on behalf of the

Whalley Little League, to the Canadian Little League championships which will

take place in August 2006 in Whalley. Teams from across Canada will be

represented, and I look forward to seeing you all there at that time.

DALAI LAMA CENTRE

L. Mayencourt: As some of the members will know, I had the

privilege last year of working on the visit for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. We

had great success with this, and the group that worked with me on this committee

decided that we wanted to create a legacy. So we began a discussion in our

community about creating the Dalai Lama centre for peace and education in

Vancouver.

The centre will bring together experts from around the world, and

they'll do research and educate people about basic human values and proactively

promote peace everywhere. Our goal is to make this an international institution

that would make B.C. a leader in promoting peace and basic human values that

will one day be shared around the globe. It could be a centre that works

proactively with other post-secondary educational institutions in B.C. to do

research and promote everyone's goal of peaceful societies.

[1415]

His Holiness has agreed to return to Vancouver every two years to

host dialogues in our community at the proposed centre. We're all very honoured

that he has taken a personal and active interest in this initiative. I look

forward as I go to visit him in Tucson this weekend…. We can continue our work

on this valuable initiative in our community.

Mr. Speaker, just to give you a sense of how important it is,

imagine if, 40 years ago, we had created the Gandhi centre for peace. We might

have advanced the basic human values that he represented. We have a wonderful

opportunity to do this with the Dalai Lama.

RIVERVIEW HOSPITAL LANDS

D. Thorne: Today I rise with pleasure to speak for the

first time in this venerable institution. I will talk

[ Page 95 ]

about the Riverview Hospital and lands, another venerable institution, with

which the riding of Coquitlam-Maillardville has been blessed. Well-known

provincially as a haven for the care of the mentally ill for the past century,

the Riverview Hospital lands themselves are less known as a significant

environmental and heritage site.

This Sunday, September 18, the annual Riverview TreeFest will be

held in the afternoon. Sponsored by the Riverview Horticultural Society, the

Arts Connect, the Burke Mountain Naturalists and the city of Coquitlam, this

event will showcase the Riverview lands — their beauty and tranquility; their

educational, cultural and artistic opportunities; and especially their ecology

and history.

Contained within the Riverview lands is a unique collection of

historic buildings, which are an outstanding example of British Columbia

architecture. There is an exceptional arboretum with a world-class collection of

mature rare trees throughout the site. There is greenspace, watercourses,

biodiversity and excellent wildlife habitat.

There is a history of heritage landscape and building by the

patients themselves, which is little known outside the city of Coquitlam.

It is well worth going to see. Of course, we can't forget the cemetery, which

has been there for very many years.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to invite all the members of this House

to attend on Sunday. I think it would be well worth their while. If they can't

make it Sunday, please make an effort. We have a lot of these walks, and the

Riverview lands are well worth a visit. We'd like you all to come out on Sunday

to Coquitlam after the Terry Fox walk in your own communities.

TERRY FOX

H. Bloy: I would also like to take this opportunity to talk

about Terry Fox and his legacy. Not only is Terry Fox a hero, but he is also an

inspiration to us all. I cannot think of any other person who has made such a

positive impact on people's lives.

Terry never felt sorry for himself. He refused to blame others for

his cancer. Instead of complaining about it, he made the decision to help others

afflicted by this disease.

Setting off from St. John's, Newfoundland, Terry's Marathon of

Hope captured the imagination and hearts of Canadians. It was moving to see this

young man cheered on by hundreds of thousands of people at roadsides as he ran a

marathon every day.

Despite Terry's bravery and determination, the cancer spread to

his lungs. After 5,073 kilometres he was forced to stop in Thunder Bay, Ontario,

on September 1, 1980. One day after the marathon Terry said this: "Even though

I'm not running anymore, we still have to try to find a cure for cancer. Other

people should go ahead and try to do this thing on their own now."

Terry's call to arms was answered when the first Terry Fox Run

took place in 1981, including one in New Westminster in which I participated.

Raising over $360 million, the Terry Fox Run is credited as the largest

single-day fundraising event for cancer research in the world. From Canada to

Korea to Dubai, 55 countries hold runs annually.

[1420]

This Sunday marks the 25th Terry Fox Run, and communities right

across British Columbia will hold runs. I urge as many people as possible to

participate and donate money so that we can complete Terry's dreams and find a

cure for cancer.

M. Farnworth: I would like to thank the Premier for his

comments and the member for Burquitlam for his comments. I would like to extend

a special welcome to Rolly and Betty Fox, whom I have known for many, many

years, as they were longtime residents of Port Coquitlam. It is really great to

see you here.

I, too, am going to talk about Terry Fox, on a personal note. We

grew up in Port Coquitlam, we went to the same junior high school, and we were

in the same class. I don't think anybody at that time realized the true

greatness that would emerge some ten or 15 years after those junior high school

days. But 25 years ago he captured the hearts of our communities, our province,

our nation and its people. He showed the power of a dream and the determination

to achieve something, through the Marathon of Hope, to find a cure for cancer,

which I doubt anybody in this room has not been touched by.

This weekend we will have the Marathon of Hope runs right across

our province, our country and around the world. I know the Premier will be

attending in Port Coquitlam, and I know all of us will be attending the runs and

walks in our own communities. I think that is a testament to the power of a

dream and the Marathon of Hope and what it sought to achieve, because cancer

impacts everybody.

I would like to mention an individual. She worked in my office for

four years as my administrative assistant. She was a terrific person who worked

to keep me organized. I know she is watching right now. She is facing her own

very tough battle. I think it would be terrific, given the statements that have

been made, if she knows that all members of this House, the Fox family and the

members in the gallery send her their thoughts, their prayers and their best

wishes and that we're standing with her in her very difficult battle.

[Applause.]

Oral Questions

BUDGET PRIORITIES AND

CORPORATE TAX REDUCTION

C. James: Study after study shows that ordinary families

are pushed to the limit these days. Saving rates are hitting record lows, and

families are falling further and further behind. In the campaign just four

months ago the Premier promised to help these families and to follow his 43-page

platform "point by point, page by page, day by day." I would like to ask the

Premier if he

[ Page 96 ]

could point to where in his platform he promised another large corporate tax

cut.

Hon. C. Taylor: I'm pleased to be able to stand up and

speak to the House today about the budget we presented yesterday. We're proud of

that budget. We believe that it is a balanced approach going forward and that it

looks at the needs of many people in our communities. But as I said then and I

will say many, many times, this is step one going forward. Part of that budget,

of course, set aside $242 million for seniors, the seniors who are in the most

difficult circumstances — low-income seniors in our province.

[1425]

We also committed to $100 million for the First Nations New

Relationship fund, and on the other side of this we said that we must keep our

economy…

Interjection.

Mr. Speaker: Order, please.

Hon. C. Taylor: …competitive. As we said throughout the

campaign, we will lose businesses and we will lose jobs if we return to the

policies of the '90s, which were overspending and overtaxation.

Part of our response has been, and it will continue to be, to

monitor taxes constantly. We will ensure that we do the best that we can afford

to do to keep our businesses competitive. Businesses are only about jobs, and we

need jobs to stay and grow in British Columbia.

Mr. Speaker: The Leader of the Opposition has a

supplemental.

C. James: There's no question that seniors are important.

There's no question that first nations are important. I'd also agree with the

comments made about a balanced approach and how important that was. In fact,

that was the key message that we heard throughout the campaign. But if we take a

look at this budget, it's very clear that seniors are only going to receive a

fraction of what corporations will receive each year, based on the numbers that

were in the budget.

We also believe it's important to make sure that our economy moves

ahead. We believe that targeted tax incentives are important. In fact, it was

this party that put forward targeted tax incentives for the film industry, which

the other party across the bench actually agreed to after we pushed them.

This is an issue of trust. Nowhere in the platform in this

election campaign did the Premier suggest that his first priority was another

big tax giveaway — $500 million over three years.

Just a couple of weeks ago a leading Bay Street economist said the

corporations are saving too much…

Mr. Speaker: Question, please.

C. James: …and families too little, Mr. Speaker.

I'm asking the Premier again to explain why he didn't tell British

Columbians that a tax cut was going to be his first priority in this budget

update.

Hon. C. Taylor: I am pleased to be able to talk about the

budget today. I thought that I might not get the chance. I will say that the

platform material that…

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Order, please.

Hon. C. Taylor: …we ran on included very specifically the

idea that we will work to keep taxes competitive in British Columbia. We are

doing it now, and we will continue to do that.

Furthermore, we said that it was very important for people to

realize that the power of a strong economy — the reason why we say it over and

over again — is so that we can have the revenues to do priority and targeted

spending. While we talk about seniors because they were featured in the new

budget that we presented yesterday, the updated budget, I will remind everyone

that it was built on the base of the February 15 budget, which went a long way

to help low- and middle-income families and individuals across the province.

We introduced the B.C. tax reduction…

Interjection.

Mr. Speaker: Order, please.

Hon. C. Taylor: …which in fact results in British Columbia

having the lowest tax rate for low- and middle-income earners in all of Canada.

Furthermore, anyone under $16,000 a year pays no provincial taxes.

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

supplemental.

C. James: I'd just like to refresh the memory for the

Premier and for the Finance Minister about their election campaign. Nowhere did

it mention that corporate tax cuts would be the first priority of this

government after the election.

I come back again to the issue of trust. It's about what British

Columbians were told in the election campaign just four months ago. The Premier

promised to build 5,000 long-term care beds, he promised to cap tuition, and he

promised more skills training. These promises were ignored in the budget.

[1430]

Again, I'd like to ask the Premier to tell British Columbians why

we should trust his government now, when during the campaign he kept quiet on

his issue of bringing forward a corporate tax cut in this budget.

Hon. G. Campbell: It's great to be able to stand and

rediscuss the campaign. What we said in the campaign was that we were going to

keep an economy going

[ Page 97 ]

strong. We were going to keep a competitive tax regime. In the campaign we

said to British Columbians that if you earn $15,500 or less, you will pay no

personal income tax in British Columbia.

In the campaign we told British Columbians that we would continue

to work to grow the job numbers in British Columbia so that families had the

kind of jobs they needed to support their families and build the kind of future

they want. In the campaign we told seniors that we would build the 5,000 beds,

and in the budget there are 150 million additional dollars to build exactly that

number of beds.

In the campaign we said that we would respect and honour our

seniors in British Columbia, and in the budget there are 242 million additional

dollars to help seniors in need.

In the campaign we said that we would keep looking forward in

British Columbia to build a future for children, for seniors and for families,

and that's exactly what the budget did.

J. Kwan: Nowhere in the campaign document did the Liberal

Party promise $500 million of corporate tax cuts. Maybe the Premier can explain

why, then, even B.C.'s business community is surprised.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Order, please.

J. Kwan: They assumed, like everyone else, that the

Premier's priorities were health care, seniors and, of course, the challenges

faced by ordinary British Columbians. The president of the B.C. Chamber of

Commerce said that he was surprised by the budget's "corporate focus," and the

vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said that the

cut was deeper than they expected.

Can the Minister of Finance explain why she spent more money on a

tax cut than the members of the business community were expecting or even asked

for?

Hon. C. Taylor: I'm pleased once again to make the link

between corporate tax cuts and the importance of those businesses being

competitive, staying in our province and expanding in our province…

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Order, please.

Hon. C. Taylor: …so that we can have jobs. Jobs are crucial

to our economy. They're crucial to everything we're trying to do in this

province, and the only way we have jobs is if we keep our tax rates competitive

and keep our businesses here. I think, in fact, that the critic for Finance

agrees with me. This morning on CFAX s he said that there is a piece

around tax incentives, and that will take an effect next year. It's good to do

that.

Corporate tax cuts also grow the economy in the broader sense.

It's important.

Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental.

J. Kwan: What the Minister of Finance forgot to quote for

this House is that I said yes, it is good to grow the economy, but that when

there are successes in our economy everyone in British Columbia should benefit

from them. Do we see that in this budget? The answer is no. So it's good to read

a quote, but it would be very good to complete the quote.

Let me say this. Maybe I can make the link for the minister, for

this government and for the Premier. Under this government, ordinary British

Columbians have been forced to pay more and more for less and less — millions of

dollars in new fees for everything from parking in provincial parks to filling

up at the gas station. I will remind every member of this House that average

British Columbians helped pay for the budget surplus with those fees.

[1435]

Can the Minister of Finance explain why, after three months on the

job, she managed to come up with another corporate tax and did nothing to reduce

the tax burden on average British Columbians — nothing for children in need,

nothing for students, nothing for the average British Columbians who actually

need the support of government?

Hon. C. Taylor: I am pleased to talk about the B.C. tax

reduction for the lowest and second-lowest income tax brackets in British

Columbia. In this budget we have reduced those taxes to the level that they are

now the lowest for any province within Canada.

This budget has also increased assistance to the Medical Services

Plan for those who most need it. In fact, 215,000 people in British Columbia

will have their MSP premiums either reduced or eliminated as part of this

budget.

While it's true that I focused on the 242 million new dollars for

seniors, in important ways….

J. Kwan: Replacing what you guys took away four years ago.

Mr. Speaker: Order, please.

Hon. C. Taylor: What we also did, if you read the budget,

is more than half a billion — $543 million — in this budget just for services to

children.

FUNDING FOR CHILD PROTECTION

A. Dix: During the election campaign, the Minister of

Finance and I attended a forum at SUCCESS where she said, as B.C. Liberal

politicians tend to say, that children were her number-one priority. Yet in this

budget, after the report of the child and youth officer and after the report

into the Sherry Charlie case, there

[ Page 98 ]

was no new money for protecting children at risk in her budget update.

Can the Minister of Finance tell this House when she decided that

new money for protecting children at risk went to the bottom of the list in

favour of a tax cut, a big corporate tax cut, that nobody asked for?

Hon. S. Hagen: I want to assure the member opposite that

the health and safety of children are indeed the number-one priority in the

province of British Columbia. Because of the power of a strong economy, we are

increasing the budget of the.…

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Order, please.

Hon. S. Hagen: We are increasing the budget of the Ministry

of Children and Family Development over the next three years by $138 million.

Our government has five great goals to achieve over this decade,

and one of those goals is to develop the best system of support in the nation

for persons with disabilities, special needs and children at risk. Our budget

will allow us to do that.

Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental.

A. Dix: Yesterday's minibudget shows there may be five

great goals, but there is only one big group of donors to the B.C. Liberals.

I say to the minister: in August of 2005 an audit in his own

Fraser region of the Ministry of Children and Family Development showed that

less than 40 percent of child protection investigations were done in what the

ministry — and I repeat: the ministry — calls a timely manner.

[1440]

This indicates, as did the Sherry Charlie report, that this

government has cut too deep and too hard into child protection in B.C. So I want

to ask the Minister of Finance, because the Minister of Children and Family

Development surely didn't make the case to her before this minibudget: can she

explain why another big-business tax cut took priority over the government's

fundamental responsibility, indeed all of our fundamental responsibility, to

protect kids?

Hon. S. Hagen: You know, the neat thing about this ministry

is that we have great people in this ministry. I'm confident and I know in my

heart that those front-line workers are doing their job and they're doing it

well.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Order, please.

Hon. S. Hagen: We now offer families more options. We want

to keep kids in their families, in their homes, in the homes of relatives or in

their communities. We don't go around like in the '90s, snatching kids out of

the homes. Our philosophy, which is backed by research, is that children respond

better when they're kept in their homes or in the homes of relatives. We've

managed to keep roughly 1,300 kids in their homes…

Interjection.

Mr. Speaker: Order, please.

Hon. S. Hagen: …or in the homes of families since 2001.

That's a 15-percent reduction in children in care as opposed to a 45-percent

increase during the 1990s.

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR SENIORS

M. Farnworth: Business leaders were expecting less, while

seniors and low- and middle-income earners expected a lot more. Right now

British Columbians, many seniors, are worried about huge winter heating bills

that are going to stretch their budgets to the limit. But this budget does

absolutely nothing to give those people a break. In fact, the government doesn't

even acknowledge that there is a problem.

Will the Minister of Finance explain how she can justify spending

half a billion dollars on a corporate tax cut that the corporate community

didn't ask for?

Hon. C. Taylor: I am pleased to say why we did the tax cut

for businesses to try and keep them in this province. In 1999 I was asked to go

around the province and co-chair a task force because the economy during the

'90s under the NDP was in such difficulty, the policies were so bad that

businesses were leaving our province and jobs were leaving our province. As a

result, we were put together. We went around the province. We did town halls all

over the province. Anyone could come and speak. Union leaders came — community

leaders, health care workers, business people — and everywhere we went there

were two things that we heard clearly and were non-controversial. One was that

if you have a punitive taxation system, businesses and people will leave the

provinces, and they did. Second of all, if regulations are complex and

contradictory and conflicting and overlapping and it's too hard to do business,

businesses will leave, and they did.

So we came out of that, and I presented to the NDP Premier at the

time, Ujjal Dosanjh. I also presented to the Leader of the Opposition, Mr.

Gordon Campbell. I presented to both of them exactly the same report that said

we have got to get our taxation regime competitive, or we will continue to lose

people, jobs and businesses in this province, and this spiral that was so

negative will continue. We also have to clean up our regulations, and I'm proud

to say we're doing both.

Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental.

[1445]

M. Farnworth: Well, the Minister of Finance has just talked

about talking to people and travelling

[ Page 99 ]

around the province. Had she spoken then with small business leaders, who

have already said that that tax cut went significantly further, twice as far as

they expected…. Had she talked to them and listened to them, she could have done

a tax cut that would have met business expectations and had half that money left

over to spend on services to seniors and education, on health care, the

environment, emergency protection and a host of all the other priorities that

she said yesterday are choices. How true. We know where her choices lay, and

they weren't with low- and middle-income families.

Again, can the Minister of Finance explain why the biggest

spending priority in yesterday's budget was a tax cut that wasn't asked for,

which is twice as large as the increase that's being given to seniors so that

they can get some of their money back and maybe have a little left over to give

to their grandkids to pay for the school fees that their parents can't afford?

Hon. C. Taylor: The hon. member is correct. We did make

choices. We made the choice to spend 242 million new dollars on those seniors in

our community who are the most vulnerable. We chose to spend 1.5 billion new

dollars on the health system. We chose to increase the budget of the Ministry of

Environment by $123.

Interjections.

Hon. C. Taylor: Million dollars.

We also chose….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Order, please.

Hon. C. Taylor: We chose to look at our children, and we

spent over half a billion dollars — these are all new dollars — on children.

Now, to say that everything is done and everything is solved would not be

correct, but what we are saying is that these are significant, important steps

forward on our goal of improving social justice supports within our province.

FUNDING FOR LONG-TERM CARE BEDS

K. Conroy: Mr. Speaker, let's be clear here. For

four years this government has hammered seniors. They cut income supplements.

They closed long-term care beds. They even tried to take away their bus passes.

Now they have given a little back and want to be treated like heroes. This

government promised 5,000 new long-term care beds — not assisted living, not

supportive housing — but this budget didn't even come close to funding those

beds.

Can the Minister of Finance explain why the business community is

so surprised by the size of its tax cut while seniors are being betrayed once

again?

Hon. G. Abbott: It's perhaps a little bit early in the

session to form conclusions about the new NDP versus the old NDP, but there are

three observations I'd make at this early stage in the session. The first is

that the….

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Order. Order, please. Order, please.

Hon. G. Abbott: I haven't even made the observations yet,

Mr. Speaker.

The new NDP doesn't seem to do their homework any better than the

old NDP. That's pretty clear already. Secondly, the new NDP seems as genetically

indisposed to recognize good news as the old NDP was.

[1450]

Third, and this is really unfortunate, it appears that the new NDP

hasn't learned any of the lessons that were so apparent from that decade that I

dispassionately describe as the dark decade of neglect under the old NDP.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Order, please.

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Listen. Order, please. We listened to the

question. We'll listen to the answer.

Hon. G. Abbott: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for restoring

order.

One of the challenges that our government faced in 2001, as we

moved towards providing more long-term care, was that decade of neglect. Only

1,400 beds by this government over that ten years — only 1,400.

Further, when we did the first-ever provincial inventory of

long-term care in the province, what it showed was that many of the units did

not meet fire codes. They didn't meet building codes. Fully 50 percent of the

units that existed needed upgrading to appropriate levels of care. We've made a

huge investment in respect of this area. I'm very proud of what we achieved.

We're going to achieve even more.

Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental.

GOVERNMENT ACTION ON CRYSTAL METH

K. Conroy: Thank you to the minister for the history lesson

that was uncalled for. But thank you anyway. It's actually a question of

priorities. The B.C. Liberals were sent a very clear message in the campaign,

but they didn't listen. Instead, they've gone back to their old ways — tax cuts

that were never promised and critical priorities that are being ignored.

In the election the B.C. Liberals promised action on crystal meth.

Can the Minister of Finance explain why she broke that promise, with absolutely

no funding to treat crystal meth addiction?

Hon. J. Les: I'm pleased to respond to the member's

question. As a matter of fact, we have been taking ac

[ Page 100 ]

tion on the crystal meth file in British Columbia. As a matter of fact, we

stand as leaders in Canada in addressing that very serious problem.

For example, last year we made available to communities $41

million of additional funding for policing through traffic fine revenue to help

them deal at the community level. On a provincewide basis, we have made

available an additional $122 million to hire an additional 215 RCMP members

across the province to help with the enforcement and dealing with the meth labs

that we have across the province. I'm told today there was another major crime

lab bust in the city of Richmond. That, too, is evidence that the enforcement is

working across the province and dealing with this very serious issue.

We also worked with the pharmacies across the province and the

retail sector to institute the Meth Watch program so that the precursors that

are often available at these locations are monitored closely to alert

authorities to the inappropriate access to those precursors.

Mr. Speaker: Wrap it up, minister.

Hon. J. Les: If any members opposite would like to learn

more about some of the things that we're doing to deal with this issue, I would

offer my ministry to give them a briefing.

[End of question period.]

Petitions

H. Lali: Hon. Speaker, I have the honour to present a

petition. I'm presenting a petition with 1,500 names, and it's to the hon.

Solicitor General. Can I read the Crier on here?

Mr. Speaker : As long as it's short.

[1455]

H. Lali: It's short.

[We are patrons of the Valleyview, B.C., liquor store in Kamloops.

We oppose the closure of this well-run, profitable, publicly owned store which

helps pay for vital public services. We respectfully ask you to live up to

your government's January 28, 2005, promise to not close public liquor stores

in Kamloops. We especially ask you to move quickly to open a liquor

distribution branch signature store in Kamloops as part of an ongoing

modernization of the existing LDB stores in our community.]

Orders of the Day

Hon. M. de Jong: I call continued debate on the budget.

Budget Debate

(continued)

Hon. R. Thorpe: It's a pleasure for me to continue on my

budget speech.

Where I left off was that British Columbia, after many hard

choices and a lot of work from 2001 to 2005, was positioned to move forward. On

May 17 the people of British Columbia gave our government a mandate to move

forward. I know there are some folks on the other side of the House that do not

believe we should have a vision or goals, but our government believes you should

have a vision and you should establish goals.

The goal which members over there seem to be fairly cynical

about…. I don't know why they'd be against having the best-educated, most

literate jurisdiction on the continent. I don't know why they do not want

British Columbia to lead the way in North America in healthy living and physical

fitness. I don't know why our third goal — to build the best system of support

in Canada for persons with disabilities, special needs, children at risk and our

seniors…. I don't know why they'd be against that. I don't know why the NDP

would be against British Columbia leading the world in sustainable environmental

management. I don't know why the NDP would be against our fifth goal: to create

more jobs per capita than anywhere else in Canada.

Those are our goals. Those are our objectives. That is what we are

going to work on hard over the next four years to show British Columbians that

it will and can be done once again. Let me tell you what our budget does for

education. It recommits $268 million — new dollars — for funding over three

years for the Ministry of Education. It will improve access to school libraries,

quality learning resources, music and art programs, and resources to support

those students with special needs.

There is $15 million to expand the number of post-secondary seats

and help keep tuition fees affordable. Funding for post-secondary education will

increase by $386 million over three years to create 16,025 new post-secondary

seats by the year 2007-2008. This budget commits $450 million over the next

three years for student financial assistance, including loan reductions for

students in need, debt relief, a loan forgiveness program and grants for

students with disabilities. Our government is committed to having the

best-educated jurisdiction in North America.

When it comes to British Columbia leading North America in healthy

living, let me say very proudly that our province and our government will invest

an additional $1.5 billion in health care and fitness initiatives by 2007-2008 —

the largest increase of any function of government. We have, over the past five

years, increased funding to health by 32 percent.

Over the next three years $465 million will go to Pharmacare; $200

million over three years for better access to hip and knee replacements; $100

million over three years for public health initiatives like Act Now B.C.; $100

million to the B.C. Ambulance Service; and $77 million over the next three years

for recruiting, training and retention of nurses. This budget confirms the plan

to provide an additional $73 million for infant

[ Page 101 ]

and early childhood vision, dental and hearing screenings — the first

jurisdiction in Canada to do this.

[1500]

Since 2001, when we formed government, to 2007-2008 we will have

increased funding by $3.7 billion for health care. One of the things that is

most important to me — I know to colleagues on my side of the House and, I want

to believe, to colleagues on that side of the House — is helping those truly in

need: persons with disabilities and special needs, children at risk and our

seniors.

We've heard the NDP opposition be critical and cynical of our $242

million additional funding to seniors. We are renewing the seniors supplement.

This is a monthly benefit for those seniors with the lowest incomes. We are

doubling the funding for SAFER, Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters.

You know, it's fairly troubling to me that those folks over there

were in government for ten years, and they did not increase funding one penny to

those on SAFER. We have now expanded SAFER so that another 7,200 folks in

British Columbia are going to be eligible. Those seniors that live in

manufactured homes on rental pads will now, for the first time in the history of

British Columbia, be eligible for our SAFER program.

We are committing $254 million to address income assistance

caseloads and increase assistance for persons with disabilities by $70 per

month, the largest one-time increase in the history of British Columbia, the

most significant increase in the past ten years; $91 million for adult community

living; $37 million for transition homes, outreach programs and related services

for women and children fleeing domestic violence; and $140 million to enhance

services to children and youth with special needs.

When we look at having the best sustainable environmental

management program in the world, we must actually walk the talk. That is why

this budget puts $5 million more to accelerate the new $80 million B.C.

community water improvement program; $66 million to remediate contaminated sites

on Crown lands; $5 million additional to increase the capacity at the

environmental assessment office; $16 million to establish the B.C. conservation

corps, with up to 150 new members in addition to the 150 new park rangers and

conservation officers; and $8 million to implement the Drinking Water Protection

Act.

I know my colleague from Esquimalt-Metchosin is very interested in

the exemption that we put in place to reduce the provincial sales tax to save

money for those people buying hybrid electric vehicles — a $2,000 tax credit for

that and a two-year PST exemption for eligible energy-efficient residential

heating equipment. So we are moving forward.

I do hear the NDP say that we're not doing a thing on the pine

beetle. Well, we have the most comprehensive plan — $143 million over the next

three years for initiatives to address this issue. Interestingly enough, if my

memory serves me right, the beetle was first found out about in 1993 in

Tweedsmuir Park, and the NDP were on watch for seven years. For seven years they

did nothing. For seven years they allowed that beetle to take control of our

most prized forests, and now, ladies and gentlemen, they're critical that people

aren't moving. It's really a little bit too much to take.

[1505]

Now we hear that the NDP are against creating and having an

investment climate and environment where people want to invest and create jobs

in British Columbia. Our government happens to be for that. Since December 2001,

231,000 new jobs have been created in British Columbia — an all-time record. I

am proud to stand here today on behalf of the constituents of Okanagan-Westside

and say: "Yes, continue the actions required to make sure that we have an

investment climate here that attracts investment and that attracts and creates

job creation." If that means keeping our taxes competitive, then that's what

we'll do. If that means increasing the threshold for small business from

$200,000 to $400,000, that's what we'll do. If that means having a 4.5-percent

tax rate for small business — the third-lowest in Canada — that's what we'll do.

It's important that we continue to move our economy forward. As we

saw, and as some of my colleagues have talked about, we did see the very dark

and sad decade of the NDP as they not only drove companies but drove families

and our best and brightest out of this province. I am proud to be part of a

government that has been able to work with the people of British Columbia to

create a climate where those people and those families are moving back and

creating opportunities in every region of our province.

You know, Mr. Speaker, we've done more. We've done more for those

who need our assistance. We've put in place a new non-refundable personal income

tax credit, the B.C. tax reduction, to reduce or eliminate provincial income tax

for about 730,000 British Columbians. Most individuals earning $16,000 now pay

no provincial income tax. Those earning up to $26,000 pay very little tax.

We've increased the MSP threshold by $4,000. We've eliminated

premiums for 215,000 British Columbians. Our government does care about people.

We do care about those that need our assistance. We will continue to work with

our communities to make sure that those in need are there, and we will be there

for them.

Let me talk just a little bit about the riding that I represent,

Okanagan-Westside, and the commitments I made during the election campaign, the

commitments that I will work as hard as I can work over the next four years on

behalf of my constituents — that is, for the establishment on the west side of a

new health care centre.

I will continue to work on seniors housing. I am proud of the

progress I have been able to achieve working hand in hand with the non-profits

in the communities in my riding. We have new and increasing seniors housing in

Summerland, at Angus Place and the new Summerland care facility.

In Peachland we're working with the council and task force leader,

Mr. Graham Reid, to establish seniors housing in Peachland.

The Westbank Lions — we are working with them. They have a new

addition, a new opening coming up

[ Page 102 ]

here very shortly. We are working with the Interior Health Authority to make

sure that those needs of our seniors in our community are met. It is a goal that

those in our community and I have worked on, and it's a goal we will continue to

work on and a commitment we will continue to achieve.

With respect to education, I am working very closely with the

community, with school district 23 and the Minister of Advanced Education to

ensure that the expansion of Mount Boucherie Secondary School takes place.

Most recently, a week or two ago, we had the opening of Okanagan

College and the new UBC Okanagan. Those two new post-secondary education

facilities in the Okanagan will now have an additional 5,500 spaces in the

Okanagan so that those who want to learn trades and skills can do that at

Okanagan College. They can also take courses that will ladder up to UBC Okanagan,

and of course, they can go to UBC Okanagan.

We are proud in the Okanagan to have UBC Okanagan there — one of

the top 50 research universities in the world now in the Okanagan, where our

students and other students from the southern interior can come to study, to

work and to create an opportunity.

I will continue to work tirelessly for Summerland, Peachland and

Westside to ensure that infrastructure programs for water and sewers are in

place when they need them.

I will continue to work on the four-laning of Highway 97 from

Summerland to Okanagan Park and will continue to work with the residents and

communities that are serviced by Westside Road where we have seen some

significant improvements in the past year.

[1510]

Let me say that it's a pleasure to have as part of my constituency

the opportunity to work with the Westbank first nations. This is without

question one of the leading first nations groups in all of British Columbia, and

I am pleased to call Chief Robert Louie my friend and his councillors my

friends. They are setting a tremendous economic opportunity and social

opportunity for all members of the Westbank first nations, and I look forward to

continuing to work with them.

Finally, it really is about what my constituents tell me every

day. It's about having a competitive investment climate for small business, for

medium-sized businesses and for larger businesses, because my constituents know

that's where jobs are created. That's where their children can get jobs, and

that's where people can have opportunities.

The constituents of Okanagan-Westside have told me time and time

again that they want a balanced approach from government. I am proud, on behalf

of my constituents, to say that I will vote strongly in support of this budget,

because it is a balanced approach. It's a balanced approach to provide

assistance to those that built this province, our seniors — $242 million. It's

about creating a $100 million First Nations New Relationship fund, which will

create opportunities for first nations and all British Columbians. It's about

creating stability and certainty so that we can all move forward.

I am pleased that this budget confirms the tax cuts for those

earning $16,000 and less, reducing taxes for 715,000 citizens of British

Columbia. I am pleased that this increases the threshold for small business from

$300,000 to $400,000. I am pleased that this creates tax benefits for 20,000

small, medium and large companies in British Columbia, because investment

stability creates jobs for the future.

I'm also very pleased that in this budget, the Minister of Finance

has announced international financial activity to enhance competitiveness for

our life science patents. This is a tremendous opportunity, one that I first

worked on four years ago. It gives us an opportunity in genome, biotech,

forestry, mining and aquaculture. This allows us to keep our best and brightest

here in British Columbia to protect our patents, to enhance the opportunities,

to create clusters around our universities in Prince George, around our

universities in Victoria, around our universities in Vancouver, around our

colleges throughout the province and around Okanagan College and UBC Okanagan.

This is a good-news budget item. This budget is a prudent,

balanced approach. It is the first step in our first budget of five budgets that

we will table in our second mandate. It's a budget for our seniors. It's a

budget for our low-income citizens. It's a budget for our children. It's a

budget about moving forward, and as I said earlier, it's a budget for our

grandchildren. I'm very pleased to support this budget.

M. Karagianis: It's a great pleasure and a privilege to

stand here today as the member for Esquimalt-Metchosin. I have to admit that so

far, the experience has been a bit dazzling. I still have my training wheels on,

but I expect that I will get up to speed very quickly.

I'd like to respond to yesterday's budget, but first I would like

to preface it with a few personal remarks. To everyone who helped me arrive

here, I owe a great debt of thanks. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks

to my family and to my husband Todd Gray-Owen, who has quietly and steadfastly

offered his support in all ways from learning to clean the house and do the

laundry to hauling around election signs. Todd has always just gone ahead and

done what was needed, and that has allowed me the freedom to attain this member

seat here.

[1515]

My children and their spouses are my best friends. My son Nigel

Gamracy and his wife Robin, my daughter Devyn Flesher and her husband Kurt, my

daughter Rebecca Fahey and her husband Rob, and my three grandchildren Hunter,

Payton and River. Hunter and his family live in Campbell River, and Hunter

frequently asks: "Grandma, can you just mention me when you're on the news

sometime?" I've actually had to tell him that that's not always possible when

you're doing a news story, but today I'm mentioning Hunter in this speech. I'd

also like to thank my youngest daughter Aubrey Karagianis. My children are truly

representative of the best of my life's work.

[ Page 103 ]

I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to my mentors and

friends, those who have awed and inspired me and those who have guided my

footsteps to this place. Dave Barrett, who kindled the political fire in me back

in the early '70s. Dave is one of my most famous constituents, and to this day

he has continued to share his wealth of knowledge with me as well as his

fabulous sense of humour. Frank Mitchell, who was the MLA in this riding for

many years. His indomitable wife Kay and the whole Mitchell and Starkey family

are mentors and great friends. My friend Randall Garrison, who got me directly

involved in politics by persuading me to run for office in the first place. And

of course, my good friend Moe Sihota. Moe has given me the greatest motivation,

sharing with me his burning passion for right and fairness as a voice for

ordinary people, for those who cannot speak out for themselves, for a better and

more just society. There is no one like Moe, and I am very privileged to call

him my friend.

I would also like to extend my thanks to a good and loyal friend,

Ray Rice, who served as the mayor of Esquimalt for six years. Special regards to

Ray and his wife Cheri, who is currently waging a battle with cancer. I would

like to offer special thanks, as well, to Lawrence Herzog, who is now my

constituency assistant. Lawrence is a kindred spirit, someone who shares a

similar approach to the world that I do, who's always been a terrific sounding

board, who has a quick wit and a really great sense of the absurd. That comes in

really handy when you're in politics.

With all of those I've mentioned and with the many other dear and

wonderful friends along the way, I share the success in this past election. I

would also like to acknowledge my most recent predecessor, Arnie Hamilton, and I

know you will all join me in sending regards to him and his family at this time.

My constituency of Esquimalt-Metchosin is a combination of unique

communities, ordinary working communities with a rich history that forms the

very genesis of what is British Columbia. Yesterday's budget had many real

implications, some good and some less than satisfactory, for those constituents

in my riding. The Esquimalt and Songhees nations lands are at the heart of my

community. Chief Andy Thomas of the Esquimalt nation, Chief Robert Sam of the

Songhees nation and Chief Russell Chips of Beecher Bay are and will continue to

be the masters of destiny for many of us in this region. My thanks and

acknowledgment to them for the lands upon which we conduct business today.

Esquimalt has a history of trade and commerce here in the capital,

as one of the oldest townships on the Island. Shipbuilding has always been a

strong part of the heritage, and the Esquimalt graving dock is still a

significant economic factor in the region. Esquimalt is also the home of Pacific

fleet at CFB Esquimalt, a significant component in the global peacekeeping

efforts that Canada is so famous for.

It was my great honour to serve as an Esquimalt councillor for

nine years, and I am very proud of the work I did there, much of it with my good

friend Ray Rice.

Next door, View Royal is a newer but vigorous community that

bridges the core of our region with our Western Communities. It is a

municipality that is on the move, forging a new vision for itself. View Royal is

also home of Victoria General Hospital, which plays such a vital role in the

health care of this region.

Langford and Colwood are the two fastest-growing communities in

the region. Both are expanding their commercial bases, building housing at an

amazing rate and developing identities as aggressive business centres. Royal

Roads University is a jewel in the crown in Colwood with world-class extended

education options, an ambitious vision and enormous potential for expansion in

the future — all attributes that are very well suited to the West Shore.

[1520]

Metchosin is the far anchor of my constituency, rural and idyllic.

But Metchosin, too, is building a community with the pressures of growth,

development and affordability challenging that community to create a balance

between its rural preservation and its desire for new economic opportunities.

There is one thread that binds all of these communities: the

commute — the famous crawl with workers heading out of the Western Communities

each day and each evening, threading their way through the entire length of

Esquimalt-Metchosin.

In the past four years my constituents have been particularly hard

hit by the policies and cutbacks of this Liberal government. The regressive

referendum on aboriginal treaties set a tone of deterioration with first nations

relationships, and little has improved for our first nations neighbours in the

ensuing four years. The coming days and months will show if this government will

fulfil the reconciliation long overdue to these great leaders and their

communities, and if the land claims issues will be settled in this community

The loss of thousands of shipbuilding jobs to a foreign country

undermined the economy of my area and deteriorated the job opportunities here in

the region for many of my constituents. Cuts to health care jobs and the incomes

of health care workers across the riding have caused hardships and strain for

many families. In no other capital regional area has the term "working poor"

been more of a reality.

At one door I knocked on during the election campaign, I met a man

and his wife who had spent 30 years working in the health care industry — their

entire working lives. Recently their jobs had been privatized by this government

and both of their wages cut in half. They ended up having to sell their home and

move into subsidized housing. The man admitted to me that he was ashamed of

having to go to a food bank for the first time in his life, something he had

never imagined would happen after working all those years in this province. I

did not see anything in yesterday's budget for that man and his wife.

My constituency has seen the expansion of liquor stores and the

continued expansion of gambling, both

[ Page 104 ]

of which contribute to a reduced quality of life for many. Increasing

homeless numbers that now include families with children are a reality in this

region as well. Yesterday's budget held nothing for those families.

Health care needs in the riding have also deteriorated. Aside from

the loss of the health care workers, the failing privatization of health

services that resulted in dirty hospitals and poor food, as well as underpaid

and undertrained workers, we continue to have a desperate need for seniors care,

home care and complex care. The reality is that this government has not put

seniors first for the past four years. Yesterday's budget only partially

replaces the cuts that seniors have experienced, and we are grateful for the few

crumbs that have been given back to the seniors, penurious as they are in the

face of inflation.

We have a long way to go to provide real care options — not

independent living, not rental supplements, but real long-term health care. The

budget did not adequately address that need. One-quarter of VGH, Victoria

General Hospital, is currently shut down, and the lack of beds for treatment in

neonatal care is causing wait-lists and hardship for families, for seniors and

for mothers needing newborn care.

Several days ago this chamber heard the story of Melissa White,

the young mom who was separated from her tiny new baby due to this government's

cuts and the complete lack of adequate neonatal baby beds here on the Island.

Melissa initially called my office, and I spoke to her personally. Melissa was

forced to try and provide her baby with much-needed breast-feeding from a long

distance. She was here on the Island while her baby was in Surrey Memorial

Hospital.

Those of us who are mothers in this chamber can easily imagine how

we would feel in the same situation. We can imagine the emotional hardship and

anxiety the situation caused for Melissa. She is only one of a number of mothers

who had to leave their homes and travel to the mainland or, in some cases, out

of this province to seek the care and the beds they require for their newborn

babies. Yesterday's budget didn't offer anything for those moms.

[1525]

The dramatic growth in population in my riding has created an

education crisis. No schools have been built despite the urgent need for a new

high school to reduce the pressure on Belmont School in Langford. Crowded

classrooms and the complete lack of special needs resources continue to

undermine the quality of education our children are receiving at a time in

history when education holds the key to a prosperous future for our young people

in our province.

Without a good education, how can our young people hope to

function in a new and highly competitive technology-based world? Our young

people will be destined to serve the lowest-paying job sector because of the

lack of foresight of this government. A very good example is unfolding at this

very moment as the residents of View Royal circulate a petition to protest

further cuts to their local school that have resulted in one more teacher being

lost this year.

Increased tuition fees have put huge burdens on young people in my

riding and are possibly entirely out of reach for many. I'm sure that was the

motivation for the 35 young people who worked on my campaign so that I could

stand here and represent them. Yesterday's budget has not helped provide the

education needs for my constituents.

Our transportation needs in Esquimalt are one of the most urgent

in the region. Anyone who drives to and from work in any of my communities will

testify that the traffic pressures along Craigflower and the old Island Highway

are now intolerable. Both Esquimalt's and View Royal's OCPs call for small area

plans that develop village centres, but those are very much at odds with the

crush of traffic that commutes by this area every single day.

Despite the crying need for transportation solutions, this

government has failed to provide the transit expansion that was planned for the

Western Communities four years ago, and it has not taken any steps towards

realizing a light rapid transit solution or needed upgrades to Highway 1. This

week we saw yet another accident on the Malahat — luckily, without a death.

Yesterday's budget did not hold any solutions for those problems.

I took special note of the Finance Minister's careful wording on how the current

surplus will be used as well. It will not go to pay down the provincial debt. In

fact, the debt will grow. Government will continue to borrow. Indeed, that seems

obvious given the massive cost overruns of their capital projects.

It is a commonly held view in Esquimalt-Metchosin that government

spending is going to the Vancouver convention centre, the RAV line, the Olympics

highway and this government's other pet projects. As those costs skyrocket out

of control, it's obvious that that's where the surplus and the borrowing will

need to go, not into hospitals, schools and transportation needs in my

constituency. It is evident to me and all in my constituency that

Esquimalt-Metchosin urgently needs jobs, health care facilities, a school,

affordable tuition and transportation solutions.

Our first nations communities deserve an apology for past wrongs

and need a commitment to restore the integrity of our relationship with them.

My task for the next four years is to encourage, cajole or

harangue government to provide the things that are needed in my communities. My

constituents deserve to find work opportunities here on the Island. I want

shipbuilding jobs here, not in Germany, Utah or anywhere else. I want

apprentices to train and work here in British Columbia, not to have to go to

Alberta for their certification and training, not to have to change their career

choice in midstride because the work is sporadic here in Greater Victoria in the

shipbuilding and repair industry.

I want to see ongoing maintenance for B.C. Ferries, providing jobs

for British Columbia and here in British Columbia. Not only will it prevent the

epidemic rash of ferry breakdowns that we've been seeing, but it will

[ Page 105 ]

put jobs and money back into the economy of this region. My community wants

to see the B.C. Ferry Corporation returned to the citizens of British Columbia

as a public corporation, open and accountable to all of us.

More optimistically, there are endless opportunities for new jobs

to invigorate the economy in my constituency as well. Tourism opportunities

abound in my riding. Royal Roads not only offers an amazing array of continuing

education options, they have begun to draw enormous tourists to their gardens,

the castle and their fabulous location.

From there, a whole world of ecotourism opportunities can grow

along our fabulous trails and ocean shoreline. Cycling has become a huge tourist

business, and we could capitalize on that very easily in my riding.

[1530]

As well, I'd like to see the region pursue more ethnic film

production to add to our successful film industry. The opportunities for new

business from the Chinese and Indian film markets are huge and lucrative, and

those industries far outstrip Hollywood in market share and output.

I think it's very clear that the region also needs an expanded

convention centre. It will offer new options for tourism in the area and give

our current drop in U.S. visitor numbers, which I don't imagine are going to

increase with the U.S. implementing the new passport requirements…. The new

convention centre will give us a huge bolster for our tourism economy.

My communities want to see and need an expansion of the Victoria

General Hospital — VGH. I want the 25 percent of those wards that are now closed

down to be reopened for patient care as well. We need a more sensible approach

to emergency admission, a treatment centre for non-life-threatening needs, a

seniors care centre, as well as the true and traditional emergency care options.

We need community health and treatment centres out where the new growth is

occurring in the Western Communities as well. We need complex care for our

seniors.

We need a new high school, and we need it immediately. Belmont is

in a crisis situation. The government needs to help the school district identify

property and move immediately to start construction on that new high school. In

addition, I would like to see all new schools built in my riding be fully

equipped with sight- and hearing-impaired and disabled student amenities. It is

the kind of investment that will pay for itself by attracting students who are

looking for those added-value education situations and will also allow them to

obtain and maximize their potential.

Most certainly, I will be pressuring government, along with my

fellow South Island MLA members, for some real and practical solutions to our

transportation crisis. That may mean expanded bus service, an overpass at

Admirals and Highway 1. That most certainly means light rapid transit. It also

means recognizing alternative transportation options — non–gas burning, like

electric bicycles and electric scooters — by implementing a PST exemption for

those. Some of you may know that I have a fully electric motor scooter that I

ride back and forth to these chambers. When I purchased it, I paid full PST. Had

I bought a hybrid car that was also gas-burning, I would have received a rebate

on my PST, but none for a non-fuel-burning motorcycle.

As the Small Business critic I also take my role very seriously as

an advocate for small business. Many small business owners have already spoken

to me about their concerns for all the issues that I've mentioned here today.

They, like every other ordinary citizen in British Columbia and in my riding,

want good health care and good public education. They definitely want a thriving

economy with good, well-paying jobs, and they want transportation systems that

are effective. So my job for the next four years is to remind government every

single day of my responsibilities and its responsibilities to my constituents. I

will continue to do that to the best of my ability.

Hon. L. Reid: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and may I take this

moment to congratulate you on your rise to this venerable post. I think you will

do us proud. May I extend my greetings, as well, to your deputies. I know that's

a historic moment in British Columbia that, indeed, that role has been expanded.

I would like to pay respects to the individuals who reside in the

riding of Richmond East, and I would like to say thank you for the opportunity

to serve at their pleasure once again in this chamber. I have great support in

my riding, particularly from those that we have been of assistance to over the

course of this past administration but certainly over the 14 years I have spent

in this chamber. I would like to say a firm greeting to the family members who

have stood by. Each of you newly elected to this chamber will certainly come to

realize that it is your family that stands by you, and frankly, you will spend

more time with us in the days ahead than you will spend with your family

members. So I trust it will be pleasant.

In terms of my husband; my mom; my little girl, who's five; and my

son, who's 18 months old — each of them has been in this chamber and has been

welcomed. I would wish the same to extend to your families as well. In fact, my

children were born into elected life, and this place has gone out of its way in

many respects to make them welcome. I believe that's important. I believe that

if you wish to make law in the province of British Columbia that impacts the

lives of families, you do so from the vantage point of a myriad of different

perspectives, and I welcome the opportunity to bring my perspective to this

place.

[1535]

The team that brought me to this place over the past four

elections. Again, I extend my highest accolades, my greatest gratitude, because

it's important that we continue to honour those who give their time freely to

promote the democratic process.

The civility we have in this country for those of us who are

elected is unparalleled anywhere in the world. We cannot for a moment take that

for granted. The notion of democratic undertakings that have opportu

[ Page 106 ]

nity, support and regard is not something that legislators across the world

share with us, oftentimes, and we need to always acknowledge how vitally

important that is.

I want to say that I was intrigued yesterday to listen to members

who were elected with me in 1991 give some of the same speeches they gave in

1991. I think it does a disservice to the growth and the development that this

province has undertaken in the decade. There has been enormous, enormous growth

in the last three or four years around science, technology and research; around

Genome British Columbia; around expansion of cancer centres. All of those things

are only possible with a balanced budget.

There's a purpose to balancing the budget in British Columbia.

It's not something one does for its own sake. It is about opportunity to create

better opportunities as we go forward. My hon. colleague from Nanaimo-Parksville

talked about how it's the economy that pays the rent. It isn't anything else

that pays the rent or that provides the services for individuals and for

supports that we believe to be important.

I wanted to spend a moment, too, dedicating my remarks today to

the early childhood educators in British Columbia, because I firmly believe that

the quality of this economy, of this life that we want to put in place for our

children, begins and is honoured by the fact that we put in place supports for

very young children and their families. I fundamentally believe that. I can tell

you: you will know that the shelf life of childhood is extraordinarily short. I

want to thank early childhood educators in British Columbia for giving their

time and their talents to extend the joy of childhood to countless thousands of

British Columbia children — vitally important.

We know — and we will continue to have these discussions over the

next months and years — about the challenges facing British Columbia families in

the context of the modern family. It's not what it was. It is varied,

stimulating and enriching, but there's always, always going to be the

opportunity for government to ramp up and do some things that actually are a

kindness to families. There is no question about that.

Families take all forms and inhabit every corner of this province.

Over 40,000 babies were born in British Columbia last year; at least that many

will be born in 2006. My cabinet colleagues and I want to make this place the

best place on earth to raise a child. I want that opportunity for this province.

I can tell you that we have committed resources, energy and time to achieving

that goal, and it will always be a work in progress.

I am a firm believer that early learning starts in the home and

that we must have as our priority supports to families, supports to parents. We

can, indeed, have a multitude of discussions about how best to support families

in the province, hon. Speaker. Supporting parents, supporting community,

supporting delivery systems — building a continuum of care across the province

that balances, honours and hinges more dramatically to the other service

deliverers we have in the system today — is the goal.

This discussion today, I believe, is about partnership. We want

very much to have a whole array of providers onside when we talk about

increasing graduation rates in the province. That's just one example. We have a

fabulous graduation rate in the province. We have more work before us. We will

do better in that regard if we pull in and bring to bear greater learning on

behalf of very young learners.

Learning in an infant begins at the moment of conception. There

are individuals today who believe that learning begins when children begin at

school. That means that they have no appreciation for how much of a missed

opportunity there is for the first six years of a little person's life. We have

to come to grips with how we proceed from there.

I want us to build greater partnerships as we go forward. I want

us to look at schools, community centres, public buildings, housing

developments, Boys and Girls Clubs, neighbourhood houses, family resource

programs and partners such as the Salvation Army. I want us to exhaust every

possible opportunity on behalf of supports for families. I think it's vitally

important.

[1540]

Just last week we attempted to support families more directly, in

terms of a child care subsidy, lifting the income threshold from $21,000 to

$38,000 — tremendous news on behalf of British Columbia families.

Not only that, last year we decided that student loan income would

no longer be counted when a family's eligibility is assessed. I had the best

experience last year with a Kwantlen College student who had the ability to take

that issue and refine it — to the point that it came to our table and was

reflected in a change that made us understand how completely this would be of

support and benefit to the students of this province. That is in place. I'm

extraordinarily proud of that. It makes good sense.

We should do everything we can to support students with young

children today, because they want for their children what I wish for mine: every

possible opportunity. Completion of grade 12, ongoing training or a college

program will only assist their ability to be better parents. There's no question

about that.

The steps taken to expand access will continue, because it's

vitally important. Government's contribution to child care capital funding that

enables providers to offer more spaces, improve their facilities and offer

further training is an ongoing priority. It is about professional development.

It is about who all of us would choose to leave our children with. There is no

one more precious in our lives than our offspring. How we manage the time away

is vitally important and, again, is something this province is paying incredible

attention to.

Every initiative I speak of today is a government initiative. They

are issues that we believe as a government to be important. We have allowed

dollars to be available for an additional 32,000 spaces to be eligible for

funding in British Columbia, and 10,000 more children will be able to benefit

from subsidized child care because of increased capital expenditure and the new

subsidy income threshold.

[ Page 107 ]

Expanded access to child care was an election promise. Our child

care plan fulfills several more: professional development opportunities,

supported child development. We're pushing ahead with discussions around

converting public space today, because we very much want this discussion to have

at its core whether a variety of mechanisms are a greater kindness to families

or not.

[H. Bloy in the chair.]

The best example I can give my hon. colleagues today would be a

parent on the way to work in the morning with a six-year-old, a four-year-old

and a two-year-old. In some communities in British Columbia that family goes to

three different places on the way to work in the morning to secure care for the

children. That needs to be addressed and streamlined, and we need to build on

the model of community hubs across British Columbia as a government initiative,

because we believe it's important.

Housing developments. Oftentimes transportation is an issue for

individuals who reside in housing developments and cooperatives across this

province. They often have unused amenity buildings. It makes perfect sense that

we explore that opportunity so that a parent with a number of small children is

not faced with the daily struggle of seeking access and transportation to arrive

at that destination. If we can provide some of those services on site and build

the hub model around where very young children reside, we absolutely should.

There's no reason we cannot do those things.

Community partnerships. I mentioned earlier that the Boys and

Girls Clubs in British Columbia do extraordinary work. Family Resource Programs

of British Columbia, under the leadership of Marianne Drew-Pennington. It's

vitally important that we continue to build those linkages and networks, because

those are the people today who we must honour when it comes to delivering

services for children. There is no doubt. There's absolutely no doubt.

Last Friday I had the opportunity to attend the Canadian

Expertise round table on fetal alcohol. It was called the FACE meeting. It's

vitally important because it's the first time the country has come together to

take the best researchers and providers and bring them together to talk about

how the entire country can strengthen their response to those affected with

fetal alcohol and, frankly, strengthen the prevention response. It is something

that we can address, manage and treat much more effectively.

I am pleased to tell you that our Premier was incredibly involved

in the delivery and the presentation of the first-ever strategic plan for fetal

alcohol spectrum disorder, which we presented in Burns Lake in 2003. The work

from that report is ongoing. It made enormous strides. We'll continue to build

on that as we go forward.

[1545]

The throne speech calls for fresh, creative and innovative ideas.

How we tackle the challenges that have been besetting communities across this

province, across this land…. We will only do better if we partner effectively.

Interministerially and interprovincially there have to be governmentwide

initiatives. There has to be the thrust of provinces to go forward to tackle

some of these issues. We can certainly do that.

I'm pleased to tell you that British Columbia is a partner at the

Canada Northwest Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder table. We are a partner. It was

our pleasure to chair that entity last year. Those ministers mightily believe in

bringing this preventable birth defect down so that no child lives their life

suffering from issues that, frankly, are preventable. We have partnerships in

this administration with the Ministry of Health, and our commitment to this task

is unswerving. We will continue to address this challenge as we go forward.

Starting this fiscal year, the B.C. government will be investing

new funding over three years towards assessment, diagnosis, intervention and

support services specifically geared towards families affected by fetal alcohol

spectrum disorder. Our commitment is clear.

We certainly have had great opportunity over the past four years

to do work with aboriginal communities. Work with aboriginal communities is

about respect and regard and relationship-building. I understand that. My

colleagues in the Ministry of Children and Family Development understand that.

We have spent a great deal of time honouring the work and learning lessons from

aboriginal communities in terms of building aboriginal early childhood

development programs and services that make sense to aboriginal families. It's

vitally important that we continue to do that. We absolutely believe that the

work we are doing supports the Premier's vision to eradicate the inequities that

have plagued our aboriginal peoples throughout history.

B.C.'s first aboriginal infant development adviser is Diana

Elliot, a magical, absolutely magical, individual mentored by Dana Brynelsen,

who's the provincial infant development adviser. The first connection a family

has with individuals who've come into their home to teach them how to respond to

someone who is incredibly vulnerable, a child at risk, is vitally important.

That work is ongoing today in the aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities in

British Columbia, and it's work which we will carry forward.

Certainly, there is much work to be done. We recognize that, and

my colleagues on this side of the chamber will have heard me invite those

interested to come to the table to share with me their ideas and insights. We

have had some great discussions over the last number of years with aboriginal

communities in British Columbia, with child care providers in British Columbia,

with specialists in the area and with university academics, because this is all

about arriving at the best possible decision. We want to take advantage of the

expertise that is available.

We have a tremendous push in the area of literacy. I say — and I

come to you today as a previous teacher, a previous school administrator — that

literacy underpins every aspect of our lives. It's vitally important that we

understand how important it can be in the life of

[ Page 108 ]

every single young learner in this province. Those of you who have children,

grandchildren: read to them every single day, every opportunity, even if you

have to phone them and read to them. Do that. It would warm my heart. We want

British Columbia to be the best-educated, most literate jurisdiction on the

continent. We will only get there if we pull together and understand how

important that is.

Governments have just announced $1.8 million towards libraries.

Libraries are part and parcel of the package. Access to public libraries open

every evening, open Saturdays, open Sundays…. It is about increasing access. I

thank the hon. colleague who has put that gift in place.

Mary Gordon, some of you may know, is the founder of the Roots of

Empathy. Roots of Empathy is a program that teaches vulnerability to youngsters

in public schools today. What the research will tell us today is that instances

of bullying have come down as a result of children understanding how vulnerable

youngsters are on playgrounds, in community spaces and in schools in British

Columbia. I am pleased to tell you that Mary was just recognized with the Order

of Canada in British Columbia. The enormous contribution she has made as an

educator and as a founder of this program….

The Seeds of Empathy is a program that we are piloting in British

Columbia beginning any day, in terms of the training being underway, so that

that program can be expanded to four-year-olds and three-year-olds in British

Columbia. We want civilized, humane behaviours. To teach them to very young

children, to place them into environments where that is being demonstrated, is a

wonderful thing.

[1550]

Child care and early childhood development in British Columbia are

inextricably linked. Of that, there is no question.

I want to thank those of you who understand how important it is to

have a balanced budget in the province, because a balanced budget is about

choice. I want to thank particularly my budget guests from yesterday: Tracy

Lakeman and Lorenzo Lepore, from the Tourism Richmond association. It's vitally

important that we understand the contributions they make. They are about

bringing opportunities. They are about looking at this budget and understanding

the kinds of opportunities they can bring to Richmond as a result. A trade and

exhibition centre is up for debate — a great opportunity.

We have opportunities as we continue to go forward, certainly, to

do things that matter in the lives of families. But if there's one message I can

leave with folks today, it's that the private sector economy, which has the

ability to provide for excellent public services, gives us that opportunity. It

is about choice; it is about flexibility. But it has to flow from a budget

that's balanced. It has to be managed growth in the province. We've lived in

this place when it wasn't. We've absolutely lived in this place when it wasn't.

Frankly, the ten years that the NDP were in place — great opportunity and not

very much activity in terms of the things that I value.

Budget 2005 invests growing provincial revenues to boost the

capacity of families and communities to care for their children. Our ministry

will spend an additional $331 million by 2007-2008 to enhance programs and

services for children. This is a cumulative 9.2 percent budget lift on

2004-2005, a base budget of $1.497 billion over three years. That's $80 million,

or 5.3 percent, in '05-06; $113 million, or 7.5 percent, in '06-07; and $138

million, or 9.2 percent, in '07-08.

Great, great opportunities are before us. In fact, government's

contribution to the child care capital funding that enables providers to expand

or upgrade their facilities is the highest it's ever been in British Columbia's

history — the highest it's ever been in the history of this province. More

spaces are eligible for funding. More families will receive support.

Another milestone was reached this year by raising the income

threshold. Those things are important, and my challenge and your challenge on

behalf of your constituents is to ensure that every single person who is

eligible in your ridings understands the process and makes application. That is

your challenge as MLAs: to ensure that those individuals in your ridings come

forward.

So when asked if there are more dollars for child care now than

there were in 2001, I can tell you the answer is yes, and there are more to

come. A commitment to early learning and child care was one of our earliest

election promises in 2001, and I am delighted to report that it's a promise

we've delivered on consistently every year since then, and with increased

funding each year.

Our plan for child care looks ahead to what tomorrow's families

will need. We know that the demands of the modern workplace change continuously.

That is the notion of staying abreast of those needs, staying responsive and

flexible, being adept thinkers around how we go forward, because families have a

range of needs. We have moved well beyond the typical family in British

Columbia. This is addressing the families of British Columbia.

Any of you, all of us, don't work typical nine-to-five office

hours, no question. Again, choice and flexibility are what B.C. parents need. I

see great potential for meeting that need with the signing of the child care

agreement with the federal government. As you know, that will be done less than

two weeks from now. The first round of funding is, in British Columbia, $92

million. We can now devote more resources than ever before to expanding quality

child care across the province. We will invest every cent of that new funding to

provide more accessible, affordable, inclusive care that emphasizes early

learning.

Parents will have more choices; children will have more

opportunities. Funding will be targeted to those in need, and we will see those

dividends for generations to come — incredible investments in our future. I see

exciting work being done for the children of British Columbia, and many more

important milestones are ahead.

[ Page 109 ]

[1555]

I believe the budget does hold promise, and I was certainly

delighted to see the Finance Minister yesterday talk about this being the first

of five budgets, because this is a series of ongoing commitments that matter.

The babies that are born in the year 2005 will be coming up to entering their

kindergarten year when this mandate draws to a close. It's vitally important

that the supports and the decisions we put in place today make a difference in

their lives, absolutely make a difference in their lives. The response yesterday

around seniors, around aboriginal populations, around first nations, around

keeping the economy competitive: all of those things are a package. It's about

British Columbia. It's about making this province the best place on earth and

about seeing that as a goal that's shared by every single member of this

chamber. That is important.

Certainly, we have opportunities, and I will speak for a moment as

the previous critic in the area of science, technology and research. The

intellectual property in this province I'm extraordinarily proud of. I was the

critic when those companies ten or 12 years ago came on line to begin the work

and the investment, the creativity and the innovation to get them to the point

today where they have a product. They have a patent. Why would we ever wish to

see that intellectual property dispersed so indeed those jobs and that

investment are not available to British Columbians?

This government has taken a very, very fine step in terms of

heralding, honouring and respecting the intellectual property that got us to

this point. I want those benefits to be enjoyed by British Columbians. I can't

imagine why anyone in this chamber would wish otherwise. You only have to spend

an afternoon every other month in some of the finest science, technology and

research companies anywhere in the land, and they're in British Columbia.

They're in my riding. They're in Richmond. They're in Langley. They're in Fort

St. John. They're in Dawson Creek.

There is great opportunity for each and every member of this

chamber to pay their best regards, best accolades, to individuals who every

single day labour away laboriously in university laboratories and small offices,

in tiny cramped quarters, coming up with a response to a family's need, doing

research in Alzheimer's care and breast cancer research — things that matter to

the families of British Columbia and things that should matter desperately to

every single member of this chamber.

The research answers are available to British Columbia in ways

unparalleled. We have the ability. We have the opportunity. We now have some of

the finest venues, some of the best research facilities, some of the best

laboratories anywhere in the world. I am proud of that. I'm intensely proud of

that, and for our Finance Minister yesterday to secure that investment on behalf

of British Columbians is first class. An absolutely first-class decision, and I

thank the Finance department and this government, because it's vitally

important, and I would pay my absolute thanks to the minister.

It's important that we understand that it is a strong economy that

takes us forward and allows us to have the choices we believe to be vitally

important on behalf of British Columbia families.

S. Simpson: I want to thank you for the opportunity to make

my first speech in this House. It truly is an honour and a privilege to be here

and to be able to take this time with you today. My congratulations to the

Speaker and to all of the deputy speakers who have been named and selected, and

congratulations to all the members in this House on their election. It truly is,

as others have said, a great privilege for us all to be able to be here and to

represent our constituents in our respective communities.

I want to thank my family, my partner Cate Jones and our daughter

Shayla. Without their support, I clearly wouldn't be here today. Also, I want to

thank them for their commitment, and I know the sacrifice that they'll be making

allowing me to do this job and to be away from home.

I want to thank my friends and supporters who worked with me

throughout a very competitive nomination process and through the May 17 election

campaign. They've continued to work with me today on issues in the community and

to work with me and support me. I know my victory is largely of their doing and

that I owe them a great deal, and without their support I wouldn't be here today

as well.

[1600]

I want to acknowledge my constituency assistant Brenda Tombs and

my legislative assistant Raj Patara as well as Norah White and Rich Overgaard

from NDP research and communications. They're all working extremely hard on my

behalf and deserve much credit for any success that I have in this place or in

my constituency. I appreciate their efforts very much.

I want to acknowledge and thank someone else for leaving

Vancouver-Hastings in such good shape and for setting the bar so high for me to

strive for in my time here. Joy MacPhail reached somewhat of a legendary status

over the past four years in this chamber for her heroic efforts, along with the

member for Vancouver–Mount Pleasant. However, I believe the real story for her

is a very distinguished 14-year legislative career where she met every challenge

put in front of her with her own style, always doing her best, working hard for

her constituents, her party and the things that she believes in.

The thing I heard probably more than anything else during the

campaign was: "Boy, you've got big shoes to fill." I never minded, because they

were very true words, and I'm very excited by that challenge.

On behalf of the people of Vancouver-Hastings, I want to thank Joy

for her commitment and contribution to our community and for continuing the

wonderful tradition of NDP members in East Vancouver. I am sure, on behalf of

the members here on both sides, to thank her for demonstrating the commitment,

effort and ability that any member would be proud to be remembered for during

their time here.

[ Page 110 ]

Most of all, I want to thank the people of Vancouver-Hastings for

affording me the great honour and privilege to represent them in this House.

Vancouver-Hastings is a diverse community with a mix of cultures, interests and

income levels. Vancouver-Hastings is the second-poorest constituency in British

Columbia. It has the largest urban aboriginal population and a cultural mix that

includes a 40-percent Asian population.

However, what truly makes Vancouver-Hastings such a remarkable

constituency is its people. They are diverse in their makeup, progressive in

their views and compassionate in their concern for the human condition.

Vancouver-Hastings has a rich history of activism, and its neighbourhoods rally

together quickly in defence of each other.

What I love most about our community is that these values are not

fleeting. They were here when I was a kid growing up, and they remain today.

They are truly ingrained in the traditions and fabric of Vancouver-Hastings and

of her people. I am very proud and very honoured to represent these people in

this place.

Now let me turn to the budget, a budget that clearly fails to meet

the standard around the Liberals' five great goals. More importantly, it fails

to meet the needs of British Columbians.

When I look at my community of Vancouver-Hastings, there are a

wide range of issues that are falling between the cracks because of government

inaction, lack of funding and ideological intransigence. In my community there

are many critical issues, and I want to talk to you about three of those today —

housing, poverty and education.

While I applaud the government for increasing SAFER funding, I see

nothing here for the thousands of other British Columbians who are either

without stable housing or are struggling to make their rent. The government is

simply wrong not to invest in affordable housing. British Columbia has a proud

record for housing through our term in government. We recognize that safe,

affordable housing, which is obviously critical for everyone, is particularly

essential for those who are trying to put their lives back together and to get

back on their feet.

How can you ask someone to go get training or go get a job when

they don't know where they or their family will sleep or they can't be sure

someone won't kick the door in, in the middle of the night and assault them?

Secure, affordable housing is one of the most fundamental resources people need

to get back on their feet.

From my own experience of growing up poor with my sister and

mother in the downtown east side, I know that our ability to get into Raymur

housing project — while it was hardly great housing — took away a huge concern

for my mother and, I believe, played a large role in my ability to have the

success that I've been able to have in my life.

I had the opportunity, along with the member for Cariboo South, to

meet with a number of key organizations in the mental health community. When

they talk about solutions, housing is always at the top of their list.

[1605]

I have constituents who have teenage children who face serious

mental health issues of paranoid schizophrenia, and they can't live at home

because of it. Unfortunately, they have no place to go, and they spend much of

their time on the street.

This government has walked away from housing for those who need

it. They have abandoned the most needy, and they have done it in what can only

be considered a most cavalier fashion when you consider their punitive measures

like the Safe Streets Act. That said: "Now that we've created the poor and the

homeless, we're going to punish you for your circumstances."

If there is a glimmer of hope in all of this, and I believe there

is, it probably rests with Jack Layton and the federal NDP. They succeeded in

negotiating a housing allocation through the federal government that will bring

some relief, regardless of the lack of concern of the other side of this

chamber. British Columbia will see over $200 million in housing money over the

coming years thanks to the federal NDP. Hopefully, it will be spent wisely to

meet the needs of those who have been so sorely neglected by the B.C. Liberal

government. If this government had any vision, it would announce its intention

to try to match those dollars and create a real affordable housing fund in our

province.

When we talk about poverty and homelessness, too often we're

talking about mental health issues and the complexity of dual diagnosis around

serious addiction-related issues. When we talk about poor kids, what we are

really doing is talking about poor families that have seen no increase in their

support in many, many years. Rather, under this regime, thousands have lost

their welfare cheques because of tightening requirements that have slashed

people off the rolls, all too often whether there was need or not. We have seen

regulations that restrict social workers from truly doing the job they face.

I was told a story by a social worker a couple of years ago of a

gentleman who lives in my community. He had been a carpenter, and he had had

some very serious addiction issues, and he was getting his life back together.

He was able to get some work banging nails out in Langley. The problem was that

he went to his worker and said: "I have this job opportunity." He had a letter

from his employer, and he said: "What I need is some steel-toed boots and a bus

pass. I need 150 bucks, essentially." Well, that worker was very sympathetic,

but that worker had no latitude to give that person the $150 that would have got

him off welfare and back into his life. He never got off welfare. Thank you,

government.

We need a real dialogue on how welfare works and on changes that

will make the system work better so that it will better meet the needs of

British Columbians and the many who live in communities like my community. I

would note that that dialogue needs to involve more than politicians and

bureaucrats and policy wonks. It should involve a few people who collect a

welfare cheque.

[ Page 111 ]

We're a wealthy province. We can do better, and it has to start

with those of you on that side of the chamber.

Education is a critical issue in my community. Through my many

years involved in my daughter's school PAC, I know the challenges that we've

faced and that parents continue to face today. Regardless of the rhetoric of the

Education Minister, the reality is there are not enough resources in our school

system to meet the needs of our kids. While parent fundraising may work in the

constituencies of the Premier or the Finance Minister or the Economic

Development Minister, they don't work very well in my community, where people

are struggling to pay the rent or put food on the table.

I was talking to my daughter last night, who's in grade nine.

Classes in her school are overcrowded to the point where in at least one of her

classes there aren't enough desks for all the kids that are enrolled in the

class. Some are sitting on the tables on the side. Is that what the government

meant to accomplish with its great goal on education?

[1610]

I was speaking to a secondary school shop teacher the other day

who told me that over the past four years the funding he has for supplies has

reduced from $40 to $14 per student. He asked me how he was supposed to motivate

students to get engaged in these career options when he can't afford enough

materials to let them do their projects. Of course, we all know this is

exacerbated by the increased costs of materials. But for this government, it

thinks nothing of adding tens of millions of dollars to cover cost overruns on a

RAV line or a trade and convention centre, but it can't find new money for the

kid who wants to learn to be a welder.

In my community we have more inner-city schools than any other

constituency in the province. These schools play a critical role in the lives of

the children who attend them. Often they are the one place where these kids find

some real stability and support to give them a better chance to break out of a

cycle of poverty that many of them are caught up in. But this government doesn't

have a sense, I believe, of the fragility of the infrastructure and the demands

on the teachers and the counsellors who work in those schools.

Yesterday's budget demonstrated that in its total lack of support

for children at risk and for people living in poverty, there is nothing great

about the conduct of this government in the way they are treating tens of

thousands of people in this province who are at risk and who got nothing

yesterday.

I want to speak a bit about my critic area now, which is

environment. First, I would like to congratulate the minister on his

appointment. I believe he is very sincere, and I believe he is committed and

that he will make his best efforts on behalf of the environment. However, the

reality of his situation will probably make these efforts largely futile, I

suspect.

Over the past four years we've seen a 30-percent cut in the staff

in that ministry — what was Water, Land and Air Protection — some 320 positions.

For example, with conservation officers last year, we had fewer than 130

conservation officers across the province while our neighbours to the east, in

Alberta, who have a million less people and about two-thirds of the land base….

Well, they have more than 220 people doing that job.

In parks we've seen situations like in Strathcona Park, where we

have one full-time staff and three seasonal staff. Again, if we go to Alberta,

in a park like Kananaskis Park, about the similar size, they have 75 full-time

staff and another 19 seasonal staff.

Or just staying in British Columbia and looking at the differences

between how the federal government and how this government deal with our parks.

Mount Robson Park has less than two full-time staff and three seasonal

employees, while Mount Revelstoke and Glacier parks — two of our national parks,

which jointly have about half the land base of Robson — have 37 full-time staff

and 39 seasonal staff.

Our parks are being denigrated. If we want to be truly honest

here, we can no longer claim to have the best park system in the world. This

government threw that away.

In Abbotsford we saw the hazardous waste situation a few weeks ago

that caused an emergency. It's going to cost $2 million to clean that up — two

million taxpayer dollars. "Why did we get in that situation?" people asked. "The

government knew four years ago about the mess in this warehouse. How come they

didn't do anything?"

Well, what we know is that you have a manifest system where nobody

knows where things are. Nobody knows what was in those drums, and that's because

you didn't do the job on the manifest system. It's dysfunctional.

You have an honour system for dealing with these matters. You call

it stewardship. What this says is: those companies, presumably, are supposed to

do the right thing after you set the standard. Well, that system only works if

you actually have an audit function that works and an oversight function so that

you can go to those warehouses, test what's in those barrels and make sure that

it corresponds with the manifest system so that you can stop those trucks that

are moving hazardous goods periodically and say: "Are you shipping what you said

you are supposed to be shipping?"

But that doesn't happen here, because you gutted the staff in the

ministry. So it doesn't happen. Instead, we'll pay $2 million to clean this up.

What is even more disturbing is how many other warehouses like that there are

all across this province that you as a government have no clue about, because

you simply don't care about the environment. It's not a priority.

[1615]

Whistle-blower. Effective whistle-blower legislation is something

we should all be looking for. If you believe in transparency and you believe in

accountability, then your task should be to make sure that your employees get

that message too.

But what's the message we have here? We have the message of Gord

McAdam from Nelson. What happened with Mr. McAdam? He deemed that the government

was acting inappropriately when he was an employee of the government in Nelson.

He didn't go to

[ Page 112 ]

the media. He didn't try to make a big deal out of this in the media. What he

did do was submit documents to the court. He told the courts.

Do you know what reward he got for helping the courts to make a

good decision? The reward he got is that on the day before his retirement he was

fired by this government, and it cost him $20,000 out of his pocket. That's what

you do to a good employee. That's how you treat a civil servant who acts with

honour.

Climate change. We know the pine beetle situation. We know that

for years we were being told that if the weather dropped to 30 below or 40 below

and stayed that way for a period of time, the pine beetle would be managed. But

we never saw those temperatures for a number of years.

We know that the recent sockeye salmon situation, the confusion

over the salmon…. Fisheries and Oceans and other biological experts tell us it

has to do with the warming of the waters because of global warming. We know that

in communities like Invermere they're concerned about the low snowpack and what

that does to fresh water. In all of those cases it links to climate change and

global warming questions.

What did we hear about climate change in the budget? We heard

nothing. This government doesn't care. I suspect that part of the problem this

government has is that it's hanging its hat on oil and gas from here on in. The

Minister of Energy, the Premier, and others in that cabinet don't want a

discussion of climate change that might get in the way of the oil and gas

industry coming and exploiting every opportunity they can find in this province.

That's what I think.

If we want some sense of priorities here, the federal government

has a program looking at sustainable ocean management that they're partnered on

with British Columbia. Well, British Columbia has come to the table. There are

two staff people in this government who were assigned to deal with ocean

management questions. Contrast that with what was the offshore oil and gas

exploration and market team of five people. So I guess offshore oil and gas was

two and a half times more important to this government than our oceans.

On a matter that's before the people today: the question of the

sale of Terasen Gas to Kinder Morgan. Kinder Morgan has one of the most

questionable environmental records in that industry in the United States.

Recently the Department of Transportation has cited them for 44 violations. They

have given Kinder Morgan 120 days to clean up their act, including an

independent review. If they don't do it, they're threatening them with

$100,000-a-day fines.

What did we do? I wrote to the Attorney General and to the

Minister of Environment, and I asked them: "When B.C. Utilities Commission looks

at this question, don't you think it would be a good thing for them to at least

look at the environmental question?" But because B.C. Utilities Commission

doesn't consider those things without special direction from government, I said

to the ministers: "Why don't you get cabinet to provide some special direction

to the Utilities Commission to look at the question?"

We're talking about a public utility here. Well, I'm still waiting

for a response to that letter a month later, and I know that the Utilities

Commission certainly hasn't heard from them. I guess the environment isn't as

important as selling our utility to Texas.

[1620]

Transportation. There are a lot of complex transportation issues

in this province. We've seen many of them, and many of them are on the table

now. We need to have important discussions about all of those issues, and we

need to have everybody at that table to have those discussions. The problem we

have with…. And I'll just put this as a single example; there are many others.

Let's take the example of what's going on in the lower mainland. The Minister of

Transportation refuses to even consider the interests of local governments. He

tells the GVRD: "I'll write the reports. I'll make the decisions. I'll talk to

you afterwards, and as long as you agree with me, we're on side. If you don't

agree with me, tough luck." That's consultation, Liberal style.

So my concern for the Minister of Environment is that he has

neither the resources nor, I'm concerned, the clout to stand up to his

colleagues like the Forest Minister and the Energy Minister and the

Transportation Minister and the Economic Development Minister and the Premier

when they put their agendas on the table — agendas that will not put a priority

on our environment or on sustainability.

Unfortunately, while this minister may be very sincere about the

environment, I don't believe the same can be said for his government, and I

worry that he will face the same fate as every single one of his predecessors in

Water, Land and Air Protection, where the environment was never an issue for

this government. It was just dig it up or cut it down or whatever.

What has resulted? British Columbia now has one of the worst

environmental records of any province in this country and has had for the last

four years. It is an embarrassment to the people of British Columbia.

I look forward to working with the many interests in this province

to develop a meaningful and successful sustainability strategy for our

environment and for our economy. I look forward to helping our leader put those

forward to the people of British Columbia.

All of these comments aside, I truly do look forward to working

with the government to help you, to encourage and push you to do the right

thing, as well. This is important, both for the people of British Columbia

today…. It's also so much important for our caucus, because we look forward to

the day this House sits after May 12, 2009, when we're on those benches, and we

don't want too big a mess to clean

[ Page 113 ]

up from what you are going to do over the next few years.

G. Coons: I would like leave to make an introduction.

Leave granted.

Introductions by Members

G. Coons: I would like to introduce Chief Willard Martin

from Greenville, from the Nisga'a Nation. He is with us here today. I'd also

like to introduce from the Ashcroft first nations band, Chief Greg Blain, his

first time in the House, and a couple of other friends of mine — who, during my

campaign trail along with Chief Willard Martin, I ran into from Kincolith, also

from the Nisga'a Nation — Ellen Torng and Valerie Doolan from Kincolith.

Debate Continued

D. Hayer: May I first offer my congratulations to the

Deputy Chair of the Committees of the Whole, the member for Burquitlam, and as

our new Speaker, the member for Penticton–Okanagan Valley, on their election as

a Chair.

Also to two new Deputy Speakers. The member for Kelowna-Mission —

who, in addition to winning re-election for the third time, has also been

successful in a personal battle against cancer. The congratulations of my

constituents also goes to the MLA from my neighbouring riding of Surrey–Green

Timbers, who for the first time in our province's history represents the

opposition in the role of Deputy Speaker. I wish all of you much success in your

new role over the coming years.

I'm very proud to be among the first to speak to the budget, the

September budget update presented yesterday by the new Minister of Finance. This

update confirms everything that was in our full budget presented last February.

Plus, it adds a great deal more, made possible by the vibrant economy we created

over the last four years.

[1625]

Our new minister presented some very good news yesterday — for

seniors, for first nations and for the creation of more jobs. The first full

budget contained much, and I spoke at length about the good news and positive

things in that budget during the last session of this Legislature in February.

What we heard yesterday in the budget update was a strong reminder

of how good our full budget really was and how well we have managed to

revitalize the economy, taking us from the last in Canada to first place in just

four short years. That incredible financial turnaround was made possible by

making some tough decisions and living by them. There was some pain, I must

admit, but yesterday we all heard in this House that we can now afford to give

back to the people from both fiscal management and those difficult decisions.

It isn't easy to manage money and at the same time increase

education and health care spending every year, as we did in the past. But we

did, and we will be able to continue to do that now that we have the economy

back on track. That's the benefit of creating an economic climate that people

will want to be part of and that business wants to invest in.

The good thing is that everything in the February budget and the

September budget update is open and accountable. Our government now operates

under generally accepted accounting principles, the CA Institute of British

Columbia. We have nothing to hide and everything to show for what we have

accomplished since 2001.

This session of the Legislature will operate on the financial

guidelines set out in the February budget, and I will talk about them and their

benefits in a moment. But first I want to touch on the main highlights of

yesterday's budget update, such as an additional allocation of $242 million to

improve the lives of seniors who built this province; a $100 million allocation

for the first nations who are so important to us and for the