[ Page 6611 ]

Prayers.

P. Calendino: This is a first for me, hon. Speaker. This time I am going to make an introduction in only one language. It is my pleasure to introduce two good friends of mine, two educators from the intellectual mecca of North Burnaby: Dr. Alan Seager, a professor of Canadian labour history at Simon Fraser University; and Mr. Hugh Matherson, a retired high school principal. Would the House please make them welcome.

S. Orcherton: Joining us in the gallery and in the precinct today are three key leaders in our community in greater Victoria. With us are the mayor of Esquimalt, His Worship Ray Rice; the president of the Victoria Labour Council, Ms. Sandi McLean; and the vice-president of the Victoria Labour Council and president of CUPE Local 50, city of Victoria workers, Colin Graham. I'd ask the House to make them all welcome.

S. Hawkins: Today is budget day, a very important day, and a lot of British Columbians haven't forgotten the last two budgets. One of those British Columbians who hasn't forgotten is my constituent. His name is David Stockell, and he will be watching very carefully. Would the House make him welcome.

E. Walsh: It gives me great pleasure today to introduce to the House a constituent of mine, Holly Kinvig. She is a student here at the University of Victoria, and I would like to ask the House to join me in welcoming Holly to Victoria.

Hon. G. Clark: It's my honour to introduce this year's legislative interns, who do outstanding work for both of our caucuses. Aaron Delaney, Malcolm Fairbrother and Adrienne Nash are assigned to the government caucus. Elizabeth Harrington, Kristin Patten, Brad Smith and Cynthia Yoo are working for the official opposition. I know I join with all members in the House to make them most welcome for their stay here in Victoria.

Hon. J. Kwan: I see visiting us in the gallery today Dr. Joseph Hui the president of the Chiu Chow Benevolent Association, the same village that our most beloved Dr. David Lam came from. Would the House please make him feel very welcome.

G. Wilson: I lament the days when, I think, the hon. Speaker herself was a legislative intern for a single member of this Legislative Assembly -- which was a practice that perhaps we should return to.

However, I am delighted to notice in the galleries somebody who is a former colleague of mine, somebody who worked at Capilano College: Mr. Ed Lavalle. Ed and I shared many a time in the 1982 period when education was under restraint. We look forward to a budget that will make education a top priority in British Columbia. Would the House please make Ed Lavalle welcome.

G. Abbott: Hon. Speaker, as one of the graduates of the first legislative internship programs back in 1976, I guess it was -- I think it was a couple of years before you were a participant -- I would like, on behalf of the official opposition, to welcome the interns as well and wish them all the best. I hope they enjoy the program as much as I did in 1976.

Hon. A. Petter: I won't introduce all the people who are here, with my ministerial hat on, from the education and high-tech sectors. But I notice that with us today in the galleries is a constituent of mine, Judy Galey, whom I believe is here representing the Agriculture Council of B.C. With her is a constituent of the constituency north of mine, Ian Vantreight. I would like the House to make them both very welcome.

T. Stevenson: I'd also like to join the member for Powell River-Sunshine Coast in welcoming Ed Lavalle, who is a constituent of mine and also one of my executive members in my constituency.

Hon. D. Zirnhelt: We don't often have visitors from the Cariboo. Today I'd like you to welcome Jeanette LaPointe, who is here. She attends the University of Victoria. She is here from the South Cariboo.

Secondly, I notice Mike Apsey in the gallery. He is retiring as CEO of the Council of Forest Industries. I'd like the House to recognize his years of public service when he was with the government and also that he is retiring, and to wish him well in the next venture he takes on.

E. Gillespie: Joining us to hear the budget speech today is Norm McLaren, the economic development officer for the Comox Valley. Please join me in welcoming him.

Hon. C. McGregor: It's my pleasure to introduce, from Kamloops, a very important member of our community. He is general manager of the economic development corporation for Kamloops and also co-chair for the upcoming economic summit to be held in Kamloops near the end of May: Mr. Robert Fine. Would the House please make him welcome.

E. Conroy: I have two very hard-working individuals from my constituency in the gallery today: Mr. Leo Perra, the president of Selkirk College, and Audrey Moore, the chair of the board. I'd like the House to make them welcome, please.

F. Randall: I'd like the House to recognize Abby Anderson, who is the general manager and also the business information officer of the Burnaby Chamber of Commerce, certainly an organization that does an excellent job in Burnaby. Also, I see in the gallery Tom Sigurdson, who is the executive director of the B.C. and Yukon Building Trades Council. Would the House please make them welcome.

B. Goodacre: In the House today we have a friend of mine, going back 30 years, who has been involved in the mining industry in my area and who also wears the hat of a leader of the Métis association in British Columbia: Mr. Paul Stevenson. Would the House please make him welcome.

Hon. C. Evans: I notice in the gallery today our friend Patrice Pratt and another friend of mine, Ted Hayes from Saanich. I am honoured that Mr. Hayes has joined us -- in a suit, actually, hon. Speaker.

[ Page 6612 ]

Introduction of Bills

BALANCED BUDGET AND DEBT REDUCTION ACT

G. Campbell: Hon. Speaker, this bill will require governments to keep balanced budgets in the province of British Columbia -- something they've been unable to do in the last seven years. It is critical, I believe, that we have a balanced-budget act in this House, which requires governments to live within the means of the taxpayer and provides personal penalties to ministers whose ministries go over budget. This bill establishes both those principles.

Further, this bill makes it clear that should a minister's ministry budget go over budget two years in a row, they will both take a personal penalty and be prohibited from sitting in cabinet in British Columbia for five years.

It ensures that governments respect the taxpayer. I believe that the passage of this bill will be the first step to a true economic recovery in the province.

Bill M201 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.

[2:15]

TRUTH IN BUDGETING ACT

G. Campbell: Hon. Speaker, taxpayers in this province deserve to know exactly what is taking place with the province's finances, without the help of a forensic accountant. This bill will ensure that the people's books are kept according to generally accepted accounting principles. It will ensure that when our books are reviewed by the auditor general, they get unqualified support, so that people know, in terms of transparency, in terms of comprehensiveness, in terms of understandability, that we have our books kept in a way that's truthful and straightforward for all of the people in British Columbia.

This bill puts an end to political manipulation of the way the books are kept in this province. I believe it is critical to establish the confidence of the people of British Columbia in the economy of British Columbia.

Bill M202 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.

The Speaker: I recognize the hon. member for Surrey-Whalley.

J. Smallwood: Hon. Speaker, I rise to reserve my right to make a personal statement in relation to the matter raised by the member for Matsqui in this House on Friday, March 27.

The Speaker: Thank you, hon. member. That will be taken into account.

Oral Questions

BUDGET PROJECTION CREDIBILITY

My question is to the Premier. As this government missed the earlier target by $1.5 billion, why should we believe that this government has the discipline to meet the promises it will no doubt make later today?

Hon. G. Clark: No doubt the member opposite will know that the budget, which is about to come in, I guess, in 14 minutes -- or 13 if I keep talking -- will include the fact that we met not only our debt management targets for this year but our fiscal targets. In every single category that we laid down, the budget meets them. Of course, if you wait for the minister to present the budget, the member will see that there is again a plan not only for a balanced budget but for debt management.

The member should also recognize -- I think the member knows this -- that 90 percent of the debt associated with the budget goes to build schools and hospitals and roads and important infrastructure. It's interesting that every day in the House members on that side get up and demand more schools and more hospitals and more roads in their constituencies but criticize when the government commits over a billion dollars to that kind of infrastructure -- as we will in about 12 minutes.

F. Gingell: It's fascinating. When you change it from a fiscal management plan to a debt management plan, you change all the targets, make them as easy as you can and as nebulous as you can, and it's easier to meet the targets. How did you do on the 40,000 jobs, Mr. Premier?

The auditor general also warns: "Information on the main assumptions used in the [financial management plan and the budget] is not sufficient because it does not explain how the government will deal with significant changes in forecasts if they were to occur." All of us know that this government is in the middle of an NDP-created recession. So how can the Premier tell us what plans they have to address reduced revenues and overexpenditures if their projections and budgets follow in the steps of history and are found to be wildly optimistic and completely unrealistic?

Hon. G. Clark: No doubt when we debate the estimates of the budgets, the members opposite will get to ask those questions of the ministers responsible.

I'd like to note. . . . It's interesting that in the last seven years this government created 275,000 new jobs in British Columbia. One out of every three jobs created in Canada in the last six years was created right here in British Columbia. You'd never know that listening to the opposition. I've been here all seven years, and every year the opposition gets up and attacks us on jobs, even when we've created 275,000 jobs in the last six years. They want to criticize us now for Japan or for Asia or for problems in British Columbia. Yes, they want to criticize us now, and yet they gave us no credit for the strongest economy in Canada every year out of the last six years.

G. Hogg: Last year at this time I was able to watch these proceedings from a much more private position than this time.

[ Page 6613 ]

Last year at this time, on the eve of the provincial budget, the then Finance minister, the member for Saanich South, stated: "I don't expect you to believe me." Since then the people of this province have been given many reasons to heed those words. The government was wrong on its growth projections, the government was wrong on its revenue projections, and the government was wrong on the much-hyped job targets.

My question is to the Premier: why should we believe them now?

Hon. G. Clark: Hon. Speaker, he didn't complete the sentence the former Minister of Finance made. He said: "I don't expect you to believe me. Watch the performance." Watch the performance a few minutes from now, because that member said that we would have a deficit of $185 million, and we have come in under that deficit target in spite of difficulties. That member said that we would have a ratio-of-debt-to-GDP target, and we have come in several hundred million dollars better than that target. That member said that we would have the lowest spending year over year in terms of growth in spending -- minus spending -- since 1959, and we came in under budget on spending. That member said we'd have the highest spending on health care and education in Canada last year, and we had the highest spending on health care and education.

I see I'm testing your patience, hon. Speaker. But you will see in a few minutes' time that on every single target set by the Minister of Finance, we have met it.

G. Hogg: I did watch the performance, and the performance pre-election was that there was to be a $6 million surplus. Post-election we saw a $211 million deficit. The final deficit came in at $369 million, and the auditor general now tells us it's $674 million. I did watch the performance. We now know that this government can't even balance its own caucus budget; we learned this last week. This government has more than doubled the provincial debt since it came to power in 1991.

The Speaker: Hon. member, get to your question, please. Preambles are not meant to be as long as this one seems to be.

Interjections.

The Speaker: It will produce that kind of response.

G. Hogg: The government has more than doubled the provincial debt since it came to power in 1991.

The Speaker: Hon. member, your question is. . . ?

G. Hogg: My question is to the Premier: if the NDP soul mates of this government in Saskatchewan can balance their government's budget for five consecutive years, why can't you balance the budget here?

Hon. G. Clark: I've been provoked already, hon. Speaker. When that member, last year, was watching this on television, he was a government employee. He should know, more than anybody else, that with half a million more people in the last few years, we have been investing in things like youth correction centres. We've been investing in those kinds of resources. Shame on him for standing here in this House. . . . Shame on him, because as a manager in the public service, he more than anybody else should know that we have been investing in quality public services, which he was only too happy to advocate for and spend on when he worked for the government.

HEALTH CARE REGIONALIZATION

My question is to the Health minister. Can the Health minister tell the thousands of patients on hospital lists around the province why they should have any confidence in her government after the NDP transferred billions of dollars to inexperienced health boards who weren't even given a strategic plan?

Hon. P. Priddy: What patients in this province can be sure of is that this province -- no other province in the country has done this -- has consecutively increased the health care budget over the last seven years. This province spends more on hospitals per capita than any other province in this country. They can also be sure that we spent more on the doctors' fee-for-service plan than any other province in the country. That's what patients can be sure of. What they can be sure of. . . .

Interjections.

[2:30]

Hon. P. Priddy: Around the auditor general's report, in many ways that was -- although other pieces are attached to it -- a fairly accurate snapshot of what the auditor general saw in 1997 when he reviewed the system. Many of the comments that the auditor general made are absolutely valid, and change is underway in almost all of those areas to make improvements. The auditor general, if he took a snapshot today, would find significant improvement.

The Speaker: The member for Okanagan West on a supplemental.

S. Hawkins: What patients are sure of is that they're suffering on waiting lists and that the government has misspent $40 million in bureaucracy around regionalization and $5 million on severance pay in the last couple of years. That's something to be proud of, isn't it.

The auditor general has stated: "The health authorities need to have a clear sense of what the ministry intends to accomplish. . . ." Can the new Minister of Health tell us why her predecessor, now the Finance minister, failed to establish the most basic goals for the health regionalization scheme?

Hon. P. Priddy: What we can assure British Columbians of is the fact that there is now in place a structure for regional boards and community health councils to be able to start to assess not just whether money is being accounted for correctly but whether there are indeed outcomes, which is extremely important in health care. We have to know if it's working. 

[ Page 6614 ]

That work around outcomes is being done with regional health boards and community health councils, and we will start to see the actual outcomes from that.

PROVINCIAL DEBT MANAGEMENT

Hon. J. MacPhail: Hon. Speaker, in a few moments we'll receive the good news.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Hon. members, order, please. I recognize the hon. member for Chilliwack on a supplemental.

B. Penner: Just a few moments ago we did have some good news. The Leader of the Opposition tabled balanced-budget legislation. Frankly, that's how we as British Columbians could stop wasting $2.5 billion a year on interest on the accumulated debt. Will the Minister of Finance commit today that instead of running an eighth consecutive deficit budget in British Columbia, she will support our balanced-budget legislation?

Hon. J. MacPhail: Out of 365 days in the year, the only day that the Liberal opposition gives a whit of care about debt or deficit is budget day. Every other day of the year they want us to spend more on programs and spend more on debt. They have no credibility on this issue.

Tabling Documents

Orders of the Day

Motion approved.

Hon. J. MacPhail tabled the comptroller general's interim financial statements for the ten-month period ending January 31, 1998.

ESTIMATES OF SUMS REQUIRED FOR THE SERVICE OF THE PROVINCE

Hon. J. MacPhail moved that the said message and the estimates accompanying the same be referred to Committee of Supply.

Motion approved.

Hon. J. MacPhail: Hon. Speaker, I move, seconded by the hon. Minister of Small Business, Tourism and Culture, that the Speaker do now leave the chair for the House to go into Committee of Supply.

Budget Address

The budget that I am tabling today builds on B.C.'s strengths, while it also charts some new directions. I will come to the new directions in a moment, but let me start by reviewing some of the strengths that we intend to build on.

From the day we were elected, our government has protected education and health care services, even as we set out to restore the province's financial position. When other provinces made cuts to education and health care, we protected and even improved funding for schools and hospitals, and we continue to do so.

We have created hundreds of parks and set aside millions of hectares of wilderness reserves so that future generations can experience the natural wonders of British Columbia. Two hundred and fifteen parks covering 4.7 million hectares have been created since 1991.

From 1990 to 1997, employment in the whole of Canada grew by 5.9 percent. During the same time period, employment in British Columbia grew by nearly 18 percent. That's three times as fast. More than 275,000 new jobs were added -- more than one-third of all new jobs in the whole of Canada. Notwithstanding the downturn in employment in the last few months, we have led the country in job creation for most of this decade. Helping to create good-quality jobs for British Columbians is our government's number one priority.

When this government took office in 1991, the provincial deficit stood at a punitive $2.5 billion. We have reduced it every year since then. Our financial results from last year show the benefits of prudent fiscal planning.

Here's what happened in the 1997-98 fiscal year. We reduced government spending for the first time since 1959. Last year's spending was $100 million less than the year before, and that includes increases for health care, social services and education. We met our revenue projections in last year's budget, bringing in $20.2 billion despite the slowdown in forest revenues. As a result, we ended the year with a deficit of $169 million, well below our target of $185 million.

Our provincial tax-supported debt is $780 million less than projected in last year's budget. As a result, our taxpayer-supported debt-to-GDP ratio is the second-lowest in Canada, and our per capita debt and debt-servicing charges remain the lowest in Canada. That we were able to meet or do better than our budget projections, despite economic times that are difficult, is a testament to the commitment and foresight of my predecessor as Finance minister, the member for Saanich South.

[ Page 6615 ]

In addition to the government's strong fiscal management, there are other factors which strengthen B.C.'s economy. The North American economy, the market for more than two-thirds of our exports, remains strong, and interest rates remain low. The Canadian dollar is at a competitive level for British Columbia firms exporting to the United States. Our new economy is growing rapidly with some spectacular successes in software development, high-technology manufacturing, tourism, the knowledge-based service sector and the entertainment industry, including film and television production.

Our population is amongst the best educated in the world, and our province, with its unsurpassed quality of life, is the number one place that Canadians want to live in. But now, as we take stock, we should look not just at our accomplishments but also at our challenges. A significant portion of our trade -- and British Columbia very much depends on trade -- is with Japan and the other Asian nations. Right now those economies are struggling, their currencies are under pressure, and their growth rates are in decline. We are also an economy which relies on the resource sector, and there too we face real challenges as prices of lumber, oil, minerals and metals are all in cyclical downturns. Our province cannot be immune to the economic turmoil in Asia or to cyclical downturns in the prices of minerals and forest products any more than Alberta is immune to downturns in oil and natural gas or Saskatchewan is to depressed grain prices.

Over the last ten years, while B.C. has grown rapidly, each of the other regions of our country has been forced to deal with the effects of economic changes and market downturns. Now we must do the same. The people of British Columbia are prepared to meet this challenge, and so is our government. We have consulted widely in preparing this budget. We have listened to the views of ordinary British Columbians; we have heard from labour and community organizations; we have consulted with big business and small business. The advice we received ranged from making deep cuts in taxation and letting the deficit grow to $500 million to balancing the budget now and deferring any tax cuts until later. We also heard about the costs of red tape and overregulation, and we heard of specific challenges facing different sectors.

Based on our consultations, we have developed a plan to stimulate the economy, encourage investment and help create new jobs. We intend to cut the cost of doing business and make B.C. competitive. Specifically, we will cut taxes to stimulate business investment and create jobs; we will revitalize our traditional industries; we will give small business a break; we will support the new knowledge-based economy of the twenty-first century. We will cut red tape and overregulation so that business spends more time doing business; and we will work together to create a new and positive business climate.

At the same time, for the fourth year in a row we will continue to cut the tax burden and increase the purchasing power of low- and middle-income families. We will continue to cut government overhead costs, and we will do this within a fiscally sustainable plan to balance the budget next year.

Here is what the 1998-99 budget will do for B.C. We will reduce the tax burden for small businesses to the lowest rate since 1986. We will cut the small business corporate income tax rate by 11 percent over two years. On January 1, 1999, the rate will be cut from 9 percent to 8-1/2 percent, and on January 1, 2000, to 8 percent. This tax cut will help over 40,000 small businesses continue to create new jobs in our province.

We have heard the concerns of the business community regarding the corporation capital tax, and we are making changes. Effective January 1, 1999, we are raising the tax-exempt threshold from $1.5 million in paid-up capital to $2.5 million. We will increase the threshold to $3.5 million on January 1, 2000, and to $5 million on January 1, 2001. This will reduce the number of firms paying the tax by more than 40 percent. These are positive, affordable changes, which will eliminate the corporation capital tax for 10,000 small businesses. It will mean that 90 percent of the businesses in B.C. will pay no corporation capital tax. I should remind us all that a two-year tax holiday is already provided for new business investments, and this tax holiday will continue.

[2:45]

The forest sector has been hit hard by price declines of up to 25 percent from year-ago peaks for lumber and over 40 percent from peaks in late '95 and '96 for pulp. A stumpage reduction averaging $2.50 per cubic metre across the province is already scheduled to take effect on April 1. This change occurs due to a decline in the industry price levels and follows the existing stumpage formula. Over the next three months this will reduce industry costs by approximately $25 million. We are now working closely with the forest industry to improve competitiveness by further reducing stumpage charges and simplifying the regulatory framework. Over the next three months the costs of the forest industry will be cut very substantially through this combination of stumpage reductions and regulatory changes. This will generate investment in the industry and strengthen forest jobs and forest communities, without eroding environmental standards.

The Minister of Energy and Mines is working with business leaders on measures to improve competitiveness and to bring incentives into the energy and mining sectors. To assist the mining industry, security of access to mineral lands outside protected areas will be enhanced, and we will work to resolve claims for mineral tenures which are included in protected areas. A new mineral exploration code will ensure responsible environmental practices, and a one-window permitting approach will cut red tape.

In the oil and gas sector, we are working with the industry on ways to expand exploration and production. The Premier's oil and gas initiative was launched in February, with the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the province and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. A memorandum of understanding with Treaty 8 first nations was signed last week by the minister responsible. There will be further announcements of new incentives in the oil and gas sector shortly.

I am also pleased to announce today that the government will be providing tax relief to farmers by eliminating the tax on coloured fuel used on farms. In addition, the Agriculture ministry's budget has been increased to help farmers recover from weather-related crop failures in the Okanagan, lower mainland and Peace River regions, and on Vancouver Island.

In addition to changes to revitalize the traditional sectors of our economy, we are also making changes to support the dynamic new sectors of B.C.'s economy. Many of these companies are small, they're young, and they're rapidly growing. Their greatest asset is their people -- people who compete in a global market for technical and management expertise.

[ Page 6616 ]

To help B.C. business attract and keep these highly qualified people, effective January 1 we will lower income surtaxes to reduce the top marginal income tax rate from 54.2 percent to 52.7 percent. We will further reduce the rate to 51.3 percent on January 1, 2000, and to 49.9 percent on January 1, 2001. These changes to surtaxes will help maintain our competitive position and ability to create jobs in B.C.

B.C.'s film industry is now one of the largest in North America. The value of film and television production totalled over $600 million in B.C. in 1997. The industry employs over 25,000 British Columbians full- and part-time. In October the government announced Film Incentive B.C., a $15-million-per-year tax credit which assists home-grown productions and encourages film locations outside the lower mainland. I am pleased to inform the House today that following consultations currently underway with the industry, we will be announcing further measures to ensure that B.C. improves its position as an attractive location for foreign producers as well.

National and international telephone call centres are a high-growth source of knowledge-based jobs. Competition between jurisdictions for call centres is intense. To make B.C. more competitive as a call centre location, the sales tax on 1-800 and equivalent lines is eliminated effective May 1 of this year. This actually corrects the date of April 1 that's in the printed text of this speech.

Vancouver International Airport has been extremely successful as a gateway between North America and Asia. As announced earlier, the tax on jet fuel will be cut from 4 cents to 3 cents per litre effective April 1, 1998, and then to 2 cents per litre on April 1, 1999.

Tourism is one of the strongest and most important sectors of our economy. Last year we established Tourism B.C., providing stable funding of $19 million from a dedicated portion of the provincial hotel room tax. This year tourism in rural B.C. will benefit from funding to significantly expand the provincial campground system. During the past three years 450 new campsites were built. We have targeted 1,500 more campsites for the next year and for this year. Further resources are provided in the budget to tackle the backlog of commercial back-country recreation applications.

In all of our consultations we heard the business community's desire to develop a more efficient regulatory framework as a major way of cutting costs and remaining competitive. We recognize the need to cut red tape in British Columbia. We want to make it easier to do business so that business can create jobs. We know that the number of regulations and how they are administered adds to costs and delays. We recognize that the relationship between individual businesses and government agencies has become complex and often inefficient. We are determined to work with business to fix it.

That does not mean lowering standards. Penalties and enforcement for non-compliance should, and will, remain strong. What it does mean is focusing less on process and more on results. In this session, legislation will be introduced to streamline filing and registration requirements to eliminate duplication, allow electronic and other alternative filing methods, increase one-stop and one-window approaches, and allow government to amend outdated and cumbersome approval processes. To help business work with government, a business advocate will be given a mandate to streamline administrative and regulative processes. To work on the unique issues faced by small business, a task force made up of business and government representatives will be asked to report to me by June 30 on how to cut red tape, improve competitiveness and create jobs for British Columbia.

In the weeks ahead I hope that the consultations that we have begun, the tax cuts and incentives I have announced and the programs to cut red tape and improve competitiveness will all be seen as a clear signal -- a signal that we have consulted, that we have listened and that we are taking action; a signal to investors and business, all business people in B.C. and the rest of the world, that they're very welcome here and that B.C. is a good place to invest.

Our government introduced a freeze on Hydro rates two years ago. Last year the Crown corporation had strong financial results. Based on this strong performance, our government has declared a rate rebate for all B.C. Hydro customers and an extension of the freeze until March 31, 2000. Two percent of last year's electricity bill will be rebated to all residential and small commercial customers, and a 1 percent rebate will be granted to large commercial and industrial customers.

Through this government's past budgets, we have made every effort to reduce costs for ordinary British Columbians and give them additional spending power. Today, continuing that commitment, I am very pleased to announce that personal income taxes will be reduced by 2 percent. Effective January 1, 1999, the tax rate will go down to 49.5 percent. This will mark the fourth year in a row that the government has cut the tax rate for middle- and low-income families. Every B.C. taxpayer will benefit from this change.

I am also pleased to announce that all other tax rates for individuals and families remain frozen until the year 2000. This includes rural-area residential tax rates, residential school taxes and non-residential school taxes. ICBC premiums and university tuition fees all remain frozen this year. The B.C. family bonus, introduced by this government in 1996, will continue to provide financial relief to 230,000 families.

I am also pleased to announce that we will extend premium assistance under the Medical Services Plan to cut the cost of premiums for 80,000 B.C. individuals and families with modest incomes. All of these measures taken together mean that by next year the disposable income of a single parent with two children, earning $30,000, will be $1,200 a year higher than in 1995. For a two-income family with two children, earning $55,000, it will be $1,050 higher.

It is crucial that our province continue to modernize our infrastructure so that we can compete internationally, get through the Asian downturn and build a strong economy with new jobs. To provide for essential infrastructure, we are increasing capital spending by $275 million over the amount spent last year -- to $1.25 billion for new schools, hospitals, roads and transportation projects.

I should emphasize, hon. Speaker, that we are making sure that we get the most from each of our capital investment dollars. During the last fiscal year all capital projects were reviewed, and over 100 ways to cut costs were developed. These are continuing to save taxpayers an estimated $200 million.

[3:00]

[ Page 6617 ]

Since 1991 our government has increased health spending by 15 percent per person, but in the rest of Canada health spending has actually been reduced by 2 percent. I say, hon. Speaker, that the people of this country have a right to expect the federal government and other Canadian provinces to stand up for medicare, as we are doing.

This year's new funding will add $63 million to hospital funding, add ten million new dollars for the new mental health plan and add $66 million more for Pharmacare. We're also providing more funds to reduce waiting lists, and we're adding to treatment resources for heart, cancer and kidney patients.

I want to turn now to funding for education. Our government believes that education and training play a critical part in preparing our young people for the economy of tomorrow. B.C. already has a highly skilled and educated workforce. Our students consistently rank amongst the top achievers in national and international assessments in mathematics and science. But while we do well, we can do better. Teachers and parents have told us that children need more individual attention if they are to strengthen their reading and writing skills.

The budget I am tabling today contains two major new commitments to education funding. First, funding for kindergarten-to-grade-12 education is being increased by over $100 million. This will provide for 400 new classroom teachers and 300 additional librarians, counsellors and classroom aides.

We also owe our children the proper facilities in which to learn. Even though in the past seven years we've built classroom space for over 80,000 new students, demand is still growing. Therefore the second commitment I am pleased to announce today is that a total of $1.5 billion in new school capital construction will be provided over the next five years, with the first $339 million in this budget.

Our government believes that every young person who wants to go on to post-secondary education should be able to. Last year we committed to fund an additional 2,900 new spaces, and I'm pleased to announce that this budget provides $40 million to completely fulfill that commitment.

I am also pleased to announce that the freeze of college and university tuition fees is being extended for 1998 and 1999. Let me tell the House what this means for students and their families. Since 1995, when the freeze was introduced for British Columbia students, tuition fees across the rest of Canada have increased by 16 percent. That is about $1,200 more for a student to complete a four-year degree program. And that's just the Canadian average. While fees have been frozen in B.C., students in Alberta, where fees have increased by 20 percent, are paying $2,000 more. In Ontario students have had fee hikes of over 30 percent, or about $3,200 for a four-year program. While fees have been skyrocketing across the country, here in British Columbia we have frozen tuition fees for 150,000 college students for three years in a row.

Our commitment to youth also includes programs to help them make the transition into the workforce. I'm pleased to announce an additional $26 million in funding for youth unemployment and training programs. Last year 11,500 young people benefited from these opportunities. Our target this year is for 17,000 young people to be assisted.

British Columbia has been in the forefront of support for children and families in need. I'm very pleased to report to the House that social assistance caseloads have dropped by 8 percent over the past year. That means that approximately 32,000 fewer people are on welfare in British Columbia. This is a direct result of the government's initiatives to help people move from income assistance into the workplace.

The B.C. family bonus is instrumental in the effort to provide support for working families with low and modest incomes. B.C. has already invested $400 million in each of the past two years in the family bonus program, which is now a model program being extended across Canada.

In addition, we are increasing funding to the Ministry for Children and Families by $64 million to help meet the needs of those children who are at greatest risk. This means a significant increase in services, including the hiring of additional child protection workers. We will also be providing money for two new transition houses for women and children, one to serve Saltspring Island and the other in New Westminster.

Hon. Speaker, let me now turn to our financial bottom line. British Columbia is and will continue to be an export-dependent economy. Our economy grew slowly in 1995-96, it picked up in the first part of 1997, and then the economic slowdown in Asia dampened our growth once again. We expect the economy to grow by 0.9 percent in 1998 and by 1.7 percent in 1999.

In preparing this budget, we maintained the principles of fiscal sustainability that my predecessor set out in last year's budget. First, economic growth and job creation must be a central component. Second, budget forecasts must be built on prudent economic assumptions. Third, we must continue to reduce the deficit and move into surplus. And fourth, debt levels must be sustainable. This budget continues to meet all of those principles, with economic stimulation and job creation as key priorities.

I have spoken about the need for continued prudence in forecasting. Rather than forecasting revenues based on 0.9 percent growth, I am choosing to forecast revenues based on growth of 0.3 percent. This will allow a $130 million revenue buffer to respond to unanticipated economic risks. This is in addition to a $75 million contingency fund. Based on that prudent forecast, revenue is forecast to increase by $230 million this fiscal year to $20.441 billion.

Expenditures for this year are budgeted at a total of $20.536 billion. This represents an increase of $141 million over last year, a growth of seven-tenths of 1 percent. Within this increase in total spending, we have increased funding for education, health care and services for children and families by $419 million.

Holding the line has meant difficult choices. While federal transfer payments have continued to decline, we have cut or continued the freeze on taxes, Medical Services premiums and tuition fees. To protect our priorities in health, education and children and families, we have cut $278 million and have reduced spending by 5 percent in the remaining areas of government. This continues a trend. Over the three years ending next March, we will have cut administrative overheads, such as travel, consulting services and supplies and furniture by over 20 percent. Salary costs as a percentage of the total budget will drop next year to 7.2 percent. That's lower than it was in 1988.

I said at the beginning that we have made a conscious decision to have a deficit this year in order to stimulate our economy. In our consultations with business leaders, opinions varied; there was no consensus on the subject. However, it was clear in our consultations that to keep B.C. competitive and help stimulate our economy, our tax structure had to be altered. Therefore, at the centre of this budget are tax cuts for individuals and businesses. At the same time, these are set at a level that is affordable and explicitly provides for the deficit to be eliminated. That is exactly what the business consultations asked us to do.

[ Page 6618 ]

The tax reductions announced today total $75 million, and an additional $25 million will be provided to fund measures still under discussion with the mining, energy and film sectors. That is a total tax cut for this year of $95 million. Next year the tax reductions for individuals in businesses will grow to an estimated $280 million, reflecting economic growth and the phase-in period of the cuts. When fully implemented, the tax cuts will grow to more than $400 million, a significant stimulus for investment and jobs and for an increase in competitiveness.

I have decided to set the deficit target for 1998-99 at $95 million, close to half the level of last year's deficit and less than half of 1 percent of the overall budget. I believe that this is a reasonable and prudent target. Of course, we will attempt to do better, as we did last year. If our economy performs at the levels presently forecast, it is our plan to have a balanced budget in 1999-2000 and to have a small surplus the year after. Some we consulted actually suggested that we should make tax cuts only if the economy rebounded. This might have let us balance our budget earlier. However, I am satisfied that the tax measures are needed now to stimulate the economy and must be known with certainty if we are to improve B.C.'s competitive position and create jobs.

Just as we have done better than meet the targets set for last year's budget, we have also bettered targets set in the 1997 financial management plan. The level of taxpayer-supported debt is $110 million lower than forecast at the end of March 1997 and is estimated at $780 million lower than forecast at the end of March 1998. As a result, our taxpayer-supported debt-to-GDP ratio is estimated at 20.5 percent, well below the plan's 20.9 percent target. The cost of interest per revenue dollar is forecast to be 7.5 cents, well below the 9 cent-per-dollar cap.

Changes to the financial management plan this year will introduce a target range for the debt-to-GDP ratio of 19 to 22 percent over three years, with a limit of 21.2 percent at March 31, 1999. The range recognizes that GDP is volatile. The 9 cent interest-to-revenue dollar cap will remain unchanged, and the operating budget will be balanced in 1999-2000.

In his last report on the public accounts, the auditor general raised three areas of concern. My ministry has been working with the office of the auditor general for some time in order to reach agreement on how the province's financial statements should be presented. We have reached agreement on changes to two of those areas of concern, and these are reflected in this budget. The third issue, on whether the summary financial accounts should include external agencies such as school boards, is now before the Public Accounts Committee, and I look to the committee's advice on that matter. This agreement with the auditor general is important in ensuring that the public understands our financial position.

[3:15]

G. Farrell-Collins: Well, hon. Speaker, here we are again. Another year has gone by, and we're deeper and deeper in debt. The new Minister of Finance, the fourth in six and a half years, tells us that next year the budget just might be balanced. We're told that next year things are going to be better.

We've sat here for seven consecutive years waiting for next year and waiting for an end to runaway spending, an end to record high taxes and an end to the massive buildup of debt. Well, I'm tired of waiting, we're tired of waiting and the people of British Columbia are tired of waiting for that government to get its act together.

We've been hearing for years that the government is about to balance the budget. It's just around the corner, we're told. British Columbians just don't believe this government anymore, period. Last year the government told us that the deficit for 1996-97, after the surplus disappeared, was actually going to be $395 million. The auditor general now says it was actually $674 million. Today, the Minister of Finance tells us that next year the deficit will be $95 million, when if you look at the budget document, total government debt for this year is actually going up by $949 million.

No, the real question that needs to be answered, the real thing we need to know, is how much the debt has gone up this year. How many more hundreds of millions of dollars do the people of British Columbia owe? What is the bottom line? To find this, all you have to do is ignore the minister's speech, ignore all the fudged numbers, ignore the glossy brochures and look at page 100 of the Estimates. There it is in black and white. The total debt at the end of this year will be $31.2 billion. That's an increase of $1.25 billion over last year. Once again British Columbians, because of this government's mismanagement, will be paying hundreds of millions of dollars in interest that should be going into health care, education and the protection of children. That's $2.4 billion going to pay interest this year.

Whatever happened to the debt management plan? Whatever happened to that financial management plan that the minister brought in? Whatever happened, more importantly, to that government that was going to be as honest and hard-working as the people who pay for it? Another year goes by and those honest people who are paying for it -- and, boy, are they paying for it -- are working harder and harder while B.C. falls further and further behind. Now the minister has the gall to stand up and promise a few tidbits in the form of tax cuts in an attempt to stop the free fall of the B.C. economy. Well, it's too little and it's way, way too late. In fact, most of the tax cuts the minister talked about today occur in the year 2001 -- the 2001 budget odyssey. I hope we finally get there.

Hon. Speaker, you know that this Minister of Finance isn't the first to table a budget this year. In fact, she's about the last. Let's look at some of the budgets that came out this year that have been introduced by ministers in other provinces. Let's start with our nearest neighbour and our closest competitor; let's look at the Alberta budget.

Interjection.

G. Farrell-Collins: Well, the member for Yale-Lillooet should pay attention, because more of his voters now live in Alberta than they did before the last election. The member should ask for honorary delegate status in the Alberta Legislature so he can speak on behalf of his constituents.

Alberta just tabled its fifth consecutive balanced budget. Let me read a few paragraphs from it.

Interjections.

[ Page 6619 ]

The Speaker: Hon. members, there is one person with the floor at the moment. Let's give it due credit.

G. Farrell-Collins: Thank you, hon. Speaker.

I think the members opposite should pay attention to this one. Let's start with the principles which the people of Alberta expect their government to follow: "Remain fiscally responsible. Don't ever run a deficit again and don't raise taxes. Be unwavering in your commitment to pay off the debt. Keep looking for new, better and more efficient ways of doing things. When we have the money, reinvest in Albertans' priorities -- education, health care and infrastructure."

Interjections.

G. Farrell-Collins: I'll wait for them to settle down for this one, hon. Speaker, because I think it's the lesson that they need to learn the most: "Be accountable. Be honest."

Well, in British Columbia. . . .

Interjection.

G. Farrell-Collins: I'll write it down for the member for Yale-Lillooet, and he can paste it to his headboard and read it every morning.

In British Columbia we can only dream of a government that's honest and accountable. Let's look at Alberta; let's look at the results. Alberta has the lowest overall tax burden in Canada. Alberta is the only province without a provincial sales tax. "Our tax advantage will be strengthened in 1998."

Interjections.

G. Farrell-Collins: Pay attention. "The average Alberta family will pay nearly 34 percent less in provincial taxes. . .than families in other provinces. . . . The tax credit for a one-income family earning $30,000 with two children will rise from $300 to $800. Combined with the income tax cut, this family's Alberta taxes are being reduced by nearly 50 percent in 1998" -- not 1999, not 2000, not 2001, but today. The amazing thing in Alberta is that net debt will be eliminated by March 1, 2000. Their net debt will be eliminated -- not managed, not financed, but eliminated -- before this government even balances its first budget. But that's not all.

Interjections.

G. Farrell-Collins: I know the members are talking health care. I can hear them over there in the background talking health care. Funding for health care and education in Alberta will increase by 3.8 percent for the next three years.

Alberta is proud of its success, and it's hard to argue with it. Let me quote: "The proof is clear across the province. . . . "

Interjections.

G. Farrell-Collins: Hon. Speaker, I know the members don't want to hear the truth. I know it hurts to hear how well everyone else is doing and how poorly they're doing. But someone has to tell the truth in this House for once, and it's not that side.

Let me quote from the Alberta budget. "The proof is clear across the province: new jobs and an economy that's leading the rest of Canada; unemployment down to the lowest level in many years; new investment in the province; reduced debt; reinvestment in priority areas like health and education; and perhaps most important, a renewed confidence that the future belongs to Alberta."

I can tell you, I'm sure glad that we've got a socialist government in this province that's showing the way for the rest of the country. I just hope we can survive it.

Interjections.

G. Farrell-Collins: I expect the heckling to die down a little bit as we move along here, because the truth will be just that much more difficult but that much more clear to the members. I know the government despises Alberta. They're baffled by their success. They can't understand how the Alberta government could possibly do what it's done. So I'll give them a break. Let's move a little bit to the left along the political spectrum. Let's have a look at New Brunswick.

Interjection.

G. Farrell-Collins: No, we'll get there. Let's go to New Brunswick, to a Liberal government -- and a fine one at that, I might add. New Brunswick introduced its fourth consecutive balanced budget and is paying down its debt. The New Brunswick Liberal budget was very different from the NDP budget.

"During the past ten years, we have controlled spending and made government more efficient and effective. We balanced the budget. . . . We improved the provincial credit rating and kept the tax burden below the national average. We have met -- and will continue to meet -- our short-term and long-term fiscal objectives while overcoming challenges that block our path. We have begun paying down the net debt, which will preserve our social programs in the future. In short, Mr. Speaker, we have kept our promises. We will continue to keep our promises."

Interjection.

G. Farrell-Collins: Well, who knows? Maybe the Ukrainians actually balanced their budget. Wouldn't that be a shock, hon. Speaker?

We know that the NDP says that the only way to balance a budget is by cutting health care. Well, listen to this from New Brunswick's fourth consecutive balanced budget: "Unlike most other jurisdictions in Canada, New Brunswick has not seen massive one-year reductions in spending on health care and social services. Each year for the last decade, budgets have increased. The result has been more consistency and predictability" -- something we could have used a lot of from the last Health minister.

Just two more quotes from New Brunswick, from their fourth consecutive balanced budget, this time regarding taxes. "The bottom line is that by 1999" -- when this government's first tax cut really kicks in -- "New Brunswickers will have experienced a 10.2 percent reduction in provincial income taxes." A 10.2 percent reduction from that horrible right-wing government in New Brunswick.

[3:30]

[ Page 6620 ]

year too, I might add. I couldn't pass up this next one because it illustrates better than anything the difference between how the B.C. NDP government treats non-profit volunteer agencies and how a Liberal government does. In B.C., the NDP expropriates their property, steals their bingo money, raids their charity income and then fights them in court. In New Brunswick, a Liberal government is doing the following, and let me quote. . . .

Interjections.

G. Farrell-Collins: You should pay attention, gentlemen:

"Mr. Speaker, as I announced this fall, qualifying properties owned by charitable and not-for-profit organizations will receive more generous property tax relief. . . . These organizations, which are currently enrolled in our value-in-use program, offer relief of poverty, services to youth, the elderly or the disabled, and services to local communities. Examples include food banks, transition houses" -- for the member for Alberni -- "arenas, seniors' clubs and service clubs.

"There are thousands of volunteers in New Brunswick who are maintaining these facilities and working hard to ensure the viability of these organizations. Our property tax reform package, which is worth $2.5 million, will support these volunteers and the contributions they make to their communities."

Let's look at what the real New Democrats have done -- the real New Democrats, the Tommy Douglas New Democrats, the competent New Democrats, as opposed to our incompetent New Democrats. Let's look at Saskatchewan. Not their first, not their second, not their third and not their fourth; let's look at their fifth consecutive balanced budget.

In their fifth consecutive balanced budget, provincial income taxes were cut by a full 2 points to 48 percent of the federal rate. There was $88 million more in health care, new funding for highways -- something the member is going to have trouble getting -- more money for anti-crime initiatives, a doubling of funding for programs to help low-income children and more money for education. Not only did they balance the budget, but they paid off a half a billion dollars of their debt. Let's hear it for the Saskatchewan NDP! [Applause.]

It's nice that the members opposite are joining in; it's unfortunate that their colleagues in Saskatchewan can't do the same for them.

The difference between Saskatchewan and B.C. is interesting. Just like there are Indian elephants and African elephants, there are Saskatchewan New Democrats and B.C. New Democrats. Now, I don't know which breed of elephant is smarter, but as far as New Democrats go, I think the answer is pretty clear.

Hon. Speaker, there you have it: 14 balanced budgets. And I haven't even talked about Manitoba's four consecutive balanced budgets or Ottawa's latest work or Nova Scotia or even the balanced budget in the Northwest Territories, for heaven's sake. But here in British Columbia we're as far from that goal as ever.

What this government doesn't understand, what it's never even tried to understand, is this: continual deficits mean ever-increasing debt, and increasing debt results in increasing costs that bleed money away from much-needed programs like health care and education. Increasing debt results in higher taxes that stifle small and medium-sized business and results in people losing their jobs. It's not rocket science, hon. Speaker. Every other province in Canada gets it; every state in the United States understands it; every political party in Canada knows it. Why can't this government get that through its thick head?

But budgets aren't just about money. In fact, when we look at these figures, we should all see the people who are out there giving up looking for jobs, who are seeing their towns and families being torn apart. . . .

Interjection.

G. Farrell-Collins: The member should listen, because it's his towns that are being torn apart, and it's families in his ridings that are being torn apart.

They should see the people who are leaving British Columbia not because they want to, but because they have to. The government still doesn't understand that it is driving people out of this province. In fact, I saw a moving van the other day, and I had to take a second look. I thought for a moment that the Premier and the Deputy Premier had started a new company. There it was on the side of the moving van: "Two Small Men with No Hearts." But then I realized my mistake. In fact, the company is called Two Small Men with Big Hearts. In fact, they had been in business for over ten years, and we all know that no company run by the Premier or the Deputy Premier would last ten days, let alone ten years.

In closing, I wish I could be more optimistic. I wish with all my heart that I could believe the Finance minister when she says that next year it'll be better, that next year all is going to be well again. But I can't.

I grew up in Saskatchewan, the birthplace of the CCF, the land of Tommy Douglas -- a man who knew how to balance a budget, I might add. During the Depression in Saskatchewan, they used to call it next-year country, because they hoped that relief from their misery would come next year. The people of Saskatchewan were a pretty tough lot back then. They waited year after year after year in hopes that next year things would get better. But even they eventually gave up, and thousands of them packed up their children, their homes and their farms, and they left. A lot of them came to B.C. They settled in the Kootenays, they settled in the Okanagan, they farmed the Peace country, they farmed the Fraser Valley, and some of them came to Vancouver Island. Through their hard work and determination, they, along with their fellow British Columbians, built the best province in the country and one of the strongest economies in the world.

But in the last seven years something has changed -- something has happened, and not for the better. At a time when every other province and territory in Canada is booming, creating thousands of jobs and wide-open opportunities for its young people, B.C. is bleeding. B.C. is bleeding jobs into Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba -- 19,000 in January alone. We're bleeding as our best minds join the exodus of high-tech companies to Washington State, to Oregon and to California. We bleed our future as each airplane that leaves Vancouver bound for Toronto contains more and more of our highly educated, highly skilled women and men clasping one-way tickets in their hands. For generations, parents in Newfoundland have stood by and watched as their children finished school, packed up their belongings in scuffed suitcases and battered boxes and piled them into their beat-up Pontiacs, boarded a ferry and left their homes forever. Well, today, as we speak, in Swartz Bay there is a lineup of beat-up Pontiacs piled high with scuffed suitcases and battered boxes waiting to board a ferry and carry our young people on their exodus across the Prairies.

[ Page 6621 ]

They don't want to go, but they had a choice to make. They could leave home, leave their families and friends behind and hope to find a future for themselves in Calgary, Regina or Brandon, or they could take the Premier up on his offer: stay in B.C. this summer, build 1,500 campsites and then go on the dole this winter. We haven't had relief camps in British Columbia since the Depression, and it's a disgrace that we have them in British Columbia today.

Mr. Premier, you promised the young people of this province a future. You promised them a guarantee for youth, you promised them 18,000 new jobs, and you failed.

The Speaker: Through the Chair, hon. member.

G. Farrell-Collins: These young people are the heart of our families and the soul of our future, and we on this side of the House will be damned if we're going to let your government's incompetence and your destructive ideology rip the heart out of our communities and drive these people out of British Columbia. It's time, Mr. Premier, to do the right thing: forget your misguided ideology.

The Speaker: Through the Chair.

G. Farrell-Collins: It's time to turn this province around or get out of the way and let someone else do it for you.

Hon. Speaker, I move adjournment of the debate.

Motion approved.

Introduction of Bills

Hon. J. MacPhail: These five bills implement a variety of the measures I announced in the budget speech. In moving first reading, I will state the primary purpose of each bill.

Bill 2, the Budget Measures Implementation Act, 1998, amends 11 provincial statutes to implement a variety of budget measures. The Motor Fuel Tax Act is amended to provide an exemption for purchases of coloured fuel by bona fide farmers. The Tobacco Tax Act is amended to increase the tax on tobacco sticks to the rate paid on cigarettes and to increase the maximum tax per cigar. The International Financial Business (Tax Refund) Act is amended to allow captive insurance and export financing companies to register under the act. The Insurance Premium Tax Act is amended to consolidate tax rates on insurance premiums and to extend the filing due date. The Fire Services Act is amended to repeal the fire insurance premium tax provision.

Bill 2 amends the Corporation Capital Tax Act to increase the corporation capital tax exemption threshold to $5 million of net paid-up capital from the current level of $1.5 million over a three-year period. The threshold at which financial institutions begin to pay the 3 percent tax rate is increased to $1 billion from the current level of $750 million.

Amendments to the Social Service Tax Act provide exemptions for high-tech and forest industries. A variety of other amendments are made to the Social Service Tax Act to enhance fairness, clarify the application of the tax and protect provincial revenue. The Property Transfer Tax Act is amended to relax the mortgage pay-down provision for first-time homebuyers and to clarify the intent of various exemptions. The System Act is amended to transfer the assets and liabilities of the British Columbia Systems Corporation to the provincial government as part of the orderly winding-up of the corporation. The Financial Administration Act is changed to eliminate provincial treasury operations special account. Amendments to the Securities Act provide for a one-time transfer of surplus Securities Commission funds to the consolidated revenue fund.

Bill 3, the Income Tax Amendment Act, 1998, amends the Income Tax Act to implement three income tax measures. The act is amended to reduce personal income taxes for British Columbians, as well as to reduce the small business corporate income tax rate. In addition, the new initiative, Film Incentive B.C., provides a refundable corporate income tax credit for qualifying film and television productions with principal photography commencing after March 31, 1998. Finally, Bill 3 introduces a general anti-avoidance rule that will provide Revenue Canada with the authority to challenge abusive tax-avoidance arrangements.

[3:45]

Bill 5, the BC-Alcan Northern Development Fund Act, establishes the northern development fund as a special account in the general fund of the consolidated revenue fund. This account will finance economic activity and job creation in the northwest.

Bill 6, the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority Rate Freeze and Profit Sharing Act, 1998, enables the government to extend the B.C. Hydro rate freeze to March 31, 2000, and share extraordinary B.C. Hydro profits with Hydro's customers.

I now move first reading of Bills 2 through 6.

Bills 2 through 6 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. J. MacPhail moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

The House adjourned at 3:47 p.m.

Copyright © 1998: Queen's Printer, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada