Official Report of

DEBATES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

(Hansard)

The House met at 2:08 p.m.

Hon. D. Zirnhelt: I don't often have visitors from the Williams Lake area, but with us today are Gian Singh Sandu from Jackpine Forest Products and his woodlands manager Steve Knowles -- a friend from Tsawwassen who would rather be here than flying to Beijing, Fraser Hodge. Please welcome them.

V. Anderson: I'd like the House to join me in welcoming Walter Schultz, a lifetime resident of Vancouver-Langara.

L. Reid: I'm delighted to welcome to the gallery today Mr. Peter Butterworth, who is here visiting from Richmond. I would ask this House to please make him very welcome.

Hon. J. Pullinger: Today Alayne Keough, who is the executive assistant of the Downtown Eastside Residents Association, is visiting in the galleries. I'd like the House to make her welcome.

K. Whittred: On Saturday, March 20, 1999, at precisely 5:45 p.m., the Persian community in our province celebrated NoRooz, which is the Persian new year. NoRooz, literally meaning "new day," is one of the oldest traditions known; it dates back at least 3,000 years. The celebrations start at the exact moment that spring arrives and last for 13 days. To my Iranian constituents I say: [Farsi spoken]. Would the House please join me in wishing a happy NoRooz to all British Columbians who celebrate this rich, ancient tradition.

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Hon. J. Kwan: I'm delighted to introduce. . . . Visiting us on the floor today is Mayor John Ranta from Cache Creek, who is also president of the UBCM. I had the opportunity to meet with him earlier today as we rebuilt our relationship with the UBCM.

S. Orcherton: Hon. Speaker, I note in the gallery today that there are a number of people joining us from within our constituency. I see that Mr. Colin Graham, the secretary-treasurer of the Victoria Labour Council, is with us, and Mr. Jeff Fox, a staff representative from the B.C. Government and Service Employees Union who is very active in the community in Victoria. I also see Ms. Carole James, the chair of school district 61, joining us in the gallery. I'd ask that this House make them all very welcome.

M. Coell: I'd like to have the House welcome a longtime member of this House, Cyril Shelford, who is here with us today, and another friend of mine, David Bremner. Would the House please make them welcome.

S. Hawkins: Joining us in the balcony today is a constituent of mine and someone who is always interested in this government's budgeting process. Would the House please welcome Mr. David Stockell.

T. Nebbeling: Mr. Ranta, the mayor of Cache Creek, who is sitting on our side in order to see if we can control him a little bit today, is also welcomed by the B.C. Liberal caucus. I hope everybody will join us.

J. Sawicki: I have two guests in the gallery today representing the Burnaby Chamber of Commerce. While I apologize that I don't know which two have come here today to hear the budget, I'm going to look forward to talking to them afterwards. I want the House to please make them welcome.

Hon. D. Miller: I would ask the House to welcome to the gallery today His Excellency S$aacute;ndor Papp, who is the newly appointed Ambassador of Hungary to Canada. Ambassador Papp is accompanied by his wife Klara and André Moln$aacute;r, who all of us know is the honorary consul general of Hungary in Vancouver. I thank the Speaker for the excellent lunch she put on for the ambassador and his wife, and I ask the House to make them most welcome.

E. Walsh: It gives me great pleasure to introduce Holly Kinvig to the House today. She is a constituent of mine from Kootenay and is attending the University of Victoria here and doing political science studies. I would also like to introduce Fred Muzin of the HEU, who is also visiting us here in the chamber. Would the House please make them both welcome.

F. Gingell: Joining us in the House today are Valerie and Kate Roddick, members of the farming community of Delta. I ask you all to make them welcome.

E. Gillespie: I would like to introduce a guest here to hear the budget today. Sue Finneron is an executive member of the Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce. Would the House please join me in making her welcome.

Hon. A. Petter: In the gallery today is a constituent of mine, Mr. Kirby Reimer, who also happens to be president of the Saanich South New Democratic Party constituency association. I would like the House to join me in making him feel very welcome.

B. Penner: I see seated in the gallery an individual who spent a good portion of the last two years committing himself to restoring integrity in government, and in a few moments he will be literally watching over the shoulder of the Minister of Finance when she tables the budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Would the House please welcome David Stockell.

Hon. P. Priddy: There are a number of people from health communities around British Columbia who have joined with us today and who have been working with this government as we've prepared this Health budget. There are about 30 names. I will not go through the process of reading them all, but I do want to thank all those people and welcome them to the House today, and I ask others to do so too.

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Oral Questions

CALL FOR GENERAL ELECTION

There is one easy thing that this government can do. There is one easy thing that this Premier can do; I believe that it's even within his area of competence. My question to the Premier is: will you do one easy thing that every British Columbian will applaud? Will you call an election?

Hon. G. Clark: It feels like Groundhog Day in here. Didn't we just have. . . ? Every day, hon. Speaker. . .

Interjections.

The Speaker: Order, members.

Hon. G. Clark: . . .it's the same question. I look forward to an election, where we can judge our priorities against your priorities. That's right; I look forward to it -- where we can talk about our commitment to health care and your non-commitment to health care.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Order, members.

Mr. Premier, would you hold it, please. The question was asked in some silence, and the answer should be given the same respect.

Hon. G. Clark: Thank you, hon. Speaker.

I look forward to comparing our priorities and your priorities. I look forward to a discussion of whether we should have a tuition freeze or not; it's your position not to have one. I look forward to. . . . In education, we're reducing class size from kindergarten to grade 3, and you don't support that.

The Speaker: Through the Chair.

Hon. G. Clark: I look forward to health care -- our commitments to health care and your commitments to cut health care.

The Speaker: Through the Chair, Mr. Premier.

Hon. G. Clark: I look forward to discussing aboriginal land claims, out on the hustings in an election, where we believe in reconciliation and justice for aboriginal people, and you're opposed to the treaty process. I look forward. . . . By the time of the next election, we'll have 12 percent of the province protected in parks, and you believe in mining in parks.

The Speaker: Thank you. Time, Mr. Premier.

Hon. G. Clark: Those are the real issues that concern British Columbians. That's what people talk about in their homes.

The Speaker: Time, Premier.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Order, order!

Hon. G. Clark: Is health care going to be there when they need it? Is education going to be. . . ?

The Speaker: The microphones will be cut off. Thank you, Premier. I would also encourage members to address their remarks through the Chair.

I recognize for a first supplementary the Leader of the Official Opposition.

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Provinces across this country are balancing their budgets. I have news for the Premier: they're increasing investments in health care. Provinces across the country are increasing economic activity. Provinces across the country are in strong financial shape, not like the province of British Columbia. Even the NDP in Saskatchewan has managed six balanced budgets in a row.

This government and this Premier have failed time and time again. That failure has led to a deterioration in health care, has led to a loss of jobs -- thousands of jobs across the province -- and has led to people living in rural communities not being given the health care service that they deserve. Without a strong economy, we will not have a strong health care system.

The Speaker: Your question?

G. Campbell: My question to the Premier is: if he is so proud of his record, if he is so ready to go out and engage in the debate. . . ? Why don't you have the courage to call an election?

The Speaker: Through the Chair.

Hon. G. Clark: This Liberal opposition said $6 billion was enough for health care. A $2 billion cut in health care is what they campaigned on. This Liberal opposition said that a 14 percent cut in post-secondary education was their budget. We're proud of increasing investment in education. If we want a. . .

Interjections.

[ Page 11449 ]

Hon. G. Clark: . . .strong economy in British Columbia, we need to invest in our young people, invest in education from kindergarten right through university, and that's what we're doing. That's not what you would do. What you campaigned on was giving out massive tax breaks to big corporations paid for by cuts in public services.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Can we have some order in the chamber, please.

First supplementary, Leader of the Official Opposition.

G. Campbell: Hon. Speaker, the people across this province want a strong economy for British Columbia. This government has taken our economy from being the first-place economy in the country to the worst economy in the country. This government has taken this economy and made this economy the last place that investors want to invest, the last place where job-seekers can count on security.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members. . . .

G. Campbell: This government has doubled taxpayer-supported debt, while people's paycheques, working families' paycheques, have shrunk. That's what this government has done. So if we want a strong economy. . . . We share a goal: we want a strong economy. I encourage the Premier to take the first step toward a strong economy, the first step toward reestablishing trust. The question is: does the Premier have the courage to take that positive first step to restore an economy? Will he call an election?

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members, come to order, please.

Hon. G. Clark: I notice that the member opposite doesn't talk about the fact that the economy of British Columbia has created 40,000 jobs in the first two months of this year. I know, and the public knows this as well, that the Liberal Party, under this leader, are opposed to SkyTrain. They're opposed to the Island Highway; they're opposed to reducing class size in kindergarten to grade 3; they're opposed to the tuition freeze. They're opposed to every single thing that the government has done to invest in British Columbia.

I want to ask the Liberals: which school that we have built would they close? Which school that we are going to build would they oppose? The logic of their argument is that we should not be investing in British Columbia. There are half a million more people in British Columbia than there were in 1991, and people are demanding more education, more schools and more hospitals. And the people are right. This side of the House intends to deliver on their priorities.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Order, members. Come to order. The Chair won't recognize the new questioner until it's quiet.

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Will the Premier stand today and admit that the public has lost all confidence in his government and in his budget process and that the only honourable thing left for him to do is resign and call an election?

Hon. G. Clark: Hon. Speaker, aside from the fact that the Liberal opposition is now simply yelling and name-calling and using rhetoric, it would be nice if there were a few facts. Let's just take a look. The member who asked the question said that exports are down. In fact, lumber exports this year are up 13.3 percent. Pulp exports this year are up 16.8 percent. Newsprint is up 15.2 percent. Paper -- paper and paperboard and newsprint -- is up 52.5 percent. In fact, all exports from British Columbia, year over year, are up 12 percent in British Columbia.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members. . . .

Hon. G. Clark: We have had difficult challenges in the economy, but we have turned and are turning the corner. The job numbers show that. The exports show that. And after this budget, we will show that to the people of British Columbia.

C. Clark: Well, maybe the Premier can explain why the forest industry lost a billion dollars last year. Maybe the Premier can explain why forest communities and mining communities are hurting so badly, why thousands of British Columbians are finding themselves without the dignity of work in British Columbia. Maybe he can explain where those numbers come from.

This government's economic record is a national disgrace. This government has doubled the debt in British Columbia. They've failed to balance a budget in British Columbia. They've driven thousands of jobs and families out of the province, while the members on that side of the House clap and smile as if they don't have a care in the world. Well, if everybody on that side of the House is so proud of their economic record, why don't they put it to the test? Why don't you call an election and let the public issue their verdict about your economic record?

Hon. G. Clark: It's interesting that they ask this question: why are they losing money? I wonder if the Liberals ever thought about something called international commodity prices, the fact that we have the lowest copper prices that we've had for years, and low prices for aluminum, low prices for pulp and low prices for lumber. But I know it's convenient for them to say that it's all our fault. The problems in Japan,

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I've got a message for the Liberals over there: stop being apologists for big, multinational corporations and start thinking about working people. Stop apologizing for those big, poor forest companies; start thinking about workers. Start thinking about health care and education and the priorities of working people, because that's where the people were in the last election, and that's where they're going to be in the next election.

ALLEGATION BY MINISTER OF TRANSPORTATION

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Interjections.

The Speaker: Members. . . .

Hon. H. Lali: Clearly I used some intemperate language regarding the RCMP, which was unintended, and for that I apologize to the RCMP. I should not have made a reference to a home invasion. However, I make no apology for expressing concern for the privacy of the Premier and that of his family, concern that I hear from my constituents and that I see in letters to the editor, articles in Time magazine and letters from ex-RCMP officers. Clearly there are questions regarding the B.C. Liberals and BCTV which need to be answered.

The Speaker: First supplementary, the member for Richmond-Steveston.

G. Plant: Well, hon. Speaker, there's nothing quite so sour as the taste of a half-baked apology. The fact is that the search warrant at issue in this case was a search warrant issued by the Supreme Court of British Columbia. The minister's allegation of a conspiracy on the part of the RCMP is an allegation that amounts to interference or an attempt to interfere with the administration of justice. If the minister is sincere in his apology, will he now get up and also apologize to the judiciary system and all those who are members of it, instead of making the kind of half-baked apology that he's just given this House?

The Speaker: The bell signals the end of question period.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members, come to order.

Orders of the Day

Tabling Documents

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 hon. Speaker do now leave the chair for the House to go into Committee of Supply.

Budget Address

This budget is about improving health care with more beds, more nurses and shorter wait-lists. It's about improving education to ensure that our young people have the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the new economy. And it's about helping small business create jobs by cutting taxes, so they can grow and diversify B.C.'s economy.

This past year has been marked by success in many parts of our province. We've seen strong growth in several sectors, and we've led the country in job creation. We've increased our support for health and education. We've made crucial progress toward a historic reconciliation around aboriginal land claims and the certainty and security that that will bring.

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Falling prices have meant falling profits, and when profits fall, jobs are affected. For some families, that can mean

[ Page 11451 ]

There are challenges ahead of us that demand our immediate attention, and there's a debate about how we meet those challenges. Some are committed to slashing taxes for big corporations and the wealthy and cutting services to make up for that lost revenue. We on this side of the aisle have different values. We believe that health care is a fundamental right that must be protected. We believe that every child deserves a quality education regardless of their parents' income. We believe in cutting taxes for small business to help create jobs for people, because that's where the opportunities for the future are found. These are our priorities, and these are our choices.

I've also acted to restore the confidence of British Columbians in the budget process by making this budget more open and transparent. Of all the pressing tasks before us right now, none is more urgent than improving health care. I've spent the last few months travelling the province and listening to people from communities large and small: single parents, business people, college students and retired couples. Health care is the one issue they all keep coming back to. It speaks to the very heart of their quality of life; it's one of the reasons why they've made B.C. their home. They know that our province has a commitment to health care and that if they're sick, they'll get the care that they need.

It's this commitment to quality of care that sets us apart from other countries, such as the United States. Frankly, it's the commitment that sets us apart from other provinces in Canada. It's a value I believe in; it's a value I've always fought to protect. But over the last five years, that hasn't been easy. In B.C. we've had to play catch-up with $800 million in federal cuts. At the same time, we've seen our population grow more and more as more people move to our province. We've seen drug prices surge upward. This year alone the Pharmacare budget will increase by 13.4 percent; that's $64 million. New technical advances save lives, but they too come with a price tag. Combined with the federal cuts, these pressures have put a real squeeze on health care. We've covered those federal cuts by increasing provincial spending on health care during those years.

The easier course of action, of course, would have been to simply maintain provincial funding levels, allow B.C.'s health care system to bleed and point the finger at Ottawa for walking away from its commitment. That's what happened in other provinces. They closed hospitals, and they laid off staff. We refuse to let that happen in British Columbia. We maintain the highest level of per-capita health care funding in Canada: $1,963 per person per year. We work together with front-line workers throughout the health care system. They did more with less, making every dollar go as far as possible to support patient care, and with their help, we held the health care system together.

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In British Columbia, health care is a right, and with this year's budget we're protecting that right. It's unfortunate that years of federal cutbacks have led to unacceptable wait-lists, even for urgent procedures. We've all seen stories in the media; we've heard them from our constituents; in some cases we've actually lived through them with loved ones of our own -- stories of people who didn't get the care that they needed. Hon. Speaker, that is unacceptable. It's incompatible with the values we hold in British Columbia. The primary goal of this budget is to resolve the wait-list problems in our hospitals.

But there are two parts to that solution. More resources is the first part, and this budget increases B.C. health care investment by $615 million. The operating budget will rise by $478 million, and the capital budget will increase by $137 million more. The overriding goal of that new money is simple: more beds, more nurses and shorter waits. This new funding will pay for 58,000 more surgeries and other procedures in the coming year.

The priorities will be cancer treatment, kidney dialysis, cardiac surgery, pediatrics, and hip and knee surgery. This year, as a result of this budget, there will be 10,000 more cancer treatments to shorten waiting times for chemotherapy and radiotherapy. As a result of this budget, there will be 1,000 more hip and knee procedures -- a 22 percent increase. As a result of this budget, there will be 700 more cardiac procedures. And as a result of this budget, there will be 38,000 more women receiving screening mammograms.

Our goal is to ensure that patients who require an urgent medical service get it when they need it. The funding increase I've described will help, but it isn't the whole solution. We can't resolve the waiting-list issue unless we have the full cooperation of doctors, nurses and everyone else working in the health care system. In the weeks and months to come, we will work intensively with all of the health care providers, finding ways to keep reducing waiting lists and improving care. The Minister of Health will be announcing a new, coordinated approach to wait-list management in the coming weeks.

A lasting solution depends on the full cooperation of all of the partners in the health care system. In particular, it depends on resolution of the ongoing differences between British Columbia doctors and our government. Today we renew our commitment to resolving those differences. They've gone on for far too long, and the people of British Columbia are losing patience.

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We are funding more long term care beds in this coming year, as well -- $21 million has been dedicated to fund 480 beds for patients who have long term care needs. That means more spaces for patients who need that particular kind of

[ Page 11452 ]

Another key to meeting our goal is hiring more nurses. My mother was a nurse, and my sister is a nurse. I can actually remember my mom coming home from a challenging day on the wards. She was always exhausted. She was a little bit cranky, but she was always deeply satisfied. So I know first hand the kind of commitment that nurses have. But I've also seen the frustration that comes when resources are scarce and nurses are forced to fill in that gap. There is no limit to the care that nurses can provide, but there are limits to their ability to provide it.

Over the past several years nurses in British Columbia -- and in every other province -- have found themselves doing more and more with fewer and fewer resources. This budget provides $15 million to fund the hiring of 400 more nurses in hospitals and long term care facilities in communities across the province. That's part of our commitment to hire 1,000 new nurses over the next three years.

These nursing positions were made possible through our new agreement with the province's nurses -- an agreement that also includes provisions for training. Over the course of this year, our government will work with hospitals and nurses to address workload issues, as well as ways of keeping nurses working in the profession and of encouraging young people to join it. With this agreement, nurses have reaffirmed their professional commitment to patient care and to the health of British Columbians. It's a commitment that this government shares, and we look forward to working with B.C.'s nurses in the months and years to come.

Health care represents more than a third of the provincial budget. We've increased our commitment to health care by $615 million. I believe that British Columbians have a right to know where the members on the other side of the aisle stand on this increase. I know where we, on this side, stand. We stand with improved health care and with B.C. families who need those services.

I've said this budget is all about fundamental choices. One of the most important decisions is our decision to support education in British Columbia. Some have made another choice. They are committed to slashing taxes for big corporations and to compromising our ability to afford education. That means bigger class sizes, it means more portables, and it means fewer teachers. It means fewer spaces in colleges and universities, and it means spiralling tuition fees. Other provinces have gone down that road. In those provinces, we've seen schools close their doors, and we've seen tuition skyrocket. We've made our choice, and we are rejecting that option.

We believe every child deserves a decent education, regardless of their parent's income. We've increased school funding every year since we were elected. We now have the highest education investment per student in Canada. While we've frozen tuition, provinces like Alberta and Ontario have allowed it to rise dramatically. They're pricing education out of the reach of many students. While an average year in an undergraduate degree program cost $1,970 for a British Columbia student last year, it cost $3,230 in Ontario and $3,190 in Alberta.

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This year, we reduced kindergarten class sizes to a maximum of 20, and over the next two years we'll reduce it again, to 18. We're also reducing class sizes in grades 1 to 3 to a maximum of 22 by the year 2001. That means that young students will receive more of the individual attention that can make so much of a difference to a child's start in school. It means that a child with a learning disorder can be identified and helped, because the teacher actually has time now. It means that a child who's having trouble learning to read can actually get a little extra help. It means that a child who is feeling down can actually get an encouraging word.

I believe that children deserve the best possible environment in which to learn. That, too, is why last year our government made a commitment to cut the number of portables by 50 percent over three years. Last year we started 23 new schools and 66 school renovations and expansions. That will retire 514 portables. This year we'll invest $341 million in building 13 new schools, renovating 103 others, and that will put another 560 portables out to pasture.

We're keeping our commitment to B.C.'s post-secondary students as well. This budget includes funding to create spaces for 2,900 post-secondary students and apprentices. That includes 700 new spaces for students in high technology fields, and it brings the total number of new spaces to nearly 16,000 since 1996.

And we're keeping those spaces affordable. I'll say it again: our government believes that getting a good education shouldn't depend on where you're from or on how much your parents earn. With this budget, tuition fees remain frozen for the fourth straight year. B.C.'s tuition fees are now the second-lowest in the country, and it's having a real effect. I'm proud to say that for the first time since 1976 the proportion of British Columbians attending post-secondary institutions is above the Canadian average. Among 18-to-24-year-olds we're second only to Quebec. There are thousands of students in our universities and colleges who would not be there -- they couldn't be there -- if tuition fees were going up by 20 to 30 percent, as they have in other provinces. It is a shame that in one of the richest countries on earth, young people in some provinces are having to drop out because of the high tuition and crushing debt load. We will not let that happen in British Columbia. A good education is a door to a good job and a better future, and that's a door that we want to keep open for every young British Columbian.

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[ Page 11453 ]

One thing comes through again and again: for small business the key issue is competitiveness, and the best way to help them compete, create jobs and diversify our economy is to cut their taxes. Some would give the biggest tax cuts to the biggest and the wealthiest businesses. We believe that the best way to help create jobs and diversify our economy is to target tax cuts to British Columbia's 40,000 small businesses. Small businesses are the most creative, most powerful entrepreneurial force in the province, and B.C. has the fastest small business growth rate in Canada. Ninety-eight percent of B.C. businesses are small businesses; 858,000 British Columbians get their paycheques from small businesses. It's where the jobs are. The typical small business is focused on high-tech, on service or on information sectors. From 1994 to 1997 tourism alone accounted for 600 new small businesses every year. The high-tech sector created more than 500 businesses per year, and value-added manufacturing created 300 a year.

In the last budget we cut the small business income tax rate from 9 percent to 8.5 per cent, and we said this year that we'd cut it again to 8 percent. Hon. Speaker, we can do better. Effective July 1, I'm cutting the income tax rate for B.C.'s 40,000 small businesses to 5.5 percent. That's lower than Alberta. That will save B.C.'s small business owners $63 million annually. That's $63 million more for the most dynamic sector in our province's economy. And I will go further still. I am committing today that B.C. will keep our small business income tax rate lower than Alberta's. Any further reduction in Alberta's rate will be matched dollar for dollar in British Columbia. That's my commitment to small businesses in British Columbia, and that's my commitment to the hundreds of thousands of British Columbians who work in them. We have made our choice: we're cutting taxes for small business. Our position is clear. And again, I call on those across the way to tell British Columbians where they stand. Will they stand with us on the side of small business? Will they join with us today and endorse that targeted tax cut?

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We've cut personal income taxes for individuals as well. On January 1 of this year we reduced the tax rate by 2 percent, saving British Columbians $110 million a year, and I'm pleased to say that there is a further tax cut coming. In the last federal budget, Ottawa increased their basic personal exemption, a move that benefits mainly low- and middle-income earners. And that's good. That change, though, affects B.C.'s provincial tax revenues: it reduces our revenues by $120 million per year. This government believes that it's important to pass that tax cut fully onto British Columbians, and today we are doing that. The combined impact of our tax cut in January and this tax cut is a 4 percent reduction in provincial personal income tax, and that brings to 8 percent the provincial income tax cut to B.C. families since 1995. That's $385 million back into the pockets of British Columbia families.

But for some families, making ends meet is difficult. That's what led our government to introduce the B.C. family bonus in 1996. It's a monthly payment to low- and modest-income families to help them stay in the workforce. It's the most generous program of its kind in Canada. In this budget we're renewing our commitment by increasing the benefits in the family bonus by 2 percent. That's $8 million more into the pockets of those families. B.C. Benefits has many successes in helping people move from welfare to work, but we've identified some groups of people who are actually having trouble making that transition. We're considering how to make some improvements to the earnings exemption to help people move back into the workforce more easily.

In last year's budget I announced a three-year economic plan developed through consultation with business, working people and local communities. We based that plan on simple but sound principles: cutting taxes to help families and make B.C. businesses more competitive, getting rid of unnecessary red tape that prevents business from growing and creating jobs, and making investments to improve both our economy and our quality of life. Last fall the Premier created a high-level cabinet committee, the Economic Council of Ministers, to implement the plan.

[1505]

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members will come to order. Excuse me, minister. Members will come to order. It makes it very difficult to hear what the minister is saying.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members, that's not appropriate. I ask the members to come to order -- all members. Minister, continue.

Hon. J. MacPhail: As a result of their advice, we targeted a series of tax cuts carefully to encourage the sectors that have the highest potential to grow and create jobs, and those tax cuts have paid off.

We brought in a package of tax cuts for the film industry. Between last spring and the end of the year, 64 productions came to British Columbia. As a result of our targeted tax credit, B.C. recorded $808 million worth of film production last year. Today we lead Canada in film production and

[ Page 11454 ]

We cut the top marginal income tax rate and the small business corporate income tax rate. We raised the corporation capital tax threshold to support growth in high technology, the fastest-growing sector of our economy. During this decade, the number of high-tech businesses increased by 50 percent, and the value of our exports nearly doubled. We also targeted tax cuts to sectors that have been hit the hardest, like forestry and mining. Since I introduced the three-year plan a year ago, new issues and new opportunities have arisen. We're responding in this budget.

The second phase of our targeted business tax cuts come into effect in the coming year. The corporation capital tax threshold will rise to $3.5 million as of next January 1. As well, effective this Thursday, the international jet fuel tax will drop to 2 cents per litre, half of what it was two years ago. This will improve the competitive position of Vancouver International Airport. As I announced, we're cutting the small business income tax rate to 5.5 percent. Finally, I am pleased to announce today that we will extend the corporation capital tax holiday from the current two years to four years for qualifying investments made after March 31, 1999.

We've made a lot of progress in cutting red tape thanks to the efforts of the Business Task Force, a group of representatives from business, labour and government. They've done a tremendous job of combing through regulations and of finding ways to cut red tape and to reduce the cost of doing business in British Columbia. Their work has provided information for our broader effort to get rid of unnecessary regulations as part of our economic plan.

The results of that broader effort really speak for themselves. There are 33 provincial laws that have been streamlined. There are one-stop business registration centres, and there's a more straightforward environmental assessment process. We're streamlining Crown land administration. There's deregulation of motor carrier administration, and there's an end to application and renewal fees. Those are just a few examples, and there are more to come. With the help of the Business Task Force, I intend to introduce further legislation in the coming session to streamline B.C.'s rules and regulations.

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In addition, I'm introducing legislation to require that major new regulations affecting business must be accompanied by a business impact statement, something that we're calling the business lens on regulation. The business lens will go a long way to improving both the quality of our regulations and the confidence that British Columbians have in them.

One of the most striking developments of recent years is the way that the changing world market has created two B.C. economies, one that is performing well and another that's struggling. In the lower mainland, unemployment has dropped from 8.7 percent to 6.6 percent in a single year. In the northeast, unemployment is only 4.9 percent.

But in communities which rely heavily on a single resource-based industry, the situation is much worse, much different. For several years now, we've worked with resource communities to help them strengthen and diversify. Programs like Forest Renewal B.C. and Fisheries Renewal B.C. have helped to upgrade the skills of resource workers, renew and conserve our natural resources and modernize our resource industries. We've made changes to the Forest Practices Code to streamline regulation while still protecting the environment. Industry is benefiting from stumpage reductions amounting to $550 million since 1997.

In November we released the first part of our forest action plan with a new pricing system that is making more timber available to value-added wood manufacturers, helping them grow and create new job opportunities. In January of this year we introduced the second part of the plan, changing our utilization policies and streamlining administration and regulation. And a new billing process will soon let forest companies spread their stumpage payments over the course of the entire year. Until that process is fully in place, we're giving companies an extra 90 days to pay their stumpage fees.

Over the past year, our government has consulted widely with British Columbians about our regional economies. The Premier has held summits with industry, labour and community leaders in the north, in the southern interior and the Kootenays. In the coming months, further summits are scheduled for the Cariboo and North Island. Those summits have resulted in important initiatives like the creation of a northern development commissioner. But they also delivered a crucial message. These communities told us that they need a strategy to help them strengthen and diversify. And we listened.

We're going to give people in local communities the tools and the opportunities they need to take charge of their future with a strategy for regional community economic development. Local communities will shape the initiatives and provide the ideas and the energy. We'll provide the funding and the advice, helping with programs identified by the community to strengthen and diversify the local community. We'll engage the entrepreneurial spirit of our towns and cities, and of B.C.'s volunteer organizations and the co-op movement. We've also put particular emphasis on ensuring that all B.C.'s communities have access to the tools of the modern economy. The northern development commissioner has told me how important Internet access is for rural and remote communities. We'll work through initiatives like PLNet, the provincial learning network, to ensure that all British Columbians can be full participants in the communications revolution.

This budget includes $10 million to launch this regional development strategy and will coordinate the strategy with the tens of millions of dollars being invested now by Forest Renewal B.C. in community diversification.

[1515]

[ Page 11455 ]

We're offering new regional business and tourism opportunities, and we're helping to build a safe, efficient highway network where business can compete and thrive. For 5,400 people, this will mean investment in a well-paying job. We will rehabilitate roads in the north and in the interior. We'll improve and extend corridors, like the Vancouver Island Highway and the Trans-Canada Highway between Cache Creek and the Rockies. We'll improve major highways outside the lower mainland, and we'll relieve congestion in the lower mainland. Construction will begin this fiscal year on a major expansion of the SkyTrain system.

We're also investing in tourism, with $8.5 million earmarked in this budget to create 1,000 new campsites in the provincial park system.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members, come to order.

Hon. J. MacPhail: As we enter the new century, British Columbians have made it clear to me that they put a high premium on our quality of life. A key part of that quality of life is the health of our environment. Over the next few months, we'll work with the public and with B.C.'s many green entrepreneurs to assemble a package of initiatives promoting B.C.'s leadership in environmental economic development.

Part of that effort is a revenue-neutral tax shift. In some jurisdictions, such as Alberta, tax reform simply means tax cuts that reward the rich. To us, reform means, among other things, encouraging environmentally sound business practices. We'll be initiating discussions with British Columbians in the months to come over how we can make our tax system better reflect our provincial values.

Since the sewage and water treatment industry is one of B.C.'s most innovative environmental sectors, we're taking action to promote its continued growth. We're committing $50 million in each of the next three years for local sewage and water facilities.

[1520]

Housing has been a bright light in B.C.'s economy for most of this decade, in part because of the new residents coming to the province. But the economic downturn has hit the housing industry hard in recent months. In the coming weeks, we'll be working with the industry and with construction workers to develop new initiatives that will give a boost to housing and construction and that will create new job opportunities.

We'll also be working with these partners to increase social housing by 1,200 homes over the next two years. Unlike some, we're not simply appointing a minister without resources to address homelessness. Instead, we're putting our money where our mouth is: into building homes now for those who most need them.

Employment opportunities are what our economic plan is all about. By cutting taxes and red tape and by making targeted investments in B.C.'s economy, we can work in partnership with business today to ensure opportunities for tomorrow and a secure, prosperous future for our children.

Let me now turn to the government's fiscal plan. British Columbians have told me that they want this budget to tell it like it is. They want me to give them the straight goods. They want me to keep our projections cautious. I have also followed the advice of the auditor general to make the budget more transparent. This budget adopts many of Mr. Morfitt's recommendations, and work is underway to respond to all of his proposals.

Over the past few years we've been working to improve the budget-making process. For instance, we now publish a very explicit disclosure of the revenue contingency built into the budget. We also publish a new report on the uses and sources of government debt. In the coming session I will introduce legislation to formalize a forecasting panel, an independent group of experts who will advise me on the economic outlook. The quarterly reports will now be on a strict publication schedule, and each year the second quarterly report will be accompanied by revisions to our forecasts, so that British Columbians can know exactly where our province stands.

Our reporting has improved in this budget as well. In accordance with the advice from the auditor general, there is a new schedule in the estimates on pension liabilities that responds to his call for more open reporting. Key expenditure assumptions are summarized in table form to make them accessible to readers, and so are the main revenue assumptions. We're continuing to expand the supply of information on our economic forecasts. We've also updated our accounting policies. B.C. is now a leader in the capitalization of assets. The estimates and the public accounts are now on an expense basis. These are important changes, and more will come in the following months.

In drawing up the fiscal plan for this budget, I have chosen to adopt the policy, already in use at the federal level, of conservative revenue-forecasting. I have increased the revenue reserve in this budget by $100 million, to a reserve of $230 million. I have also chosen to draw down $120 million less than the full amount of one-time federal funding that was made available in Ottawa's recent budget. I have made no provision for increased gaming revenue beyond normal growth arising from the current gaming policies in place now.

[1525]

Let me be direct. Our fiscal situation is probably going to get worse before it gets better, but I believe that these are the

[ Page 11456 ]

In forecasting the deficit for the coming year, I have erred on the side of caution. The deficit target for 1999-2000 will be $890 million.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members, members. . . .

Hon. J. MacPhail: It's a larger number, it's higher than I wanted it to be, but it is as high as it has to be in these circumstances.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members, constant interruptions make it very difficult to hear what's being said. Please, all members. . . . Thank you.

Hon. J. MacPhail: This deficit comes with the choices we've made: to improve health care, to improve education, to provide tax relief for working families and to help small business create jobs. The deficit for 1998-99 is forecast to be $544 million.

This budget reflects the values and choices that I believe the majority of British Columbians support. I know that the members opposite will disagree with this budget. They'll criticize it, and they'll vote against it. But I want to be clear to British Columbians that when those members vote against this budget, they're voting against the choices that we have made. They're voting against more nurses, more hospital beds and shorter wait-lists. They're voting against more teachers and smaller classrooms for students, and they're voting against frozen tuition fees. They're voting against targeted tax cuts that help small businesses create jobs, diversify and prosper. British Columbians deserve better.

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members, enough.

Hon. J. MacPhail: On this side of the House, we have a different vision. It's one that I am proud to defend. I stand by this budget, because it is the right thing to do.

It's been 37 years since an NDP government first introduced medicare into Canada, and I'm proud to deliver a budget today that ensures that we can improve medicare and secure it for our children and our future. We on this side of the House believe in advancing public education and in ensuring that it's there for every child in British Columbia, regardless of where they come from. I'm proud that this budget ensures a good start for B.C. children in our schools and makes it possible for every young person who graduates from high school to get a post-secondary education, because our children are the key to our future.

[1530]

This budget is about health care, this budget is about education, and this budget is about cutting taxes to help small business. Hon. Speaker, this budget is about the future. I am proud, on behalf of this government, to introduce this budget for all British Columbians.

G. Farrell-Collins: Well, hon. Speaker, somebody had better slam the safe door shut, because Tom Gunton obviously won.

I want to try a little experiment here today. Everybody in the room who heard that budget speech before, raise your hand.

The deficit for this year is going to be $890 million. That's almost $1 billion. Total debt is going to be up by $2.7 billion, to $34.7 billion. That is a 101 percent increase in the debt of the people of this province since you people came to office. And you know what? If there was success to pay for, if there were new and wonderful things out there, if there was a way to measure the success of this government, that would be one thing. But there are more portables in British Columbia schools today than there were eight years ago when they took office. There are fewer hospital beds open today than there were eight years ago. There are fewer nurses and the longest waiting lists we've seen in years. It's one thing to pay for something, but when you pay for it, you sure like to get it, and we haven't got it.

It was almost a year ago to the day that the new Minister of Finance rose in this Legislature to deliver her first budget speech. It was a big day for her. It was the first budget she was ever personally accountable for; it was the first budget speech she ever personally gave. But it was even a bigger day for the NDP, because they hoped that with the new Finance minister, they'd be able to shed the record of the previous six disastrous NDP budgets and start on a new course. There was the usual cheering and thumping of desks, much like we saw today, and the smiling, rosy cheeks of backbenchers and cabinet ministers alike cast a warm glow on their new minister, their new political saviour, their new financial leader who was going to guide them out of the economic wilderness into prosperity and the land of political milk and honey.

But leadership requires vision. It requires someone not unlike the great sea captain who can peer through the fog and mist, spot those rocky shoals in the deep water and, despite unfavourable winds and doubting crew members, pilot the ship to safety and success. So I have to say that I was shocked on Saturday to read in the Vancouver Sun the entire budget strategy, the entire economic strategy of the Minister of Finance. Her entire economic plan for British Columbia consisted of having Angus Reid go out and ask the first 600 British Columbians he could find what they wanted in the budget and then writing it up. That's not leadership by vision; it's leadership by Ouija board.

[1535]

[ Page 11457 ]

But that's only a fairy tale, and we all know that real life never quite works out as well. Rather, in real life the Minister of Finance gets to play Gretel and the Premier gets to play Hansel. On this historic day, both Hansel and Gretel wander boldly and aggressively into the fiscal forest, going deeper and deeper into debt, believing an ever-expanding economy will eventually lead them out of their mess. However, when they come to realize that they are totally and completely lost, they take immediate action to determine the way out. Lo and behold, they discover that the Asian economy has eaten all their breadcrumbs. To top it all off, they get captured by the big, dark and ever-expanding deficit witch, and try as they might, neither Hansel nor Gretel can shove that deficit witch back into the oven, because she's grown so huge. Instead, the witch puts both Hansel and Gretel into the oven and invites the local woodcutter -- played by George Morfitt -- over for dinner. The woodcutter so enjoys the dish that he asks the witch for all the details of the recipe and includes it in his bestselling cookbook, How to Cook the Books by Hansel and Gretel.

But you know, what is a budget. . . ?

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members, members, the noise level's rising a little too much. It makes it a little difficult to hear. The member has the floor. There will be plenty of opportunities for further debate on this.

G. Farrell-Collins: What is a budget really supposed to be about? It's not supposed to be about polls, and it's certainly not supposed to be about fudging the numbers in order to get re-elected at all costs. The budget is supposed to lay out the government's vision for the future. It's supposed to instil confidence in the minds of the public that their government has a plan, that their government knows where it's going and that the government will eventually deliver on that plan and get them there. But if the people of the province can no longer believe what the Minister of Finance tells them, if they can no longer believe the word of their Premier, if they are told one thing on budget day only to find out later that the facts are completely different, then the government loses any form of credibility and loses the moral right to govern.

In question period, the Premier referred to Groundhog Day. Well, I want to ask British Columbians to take a short stroll through history with me. Let's walk back through the past NDP budgets. In 1992 the new Minister of Finance -- who now sits in the Premier's chair, however temporarily -- stood in this House and told British Columbians the following. I quote from his budget speech. These are his words: ". . .we are committed to openness and honesty. . .we are committed to fairness. . .this government is committed to sound and prudent management of the province's finances. . .we are committed to policies which foster economic stability and confidence." In 1992 the government said again that it would "do no more than British Columbians could afford and would manage our province's finances openly and responsibly."

[1540]

Let's look at a few of the other commitments this government has made in budget year after budget year. Let me quote from 1993. Here's what the current Premier said then: "First and foremost, this government is making the difficult decisions necessary to control spending growth and cap the deficit. . .to build our economy for the long term." That's what he said. Do you know what he did? In that year, too, he raised spending by $900 million -- almost a billion dollars.

What did they say in 1995? They said: "With this 1995 budget, we balanced the budget a full year ahead of our promise to the people of British Columbia. . . . This government is committed to ensuring balanced or surplus budgets in future years so that we can pay down the debt accumulated from decades of operating deficit." This is the part I love: ". . .there will be no more borrowing or adding to the debt to finance operating deficits."

We all know what happened to those two budgets. We all know what happened in 1995-96. Last year, that new leader of fiscal responsibility for the New Democrats, the new Minister of Finance, said: "We will continue to cut. . .costs, and we will do this within a fiscally sustainable plan to balance the budget next year. . .the operating budget will be balanced in 1999-2000."

From 1992 to 2000 this government has failed to balance a single budget -- not one. As for paying down the debt, they haven't paid down one penny -- not one red cent paid down on the debt. Instead, they've increased direct debt by over 150 percent, and total debt now stands at $34.7 billion. They did this at a time when Alberta and even the NDP in Saskatchewan have each balanced six consecutive budgets and paid off billions of dollars in accumulated debt.

Let me put this in perspective for the members opposite. In 1992 the two newest governments in western Canada were the NDP in British Columbia and the NDP in Saskatchewan. They were elected mere days apart. In Saskatchewan, their net

[ Page 11458 ]

[1545]

Guess what: we've got another one this year. They missed that target, and it's now called a five-year fiscal framework. They've changed the target again. That Minister of Finance, the former Minister of Finance and even the Premier, who used to be a Minister of Finance, haven't hit one single target that they've set. They've stood in this House each and every year, just like the Minister of Finance just did, and set a target. She won't hit it either. They will never hit those targets -- ever.

If the Minister of Finance were William Tell, trying to shoot the apple off the top of your head and she missed, she'd just remove the apple from your head, place it over your heart, cover the gaping wound in your chest and tell you that you weren't dead yet.

Interjection.

G. Farrell-Collins: The students in Saskatchewan have playgrounds to play in; they've got schools to go to school in; they've got hospitals to get health care in -- and they've balanced their budget, and they've paid down their debt.

Credibility, believability and trust -- those are the threads from which leadership is woven. Without them, speeches like the minister's speech are just hollow words. Their vision and their values are merely illusion, and people soon learn to discern the difference between reality and deception.

Each year on budget day, representatives of labour, business, non-profit societies and local government come to this chamber to hear what the year ahead will bring. I notice that this year there are far, far fewer of them. It used to be a big day. It used to mean something when the budget came down. People aren't here today, hon. Speaker.

Every year there used to be representatives of forest workers here. When they came in April 1996, they were told by the government, by the Minister of Finance, that they were going to create 21,000 new forestry jobs. They were told exactly the same thing when they came back here in June 1996, with a new Finance minister. Again a year later, in 1997, they were promised those same 21,000 new jobs. Year after year they were told that those new jobs were on their way, and year after year that promise has been broken. In 1998 alone, 16,000 direct and indirect forestry jobs were lost, and a further 10,000 forest jobs are forecast to disappear in 1999.

How can anybody expect. . . ? How can the Minister of Finance expect those forest workers, their families and the people in forest-dependent towns and cities across British Columbia to believe anything she tells them here today? How can she expect them to believe her plan to rebuild British Columbia's economy? How can she expect them to believe that the government really cares about forest workers? Why would they believe anything they hear today, given the shattered promises from years past?

And what about the mayors and councils who represent the people of those communities? What about them? They have been used and abused and threatened and intimidated by this NDP government in a way that would make most Third World dictators blush. I have attended many a UBCM convention since I was elected, and I've listened to NDP minister after NDP minister, NDP Premier after NDP Premier, seen them stand up in front of hundreds of municipal representatives and promise partnership after partnership, consultation after consultation, revenue-sharing agreement after revenue-sharing agreement, only to have hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to their grants handed down in the form of a dictate, at the stroke of the minister's pen. Those mayors and councillors are forced each and every year to suck up those cuts and balance their budgets anyway. How can they be expected to believe a word of what's in today's budget? Why would they, hon. Speaker? They don't trust a word the Minister of Finance has to say. And they don't need financial lectures from the Minister of Municipal Affairs to tell them how to balance their budgets, when this government couldn't balance its budget if its political life depended on it -- and it does.

[1550]

You will have to forgive those people if they don't trust a word this government says, if they don't trust a word of this budget speech. They have grown tired of fighting. When they should be fighting poverty and sickness and abuse and neglect in their communities, they find that they are fighting their own government instead. They are tired, and they are tired of fighting their own government.

As bad as this budget is, as bad as the fiscal numbers in this budget are, does it really matter that the NDP's new fiscal leader says that the deficit will only be $890 million -- as outrageous as that is? No, it doesn't, because it won't be. It'll be more. Does it matter that she says that total debt will only increase to $34.7 billion? No, because it's going to be more. Does it help British Columbians when the minister has the gall to tell us that the economy is going to grow by 2 percent in 1999? Does that help people out there looking for work?

Interjections.

[ Page 11459 ]

Can B.C.'s young people be encouraged when the minister and the budget say that they are going to create 15,000 new jobs? No, because they won't. Can patients across B.C. take comfort when she says the government is going to finally, after eight years, improve health care and shorten waiting lists? No, because we know from our constituents in our ridings that it simply won't happen. We've heard it before, and we know it won't happen.

The people of British Columbia are tired of listening to the government's false promises and false projections.

Interjection.

G. Farrell-Collins: The member tells me to tell him how to balance the budget. He can resign, call an election, and I'll show him how to balance the budget.

Interjection.

G. Farrell-Collins: Hon. Speaker, he sounds like a typical socialist. He just wants to hear it; he doesn't need to actually see it. Let me paraphrase Churchill, seeing as we are talking about socialists. He said that a socialist has the ability to forecast what will happen tomorrow, next week, next month and next year and then the ability afterwards to explain why it never happened at all.

That about sums up every single Finance minister the NDP has ever put forward. The people of British Columbia are tired of hearing the Premier promise thousands of jobs that never appear, budgets that never balance and projects that never proceed. They are tired of Power for Jobs, which ends up being snow jobs on ski hills. They are tired of high-speed ferries that aren't; they are tired of transit systems that won't; and they are tired of a leader who can't.

British Columbians are tired of the Premier announcing three -- count 'em, three -- aluminum smelters that will never exist and then playing communities one against the other like he would a pinball game. Well, hon. Speaker, if the Premier wants to be the pinball wizard, then the people of British Columbia have something to say to him: "Your bonus round is over, and you are all out of nickels, hon. Premier."

Eight years -- almost a decade -- of broken promises, false statements and misforecasts can't be wiped away by changing ministers or changing Premiers, however many times the New Democrats might try and do that. This government has failed the people of British Columbia year after year, budget after budget. And the people have something to say about it. It's time to listen to their verdict, Mr. Premier. Your time is up. Call an election.

[1555]

G. Farrell-Collins moved adjournment of the debate.

Motion approved.

Introduction of Bills

Hon. J. MacPhail: Hon. Speaker, I move first reading. These two bills implement the measures I announced in this budget speech. In moving first reading, I will state the primary purpose of each bill.

Bill 52, the Taxation Statutes Amendment Act, 1999, amends 14 provincial taxation statutes to implement the variety of budget measures. The Assessment Act is amended to require the use of prescribed cost manuals and depreciation tables for assessing dams and power stations. The corporation capital tax is amended to extend the two-year holiday to four years for qualifying expenditures made after March 31, 1999.

The Income Tax Act is amended to reduce the small business income tax rate to 5.5 percent effective July 1, 1999. It reduces the personal income tax top marginal rate to 51.3 percent for the 2000 tax year. It removes some eligibility restrictions for the two-year small business tax holiday. It allows documentary films to qualify more easily for the film tax credit, and it clarifies that federal resource allowance losses and payments made under the Mineral Tax Act are deductible.

The Motor Fuel Tax Act is amended to provide for a future exemption for ethanol in lower-level ethanol gasoline blends. It transfers additional clear fuel tax revenue to the B.C. Transportation Financing Authority, and it transfers clear fuel tax revenue to the B.C. Ferry Corporation. The Social Service Tax Act is amended to introduce a partial refund for purchases of factory manufactured alternative fuel vehicles and to provide other minor exemptions for both business and consumers.

Several other acts are amended to improve simplicity and fairness. Bill 53, the Budget Measures Implementation Act, 1999, amends ten provincial statutes to implement a variety of budget measures. The Build BC Act, the Highway Act and the Land Title Act are amended to facilitate the transfer of highway land and infrastructure to the B.C. Transportation Financing Authority, in compliance with the agreement with the auditor general on capitalization.

The Ferry Corporation Act is amended to increase the corporate debt limit from $970 million to $1.3 billion.

There are a number of amendments to update the Financial Administration Act.

The Speaker: Minister, the time is up. But I think it should have been doubled, because there were two bills in that time. Proceed.

[1600]

Sections 1 and 23 of the Financial Administration Act are amended to make provision for the significant amount of operating transactions that involve non-cash expenses. Section 11 is amended to clarify that timely interim financial statements will be presented each time annual estimates of

[ Page 11460 ]

The industrial development incentive fund is amended to increase the funding cap on the fund from $450 million to $500 million. There are a number of legislative amendments to several acts that affect the transfer of properties between the provincial government and its agencies and the new Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority, as of March 31, 1999, and that address a number of other matters related to the start-up of the GVTA.

I now move first reading of Bills 52 and 53.

Bills 52 and 53 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: I move that the House do now adjourn.

Motion approved.

The House adjourned at 4:01 p.m.

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