1995 Legislative Session: 4th Session, 35th Parliament
HANSARD
The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.
(Hansard)
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 1995
Afternoon Sitting
Volume 18, Number 1
[ Page 12989 ]
The House met at 2:03 p.m.
This being the first day of the fourth session of the thirty-fifth Legislative Assembly of the province of British Columbia for the dispatch of business, pursuant to a proclamation of the Hon. David C. Lam, Lieutenant-Governor of the province, hon. members took their seats.
Prayers.
The Speaker: Hon. members and distinguished visitors, I'd like to welcome you to the opening of the fourth session of the thirty-fifth parliament.
Today marks the last occasion upon which His Honour the Hon. David Lam will present the Speech from the Throne. As a gesture of our thanks and appreciation for the distinguished service to British Columbia by His Honour and Mrs. Dorothy Lam, a departure from our normal proceedings will occur as His Honour leaves the chamber. The University of Victoria Chamber Singers will perform "Amazing Grace" as His Honour leaves the chamber. The doors of the House will remain open to permit us all to enjoy the performance. I ask members and guests to remain in their seats for the duration of this procedure.
I understand that His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor is now in the precincts and will be entering soon.
His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, having entered the House and being seated upon the throne, was pleased to deliver the following gracious speech.
Speech from the Throne
Hon. D.C. Lam (Lieutenant-Governor): Mr. Speaker and hon. Members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, it is with great honour that I come before you today for the seventh time to deliver the Speech from the Throne. As some of you may also remember, it is my third attempt at a farewell address. May I once again beg your indulgence, too -- and I assure you that this will be the last time in my capacity as Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia -- to bid you all farewell on behalf of my wife, Dorothy, and myself.
In this last few weeks of our term we look back with humility on this great honour bestowed on us to serve our fellow British Columbians and our province for six and a half years. My wife and I have sought to encourage the people of British Columbia, young and old, from all walks of life and from all backgrounds, to work together in harmony to enrich their lives and those of their fellow citizens. Dorothy and I wish to thank you, the members of this House, for your kindness and support during our term. We wish you well in your deliberations, to continue making a better British Columbia for all citizens. Thank you.
At this point I understand my wife is here, so I would like her and I to stand up to take a bow. [Applause.]
Hon. Speaker and members of the Legislature, it is with great pleasure that I address you on the opening of the fourth session of the thirty-fifth parliament of British Columbia. In this, my last Speech from the Throne as your humble servant, I cannot help but reflect on the strength of our province, on the confidence we have in ourselves and our future. British Columbians should take great pride in what we are building together and where we are heading.
When other Canadians look to our province, they are in awe of our magnificent land and inspired by our dynamic economy -- the best in Canada. British Columbia is a beacon of hope and progress in a nation turned upside down by a damaging recession.
Nothing symbolizes our progress more than how our government and people have moved to bring peace to our woods, and found solutions with typical British Columbian spirit and vigour. Never before have so many people from every walk of life participated in the decisions about the future of our forests that so profoundly affect our lives. Grassroots democracy is very much a reality in our province in 1995. People have a say. Changes come from the ground up, changes for the better that bear the stamp "Made in British Columbia by British Columbians."
Such an open dialogue requires a government confident in the wisdom of the people it serves, that believes the frictions of debate are healthy and natural and not to be hidden. Only through that kind of debate can common ground be found, balance attained and communities strengthened as they shape the changes we must make. It is perhaps not the easiest way to run a government, but it is the fairest, the smartest and the best.
So as a result, as I speak to you today, I speak of a province that leads the country in so many ways: landmark environmental protection; bold initiatives to renew our forests; skills training the envy of the country; health care second to none; and Canada's number one economy, with the strongest, most consistent growth, the most new jobs, the best credit rating and the lowest per capita debt.
[2:15]
This government is determined to build on those achievements in the year ahead to keep our economy the nation's strongest, providing jobs and opportunities for British Columbians today and our children tomorrow. If we are to continue to lead the way in Canada and compete in a rapidly changing global economy, we cannot rest on our laurels, admiring our successes; but instead we must move forward aggressively with confidence.
There are two opposing visions of how a government should move forward in a modern economy. We can stop building infrastructure, cut public services, reduce wages and lower social standards in a race to the bottom, to compete with less developed economies in attracting new jobs. Or we can invest in our strengths, in up-to-date skills, increase our productivity, add value to what we produce, in an effort to match the advanced economies of Japan and the European Community in attracting new jobs.
So we are faced with a fundamental choice. Some governments in Canada have opted for the first course, persuaded that the answer is to slash budgets, reduce real wages and services, and dismantle laws that protect working people and the environment. British Columbia's government, though, believes that however fashionable this choice may be, and however harmless it appears in the short term, the long-term economic costs would be devastating. And it is ordinary working people and their families who would pay the price.
So instead of engaging in a race to the bottom, we are choosing the second course: making affordable investments in our land, infrastructure and people, looking to the long term and a destination of jobs and prosperity.
In our changing global economy, when data, capital, plants and products can move with the blink of an eye, governments must concentrate their efforts on those assets which are least mobile and where their economy's comparative advantages lie. That's what we are doing: building on the Premier's three summits; building on an unparalleled new
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partnership of business, labour and government in our province. We are moving forward this year with a strategy for jobs and investment in a modern economy.
Our B.C. strategy will centre on three key investments: investment in our natural resources, investment in infrastructure and investment in people. Balance and security are at the heart of our strategy: finding the balance between what we need to keep our economy the best in Canada and what we can afford; securing jobs and economic opportunity for working people, their families, our businesses and communities.
Investing in our natural resources. Nowhere are these values more important than in guiding investment in our natural resources. In the first three and a half years of this government, British Columbia has made truly dramatic progress in balancing jobs and our environment. We have moved from a seemingly intractable war in the woods to resolving problems long thought unresolvable. No longer are decisions left in the hands of the large resource companies alone. Working people, environmentalists and communities now have a place at the table. And they have found common ground and common purpose in renewing our forests.
The forest renewal plan, Forest Practices Code and our land use plans represent that common ground and the understanding that environmental stewardship and forest jobs can and must go hand in hand. B.C. will continue to lead the way by putting new stumpage dollars back into the forests and communities that created those dollars in the first place -- by retraining workers and ensuring certainty and security for our forest industry and communities.
This year the government will take another giant step forward, moving to enshrine land use plans in law. Legislation will designate an unprecedented number of parks and secure our commercial forest land base.
Enshrining land use plans in law will include responsible stewardship of key waterways. In addition, we will take action during this session to further protect British Columbia's fresh water, rivers and fish.
Investing in our natural resources makes British Columbia one of the most inspiring places on earth in which to live and a source of great wealth, jobs and opportunity. Our economy prospers when our waters flow and our land is strong.
Investing in infrastructure. While renewing our commitment to the land, this government is also moving aggressively to prepare for the twenty-first century. We are replacing many of the ferries, roads and schools built in the postwar period but since allowed to decline. We are building community infrastructure in the lower mainland, where every year the population increases by 50,000, which is equivalent to a city the size of New Westminster. And we will be moving aggressively to build the sophisticated information infrastructure of the future.
B.C.'s private sector understands how crucial a strong and modern infrastructure is to attracting new business investment and creating good, secure jobs. A government's responsibility is to provide that foundation upon which jobs can grow -- from the ground up, business by business, community by community.
Building on existing projects, we will be moving this year to strengthen the two kinds of highways upon which the next century's economy will depend: the transportation highway that moves commuters to work and goods to market, and the information highway -- the communication networks that link us with each other and the world.
This government will be moving forward with a new transportation plan for British Columbia in the coming year, with particular emphasis on relieving congestion in the lower mainland and growing regions. This plan will be smarter because it will integrate roads, transit and ferries. It will be cleaner because it will give priority to public transit and emphasize environmental technologies. It will be innovative by drawing not just on private sector know-how but on private sector financial resources.
Securing British Columbia an on-ramp on the information highway is another key part of the government's infrastructure plan. Again in partnership with the private sector, we will be investing in technology, creating greater access to the highway for more people and making sure British Columbians are poised to capture the new jobs of the information economy. Through these investments in new infrastructure for a new century, British Columbia's government is laying the road for a future of jobs and prosperity.
Investing in people. To fill those jobs and ensure that prosperity, B.C. will need a highly skilled workforce. Investing in our people, equipping them with the knowledge and skills they need to meet the global challenge, is fundamental to keeping our economy strong.
Building on the new University of Northern British Columbia and the new technological institute in the Fraser Valley, this government will be adding to the unparalleled expansion of 8,100 spaces in colleges and universities last year.
Successful partnerships with small and large businesses will be expanded in the coming year to retrain 18,000 working men and women on the job in the workplace. To match workers with local training opportunities, new skills centres will be opened to join the 16 now established throughout our province.
Fundamental to this government is that every young person in our province feel valued. New steps will be taken in the coming months to move young people off welfare into jobs and job training. B.C.'s kids will get the helping hand they need to grow with our economy. Together we will build British Columbia one dream at a time.
Affordable investments. All of these investments in our natural resources, infrastructure and people must be affordable. This government is making sure they are affordable by building a strong fiscal foundation.
The banks and bondholders have signalled their approval of this government's record by giving us the best credit rating of any province in Canada.
[2:30]
Our goals in the coming budget are: to maintain our top rating by further strengthening our record; to cut taxpayer-supported debt as a percentage of the GDP from the current 20 percent -- this compares to the Alberta debt, which stands at 37 percent of the GDP, and the federal government debt, which represents 75 percent of the GDP; and to cut real government spending per capita without sacrificing medicare, public education and other vital services that working families rely on.
Protecting medicare. While further strengthening our economy, we cannot sacrifice what is so important to our quality of life. This government is deeply troubled by the federal government's retreat on medicare. Ottawa has, for all intents and purposes, abandoned medicare, disregarding its value to the fabric of our nation and the security of Canadians. Private interests are poised to take advantage of this to press for their profit-making hospitals and clinics, where those with money can buy care and those without are turned away. Dark clouds of two-tiered American health care loom on the Canadian horizon.
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This government will stand in defence of medicare. We believe that quality health care for each of us is founded on equality for all of us. We will not stand silently by and let medicare disappear. We are determined to build on our new cancer clinics, further shorten surgery waiting lists, move care closer to home, free communities to set their own priorities, promote preventive care, work to maintain our healthy workforce and spend our health care dollars smarter. In the face of the dismantling of medicare by the federal government, British Columbia's government will take the action required to protect medicare for each and every citizen of our province.
Putting ordinary people first. Hon. Speaker, those are the choices the government is making for the year ahead. Those choices reflect the values of ordinary British Columbians and a government that puts the interests of ordinary people first.
British Columbians work hard for a living. Their families deserve public services they can count on in their day-to-day lives and a knowledge that government will extend a hand if they need it. This government is here to serve those families. Its purpose in building a stronger economy is to ensure that more people are better off. Its obligation is to improving the quality of life of ordinary families whenever it can -- creating and maintaining good family-supporting jobs, raising the minimum wage, improving child care, making the workplace fairer, making housing more affordable and protecting medicare. Its commitment is to a British Columbia that is more than a marketplace; its a place where people live and work, a place with a heart and a soul.
Together, the government and the people of British Columbia have shown what can be accomplished with hard work and a vision of a better future. Let us continue that work for our families, our children and the generations to come.
His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor retired from the chamber.
[The Speaker in the chair.]
The Speaker: Hon. members, in order to prevent mistakes I have obtained a copy of His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor's speech.
Introduction of Bills
AN ACT TO ENSURE THE SUPREMACY OF PARLIAMENT
Hon. C. Gabelmann presented a message from His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor: a bill intituled An Act to Ensure the Supremacy of Parliament.
Hon. C. Gabelmann: The purpose of this bill is to assert the right of this House to deliberate and to act without leave of the Sovereign. The introduction of this bill prior to the consideration of the throne speech is a reaffirmation of parliament's assertion of independence from the Crown in matters of legislation, first made by the parliament at Westminster exactly 392 years ago on March 22, 1603.
Bill 1 introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.
Hon. G. Clark: I move, seconded by the member for Fort Langley-Aldergrove and the member for Okanagan-Vernon, that Mr. Dale Lovick, member for Nanaimo electoral district, be appointed Deputy Speaker for this session of the Legislative Assembly.
Motion approved.
Hon. G. Clark: I move, seconded by the member for Fort Langley-Aldergrove and the member for Okanagan-Vernon, that Ms. Gretchen Brewin, member for Victoria-Beacon Hill electoral district, be appointed Deputy Chair of the Committee of the Whole for this session of the Legislative Assembly.
Motion approved.
Hon. C. Gabelmann: Hon. Speaker, I move that the Votes and Proceedings of this House be printed, being first perused by the Speaker, that he do appoint the printing thereof, and that no person but such as he shall appoint do presume to print the same.
Motion approved.
[2:45]
Hon. M. Harcourt: I have the honour of moving that the select standing committees of this House for the present session be appointed for the following purposes:
1. Aboriginal Affairs;
2. Justice, Constitutional Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations;
3. Education, Culture and Multiculturalism;
4. Economic Development, Science, Labour, Training and Technology;
5. Environment and Tourism;
6. Finance, Crown Corporations and Government Services;
7. Health and Social Services;
8. Agriculture and Fisheries;
9. Forests, Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources;
10. Transportation, Municipal Affairs and Housing;
11. Women's Equality;
12. Public Accounts;
13. Parliamentary Reform, Ethical Conduct, Standing Orders and Private Bills;
and that said committees shall severally be empowered to examine and inquire into all such matters and things that shall be referred to them by this House, and to report from time to time their observations and opinions thereon, with power to send for persons, papers and records; and that a special committee be appointed to prepare and report, with all convenient speed, lists of members to compose the above select standing committees of this House under standing order 68(1), the committee to be composed of Hon. G. Clark, convener; Hon. J. MacPhail; Messrs. Dosanjh, Janssen and Schreck; Ms. Hammell and Ms. O'Neill; and Messrs. Gingell, Farrell-Collins and Hanson.
D. Mitchell: I would like to speak very briefly to the Premier's motion. I do so because now is the only time to speak to it. It's the only chance we'll have during this session to address the list of select standing committees which the Premier has just indicated he would like to establish for this session.
It sounds like an impressive list, but we all know that these committees can only meet when the House refers something specifically to them, as the Premier noted. We also know that referrals to the select standing committees only rarely take place. The list of select standing committees sounds
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impressive, but if the committees are there largely for their symbolic value, we have to question how meaningful the list really is.
I've tried to address this issue and have failed miserably on previous occasions. I've failed because the government has not wanted to address the specific issue of Crown corporation accountability. The reason I want to speak to this motion one more time is that I think this is an important issue. Crown corporations must be accountable.
During the last session of this parliament, the government introduced a bill in this House, brought forward by the hon. Minister of Forests, that actually created a new Crown corporation and made it accountable to a committee of this House. I think that was a good idea, and I spoke in favour of it at the time. I think it's a good idea for all Crown corporations in this province. All Crown corporations should be accountable to committees of this House.
The Government House Leader will no doubt want to rise and speak in this debate. He will likely say that one of the committees that the hon. Premier referred to actually has the words "Crown Corporations" in it. The Government House Leader will also know that in the life of this parliament, that committee has never had a single item referred to it, so it's rather meaningless.
The Government House Leader will also want to say that members have the ability to rise in this House at any time and raise questions about Crown corporations; but the Government House Leader will also know that it is very difficult for members of this assembly to get answers to their questions. That's why we need to have some specific measures for the accountability of Crown corporations. Other jurisdictions have such accountability.
In the past I have indicated that one way to do that might be to have a special committee on Crown corporations. The government has rejected that. Even though, when members of the government were in opposition, they argued passionately for such a committee -- and the hon. Premier and the hon. Government House Leader will remember that very specifically -- they've now rejected that as an option.
Today I would like to propose a different kind of amendment to the Premier's motion -- one that I hope will be acceptable to all members of this assembly and that will make the annual reports of each Crown corporation, when tabled in this House, automatically referred to an appropriate select standing committee of the government's choice, which the Premier has just indicated he would like to see established. With those few words I would like to move a specific amendment which says that the Premier's motion be amended by adding the following words: "and that the annual reports of all provincial Crown corporations, when tabled in this assembly, be automatically referred to the appropriate select standing committee, and that the said committees be empowered to call before them the senior officers of each Crown corporation for a detailed post-audit review of the period covered in the annual report."
I hope all members of this House will vote their conscience on this amendment.
The Speaker: Before recognizing the Opposition House Leader, I will say to the hon. member who has presented the motion that, while the motion is certainly a matter that standing on its own has merit and would be in order, given that it attempts to amend the motion which is before the House, it extends beyond the intent of those committees, in the Chair's view. I rule that, as such, it does not stand as an applicable motion for an amendment.
G. Farrell-Collins: On the motion, all I can say is that we certainly would respond to and endorse any measure which would help to increase the accountability of this government in any way, particularly as it relates to Crown corporations. This government has turned Crown corporations into, rather than servants of the public, servants of their own political friends and seething cauldrons of patronage and waste. We'd be glad to support any measure this government would like to bring forward to improve that. We've put forward recommendations in the past; we'll continue to do that in the future.
But I suggest that the best way to ensure that there is increased accountability in this province is for the Premier of this province to finally call an election, so we can have really new government in this province and real change right now.
Hon. G. Clark: I'm, of course, sorely tempted to respond, but I'll refrain on opening day.
The member for West Vancouver-Garibaldi has raised this matter several times, and we do take it very seriously -- although I was tempted to say I thought only a Liberal would view forming a committee as solving a problem. Then again, I think that member was a Liberal at one point, but I've lost track of his opportunity since that point....
We have a committee called Finance, Crown Corporations and Government Services, and the Premier has moved a motion....
An Hon. Member: It never meets.
Hon. G. Clark: I want to remind members that in the three and a half years of this term, the committees of the House have met more frequently than in the previous couple of decades combined, as a matter of fact. We have had committees on NAFTA, tobacco use, aboriginal issues and the constitution. We have made extensive use of these committees.
If members opposite or on the government side wish to have a matter referred to a committee, then certainly I'd take that very seriously. I'll take seriously the member's comments. I appreciate your ruling, hon. Speaker, that the motion is out of order. However, in the spirit of the aborted motion, I'll take under advisement any suggestion to refer a matter to that particular standing committee which is the appropriate one for dealing with Crown corporation matters.
G. Wilson: I had hoped to be able to rise in support of the amendment. However, given the ruling, I'll speak to the main motion.
We have to take as very hollow words the words we hear from the Minister of Employment and Investment, because the committee he refers to has never met in the three and a half years of this government. This government has repeatedly talked about the need for adequate and proper debt management, yet they fail to acknowledge to the people of British Columbia that a substantive portion of the debt now burdening the taxpayers comes out of Crown corporations. This government has created more Crown corporations that create more debt to further burden the taxpayers of this province. And it now refuses -- refuses by virtue of its past record -- to bring those Crown corporations to a manner where members of the opposition can adequately and properly scrutinize their expenditures, so that we know that what those Crown corporations are doing is in the best interests of British Columbians and not only of those few people who may benefit by their expenditures.
We have to take as a very hollow offer the offer that we just heard from the Minister of Employment and Investment,
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because the record of this government is quite clear. They are not open on the question of Crown corporations; they are not open on the question of how that money is being spent. And they continue to refuse to open to the people of British Columbia an adequate assessment of this massive debt these Crown corporations are developing. It's a shameful admission that this minister has made on this opening day of what we hoped would be a more progressive session.
Motion approved on division.
Hon. G. Clark: A spirited beginning. I move this House do now adjourn.
Hon. G. Clark moved adjournment of the House.
Motion approved.
The House adjourned at 2:57 p.m.
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