1994 Legislative Session: 3rd Session, 35th Parliament
HANSARD
The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.
(Hansard)
TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 1994
Morning Sitting
Volume 13, Number 2
[ Page 9425 ]
The House met at 10:05 a.m.
Prayers.
C. Serwa: I want to share with the Legislature a good-news announcement, and we all need that. For the first time in 30-odd years, I believe, a British Columbia rink, skipped by Rick Folk of Kelowna, has won the Brier championships. I think that's a great way to begin a good day.
Hon. M. Harcourt: I would like to congratulate the hon. member on the success of Mr. Folk and his rink. I also want you to know that I have written to Mr. Folk and the rink expressing all of our congratulations -- one of the few unanimous events in this Legislature. This is the second time, though, and in the second province, that this magnificent athlete has won the Brier. So I wanted you to know that I have passed on the congratulations of the people of British Columbia and the members of this House.
F. Garden: I also want to join in the congratulations to the curling team that won the honours for British Columbia. As you know, with bagpipes and porridge, curling was one of the things invented in Scotland. I'm really proud to know that it's followed us over here.
Hon. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I make the following motion. I move that the following address be presented to His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor: "We, Her Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in session assembled, beg leave to thank Your Honour for the gracious speech which Your Honour has addressed to us at the opening of the present session."
I would like to begin by thanking my caucus colleagues for the opportunity to make this motion today. I consider it not only a great honour for myself, but I also see it as an honour to the constituents I represent in Cariboo North. It's something I will certainly treasure and remember for the rest of my time in this House and in the future.
Hon. Speaker, as the hon. Lieutenant-Governor said in his Speech from the Throne yesterday: "Times change, and we change with them." It's with pride that I look upon the changes this government has made since the last throne speech was delivered one year ago. In two and a half years this government has been able to put the province's fiscal house in order, while at the same time contributing to sustained economic growth. We have begun a new partnership with health care providers and patients, ensuring that an even greater share of our health care dollars are spent directly on health care services. In this session of the Legislature we will introduce B.C.'s first forest practices code. The people of British Columbia demanded change in 1991, and I believe that this government has done its best to meet that challenge in making these changes.
In last year's throne speech, this government demonstrated the kind of courage necessary to face what was, quite honestly, a very difficult financial situation for the province. When we first came to power, our province's financial health could only be described as critical. The provincial deficit was almost $2.5 billion. It was then that we got down to business. We made some important changes to get this province back on a solid financial footing. We can now say that over the past two and a half years we have turned the corner and put British Columbia on a firm fiscal foundation.
In 1993 we devoted ourselves to several priorities which demanded our greatest attention. First, we knew that we had to continue the renewal of medicare to meet the province's changing needs. As the MLA for Cariboo North, I'm pleased to say that this ongoing commitment to renewable health care has met with success in the Cariboo. For instance, the redevelopment of the Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake will help to give better health care services to the region and the communities in that area. This two-phase, $20 million project will see improvements in intensive care, surgical, obstetrics and in-patient services at Cariboo Memorial Hospital.
In Quesnel, where we recently built a new hospital -- thanks to the previous government providing the funds -- we were left with an empty hospital alongside the new one. But because of our New Directions in Health Care, many of the local health agencies are now moving or have moved into that empty building, making it a central location for situations that we want to see developed in the province. The planning for a 35-bed extension to Dunrovin Park Lodge in Quesnel is continuing. Of these, 18 to 20 are special care units, while the rest are intermediate care. New Directions in Health Care means better health services for communities like these, not only for Quesnel but for communities all over this province. I'm proud to be part of a government that is bringing in these changes at this time.
Secondly, we knew that we needed to take steps to build our province's economy over the long term. To that end, through B.C. 21 and other programs, we are now investing in the infrastructure of this province. That means new public transit, superferries, new schools, hospitals and highways. This creates construction work in the short run, and in the long run it makes B.C. a better, more productive place to do business. That means more jobs.
B.C. 21 is good news for regions like the Cariboo, where government and local communities have been working together to revitalize our regional economies. For example, last year the community of Horsefly received a salmonid enhancement grant; Quesnel city has received downtown revitalization grants; Correlieu school in Quesnel has just received approval for a new cafeteria; Miocene just received a grant to build a new fire hall.
Most of you will be saying: "Where the heck are Miocene and Horsefly?" I'll tell you where they are: they are in rural B.C., which is the engine that drives the economy of the province. This government has pledged to support the men and women in those rural communities, to give them the infrastructure and money required to jump-start the economy and get us on a solid footing once more. When I'm talking about the people of Miocene, Horsefly and Likely, I'm talking about the backbone of this province, and these are the people that are getting the support from this government.
What's more, working people in the Cariboo have participated in the B.C. 21 forest worker development program. This provides salaries and training for unskilled and partly skilled workers. Once trained, these workers form a pool of skilled local workers from which forest contractors in the Cariboo region can hire, year after year. This joint program of the Ministry of Forests and the Ministry of Social Services has helped provide training for hundreds of people in the Quesnel and Williams Lake areas.
[10:15]
I expect B.C. 21 to meet the expectations of many of the MLAs seated here today, and of their constituents. For years in my area there has been talk about a north-south bypass going around Quesnel. I can recall that in 1989 the former
[ Page 9426 ]
Transportation and Highways minister, Mrs. Johnston, came to Quesnel and said: "This has got to be done, and it's needed right now." It has not even been started. I expect B.C. 21 to be the vehicle for bringing that to fruition. We've been discussing upgrading the highway from Likely to Quesnel. I also expect B.C. 21 to be the vehicle for seeing that that work gets done. Helen Dixon school in Quesnel needs replacing. I expect B.C. 21 to be the vehicle to get these things underway.
As I mentioned before, if you ever want to know where Likely is, if this road gets built you'll be able to take a circle tour to see Likely, Williams Lake, Horsefly and the whole bunch. So I welcome you to the Cariboo when we get this sorted out in the next little while and do a tour of the most beautiful part of the province that you'll ever see. It's even better than Powell River.
We all know that rising employment is the best indicator of a healthy economy. Since 1991, British Columbia has created 95,000 new jobs. In 1993 our province's rate of employment increased nearly 3 percent, while in Canada as a whole, the job growth rate was less than 1 percent. In other words, British Columbia is leading the way. We're growing faster. Jobs are being created three times faster here than in the rest of the country. We should be proud that we're part of a Legislature that has a government that's doing these kinds of things for our province. I expect to see the appreciation from the members on the other side of the floor. The fact that B.C. has the fastest-growing economy in Canada proves that this government is doing it right.
Small business is the backbone of the economy. It's the source of innovative ideas and new employment opportunities. To encourage small business development in B.C., we have introduced programs to cut the red tape that small businesses face. Through the B.C. Focus initiative, $87 million of combined government and private sector venture capital has been made available to growing small and medium-sized businesses in the province.
Many new and expanding companies in the province are involved in exciting and innovative areas of the economy. My colleague is not here at the moment, but in the Peace River North district, oil and gas exploration is just going off the top of the chart. That particular part of the province has one of the smallest unemployment rates in North America, never mind Canada. It's just booming, all because this government is showing people that B.C. is the place to invest, and they're doing that in large numbers in the northern part of the province.
In addition to these initiatives, we've helped hundreds of small businesses secure government contracts, and we're busy promoting a Buy B.C. campaign to keep consumer dollars here in British Columbia.
Last year the city of Quesnel became the home base for a regional economic development officer -- one of 22 assigned around the province. Regional economic development officers were created by the former Ministry of Economic Development, Small Business and Trade because this government believes that economic renewal, which includes the creation of new jobs and businesses, has a better chance of succeeding when it is generated by the regions themselves, because the people in the regions know what works and what doesn't. They don't need Big Brother to tell them what to do. Give them the tools, and they will do the job. That's what this government is doing.
Hon. Speaker, over the past year this government has also faced the challenge of working to resolve the land use conflicts in this province. Unfortunately, commerce and the environment have come into conflict in recent years. To address these difficult issues, we created the Commission on Resources and Environment to begin the public debate on how to achieve long-term stability for forest workers in their communities. Our protected-areas strategy has already expanded provincial parks and created new ones.
We're all aware of the Tatshenshini and what a wonderful asset that is to the province and to North America, and we're proud of the Tatshenshini. There are people in the opposition who would see mining and development and all kinds of things happening in these parks, but we're protecting these parks for the future generations of British Columbians, and we're proud of that on this side of the House.
In my part of the province, the Cariboo, the new year saw the creation of a class A provincial park surrounding Chilko Lake in the Chilcotin Mountains. The creation of this park is a fine example of how our province's communities can work together. There were people from all walks of life: tourism, trapping, farming, native people -- you name it. Any employment opportunity or activity that was involved in the Cariboo was involved in the decision-making process for the Chilko Lake park. They came to consensus, and we again have created a wonderful thing for the future and for our children, and these people in the Cariboo are proud of that. The Chilko Lake study team members deserve our congratulations this morning and also our thanks for working hard to reach this consensus.
Everybody says: "Oh, you can't log; you can't mine; you can't do this and you can't do that." In addition to creating the park, this government is also acting on that same study team's recommendation that 45,000 hectares, part of the study area but outside the park's boundaries, be confirmed for forestry, mining and other resource uses. This government's land use strategies are aimed not only at protecting key representative wilderness areas but also at providing certainty and stability for local communities, workers and resource companies, and our government will be glad to meet those....
Interjection.
F. Garden: Hon. Speaker, I keep hearing little noises from the other side. I understand that they're getting frustrated, so I'll bear with them for a minute.
Our commitment to the good stewardship of our forests for future generations continues. While there are some who question this commitment, the people of this province should not doubt for a moment that we will vigorously prosecute those who do not comply with our tough new logging standards. In the past the forests of this province were thought to be inexhaustible. I remember coming to this country as a young immigrant in 1957, and when I saw the number of trees around the province, I never dreamt that we'd get to a point where they would not be sustainable. I didn't dream that we'd get to the point where we would have to say to some forest companies: "You've got to slow down, or there will be nothing left for future generations." Finally, after about 50 years of neglect in this regard, this government is moving to ensure that there will be sustainable forests and jobs for future generations of British Columbians, and I'm proud of that.
There's a growing recognition by people that the timber supply is limited and that other forest values, besides harvesting, must be taken into consideration. We were elected to change the ways in which our forests are protected and managed. Part of our election platform was that we went out and told the people: "What has been happening in the woods is wrong. We can't allow this to continue." They elected us on the basis of these promises, and we're doing something about them. With the introduction B.C.'s first forest practices code,
[ Page 9427 ]
this government is making that commitment a reality. The code will provide a fair and workable framework for managing our forests and protecting jobs, so that, as I said, future generations can continue to enjoy their beauty and the abundance they provide for the people of British Columbia.
People in the Cariboo-Chilcotin were given an opportunity to forward their input into the Forest Practices Code last November. My colleague the hon. member for Cariboo South hosted a Forest Practices Code open house in Williams Lake. It was well attended, and the ideas of the people there were forwarded to government and were taken into consideration in the preparation of the code.
Until now, there has been no comprehensive set of rules that governments -- not only our government, but future governments -- could use to enforce good forest practices. That's changing. The Forest Practices Code will bring together all the existing rules, improve on them, and, perhaps most importantly, give them the force of law.
Some of the enforcement measures being put forward in the code are: an increase in the maximum court-ordered fine to $1 million or more, in addition to cleanup costs; an increase in the range of administrative penalties, including the removal of a company's right to cut wood; and, for the first time on a provincewide basis, the introduction of performance-based logging, which directly ties the approval of future logging activities to a company's performance in their current operations -- all good stuff, introduced by this good government. This is something that other governments have not had the courage to face. We have done it; we are leading the way.
Last week when I was in Quesnel, I was asked by the local newspaper to respond to claims that the Forest Practices Code would be too costly for the forest industry and the government to implement. I responded by clearly stating that we must also think about the long-term costs of not implementing a code. We've already seen certain people go out and badmouth this province because of our previous forest practices, and it has got to the point where people are starting to cancel orders with some of our major forest companies. We can't allow this to continue. We must convince the world, our customers and the people who put money into the economy of this province that we are cleaning up our act, and that the new forests.... It's not an unnecessary law; it's an affordable law. It's something that should have been done years ago, and again, I'm proud that it is this government that's doing it.
As we look ahead to the next year, this government has established four key priorities for the development of a strong and sustainable provincial economy, which ensures that our citizens have the opportunity to shape their lives and the issues affecting them. Firstly, we'll be investing in long-term job creation and economic growth. With B.C. 21 being introduced last year -- which I've already talked about; it's already providing jobs -- we'll be making new public sector investments in our province's infrastructure. We will continue to promote small business, our province's export trade and the development of value-added manufacturing. More than this, we will increase our investments in advanced research, attract high-tech industries, build new partnerships with the private sector and develop our province's technological industries.
This government's commitment to job creation includes the development of our province's natural resources as well. Just last month I was pleased to join the Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources in announcing the approval of increased production levels for the proposed Quesnel River Kinross gold project. The outlook that this project will go ahead as planned this year is very positive. This shows our commitment to the mining industry in this province, certainly in the Cariboo.
Secondly, this government has made a commitment to skills and training for the twenty-first century. This government recognizes that a strong economy requires a highly skilled and productive workforce. Education is the key to the development of a workforce that will successfully compete in the global economy. To that end this government has increased education funding more than any other province. There are people out there saying that it's not enough. We are saying that we've increased education funding more than any other province in Canada, and I'm proud of that. I'm sure the educators of this province are also thankful for the things we're doing for them.
[10:30]
The new Ministry of Skills, Training and Labour was created with a mandate to introduce initiatives that will strengthen skills training in B.C. This will include new apprenticeships and work experience opportunities.
[E. Barnes in the chair.]
Thirdly, this government has restated our ongoing commitment to revitalize the forest sector in this province. The Forest Sector Strategy Committee is in the process of developing a comprehensive strategy for the forest sector that will enhance the economic and social benefits we get from our forests. Along with the Forest Practices Code, these measures and others will help to ensure that jobs and the future of our forest communities will continue to thrive -- like many of the communities I've got in my constituency, Cariboo North.
This government's final priority over the coming year is to continue our fair, progressive and responsible fiscal policy. We'll balance the budget by 1996 and put in place a practical plan for reducing the provincial debt.
Interjection.
F. Garden: I hear catcalls from the other side. I was in the province next door to us over Christmas, and I saw some editorials about the cut-and-slash things that they are doing in Alberta to reduce their deficit. The people elected a government and said: "You've got to cut down on your deficit." What they're now realizing is that they meant the government to cut the deficit -- but not in their back yard. The people that were complaining -- the teachers, nurses and health care workers who made the mistake of electing that government -- are now paying the price, with reductions in salaries and thousands of people faced with layoffs.
That's not good enough for British Columbia. We have a better way. We are leading the way, and we are doing it in a fiscally responsible manner of which I am particularly proud. Over the past two and a half years our government has slowed government spending and brought down the deficit. That's a fact. Since taking office we have lowered the deficit by $1 billion. At the same time as reducing the deficit, we knew it was our responsibility to protect the vital services that the people of British Columbia expect, deserve and depend on. So we've kept the funding up in health care, education and social services.
In 1993 we did exactly that: we saw the priorities and put the money into them. B.C. is leading the way. You should be proud to be in a province that's leading the country.
Interjection.
Deputy Speaker: The hon. member for Saanich North and the Islands knows that it's unparliamentary to enter debate
[ Page 9428 ]
from his seat. Would the member please wait until his opportunity comes to speak.
Will the hon. member please proceed.
F. Garden: I understand the frustration of the members opposite, who only wish they had our opportunity. Their program is slash and cut. They want to cut spending and also balance the budget. There must be some kind of magician over on that side of the House. It just doesn't work on paper. The practical thing is to do it the way we're doing it -- slowly and without the kind of pain that is being felt in Alberta.
I want to close now, hon. Speaker. I said earlier that by eliminating waste in government we are fulfilling a pledge that we made to the people when we ran for election. We are doing more with less. My constituents in Cariboo North are looking forward to the next two years of government. In the past two and a half years we have provided more progressive changes for the people in B.C. than they've seen in 50 years. It's a program for people. We see school meal programs; we see more money going into women's resources and into child care. We are doing the kinds of things for people that count, the kinds of things that the opposition would cut if they had half a chance.
I'm proud to be a B.C. New Democrat today. I'm proud to be a member of a New Democratic government, because it's a progressive government; it's a government of the future for the people of B.C. Let us all -- opposition people as well as government backbenchers -- work in the next two years to keep B.C. leading the way, as we are now doing, and showing the rest of Canada how it should be done. Look to B.C. as the best province in Canada.
B. Copping: Hon. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to rise today and to second the motion in support of the speech delivered by his Honour the Lieutenant-Governor in the chamber yesterday. The speech established the priorities for our government during the coming legislative session. It made it clear that we are going to be building on our past success, most notably marked by our success in bringing the deficit down. We have done that in a way that is temperate and fair. Cutting the growth in government spending by one-half over the past two years and bringing the deficit down by $1 billion is an admirable accomplishment in itself. That we did it without sacrificing quality in education, health care and other services to the people of British Columbia speaks loudly for our commitment to our constituents. It also speaks loudly for our commitment as New Democrats. We need only to look at Alberta or Ottawa to see how the Conservatives and the Liberals have addressed their deficit problems. There we see not increased efficiency or shared responsibility; what we see is more tax on those least able to defend themselves. From them, we see the attitude that the poor, the unemployed, the sick and the undereducated are the problem and a hindrance to economic growth. We see cuts to health care, to education and to social services. We see tax breaks for the wealthiest; that is despicable. We see government by fiat.
We have a different view. We believe in shared responsibility. We believe that, given the opportunity, people will help themselves. People want to help themselves; they want to have a say in their own destiny. In health care that means involving patients and service providers in directing our spending on health care. The Ministry of Health initiative, New Directions in Health Care, does that. An increased budgetary commitment will ensure continued progress on this reform of health care -- a reform that is needed to save our health care system.
We believe that building a strong economy for the future means involving labour, business and government in investing in workers by providing them with the skills they will need to drive our economy forward. Our commitment to creative investment in skills, training and education under the direction of the Minister of Skills, Training and Labour will result in a workforce that is more productive, and we will all benefit.
We believe in breaking the cycle of dependency on social assistance, not by cutting benefits and programs, but by giving people the tools they need to become self-sufficient and productive. By cutting down on those who abuse the welfare system, we are freeing up our resources to help those who need it.
We believe that sound fiscal management does not mean adopting a slash-and-burn approach to government. We believe it means getting more money, and getting more from the money we spend and the people we employ. We believe it means using all the creative talent that members bring to this chamber to do things differently, and to do them better. Most of all, it means not sacrificing our fundamental principles. New Democrats will never do that, because we have fundamental principles. For us, fairness and equality are not balance sheet items; they are the tenets from which we start, from which we ensure our progress.
The four priorities identified in the throne speech -- investing in long-term job creation and economic growth, improved skills training, the revitalization of our forest sector, and sound fiscal management and fair taxation -- will create a strong and sustainable provincial economy, an economy that will see an equitable distribution of the benefits that accrue from that development. The word is "equitable."
In June, I participated in the Premier's Summit on Skills Development and Training. There we identified what we must do to ensure the continued and expanded growth of our economy. The first move we made was to reorganize the ministries of government to better accommodate the challenges before us. The new Ministry of Skills, Training and Labour is one of the results of that summit. We are now ready to get on with the substance of educating and upgrading the skills of our workforce.
The throne speech made mention of the commitment of this government to embark on major new initiatives to put the recommendations of the Premier's summit into place. It is a commitment to building skills, but, as important, it is a commitment to building better jobs. It is a commitment to develop human capital programs as the key to our economic future. It is a commitment to a partnership between labour, business and government as the only means to accomplish the task before us. It is a commitment to involve everybody in securing our collective future. This focus on skills training stems from the recognition that the services sector is the growth sector of the future -- not just the minimum wage sector, but the higher order of service sector jobs: financial services, the hospitality industry, information technology, the retail sector, and social and health services.
Canada's unemployment rate remains at over 11 percent. B.C.'s rate is only slightly lower than that, at 10 percent. High structural unemployment is a deep-rooted problem of our economy. Its solution will not be a quick one, but we are re-equipping our labour force so that we can make substantial progress in lowering the unemployment rate. Our emphasis on skills training will help combat two of the elements which have contributed to this sustained high unemployment rate: skill mismatch, where workers lack the skills for available jobs; and location mismatch, where jobs are disappearing in one area of the province -- such as the resource-dependent
[ Page 9429 ]
areas -- and jobs are waiting in other areas. Our young people are particularly vulnerable to this. Unemployment for those under 25 is over 15 percent. For those who have jobs, their income has declined dramatically. Last year Statistics Canada released a report which profiled the bleak employment picture that many young people are facing. Far too often, young people are being frozen out of a shrinking job market. Paralleling this development is the rapid increase in part-time employment, which many of our older workers are being forced into.
What the summit told us, and what we are responding to, is that we must do three things. We must provide a supply of highly skilled, continuously learning workers who are able to work effectively in the new economy. We must train and equip workers who are lacking basic skills or who have skills that are now obsolete. We must provide all British Columbians with continuing access to relevant learning and training opportunities. The commitment in the throne speech addresses all three of these needs.
[10:45]
The Commission on Resources and Environment was established to allow us all to set the direction for management of our natural resource wealth and to sustain its future. A forest practices code, to be introduced this session, will strike the balance between the economic benefits that our forest sector provides and our responsibility to protect the environment and ensure a sustainable future.
Our protected-areas strategy will see us continue to protect the wilderness areas such as the Tatshenshini and the Khutzeymateen areas, which have been made into parks and are but a part of the wilderness areas that we have protected. This is particularly important in my riding, where, under the protected-areas strategy, the Burke Mountain-Pinecone area is.
B.C. 21 is well on the way to ensuring that we have the necessary infrastructure to build our economy and to manage to change from resource extraction to resource management and secondary, value-added production. Regional economic development and the creative use of Crown corporation investment will mean a balanced economic strategy.
Hon. Speaker, we have done this in spite of eight years of Tory government in Ottawa which saw a decreased federal participation in cost-shared programs and an off-loading that has continued under the new Liberal government and has made the task even more difficult. But we are leading the way in spite of this. We have witnessed economic growth and increased private sector investment. We have taken actions to renew confidence in our social programs by ensuring that those who need them get them, and those who abuse the system are caught and punished. We have demonstrated that the deficit can be lowered by doing things better, not by making life harder for those who are already victimized by so many things, such as poverty.
This government is committed to expanding the availability of child care spaces. Earlier this year the Ministry of Women's Equality provided a grant to School District 43 to assist in identifying the need for child care in that area. In the throne speech we have a commitment to develop those spaces, and we will provide more. Providing safe, affordable and accessible child care is central to our commitment to a healthy community in which men, women and families see their needs met. I am pleased to see the child care grants given in my area to Friendly Forest Preschool in Anmore, to the SFU day care, to St. John Anglican Church and to Rocky Point Day Care Society, just to name a few.
Our continuing commitment to small business and to local communities was demonstrated by grants given to revitalize downtown Port Moody as part of the downtown revitalization program of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs.
Highway improvements along the Hastings-Barnet corridor will continue. As well, I will continue to lobby, with my caucus colleagues from the northeast sector, for other transportation improvements, such as the Gaglardi-Broadway connector, the Johnson-Mariner overpass, commuter rail and some form of light rapid transit. I've said this before.
I was also pleased to see that growth areas in four school districts were mentioned in the throne speech. Capital construction is very necessary. We were very pleased to open three schools in our riding in the past year, and we are expecting to open many more.
I will once again speak about the animals. I have faith in our government that things are going to be done to enhance the protection of animals in our province for the first time in many years. To use the motto of the SPCA, we will be doing something for our constituents who cannot speak for themselves.
[The Speaker in the chair.]
I have spent the last few minutes commenting on what this government has accomplished and what we have committed ourselves to in the coming year. But government is more than managing the provincial treasury. It is more than making the delivery of our policies and programs effective and efficient. At its essence government is about public service. It is a dedication to advancing the public wealth, whether that be measured in social, economic or environmental terms. To that end this government has accomplished much, and we have the plan to accomplish even more.
Politics is often characterized as a rogue's game, and no doubt in the upcoming months we will witness much of the unpleasantness that the clash of ideas engenders. However, the commitment of this government to its principles will not be swayed, because this government has principles.
Our commitment to making British Columbia a safe, prosperous and just province is immutable because of what we believe is the purpose of politics and government. Former Premier Dave Barrett perhaps said it best when he said: "...politics is a vehicle to achieve things -- not a power trip, not a game of charades that you play with the vested interests, but a natural extension of social work, a way to alleviate misery." To those who would have us do otherwise or who doubt our commitment, I would remind you of the words of Nellie McClung: "Never retreat, never explain, never apologize. Get the thing done and let them howl." We are here to get things done on behalf of all the citizens of this province. We will leave the howling to those opposite.
G. Campbell: We have now heard the agenda of the government as they strive to paper over two years of failings.
I understand the government will accept a motion for adjournment until this afternoon.
G. Campbell moved adjournment of the debate.
Motion approved.
Hon. G. Clark moved adjournment of the House.
Motion approved.
The House adjourned at 10:56 a.m.
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