2000 Legislative Session: 4th Session, 36th Parliament
HANSARD

The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.

Official Report of

DEBATES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

(Hansard)

THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2000

Volume 18, Number 2

[ Page 14499 ]

The House met at 10:07 a.m.

Prayers.

Orders of the Day

Throne Speech Debate

E. Walsh: First off, hon. Speaker, I'd like to welcome everybody back to the Legislature for the first session of the twenty-first century: welcome, everybody. I would like to congratulate you, hon. Speaker, also, on your election as Speaker to this House. I know that it's a very important position, and it's one that you will do us all in this House very proud.

I move that the following address be presented to His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor: "We, Her Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in session assembled, beg leave to thank Your Honour for the gracious speech that Your Honour has addressed to us at the opening of the present session."

I am proud to move this Speech from the Throne. One of the reasons I do so is that for the past 100 years, the forestry and coal mining industries have provided an economic foundation in the East Kootenay, which happens to be my riding. It is also an area that I am extremely proud to represent. This means that for the past 100 years. . . . In fact, it's just over 100 years, because we celebrated the 100th year anniversary of some of our communities in the East Kootenay a couple of years ago. For the past 100 years, the fortunes of the local resources and the local workers and their families that live in the East Kootenay area have been linked to fluctuations in the global and local economies. These economies include those very important resources of timber and coal.

[1010]

We understand all too well what economic diversification means, especially for those areas such as the ones that I represent, and how important it is for the future of our communities. But just understanding the need for a more diverse economy doesn't seem to be enough. You can understand it, but then where do you go with this understanding? How do you deal with that understanding? Well, a part of that is that action is needed to ensure that the economic diversity can be met, especially for regions such as mine, and with it the stability that it can bring. This can become a reality for many constituencies and many communities that we represent. I am really pleased that the people of East Kootenay are in fact acting. I see them every day; I talk to them. I am very pleased that they are acting.

For those of you who have never been to the Kootenays or even for those who have been to the Kootenays -- and I know that many of you have been there -- it is, in my opinion, the most beautiful region of the province. The East Kootenay is spectacular; the Rockies are spectacular; the valleys are second to none. The abundant rivers -- which include the Elk River and the Kootenay River -- are rivers that are known worldwide. Hon. Speaker, all these aspects of the East Kootenay contribute to the immense beauty that I represent.

This immense beauty that I was just talking about actually provides a backdrop for that diversity, which the people of East Kootenay are striving for, and for that perfect destination point not just for tourists across the province but also for people that come here from around the globe. Hon. Speaker, the natural beauty and the natural appeal for this area is making its way known, and it is in fact contributing to the diversity of our economy in the region that I do represent.

In recent years we've seen ski resorts being developed throughout my area and also, I might add, through the Columbia River-Revelstoke area, which is not very far away from where I live.

We've also seen other outdoor four-season recreational aspects and ventures. These ventures are increasingly becoming more prevalent as we move forward in our regional economy. As I've said, for the past many, many years, our regional economy has been sorely dependent on resources that fluctuate up and down and has many times had devastating effects on residents that live in the East Kootenay.

One area that I'm very pleased is developing is destination resort operators, like Charlie Locke. We've heard about Charlie Locke before. I've had the opportunity to stand here and tell you about Charlie and the work he has been doing in the East Kootenay and on the ski resorts in Fernie and Kimberley. Charlie Locke has come to the East Kootenay from outside the province to expand and to establish a business, because he saw the potential for growth and success in our area. He also found -- and many of the people he has worked with have found -- a government in Victoria that is approachable and receptive to new business proposals. I'm really pleased about that.

[1015]

E. Walsh: I'm glad other people agree too. Government understands the need to provide support for developing industries like tourism, film, high-tech and environmental technology so that our region and our province will have a varied and robust economy in the years and the decades to come. I can foresee many, many robust and very good economic centuries to come. Supporting these changes not only means working as a government to bring investment to our province by offering research, development, marketing and taxation incentives; it also means committing to the development of the infrastructure of a new economic growth. It means development of an infrastructure and economy that we require.

The need to improve local infrastructure in order to increase economic opportunities in our region was one of the top priorities that was identified at the Kootenay economic summit, which was held in the West Kootenays. Our investments in roads, hospitals, schools, water and sewer works are a direct response to the calls for this kind of support that we have heard from the private sector and from the citizens of our communities. That's from all of our communities.

[ Page 14500 ]

I know that this is happening. I had the opportunity to view about five magazines in the past on the economy and the ski hills in the region and what they are doing for the region. I was really pleased to read -- these are international magazines -- that they are internationally renowned now for their skiing and recreational aspects. I'm really pleased that it is in a beautiful part of this province. Hon. Speaker, this is how government and industry can -- and do -- work together.

In other parts of the province, the opportunities for diversification are different than those in the East Kootenay. But in the East Kootenay our opportunities do lie in tourism, they lie in ecotourism, and they rely on the hospitality industry. That is why Fernie is now a world-class ski resort.

And that is why the Ktunaxa-Kinbasket, the tribal council, is in the process right now of building the St. Eugene Mission resort near Cranbrook. I am immensely proud of this project in particular, because this is an example of how cooperation can create opportunities for all British Columbians. The first nations in our region are working to take control of their own future through this new resort. I've had the opportunity to fly overhead; I've seen the work that's being done at that resort. The golf course, the resort. . . . The golf course right now, I say again, is second to none. I encourage everyone to come out and to visit us and share in the golf course experience that the Ktunaxa-Kinbasket have to share with the people of the province and those outside the province.

[1020]

It's a demonstration that education is not just about basic learning; education goes beyond that. It's about developing skills that drive our workforce and our economy. It's about that economy and the workforce for our communities and the regions that we all represent and the province that we represent.

As you heard in yesterday's throne speech, education is no longer just about kindergarten to 12. It's about gaining those skills, and it's about gaining those opportunities to succeed as individuals and as families, as communities and as a province. I know the importance of educational skills and skills in the workforce and the opportunities that people need today to further their career goals and to further the community goals that every community is striving to achieve.

I feel even more so because I do have a granddaughter and a grandson growing up today, in today's time, and I know how important it is going to be for them. . .

An Hon. Member: A granddaughter?

E. Walsh: Yes, a granddaughter and a grandson.

. . .to have stable educational programs, environments and economies in place so that they can actually meet those challenges of the future.

This is particularly important to British Columbians, such as myself, who live in rural areas and who feel the burden of additional costs to access quality education. I am pleased that the government will continue to look at innovative ways to make post-secondary education accessible and relevant to people in the East Kootenay. It is a challenge for people that live in the rural communities, and it is a challenge for local rural colleges. I am pleased that our government is working with the rural colleges and with the rural communities to address the challenges that they face today.

As we enter the new millennium, government must also continue to take into account the unique challenges of providing health care in rural areas of British Columbia. Now, as a paramedic, I'm not a stranger to many of the challenges that we face in the rural areas of the province. I've spoken to many of you in the past about some of the challenges that we face and some of the challenges that the communities face in accessing and ensuring ongoing health care, everything from home support to surgical to long term to chronic -- or just seeing a doctor.

It's not unusual to hear of individuals having to pay for ambulance transportation to urban areas. The round trips can take up to 12 hours. I've been on many of these transfers, and they're very difficult for people that live in rural areas. A 12-hour transfer for an individual is a challenge, and it's not one that many people that are very close to these hospitals ever have to experience.

In my riding we are already hearing about the effects of Alberta's move to American-style for-profit health care. Stories abound of wealthy people jumping the queue for eye surgery. I am pleased that government will continue to make health care a priority and will continue to uphold its commitment to publicly funded, accessible health care for all British Columbians.

[1025]

[ Page 14501 ]

Hon. Speaker, we are at the start of a new millennium. What we do now will have a tremendous effect on our future and what we do tomorrow. Strengthening our communities and our families and improving upon the delivery of the services that we provide as a government will be a measure of how our province succeeds in the years to come. As we stand on the brink of this moment, and as we stand on the brink of this very, very important transition, I extend my invitation to every member of this House and to every member of our communities in this province to take up this challenge and this invitation that our government is extending today.

The future is about all of us. It's not just about the people in this room, it's not just about the people in this building, and it's not just about the people in this city. The future is about all of us, and the most important thing that residents of East Kootenay and this entire province must know and understand is that we as government are listening. Most importantly, I go back to what I said earlier about the residents of East Kootenay: we are ready to act.

I am proud, hon. Speaker, to move the throne speech. This speech engages with the issues that matter to the residents of East Kootenay and to the residents of our entire province, and it lays out a plan for all of us -- a map that we can actually follow and that will lead us into our future.

G. Robertson: Mr. Speaker and hon. members of the Legislature, it's my pleasure to address you this morning and second the throne speech on this, the fourth session of the thirty-sixth parliament in British Columbia and the first session of the twenty-first century.

[1030]

I am really looking forward to this new year and indeed new century in British Columbia with both optimism and excitement. There has been a huge turnaround in this province over the course of the last two years. Unemployment in British Columbia is now at its lowest level in almost 20 years, and capital investment in this province is higher than the national average. A big part of this recovery is the result of our forest industry moving from a $1 billion loss in 1998 to a $700 million profit in 1999, a turnaround of $1.7 billion and one of the biggest turnarounds in the history of this province. All indications are that this year will be another good year for the forest industry and for forest-dependent communities throughout British Columbia.

Our challenge, then, over the course of the next year, is to build on this recovery and work for a sustainable future for all British Columbians, especially for our rural communities and economies. We need to diversify our economies, adding value and jobs in areas of forest resource development. We also need to support our rural communities by ensuring responsible and sustainable resource development while still providing access to resources so that we create jobs for our communities.

Of course, one of the keys to diversifying our economy is to ensure that education, skills and training are available to all British Columbians, so that everyone gets a chance to participate in our ever-changing economy. As a parent, I wish, not only for my own children but for all the children in British Columbia, an opportunity to excel in this new economy in ways that my generation could never have imagined. This means that we need to invest in our children by building the best and the most innovative educational system in this country.

In my own riding, our government has made these investments by investing almost $70 million in new school infrastructure over the last seven years. There are currently several projects underway as I speak here today. At Phoenix School in Campbell River we have completed an expansion totalling almost $5 million. At Southgate School in Campbell River there is a currently a multimillion-dollar expansion that is ongoing to vastly improve the learning environment for students there. At North Island Secondary in Port McNeill we built a performing arts centre and a woodworking shop, and at Sunset Elementary we're putting in a new central heating system that will protect our students' health by ensuring that they breathe good, clean, fresh air. The list goes on. There are also new schools in Gold River, Sayward and Port Hardy; and in Campbell River the innovative Timberline School is a joint venture between school district 72 and North Island College.

All of these investments are really important, because access to education, skills and training is really going to define who we are as British Columbians in a new global economy. This government recognized this several years ago, and as a result of our commitment and investments, we have become known as the education province. We have taken steps like making adult basic education free for everyone in this province. We have also reduced class size, eliminated portables and hired more teachers so that our children have the opportunity to get a good educational foundation at a very early age.

We have also made sure that our public schools are connected to the world through the PLNet program. Through this wonderful program, we are bringing the Internet into our schools and classrooms and ensuring that students get a head start in this new wired world. I'm proud to say that the North Island was one of the first areas in British Columbia that was wired for this provincial learning network. This is a proud achievement that will expose students in my riding to ideas and knowledge from around the globe.

[1035]

[ Page 14502 ]

Of course, investments in our children don't stop with education. It also means taking the pressure off working families by increasing access to child care in this province. Every day in my community I see working parents trying to make ends meet while also shopping for groceries, getting their cars fixed, picking up their dry-cleaning and trying to raise their children. This is an incredible load to carry, and that's why I'm pleased that this government is going to take the first steps towards building a publicly funded child care system. These are investments in our schools and our kids -- investments that we can all be proud of as a government and as British Columbians. However, in order to build truly sustainable economies, we also need to focus on our resources and our environment.

As I travel throughout the North Island, I marvel at the splendour and the diversity of our landscapes -- our mountains and glaciers; our great forests, oceans and lakes; our clean water; and our breathtakingly clean air. I marvel at these things, but I also know that we face some great challenges in a world of ever-changing technologies, commodity markets and values.

Today's resource market is a very different one from the one that I started to work in 25 years ago. Today it's not just about how much wood you can haul out of the forest; it's about striking the delicate balance between providing access to resources while also protecting our natural environment. As a government, we have tried to strike this balance over the last decade or so.

We worked with the forest corporations of this province to implement forest practices that are second to none in the world today. Much work has been done over the past several years to ensure that the Forest Act and the Forest Practices Code in British Columbia are cost-effective while still encouraging efficiency in the industry and sustainable utilization of our forest resources. We also inventoried our forest resources and set annual allowable cuts to sustain our communities, our workers, their families and our forest resources.

Today forest corporations in British Columbia are seeking international certification under the Forest Stewardship Council, ISO and CSA standards to ensure access to global markets for wood products and pulp. These corporations are going well and beyond the Forest Practices Code to ensure that they have a place in today's global economy. Of course, one of the challenges we still face is making sure the buyers of B.C. forest products understand and appreciate the transition that the forest industry has undergone over the course of the last decade. This will be no easy task as we struggle to counter campaigns that distort or completely ignore the innovative practices underway in our forests in British Columbia today.

One way to do this, of course, is to highlight our record on environmental protection in our province. In the throne speech we committed to reaching our goal of protecting 12 percent of British Columbia's land base by enshrining British Columbia's 550 parks, 141 ecological reserves and 12 special protection areas under a new parks and protected areas act. This is an important step and one that will go a long way to enhancing our reputation as a global leader in environmental protection. Not only will these parks and protected areas be a living legacy for all British Columbians, but they will also provide economic opportunities in the form of tourism and recreation that will enhance our rural economies and communities and create jobs and opportunities for our families in a sustainable and responsible manner.

[1040]

We are also exploring new sectors within the fisheries industry, giving communities a chance to grow and diversify. We have several new shellfish projects underway in the province, including a number of tenures on the North Island. The Quatsino band was awarded two shellfish tenures earlier this year, and there is more to come.

There is also an abalone pilot project in Sointula that will be growing and farming abalone, which was funded through the community enterprise program with some help through that ministry. I'm very proud of that project and the people in Sointula.

Fisheries Renewal has also funded a number of land-based fish projects at the BHP Utah site in Rupert Inlet on the North Island. These projects are the first ever in our province, farming crayfish and sturgeon for international markets. Fisheries Renewal has done a good job in helping to strengthen and diversify our communities on the North Island and throughout coastal British Columbia.

[H. Giesbrecht in the chair.]

Another innovative program that has helped these communities is the small business forest enterprise program, which has worked very well on the North Island over the course of the last two years. As a result of this program, almost 60 percent of the wood in the small business program on the North Island has been awarded to firms located on the North Island. There have been a number of small business sales and three non-renewable forest licences awarded to North Island firms. I would like to thank the member for Cariboo South, the former Minister of Forests, for all the work he has done on the North Island for my communities and workers. This has created jobs and opportunities for North Island communities, and I'm really proud of that. It shows you what good forest policy can do to enhance communities and jobs.

On a bigger scale, the huge cogeneration plant at Elk Falls is well under construction and will be finished in a few months. This was a joint partnership between B.C. Hydro and Westcoast Energy and is a great example of how government

[ Page 14503 ]

Of course, building strong communities means more than focusing just on the economy. It also means ensuring that everyone has access to high-quality services and, in particular, access to health care. As a government, we have made it a commitment to protect health care over the last nine years. I am pleased to say that this year's throne speech has promised to build on this record. Health care is a priority for my constituents and in fact for all British Columbia families. That's why our government is making great inroads and supporting our communities with good health care and state-of-the-art capital projects.

On the North Island we have improved the access to health care through investments, like completing the Depew wing in the Campbell River hospital and building Yuculta Lodge, a project that will soon be underway, a 100-bed multilevel continuing care facility that has been approved for Campbell River. I'm really looking forward to pouring concrete on that project. This will be a welcomed addition to Campbell River and the North Island.

[1045]

We have also focused on improving health care in rural communities through the North Island. A few weeks ago the mayor of Tahsis and I broke ground for a new million-dollar health care clinic in Tahsis that will vastly improve health care services for people in that community.

There's also a $2 million expansion to the Port Hardy Hospital that is well underway. I toured that construction site a couple of weeks ago. This expansion is going to provide ten badly needed continuing care beds for the Port Hardy Hospital and the area.

Alert Bay on Cormorant Island will be getting a new hospital in the near future. Funding for this project has been approved, and construction will begin this year. I am really proud of our government's commitment to the North Island and look forward to building new facilities that will provide state-of-the-art health care for all North Islanders.

Of course, this government recognizes that new funding isn't the only answer when it comes to improving our health care. That's why we committed in the throne speech to instituting the B.C. health innovation forum, which will bring together health care providers, administrators and experts from British Columbia and from outside the province to look for innovative solutions to improving patient care in this province.

While we all look forward to new solutions in the health care sector, I think we should also recognize past achievements. Today British Columbia spends approximately $8 billion annually on health care; that equates to approximately $2,000 per capita per year. In comparison, Alberta spends $1,600 per year. In other words, in British Columbia we spend approximately $400 per capita more on health care than Alberta does. If you try and make sense of this difference, you will realize that if we were to go the same route as Alberta, we would have to cut $1.6 billion per year out of our health care system. This would mean passing off these cuts onto patients through hospital closures and laying off our staff in these hospitals. This is not the direction that British Columbia wants to go in, and I am proud to say that this is not the direction that this government is going in either.

There is no question that there are some real challenges in health care in British Columbia today.

An Hon. Member: Tell the truth.

G. Robertson: Hon. Speaker. . . ?

An Hon. Member: Carry on.

G. Robertson: I'll carry on.

There's no question that we have some real challenges in health care in Canada today, but British Columbians can be proud of the leadership role that we have taken in providing high-quality health care throughout this province. Now we have to continue to take a leadership role as we work with other provinces and the federal government to improve funding and innovation in the health care sector. All governments must make a commitment to preserving universality and a strong public health care system so that we do not head down the road of American-style for-profit medical care that would leave thousands of people in this province without access to basic medical services.

Our government has initiated a number of tax cuts in the last few years. Personal income tax has been lowered by 8 percent, and the Premier has instructed the Minister of Finance to target tax cuts for low- and middle-income earners. Last budget, our government lowered the small business tax to 6.5 percent, which is the second-lowest small business tax income rate in this country. More targeted business tax cuts will be introduced to encourage more job creation.

[1050]

[The Speaker in the chair.]

Something that is just as important as having confidence in the budgetary process is having confidence in the ability of the British Columbia assembly to do business for the people of British Columbia in a spirit of respect and dignity. That's why

[ Page 14504 ]

There is no question that the throne speech sets some challenging goals in front of us. It sets forth an innovative vision and direction for this great province, a vision that includes universal health care, improved educational opportunities for our children, reforming governance in this province, sustainable resource development and an environmental vision that will be the envy of this world. It has been a great pleasure to support this vision by seconding the Speech from the Throne. I look forward to working with my colleagues over the coming legislative session as we work to ensure that all British Columbians have the opportunity to succeed and prosper in this new millennium.

G. Janssen: It is a privilege to stand up in the year 2000 in this venerable chamber to start the new millennium off with a reply to the throne. We are certainly looking for new beginnings in this century, as was mentioned in that throne speech read yesterday by the Lieutenant-Governor.

We have in this chamber perhaps the oldest and certainly the most antiquated set of rules in the British parliament. We must modernize the way we operate in this building and in this chamber -- the way we govern ourselves in British Columbia. Thanks to the former member for Delta South, Fred Gingell, who proposed sweeping and forward-thinking changes to the way we operate in this chamber, we can look forward, I hope, to the cooperation of the opposition in putting forward some of those changes that Mr. Gingell put forward, so that we can move into a modern parliamentary system that exists in many other countries of the world today.

For not only has the world changed dramatically over the last 100 years, but our nation and our province have changed. Colonialization is a thing of the past. Canada no longer has to go to another country to change its constitution, and we have the right to live and govern ourselves the way we want, not the way another nation has determined.

Over the last century, we have developed universal education. Before, only the privileged had access to higher education -- higher education being past perhaps grade 6. We have frozen tuition fees and have among the lowest tuition fees in the country and certainly in North America, if you look at the American model. We have three new universities in British Columbia in this century. We have built numerous colleges that didn't exist previous to this century.

Thanks to visionaries like Tommy Douglas, we have universal health care, we have hospitalization, and we have access to some of the best health care not only in British Columbia and Canada but in the world.

Women were recognized in this last century as people and were given the right to vote. Before, they were chattels; they had no rights. Rights were disposed on men only. Indo-Canadians and Chinese also achieved the right to vote in this last century. And yes, our first nations people now have the right to vote. People that lived in this country and formed our province were denied the right to vote in their own land.

[1055]

We've also had the right, over the last 100 years, to form a union, to seek security of employment, to equality in the workplace for everyone and to equal pay for equal work.

During the period leading up to the millennium, we saw the advances on television and in the press -- numerous stories for months on end about advances made by mankind. Cars, planes, computers, space travel, TV -- even TV dinners, microwaves and dishwashers -- were all put forward as the boon as to how we, as a society, developed. But the social changes made as a society were hardly mentioned. What I mentioned before -- the right to vote, equality, education and hospitalization -- was hardly talked about. No, they were not very sexy. They didn't come in flashy colours or new models every year, but they have done more to shape our society and way of life than any computer or any space station.

I want to thank our parents and grandparents who fought for those changes and the former members of this chamber who had the foresight to bring them into law. Many of these people demonstrated -- some of them on these very lawns in front of this Legislature. They gave up days' pay, went on strike and -- in the case of the Regina Riot -- gave up their lives for what we enjoy today. I think we owe them a debt of thanks. As we move forward into this new millennium, I hope that this chamber can make the changes I talked about earlier so that we can modernize this institution and bring forth even more progressive legislation that will see even more dramatic change over the next century.

I also want to talk about changes that we made, first of all, in my community. In 1999 it was a busy and very eventful year in the Alberni riding. We saw a number of initiatives come to fruition as the millennium drew to a close: the start of the new West Coast General Hospital; more work on the passing lanes on Highway 4, known as the Hump. . . . That fulfils two more goals that I set many years ago for the Alberni riding. The Highway 4 east project, phases 1 and 2, was done for $3.5 million, with local labour and equipment, which allowed operators and owners to pick up some of the much-needed work, as heavy snowfalls had kept them out of the bush last year until early May. Still to come is phase 3, now in the planning stages. The final goal is the complete resurfacing of the highway from Port Alberni right through to Parksville.

The new $40 million hospital saw its start and quickly got ahead of schedule. Although the successful low bid was not a local one, many workers are being hired locally. These projects are always difficult. Because of their size and nature, they are bid provincially. However, the provincial fair wage applies to both the hospital and the Hump projects.

[1100]

[ Page 14505 ]

We will also be rebuilding what is known as Smith-Debeaux-Batty roads, which lead to the mill. The opening date will be the event on Vancouver Island, and it will be held on July 1, Canada Day, as we start this year 2000. I hope that all of you spread this word and come to our opening to celebrate what is truly a heritage and must be celebrated.

The United Nations' designation of the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO biosphere in 1999 was another historic milestone. The official opening is scheduled for May 5 this year, and we expect many dignitaries from around the world, including the Prime Minister, to attend that event. Steeped in culture and heritage, this unique place in Canada is recognized by the world as a place of international importance. The ultimate objective of the biosphere reserve program is to institute a comprehensive global network of protected representative areas that demonstrates sustainable development and supports scientific research and monitoring; involves local people in management; encourages education and training in resource management, education and environmental protection; and fosters regional development. This is the first biosphere in British Columbia, the seventh in Canada and also the first to receive federal funding in the form of a legacy grant. The official announcement is planned for May. The Prime Minister, Premier and many other dignitaries are expected to attend.

We are proud to live in the riding that encompasses both the McLean's Mill National Historic Site, the Pacific Rim National Park reserve and now the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO International Biosphere Reserve. We all remember when Clayoquot Sound was on the front pages of virtually every newspaper in the world. The largest mass arrest ever to take place in Canada -- over 900 -- took place in Clayoquot Sound. There was great controversy from local people, from international people, from people involved in the Earth movement and in the green movement and also from the aboriginal peoples that have inhabited the area for thousands and thousands of years. We see now, with the designation of a biosphere, a celebration not only of what has happened in the past but how we are going to move forward into the future and how conflicts that develop around environmental concerns of resource management in our riding can be resolved.

[1105]

Also, the passing of the arena referendum was a tremendous vote of confidence in the Alberni Valley. I was pleased to be able to work with the millenium grants program committee to provide a provincial contribution to celebrate this millennium and the arena in the amount of $100,000. During my time as MLA in Port Alberni we have seen the expansion of Pacifica Papers, the pulp mill in Port Alberni, with the Nexgen plant.

We have acquired two new social service buildings, a new mental health building, a new ambulance station, new North Island College, new hospital and now a new forestry office, as well as retaining our government office that would have been integrated with Nanaimo.

Interjection.

G. Janssen: The member talks about industry. I will talk about industry. I will talk about how forestry has re-established itself in the Alberni Valley. In 1981 when the recession came, and 6,100 worked for one company called MacMillan Bloedel. . . . That was reduced almost overnight not because of the Asian flu, not because of the government in power, but because of an economic downturn that we saw around the world. Over 2,500 people lost their jobs.

But we have seen a remodelling. There's no longer one tree farm licence in my riding, tree farm licence 44. We have seen two major sawmills owned by Weyerhaeuser: the APD mill and the Somass value-added cedar sawmill. We have seen Pacifica Papers, as I talked about earlier, reorganize itself into one of the most modern fancy coated-paper pulp mills or paper mills in the world. We have seen the establishment of Coulson Forest Products, largest helicopter-logging operator in the province, if not in Canada, employing over 300 people -- about 170 in their sawmill. We have seen woodlots being developed; we have seen community forests being developed. We have seen Timbermil products, owned by the Pat McKay family as a new operator, and Toquart forest products operating on the west coast. We have seen a redevelopment -- totally -- in the Alberni region, not the way things used to be, but the way things were meant to be and the way things will be in the future.

So I say to the member: are there jobs? Yes, there are new jobs. In the last three months, there have been ads in newspapers asking people to apply for jobs not only at the pulp mill and at the two major sawmills but also at Coulson's mill and at Nagaard's and at other mills, because the economy has improved. New jobs are being created, and in fact, there isn't enough fibre to fill the orders. We will see, over the next year, full orders by all mills operating in the Alberni region.

As we are seeing across this province, companies have realized that there is a market, but the market is no longer in dimensional lumber. We are no longer the hewers of wood and the drawers of water, but we will lead through the education programs that this province has brought out, bringing forth some of the best-educated people in Canada -- if not in North America -- into a re-engineering of our resource industries that produces value-added products. The member for Parksville-Qualicum is going to speak right after me, and I am sure she will mention that Timbre Tonewood, which started in

[ Page 14506 ]

[1110]

We have seen in our riding a turnaround not just in the forest industry but also in tourists that come to the wild beauty of the west coast. We have seen the establishment of the Wickaninnish Inn, one of the premier hotels in North America now, which is full to capacity 85 percent of the time. Also, we have seen Tofino become the fifth-largest-growing area in British Columbia. Some of you may have seen the news on channel 6. It's so busy that you have to wait two or three months to start building a home there. We are seeing a lack of water supply, which we are addressing, because the community has grown so quickly that infrastructure hasn't been able to keep up. The new Roots development in Ucluelet, the new Coast Hotel that will be going in there, the new time-share condominiums that are going in at Ucluelet harbour -- one already complete and a second one starting construction either now or very, very quickly. . . .

We are seeing thousands more, if not a million, visitors a year coming to the west coast. There is a need to rebuild some of the infrastructure there. We're at the forefront of doing that, and we will become involved in rebuilding the highway out to the west coast -- a virtual trail that was paved by another government. We will be rebuilding that road over time to accommodate the massive numbers of visitors that will be visiting the west coast.

The next election will see the boundaries of the Alberni riding go back to the future, with the addition once again of Qualicum Beach, Bowser, Coombs and Errington -- once more included. This will increase the workload for the local MLA representing the area -- a mandate that I, hopefully, will be seeking -- and may necessitate the opening of more offices to deal with the very diverse riding that will be there. The riding is not quite as big as it was before, when it was ably represented for those many, many years by another New Democrat, Bob Skelly. Bowser, Gold River, Fair Harbour, Kyuquot and Tahsis were formerly part of that riding. It was a very difficult riding for Bob to represent, but he did it well and he did it completely, with the support of many people, from 1972 right through to 1988. He then went on to become a Member of Parliament. I want to thank Bob for all his many years of contribution. I know it will be difficult to fill his shoes as we add and expand the riding, and I hope to be able to do that.

British Columbia will continue to see growth and prosperity. The Asian markets have recovered. They're not fully recovered yet, but as they continue to recover, I think we will see an expansion of many resource sectors, such as the fishing community of Ucluelet, which is now the largest fishing community in Canada. There are 520 direct jobs and many more indirect jobs there. They're starting their production in the hake industry, hopefully over the next few weeks. We will see even more jobs expanded there. Wholey seafoods, which opened its new $3.5 million processing facility last year, is thinking of running year-round if it acquires enough fish, such as hake and pollock. They have a tremendous marketplace down around the I-5 corridor. Other people are looking at those markets.

[1115]

As I said at the beginning, I hope that we in this chamber, with some consultation with the opposition, can come to a new way of doing business to meet the challenges that are developing outside of this chamber by British Columbians who are finding a new way of doing business out there. Hopefully we can transfer that into this chamber and find a new way of cooperation and doing business here.

J. Reid: It's my privilege today to rise and respond to the throne speech. To do that I not only listened very carefully to the throne speech yesterday but have also read it many times. I looked at it for its intent and for its content and then also looked at it through the eyes of my constituents, to try to decipher what it would mean to them.

It is my responsibility as a member of the opposition to critically analyze it. It's certainly the government members' responsibility to add their comments as to why they agree with it, but it's not my role to do that. It's my role to look at what is at stake for the people of B.C. in this throne speech -- and what it represents. That's what my constituents have sent me here for. There was a very, very strong message that was sent to this government in the by-election, and I continue on with this message of criticizing the government's failings and holding them to account.

Looking at the throne speech, I began looking for the intent and looking at the key words that are in this throne speech. Initially, some of the key words that are reinforced and repeated are words such as "change," "confidence," "transparency," "respect," and "trust." To me the intent is obvious, and I would actually call the intent "let's pretend."

I think that intent is to pretend that the past has been erased. Let's pretend that the people sitting here in government today weren't here since 1991. Let's pretend that the fast ferries didn't take place and that there was no fudge-it budget. Let's pretend that that was someone else. Let's pretend that this government wasn't part of the decision-making that has resulted in lost jobs and lost economic opportunities, and let's pretend that these members of the government have not been responsible for taking B.C.'s place in Canada from first to worst. If the intent is to play "let's pretend," I know that the people of my riding will not play along. For them, nothing has changed. There might be a new Premier, but nothing has changed.

Another intent that I see in this throne speech is the effort or the desire to defuse the opposition, to talk about cooperation and to talk about cooling down hot politics. As I said, I

[ Page 14507 ]

[1120]

I will constantly remind the people of B.C. of the roadblocks that have been put up to business, roadblocks to economic growth. Sometimes I'm not sure whether that's through determined means of this government or that's just through incompetent government. But I know the people in my area that have been forced to give up their businesses. I know the people in my area that have moved away, that have had to put their houses up for sale or have been forced into bankruptcy. These are people that have come and talked to me, and these are people that have not been mentioned in the previous speeches, as businesses that have been successful in spite of this government have been rolled off and expounded upon. If I talked about the number of businesses that have been forced into failure or that have laid off employees, it's a very, very different picture.

I will continue to speak out for health care and for the utterly dismal record of this government and to tell those stories of tragedy and grief that have resulted from the lack of planning.

If the intent of this throne speech is to try to show the opposition in a bad light, it won't work. We're only telling the truth about a government with the worst record in B.C.'s history. Every day I have a new example of what's wrong with this province. Every day people are coming to me and telling me of how things are not working for them and how they're looking at moving out of the province. We all know that B.C. should be a tremendous place to live. We all know that there is incredible potential here in British Columbia. Yet we are buried in government and process, and we have ground to a halt. We have good intentions without results and words without a track record.

As the intent of the throne speech seems to be misleading, its contents would surely follow that. I'm going to be quoting from this throne speech. First in the throne speech comes the proposed budget transparency law. It astounds me. Of course people want to believe in the budget. Of course people expect that the government would report to them truthfully. It is incredible that this government would have to take the steps to protect the people of B.C. from this government and its former practices.

It's not just confidence in the budget that people want. This proposal actually evades the truth and the real meat of the issue. People want a government that can control its spending. People want a government that can govern without a deficit. People want a government that can pay down its debt. People want a government that can live within its means, and this proposed law doesn't address any of those problems.

People do not want this government and its totally out-of-control budgets, and this is the history of this government. This is the reality of this government. The confidence people are looking for is in sound fiscal management. This throne speech does not even attempt to address that question.

[1125]

Facts are one of the main ingredients of a business plan. This is something that is accepted. That's why the opposition keeps calling for the government to produce its business plans. It's amazing that with their desire for facts they haven't been able to produce business plans when requested, even though they have promised to do so. Whether it be for the fast ferries or SkyTrain or the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre, the people do need the facts, and this government has not been able to meet that need.

This line about the facts is one that I will continue to repeat throughout my speech, and I look forward to repeating it over the next months with this government. We will see what the intent of this throne speech is and whether the intent is the facts, all the facts and nothing but the facts.

There is another line in the throne speech about the government's desire to consult with British Columbians about the budget. I'll tell the government the best way to consult with British Columbians. If the government is really serious, they should hold an election. I believe that the people of the B.C. would love to tell this government what they think about their budgets.

This reference to consulting with the people, then, I believe is empty. I don't think the people will believe that the government is serious about consulting. If the government wanted to hear from the people, if the government wanted to follow the wishes of the people and if the government wanted to know they had the backing of the people, then it's obvious, as I already mentioned, that there's a very easy way of doing that, of establishing that and of establishing support for change. That would be to hold an election.

Barring that, how many people would this government need to hear from to feel that they had consulted and that they were listening to the people? If 100 people write in either opposing the budget or calling for an election, would the government listen? Or maybe 1,000 or maybe 10,000 or 100,000. . . . Consultation is empty unless there is some commitment to act.

There is another quote from the throne speech, and this section refers to "the need for a new culture of civility, open-

[ Page 14508 ]

Let's go back to the facts -- all the facts and nothing but the facts. Once this government starts delivering on facts, then I certainly will listen. The province does not respect the actions of this government -- with good reason. And these words are not going to change that.

This throne speech says that there is a need to cut taxes to fuel economic growth and a need to control the deficit. Well, those are great words. What do they mean? We're certainly going to be looking at the budget and comparing it to the throne speech to see where the facts are.

[1130]

So where are the jobs? The only sector of the economy that continues to grow is the public sector. How's that for an economic plan? Government is supposed to provide services to the public on behalf of the public, and service is not when businesses are stalled and stalled in endless bureaucracy. And that's what's happening. Government certainly has a role to protect its citizens; that's a valid role of government. But business is not an enemy, and the government is not able to conduct services for its people.

This government might care, but it seems incapable of solving the problems and incapable of making decisions that will move us ahead. I know that there might be people listening who are concerned with the ongoing criticism. Again, that's my role that I've been asked to play in this Legislature. But as far as criticizing goes, we haven't even gotten to health care. In the riding of Parksville-Qualicum and North Nanaimo. . . . That constituency has a greater-than-average percentage of people over the age of 65. So you could say that we're on the cutting edge of demographics, with the number of retirees that we have. A beautiful place to live, wonderful location, great climate, innumerable golf courses -- but we are slightly ahead of the rest of the province when it comes to demographics and people aging. You can look at this constituency of Parksville-Qualicum and get an indication of what's going to happen to the rest of the province over the next few years.

I'd be glad to share with anyone the number of calls I get in my office -- the calls of personal tragedy, where people are caught up in a situation where the health care system is failing them. I don't like dealing with those calls. I don't believe that we should be making excuses. We have to correct the situation, and we have to have a plan.

How long has it been since we've known that we need more nurses? That wasn't a decision that came yesterday with the throne speech. I think that goes back many, many years. The opposition has been calling for the government to make moves to create those positions for training and the dollars that are needed. What about long term care beds? This is just an astonishing inability to follow through on planning. For so many years, we have been given the statistics -- and I have them year after year -- on the number of beds that are required to suit the population over the age of 65. Those are the facts; we all have those facts. But this government has not been able to provide that.

So what do we see? We see the increase in waiting lists. We see the people with surgeries that have been cancelled. We see people whose care is suffering and whose quality of life is suffering. There is talk in the throne speech of the need for new equipment, and certainly at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital we have a need for MRI. I have yet to see the plan for that. Health care is not under control in my constituency. Access to emergency care is lacking; the hospital is overflowing. There aren't enough long term care beds, and we aren't up to date with equipment. Every day, every month, the problem is escalating. This is what is going to happen to the province. It's not on a slow, steady rise. It's a huge, dramatic problem that isn't being properly addressed.

[1135]

There's another statement in the throne speech: ". . .we" -- meaning the government -- "will stand by the sick and the infirm." Stirring words, but I haven't seen the evidence, and the people in my community haven't seen the evidence. What about the mentally ill? Where are they in this throne speech? Where are they mentioned? Of all the people that need our help and our support, where are we for them? I remember announcements on mental health that were made a year ago, and I know that those announcements haven't been fulfilled. We know that these people are in our communities. We know of them, we know them, and we know the pain they suffer. They mustn't be forgotten yet again. We don't need another retread announcement announcing the announcements that were previously announced. We need the plan, with completion dates and details, please -- the facts. Just give it to us straight.

Now, under the education section. . . . Well, how wonderful. We all want quality education; we all demand quality education. How sad it is that we educate our children, and then they leave the province to look for jobs. Where are the new industries that are flocking to B.C.? Where are the businesses that want to locate their corporate headquarters here? All the

[ Page 14509 ]

Businesses are cutting their workforces; they're shrinking instead of growing. We have a few examples of businesses that, in spite of this government, are successes. Just think what they could be if they actually had the economic support in this province that they need.

There's mention in here of high-tech businesses. I have a high-tech business in my community. It's done exceedingly well. We're very proud of it. It can't attract workers to B.C. They're trying to resist the move to Alberta right now. And here in the throne speech is the promise to establish a B.C. high-tech commission. It's really strange that in all my conversations with this high-tech business about their problems and their concerns, never once have they pleaded with me to see a commission established -- not once. So I'll have to go back to them, and I'll have to ask them whether that will induce them to stay in British Columbia.

[1140]

There's talk of jobs in the environmental sector and how the government will pick certain enterprises to support. I would like to remind the people of British Columbia that this government doesn't have a very good track record of picking winners and losers -- like when they were so farsighted that they thought the fast ferries were the wave of the future.

People of this province feel that this government is divorced from reality. People of the province, especially when they've heard these replies to the throne speech from the government members, are going to be wondering whether we're actually living in the same province. This throne speech has many nice-sounding phrases and good intentions. But if the intent of the throne speech is to make us forget the past, we won't. If the intent is to get the opposition to stop pointing out their failures and their record, we won't, because nothing has changed. The province is horribly in debt, our economy is stalled, and there is no change in this government. And those are the facts.

G. Hogg: Hon. Speaker, let me start by congratulating you on your newly elected position and telling you how I look forward to your balanced leadership within this chamber.

My colleague from Parksville-Qualicum and North Nanaimo referred, in the beginning of her address, to the issue of "let's pretend." She said: "Let's look at this province, let's look at this world, as though none of the things in the past number of years had occurred." She said: "Let's look at it as though we're starting afresh or starting anew." And as she so appropriately pointed out, that's not the reality. We have an uncomfortable recent history that we must deal with.

The throne speech has traditionally been presented to provide a vision, a direction and indeed hope for the people of this province -- a vision which would find its operational expression in the resource allocations of the budget, a vision that looks to the future from where we are today. A vision asks the question: where do the people of this province want things to be in the future? In a year? In five years? In ten years? Where will the legislation, the practices and the policies take us, and is that the place that we truly want to be? A vision is an outcome. A vision is a picture of the future; it's not a process.

There's a Japanese proverb that goes something like this: vision without action is a daydream, and action without vision is a nightmare. While processes lead to outcomes, these leave us short of the goals that we set. This year's throne speech provided us with a process, not a vision or an outcome. It didn't look from the vantage point of today. It didn't look from the vantage point of the realities that this province faces today and has had growing within the past number of years. It attempts to push the history of the past nine years of practice into the background. It attempts to change through words -- words which are not grounded in action. We need more than words; we need action.

[1145]

There are a number of themes which are reflected within the throne speech. The first theme talks about the new budget transparency law, and I quote from page 6: "My government recognizes the fundamental importance of transparency in budgeting. It is critical that British Columbians have the highest confidence in the budget numbers. Citizens may argue about the choices made in the budget, but they must have confidence that these choices and the facts and assumptions behind them are fully and fairly presented." I couldn't agree more.

Reference has been made to the statement, "The aim of this act is to give British Columbians the facts, all the facts and nothing but the facts" -- that legislation being the budget transparency and accountability act. The practices of the past nine years and the lack of confidence which the people of this province have in this government have made this move a necessity for this province -- legislation which will make it harder to hide true facts and the true state of the books. A vision of honesty. . . . This is a process, not an outcome.

The second theme that's referred to is the culture of openness, cooperation and balance. There is a balance we must strike "between the need for honest, forceful debate and a need for a new culture of civility, openness, respect and cooperation." The throne speech speaks to wanting to reach agreement with the official opposition on parliamentary calendars, end legislation by attrition, establish workable time lines and ensure a proper balance between member responsibilities in their constituencies and in the assembly.

Words cannot simply wash away the practices that we've been dealing with in this House. Words and actions are not distinct and separate from the people who possess them.

[ Page 14510 ]

The list of things which this government has talked about and has done is familiar to all British Columbians: the nine consecutive deficit budgets; the fast ferry debacle; health care in shambles -- waiting lists; waiting lists for post-secondary education facilities; in my riding, doctor, teacher and nursing shortages -- and that certainly goes throughout around the province. The list goes on and on. Hon. Speaker, today things are not good for British Columbians.

The issue of the third theme that's talked about is that of strengthening and looking at health care and looking at ways to modernize and deal with it. Again, the issues and concerns which we have been facing for years as British Columbians need concrete measures, strategies and plans to deal with them.

In the riding of Surrey-White Rock, Peace Arch District Hospital has patients in the hallway. Waiting lists are up to a year for some particular procedures. Top-priority equipment, capital purchases, have been delayed for up to three years while the ministry has had surpluses in some of its capital accounts -- equipment which is sorely needed by the practitioners at that hospital, equipment which helps to diagnose illnesses, disease and thus save lives.

[1150]

Hundreds of residents of Surrey and White Rock are spending thousands and thousands of their dollars in hospitals and clinics in Washington State so that they can receive timely and appropriate diagnosis and care. Their doctors are saying to them: "The only way that we can have timely responses to your needs and diagnose you is to send you to Washington State, because you can go there and immediately have your evaluations, your CAT scans, your MRIs, whatever might be necessary." One of the constituents of Surrey-White Rock went there just two weeks ago. She was told that her waiting list in British Columbia would be eight months to have an evaluation. She was able to phone Bellingham and have that same procedure completed that very day, get the results and return.

We can't have the dollars of British Columbians going to the United States; we know that our economy needs them. We know that we need to put in place the procedures and the equipment and the strategies necessary to keep our patients in British Columbia to deal with them. Things are falling apart. We have longer waiting lists for long term care beds. Our acute-care beds are filled with patients who should be in long term care beds. We need tangible action to respond to these needs, not just platitudes.

Hon. Speaker, given the time, I would move that we adjourn the debate until later this afternoon.

Motion approved.

Hon. D. Lovick moved adjournment of the House.

The House adjourned at 11:52 p.m.

[ Return to: Legislative Assembly Home Page ]

Copyright © 2000: Queen's Printer, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada