2000 Legislative Session: 4th Session, 36th Parliament
HANSARD
The following electronic version is for informational purposes
only.
The printed version remains the official version.
(Hansard)
TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 2000
Morning Sitting
Volume 18, Number 12
[ Page 14753 ]
The House met at 10:06 a.m.
Prayers.
Hon. G. Mann Brewin: It is my pleasure today to introduce a woman who is no stranger to any of us, the child, youth and family advocate, Ms. Joyce Preston. With her is her assistant, Laverne MacFadden. They are here today because her fifth report is being released now, as we speak. I was happy to meet with Ms. Preston yesterday. We covered a wide range of topics and issues, and we look forward to doing more of the same. Would the House please make Ms. Preston and Ms. MacFadden welcome.
Leave granted.
Hon. I. Waddell: I call continued debate on the budget.
Budget Debate
(continued)
I'd also like to add my support for the comments that have been made by my colleagues on this side of the House on the budget debate. It's our duty and obligation, in the role of opposition, to ask for accountability on the part of this government. I remember yesterday listening to the member for Coquitlam-Maillardville, who said that we agree on 90 percent of things. Actually, he's a little bit out; it's about 85 percent. It's the $3 billion overage in the budget that we don't agree on; the rest of it we probably do agree on.
[1010]
Unfortunately, we have a government that is out of control and appears to have little conscience in regard to their behaviour. In fact, they have shown time and time again that they hold the taxpayers of the province in contempt. There have been several opportunities for key ministers to accept responsibility and show remorse for their decisions, and they have chosen each and every time to be arrogant, with no apology forthcoming.The track record of this government has been one of fiscal mismanagement. There is little satisfaction in pointing out that families and communities in B.C. have been devastated by this government's policies. I don't believe that this government will restore the kind of hope and confidence that's needed to get us back on track. That's very evident in what they presented in this budget. The families and taxpayers of this province no longer believe anything that this government says -- promises, promises, and they have been repeatedly broken.
This Premier would have us believe that we are entering a new era, that this government has seen the error of its ways and is ready to reform. This proposed budget does little to alleviate the deep concerns of British Columbians. It lacks vision and substance. As in past budgets, it demonstrates a lack of understanding of what's going on in this province.
Our economy is in crisis, and we are deeper and deeper in debt. The Premier wants the facts and nothing but the facts. Well, British Columbia is the last in the country for economic performance. B.C. is worse off than the maritime provinces. We have moved from number one in 1992 to the last in the country. Families in B.C. have fewer jobs and opportunities than at any time in recent history. We have less money in our pockets after taxes and reduced spending power. We have had nine consecutive deficit budgets delivered to the taxpayers. Our public debt has risen to an unprecedented level of $36.5 billion.
B.C. has an unacceptable level of youth unemployment. Many of our youth are leaving for jobs in Alberta. We've seen consistently that a lot of our youth are leaving, and I don't know how we're going to stop the tide of people going. A comment that was made
Private sector investment has dropped like a stone because of policies of this government. Hon. Speaker, when will this government wake up to what's happening in our beautiful province? What a sad state of affairs we have here. Do you understand why the people of British Columbia are feeling so angry and frustrated? Do you see why they want an election now? Everywhere I go in this province, people are asking: "How do we get an election? How do we make it happen? What can you do? What can you do as MLAs to make it happen?"
I was over in the Kootenays in Cranbrook last Thursday. The first thing they asked me was: "How can we get an election?" My comment to them was: "Contact your local MLA and have her stand up and be counted in this House to make sure that she will make sure that the people of British Columbia are listened to."
Do you understand why the people of British Columbia are feeling so angry? Do you, hon. Speaker? The people in British Columbia understand. The government doesn't understand how a real healthy economy works -- that jobs are created by the private sector, not by government; that real
[ Page 14754 ]
growth and investments come as a result of consumer confidence and a positive business climate. That's something we don't have.[1015]
I had a good friend of mine speak to the chamber of commerce last Thursday. He's in the high-tech industry in British Columbia. He has parts of his company all over the world: Australia, United States, Asia, Europe. He's just moved into Northern Ireland, because the people from there came over five times. They came to British Columbia to see him five times -- flew into Vancouver. His business is in North Vancouver. The government cabinet offices are just on the other side. He indicated that the people there didn't take the time to take the SeaBus over to see whether he could establish more of his business here in British Columbia. This is wrong.This is what this government doesn't understand. They don't create jobs. It's the private sector that creates jobs.
Interjection.
B. Barisoff: The Minister of Tourism is indicating that he doesn't understand either. This government has been guilty of saying one thing and doing another. They would actually not take the time to go across the water. I don't know what it is. The member from North Vancouver will know it's about a 15-minute ride.
There's very little hope -- there's very little in this budget to raise our hopes -- that very much will actually change. There have to be much more bold measures taken if we are going to turn things around. As the opposition, we are quite willing to offer constructive ideas and solutions.
An Hon. Member: Name one.
B. Barisoff: Unfortunately, that side of the House doesn't listen to us anymore. They won't listen to the taxpayers of British Columbia. This government is out of control. The Minister of Tourism says: "Name one." If I could go back to the speech that this good friend of mine made -- and he is very successful in the province of B.C. -- he indicated that he happens to look over where the fast ferries are built. We spent half a billion dollars on fast ferries that don't work.
He indicated to the group there, the chamber of commerce, that if people had just listened -- if they had put that money into the universities of British Columbia, created some high-tech divisions in the universities, got young people to stay -- we would have created thousands of jobs. We would have created thousands and thousands of jobs for our young people -- and these are high-paying jobs.
He indicated that most of these people are leaving for the U.S. -- most of them for tax reasons. They are staying there. They're getting in excess of $100,000 (U.S.); that is equivalent to $150,000 (Canadian) a year. That's the kind of government we have. They're not paying attention. They say they're paying attention to the high-tech industry; they're not. Here's a company in British Columbia that wants to do business here and is being forced out of the country. This government is incompetent in its performance, and that's been demonstrated in several reports by the auditor general. The auditor general has shown us that this government is totally incompetent in what they do. But they don't pay attention.
Our new Premier, the former Attorney General, would lead us to believe that everything has changed in B.C. Once again we see a government that responds only after it's caught doing something wrong. The fudge-it budget fiasco has prompted this government to come clean with the people. They're going to legislate the truth. That's the hardest thing to imagine -- to think that a government has to legislate the truth. It indicates to me
I wonder how Mr. Stockell is going to do in the coming weeks and months, when we have to stand up, when the members of government have to stand up and say: "We're going to legislate the truth. No longer are we going to try to fool the people of British Columbia. We're going to legislate it here in this building, here in these chambers, to make sure that everybody tells the truth." Well, in the world I come from, that's an automatic. You should tell the truth all the time. You shouldn't have to have legislation to tell the truth.
This government is in its last days, when it's close to an election. Time, drastic measures are required -- perhaps even giving voters the facts and nothing but the facts. How did we ever reach this sad state of affairs? Many of my constituents have written to me about their ideas of what they felt this government's priorities should be. Let me just share a few of these with you.
[1020]
I have a letter here from a Mrs. Ingram. When you ask the question, where would you invest, her answer is: "Certainly not B.C." As a small business owner, she says there's been an appalling degree of suffering under the NDP government. "Could it be possible to bring back faith by reducing all levels of taxation?" They're not doing it.I have another letter from Mr. Marv Little from Okanagan Falls: "Reduce the debt. Cut back on spending. Bring back health care to its previous level. Cut taxes." These are citizens.
Interjections.
B. Barisoff: Every time we read from the citizens of British Columbia, they get angry.
Here's one from a Ms. Gartner: "Stop spending. Pay off the debt." Instead of stopping spending and paying off the debt, we've gone $3 billion further in the hole -- $3 billion.
Now, I hope people at home understand that that's costing us $7.7 million a day in interest. Do the members on that side of the House understand what you can do with $7.7 million a day? We could build schools and hospitals without any debt. But you know, hon. Speaker, these are the people that are on the side of big banks. They want to pay more and more interest. We could look after the farmers of British Columbia with just one day. We could look after the fruit growers in the Okanagan with one day of interest. The grain growers in the Peace River -- we could look after them with another day of interest.
Look at the farming communities that we could look after with just a few days of interest. But this government believes that they are going to go farther and farther into debt. It's unbelievable that we have got another $3 billion in debt.
Let me read another from a lady in Midway, Joyce Stansfield. This reads: "This is what I see for years in the future -- debt, debt, debt. No more megaprojects at taxpayers' expense -- i.e., the convention centre and fast ferries. All that wasted money for two projects would have given us many more hospital beds and funding for more nurses. We might have a few dollars left for new schools free of mould."
[ Page 14755 ]
These are just a few comments made by individuals. This isn't made by the opposition. These are people out in the public that are making these kinds of comments. They are concerned; they are real people. They are concerned with what is happening. The members on that side of the House say: "We are building our future." Well, we are not building our future; we are mortgaging our future. We are mortgaging our children's future forever and a day.
My constituents have lost confidence in the ability of this government to do their job. They want an election; they want an election now. That is the first thing they comment on. They want it exactly now. This government no longer has the moral mandate to continue governing. The moral mandate, when you see what they've done to this province
An Hon. Member: Which they don't have.
B. Barisoff: A good indication -- the morals that they don't have. Good comments.
In health care, the funding that this government brags about is the highest spending in the country. I come from the South Okanagan. The Okanagan Valley needs so many more long term care beds that it is unbelievable. This government does nothing for them -- absolutely nothing. We have a small hospital in Oliver that they are cutting funding from. They have cut the maternity section out of that hospital.
The minister last year indicated to me that that would not happen, that we would lose no services in small hospitals. But barely a year has gone by, and it has happened. Barely a year has gone by, and now they are saying that they should do away with a few of the acute care beds. That is wrong. I don't care who it is.
[1025]
If the Minister of Small Business and Tourism wants to sit over there and say that they are doing the right things, it is unbelievable. That member came from Ottawa. He knows what is wrong. But you know, he sits there and votes the same way every time -- every single solitary time.The constituents of the South Okanagan are concerned. They are concerned that the members on that side of the House are not standing up for what is right for all British Columbians, and they're not doing it. It sounds great, but when we examine the results, it doesn't add up. What are we spending most of the money on? The patients are still crying for help. The surgical lists are long. We have an extreme crisis in long-term care, particularly in the South Okanagan.
Unfortunately, this government does not know how to manage its resources. They have no way to measure their productivity or performance against dollars spent. I don't believe it would be a matter of how much money this government would have to spend. It would not go to where it was needed: directly to patient care. We see that year after year. We got $1.1 billion more in revenue last year, and we've got a deficit of another $1.1 billion. Plus, hon. Speaker, this government does not know how to manage its funds. It gets worse and worse. The budget talks about tax reductions to stimulate the economy. In reality, when the tax cuts are implemented, we will still be at unacceptable levels compared to other provinces.
Why are people leaving? Why are young people going to Washington State or going elsewhere in the country, going to Alberta? It is because this government calls the tax cuts they do "huge." They don't hold a candle to the rest of the country or the rest of North America. We live in a global economy, and this government seems to be isolated here in these chambers. I'm sure they couldn't go out, because if they went outside the chambers, they'd understand that people want an election. These measures do not go far enough to boost the confidence or even begin to change their directions.
Our resource sector has been severely damaged, especially in mining and forestry. The government has not been listening to the investment community. They don't listen to what's taking place in the entire province.
When you get the member for Kootenay saying that fast ferries are not a disaster, that's unbelievable. The fast ferries were a disaster. I get comments from my part of the riding. They're making suggestions that maybe they should haul them up to Kelowna, and we could have a floating bridge. We could put a couple of them together, and we'd get right across. I've had another constituent of mine suggest that maybe he'll come up, buy one of them, cut it in half and put it as a restaurant -- haul them into the interior and make a restaurant out of them. Other suggestions have been to put them out in the bay and put a big sign on them, so we don't forget what this government has really done.
An Hon. Member: Lest we forget.
B. Barisoff: Right. Lest we forget -- $500 million. And you get the member for Kootenay saying in the paper that the fast ferries are not a disaster. I can't believe that. How can she say that it's not a disaster?
In conclusion, we need to do much more than has been offered by this government. We need to cut personal income tax and small business tax even further. If we want to promote the economy, we have to do that. We need to eliminate the red-tape regulations that are strangling business and potential investment. When I listen to people, no matter where you are, they're speaking of the young people leaving, of businesses leaving. If we don't start to do that, we're not going to have a lot of businesses left.
It's now a matter of record that this government needs to be truthful in its budgeting practices. When you want to legislate the truth, you've got to know what's happened in the past. You've got to wonder. We need more flexibility with our employment standards and labour laws. We need to restore open tendering for all government contracts, to give all British Columbians a fair chance to compete for the work on taxpayer-funded projects. We need to negotiate treaty settlements that are affordable and contain equality and finality, and are certainty under the law.
[1030]
Interjection.
B. Barisoff: The member over there says that we're against
As I mentioned earlier in my talk, high-tech industries are leaving this province.
An Hon. Member: Nonsense.
[ Page 14756 ]
B. Barisoff: The member says "nonsense." The gentleman who talked to a good friend of mine, who talked to the chamber of commerce, indicated that he has no choice but to leave this province -- no choice whatsoever.We're not doing anything to keep our young people here. We need to make education an essential service. We've seen what happened in the past week. We need to make it an essential service.
There are many areas that need reform. The constituents of Okanagan-Boundary feel strongly about the issues. I know that British Columbians are desperate for a change. The auditor general continues to admonish this government for its record. We have great potential and great resources in this province, and I believe that we can restore British Columbia to its place -- the number one province in Canada and the best place in the world to live. I would ask this government to do the honourable thing: call an election.
Not long from now, we're going to be going into the fifth year of this government's mandate. Every year we've had a deficit budget. Every year they've said they're going to change their ways. Every year the same old thing happens. We need change; we need change now. If we don't change, we're getting ourselves into such a deep hole that we'll never get out. The members on that side of the House have to take the time, get out to the constituents of British Columbia and look at British Columbia as a whole. They've got to look at British Columbia and say: "What can we do that will serve the people of B.C.?"
Right now the best thing they could do to serve the people of British Columbia would be to call an election. The confidence of this province would turn around. Business would start to return. Our young people would start to have jobs in B.C. This government always says we talk negatively -- that we're always on the negative side. But what we're trying to show this government
All we're trying to do is convince the people on that side of the House to call an election. Have an election. If they're so confident in this budget that they brought forward -- that it's the right thing to do -- why wouldn't they take it to the people of B.C.? Why wouldn't they take the acid test and say: "This is what we believe. We believe that we should go further in debt. We believe that we should spend $7.7 million a day in interest. We believe that these are the right things."
Well, I think the reason that they don't do it is because they know what the people of British Columbia would tell them. They would tell them in spades that it's time for them to go. But they won't leave. The only way we're going to clear the air and restore the confidence in government is by having an election. I don't know how to put it any other way, but I know that the people from my constituency of Okanagan-Boundary
M. de Jong: Well, it is budget time once again. I should say, as is the custom
[1035]
So it's budget time. I was mindful of that fact when I visited a school in my constituency the other day and, as many of us in this House do, engaged in discussion with members of the class. I asked them: what is it that we do as elected officials? What is it that we are responsible for? A number of them put up their hands and said: "Well, you take my parents' money." I suppose that's correct. The taxation function is one that governments are responsible for. One other student said: "You spend my parents' money." That's true. Having collected those taxes, government is then charged with the task of determining what is going to become of that money.I guess those students, though they were quite young, understood and I think correctly identified that one of the primary -- if not the primary -- responsibilities for government is to set priorities about what to do with the public's money. Really, that's what budgeting is all about. I couldn't help but notice on occasion that members of the government, when they are debating this document, refer to the government's revenues. Of course, I react very negatively to that use of terminology, because I don't believe the government has any money -- any revenues. Rather, I prefer to remind myself on a constant basis that what we are dealing with in the document that we are debating here today is the public's money -- the people's money -- that government chooses to appropriate, by means of spending authority, by means of legislation that is passed in this House, and then purports to spend by means of the authority that is granted to it on a yearly basis in documents of the sort we are debating here today.
If members agree that a primary responsibility, if not the primary responsibility of government, is to serve as a guardian of the public purse, to serve as a guardian of the people's money when it is sent here, then I think it flows logically that we would ask ourselves during the course of this debate to what extent the present administration has enjoyed success or is deserving of our trust as it seeks spending authority for the coming fiscal year. How have they done? How has the government done? How do you rate a government on the question of its effectiveness as guardians of the public purse?
I've noticed this, as well, during the course of the debate. Members on the opposition side have chosen -- I think appropriately -- in conducting that analysis, to examine past years, past budgets, past performance. I have to say that members on the government side have shown a real reluctance to engage in a similar comparative assessment. I suppose that relates to some of the conclusions that they would be forced to draw, but it's unfortunate that they haven't been prepared to engage in that degree of self-analysis.
I'm not going to do what some of my colleagues have done, because I think they've done it very effectively. I'm not going to go back too many years; I thought I'd just go back one year. I thought I'd go back to Budget '99, the budget
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speech. I think it's appropriate to do that because, of course, the person who delivered that budget speech, after spending a very brief time out of cabinet, now returns today and sits in this chamber as the Deputy Premier. She has, I think it's fair to say, been rewarded. She has been appointed as the Deputy Premier for the province of British Columbia.[1040]
I think that if you were studying this from afar, you would say that, well, she must have done a great job. She must have done a very good job in her previous role as Finance minister in the province to warrant the Premier appointing her as Deputy Premier. So I thought I'd go back to her budget. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this, but I'll go back to Budget '99 and see what some of the watchwords or catchwords were, what the spin was back in '99 -- or whether there was a spin. Maybe there wasn't. Maybe the previous Finance minister gave us the straight goods, and the government followed through on that, and any criticism that I might be inclined to offer is unwarranted.
The first thing I noticed when I went back to that budget speech of a year ago was mention of the word -- there's actually a heading -- "transparency." The government told us back in March of 1999 that they were going to commit themselves to a new era of transparency -- remarkably similar words to what we heard in the budget speech this year. And yet implicit in what the government is saying this year, particularly the Premier
What's changed, Mr. Speaker? I went through the document of one year ago. You know, it's funny. When we have these budgets, these terms come up. I have to say this about the NDP: they are masters at seizing on the marquee words. Every year there is a new set of words. Last year, for example, it was about choices. I want to come back to that, because I want to rate the government on the basis of the choices it made. That's what this document, the '99 budget speech, said it was all about -- choices.
Here are some other blasts from the past. Whatever happened to the business lens?
Interjections.
M. de Jong: Yeah, we know that. If you subject yourself to the business lens, it costs you an addition ten bucks. That's right. A visit to the optometrist
Whatever happened to the business lens? We get these announcements from the NDP and have for the last nine years -- so much trumpeting this new approach, this new commitment, this new day, this new era. My God, they're even using the words from the material we in the official opposition send to our constituents.
[1045]
Interjection.
M. de Jong: Sorry; I hear the former Forests minister trumpeting
I'm constantly amazed by the degree and the lengths the government will go to, to repeat these words over and over and over again, as if saying it enough will make it so. Balance, choices, business lens -- we'll just keep talking about it. We'll just keep talking about it, and maybe people will believe that something has actually happened. Maybe people will believe that something has actually changed.
But it hasn't changed. Probably the two or three words that are stuck in my mind when it comes to recent NDP budget speeches was last year's talk about choices. The now Deputy Premier said that it was all about choices -- her words, not ours. Let's consider those choices. We can go through the litany of bad choices, whether it was choices about pursuing court cases that this government had no business pursuing, because they knew they were wrong
Hon. Speaker, it was the government's choice in a scheme that will take on, in the years to come, legendary status as an example of colossal government ineptitude and colossal government waste. It was the NDP's choice to forge ahead in the absence of all reason with a transportation project, a ferry project, that has cost British Columbians almost half a billion dollars -- with nothing to show for it. I don't know what half a billion dollars looks like. I have never seen $1 million. I've never seen $100,000. But I know what a $5 bill looks like.
Interjection.
M. de Jong: The Small Business minister has a fixation with a higher form of intelligence than he is accustomed to dealing with.
But I know what a $5 bill looks like, and here's what people in British Columbia understand. They understand that this government -- these ministers, this caucus, this NDP party -- have ripped 100 million $5 bills out of their pockets and flushed them down the toilet. I thought this one thing; I hoped for this one thing. I thought that one member -- maybe not a member of the cabinet, because we've already seen
[ Page 14758 ]
evidence of how they will conduct themselves in the supposed new era of transparency -- of the NDP caucus would stand up in this House during the course of this debate and recognize, admit, that this has been a colossal waste of taxpayers' money and apologize, if not to British Columbians as a whole, to their constituents, who are being asked to pay the price. I thought one might do that.[1050]
You know, maybe it's not too late, Mr. Speaker. We have in the last few days seen evidence of a new spirit of independence on the government benches. I'm going to talk about that in a moment, because I think the events of the last day or two have elevated the import of this debate to a new height. I'm not sure this budget is going to pass, and I'll explain in a few moments why I think that might be the case. Maybe I'm dreaming, but I have seen evidence to suggest -- and I've heard things over the past couple of weeks from members of the government bench -- that if they were true to their word, if they were true to what they have been saying, they won't be able to support this budget. Let's get to that in a few moments.
The government made their choices, and now they come to British Columbians, they come to this chamber, and they ask us for their trust. By the way, I should say that there has been a great attempt made by members of this administration, this NDP government, to somehow distance themselves from these decisions -- these choices that the Deputy Premier talked about last year in her budget speech. But let's be mindful of what the former Premier said -- actually the former, former Premier; I'm starting to have trouble keeping track of how many NDP Premiers we've had in the last few years
Well, hon. Speaker, either the member for Vancouver-Kingsway isn't telling the truth -- could that be the case? -- or there is a collective responsibility that none of the members of this government wants to admit to. None of them want to take responsibility for their actions, for their choices. Yet they come here today -- this week -- asking us to trust them to move forward and spend more of British Columbians' money. The member for Esquimalt-Metchosin said: "It's not as if over the last four years [the member for Vancouver-Kingsway] put people under some kind of hypnotic trance and they voted for all sorts of policy determinations only to discover that it was wrong."
G. Farrell-Collins: The amazing Reveen.
M. de Jong: Yeah -- Premier Reveen. My friend from Vancouver-Little Mountain says: "The amazing Premier Reveen." Well, it wasn't the case. They all supported it; they were all activists. They were falling all over themselves to be at the front of the line presuming to support what this NDP government has done to British Columbians. Let's not further mislead British Columbians about how we find ourselves as a province in this terrible, terrible financial circumstance. Let's at least, as a government, have the NDP accept responsibility for their choices.
I can't begin to remember how many times we have heard from the government about their debt management plan, their financial management plan, their modified financial management plan, the new all-improved modified financial management plan, the new revised all-improved financial management plan
An Hon. Member: With bleach.
M. de Jong:
[1055]
Here are these people who have driven us into a level of debt that is bordering on the unsustainable. Here's what I don't get about the NDP. If I am prepared to accept -- and you know, you may be able to convince me of this -- that they are motivated by a desire to give effect to positive public policy, which in their mind would help improve the lot of people in this provinceInterjection.
M. de Jong: I appreciate the fact that the Minister of Small Business doesn't want to be rated against his own record. I mean, I would be embarrassed as well. Yet that is what the people in this province are going to do. They are going to rate this government on the basis of its performance, and its performance has been miserable.
I think to myself about what could have happened, where those resources could have been better spent. My colleagues have talked about this; they've talked about elimination of the surgical wait-lists; they've talked about air ambulance trips; they've talked about RCMP officers to make our streets and cities safer. We've talked about the number of
[ Page 14759 ]
nurses -- 400. We've talked about the 200 teachers and the six MRI scanners. I mean, you can literally go through a list of how British Columbia would be a better place if this NDP government hadn't squandered hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars in pursuit of political folly. I haven't heard one of those members acknowledge that.I listened for the member for Mission-Kent, who as a minister and a member of the cabinet used to take great delight in periodically popping over to Abbotsford to assure people in that community that the hospital they'd been promised for upwards of nine or ten years was a top priority. He'd say that almost as if he was dangling a carrot out there, a top priority -- "Just wait; it's our top priority; it's coming" -- and when this budget was tabled, nothing. Nothing, because the government's choice was to flush a half-billion dollars down the toilet on one project alone.
That's what choices are all about. The Deputy Premier was correct in her previous
[1100]
As pessimistic as I was about the prospects for this budget meeting any of the objectives, of delivering on any of the promises, of doing anything to better the lives of British Columbians, earlier I did say that I had some reason to be optimistic that we might actually see, for the first time, a real debate break out. Members of that side of the House -- a few of them, at least -- might yet actually stand in this place and record their opposition. We saw it with a piece of legislation on the weekend; maybe we'll see it again.Here's why I think that might be the case. I read the letter from the member for Burnaby North. This is the budget, after all, that gives effect to pay increases for certain members of the civil service that the member for Burnaby North was adamantly opposed to. Listen to what he said on February 13, not that long ago. "I was dismayed," said that member, "by the absurd pay raises for senior government bureaucrats recently announced by the Premier. Like them, I was completely shocked by this untimely announcement. It is unconscionable, not well thought out, and I would go so far as to say it offends all those workers who had to accept wage restraint." He ends his letter, Mr. Speaker, by saying: "I certainly will be voicing my objections to this incredible move by the Premier."
That day is here.
An Hon. Member: Where's the voice?
M. de Jong: The time has come. He can voice his objection. He can do more than that; he can refuse to support the document that's going to give effect to that policy that he found unconscionable only a few weeks ago. Let's see if he has the courage to put his vote where his mouth is. Let's see if he has that courage.
I can't support this document. I don't think this document adequately, appropriately and accurately reflects the attitude that British Columbians have in assessing the performance of this government.
I am going to propose an amendment, and I'm going to do that now. I am going to move
I am going to move as follows:
[Be it resolved that the motion "That the Speaker do now leave the Chair" for the House to go into Committee of Supply, be amended by adding the following: "But the house regrets that the budget has not been balanced for nine consecutive years; the resulting debt has the fastest growing debt service costs of any province in Canada; the transfer of half billion dollar BC Ferry debt to the public pocket has now added an enormous burden to the hard-working people of this province; and, this government has not been accountable to the public and does not understand that a long term strategy is required in order to put B.C. back on the economic track it was on nine years ago."]In so moving the amendment, I hope -- because I know members on this side of the House will speak to the amendment -- that those members, like the member for Burnaby North, like the member for Vancouver-Kingsway, who was also, in correspondence, point-blank
Perhaps we are actually engaged in a historic debate. Perhaps members will emulate what the member for Victoria-Hillside did on Sunday and go one step further. Maybe they'll not just come in and inject themselves into the debate; maybe they'll actually have the courage to follow through. Wouldn't that be a novel thing? Wouldn't it be novel if members of the NDP actually put their vote where their mouth was, for a change? If they do that
I understand there is great division within the government caucus. I know that the thing is falling apart from within. If they can keep it together for one more day, maybe we'll hear from even one member of the NDP who has the courage to say: "Enough is enough. We don't have the credibility. We don't have the mandate. It's time to call it quits. It's time to call an election and let the people of British Columbia finally have the say that they've been clamouring for over the last four years."
Thank you for allowing me to participate in the debate.
[1105]
The Speaker: The amendment is in order.On the amendment.
G. Robertson: Members of the Legislature, it's my pleasure this morning to address you on the amendment to the budget and to speak to the budget.
An Hon. Member: Speak to the amendment.
G. Robertson: I'll speak to both in this, the fourth session of our thirty-sixth parliament in British Columbia and the first session of the twenty-first century.
Hon. Speaker, I'd like to begin by congratulating you again on your position as Speaker. You have done an admirable job over the course of the last few years as Deputy Speaker, and your new position is well deserved.
[ Page 14760 ]
I'm looking forward to this new year and indeed this new century in British Columbia with both optimism and excitement. There has been a considerable turnaround in this province over the course of the last two years. Unemployment in British Columbia is now at 7 percent, which is the lowest in 18 years. Capital investment in British Columbia this year is forecast to be much higher than the national average. British Columbia's inflation rate is the lowest in Canada at 1.2 percent, versus Canada's inflation rate of over 2.7 percent. Exports are up approximately 15 percent. There is no doubt that British Columbia's economy is on the rebound.Statistics Canada reported that British Columbia's economy created 15,000 jobs in February -- the highest number of jobs created by any province in Canada, and confirming, again, that British Columbia's economy continues to grow. Toronto-Dominion Bank senior economist Derek Burleton is optimistic, and he stated: "Looking ahead to this year as a whole, we're looking at 3 percent, which would be the best growth performance in B.C. since 1994." He went on to say: "We do see British Columbia consumers feeling a little bit better about things. Housing markets have been picking up. So in the broader picture, things are definitely brightening in the B.C. economy."
B.C. has the third-highest credit rating in this country. The debt-to-GDP ratio has risen from 19.1 percent in 1995 -- at that time the lowest in Canada -- to 21.8 percent this year. Debt-servicing charges are 8.3 cents on the revenue dollar, which is absolutely excellent. The federal government, in comparison, is facing debt-servicing charges of 27 cents on every dollar -- almost four times higher than British Columbia. B.C. is in good shape.
Part of the 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 over $1.7 billion. All indications are that this year will be another good year in the forest industry in British Columbia and good for forest-dependent communities and workers throughout our rural areas.
Our challenge over the course of the next year, then, is to build on the recovery and work for a sustainable future for all British Columbians, especially for our rural communities and our rural economies. We need to diversify our economies, adding value and jobs in areas of resource development. We also need to support our rural communities by ensuring responsible, sustainable resource development while still providing access to resources, so we can create jobs within 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 everyone gets an opportunity to participate in our ever-changing economy.
[1110]
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 never could imagine a few years ago. This means we need to invest in our children by building the best and most innovative educational system in this country. Our government is committed to doing just that.This budget invests in a healthy, well-educated, productive workforce to strengthen British Columbia's competitive position in a global economy by continuing to make long-term investments in education in this province. Tuition fees have been frozen again for the fifth straight year. This budget includes an $85 million increase to universities and colleges to restore core funding. Of this, $39 million will help to create over 5,000 new student spaces, including 800 high-tech spaces and 400 spaces for new nurses. And 1,000 new high-tech co-op spaces will be created with an additional $1 million investment. This will be really good news for universities such as the University of Victoria, which has one of the best co-op programs in this country. There will be 300 new teachers that will be hired to continue to reduce class sizes in the early grades. There will be over 100 new schools, additions and expansions throughout our province.
I took a look at some of the people that looked at our educational funding lists this year, and here's what they had to say. "Provincial Budget Good News for B.C.'s Largest Post-Secondary Sector. 'The budget recognizes the importance of investing in post-secondary education by clearly stating that a well-educated workforce is a significant advantage in the global economy,' says Neal Nicholson, president of the Advanced Education Council of B.C." "University Professors Applaud B.C. Budget." Jim Gaskell, president of the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of British Columbia said: "The new funding will go a long way to restoring program quality and student support services."
The list goes on. "College Educators See a Good News Provincial Budget." "CIEA president Maureen Shaw said that she was confident that government has provided a sufficient level of funding to significantly expand its commitment to access, to improve core operations and to fulfil its commitments to educators and staff."
"Students Applaud B.C. Budget Funding Lift for Post-Secondary Education: Call for Universities and Colleges to Put Resources into Classrooms
In my own riding our government has made many investments by putting over $70 million into new school infrastructure over the last seven years. There are currently several projects underway as I speak here this morning. At Phoenix School in Campbell River they have completed an expansion totalling close to $5 million. I was at that ceremony last Friday. The students were exceptionally pleased, and so were the parents.
At Southgate school in Campbell River there is currently a multimillion-dollar expansion that has been approved that will improve the learning environment for the students there. At North Island Secondary in Port McNeill, our government built, in conjunction with the school district, a performing arts centre and a woodworking shop at Sunset Elementary. We're also putting in a new central heating system that is almost $600,000 to improve the environment in the schools so that they have good-quality air when they are in the classroom. And the list goes on.
There are also new schools over the last few years in Gold River, Sayward, Port Hardy and Campbell River. There is the innovative Timberline School, which is a joint venture between North Island College and the school district. All these investments are important, because access to education, skills and training is really going to define who we are as British
[ Page 14761 ]
Columbians in a new global economy. The government recognized this several years ago. As a result of our commitment and investments, we have become known as the education province.[1115]
We have taken important steps like making adult basic education free for everyone in this province. This budget continues to reduce class sizes, eliminates portables and hires more teachers so that our children have an opportunity to get a good educational foundation at an early age.We have also made sure that our public schools are connected to the world through the provincial learning network system. Through this wonderful program, we are bringing the Internet into our schools in rural B.C. and our classrooms and ensuring that students get a head start in this new wired world. I am proud to say that the North Island was one of the first areas in British Columbia that was wired for the provincial learning network. This is a proud achievement that will expose students in my riding to the ideas and knowledge that are available around this world.
Through this tuition freeze, working-class families will be able to provide their children with the opportunity to get a degree or the training they need and to succeed in today's economy. As a result of our commitment to increasing access to our universities and colleges, British Columbia has now the second-lowest tuition rates in this country. We have come from the second-lowest participation rate in post-secondary education to the second-highest in this nation in only a few short years.
It was interesting. I was driving down on Sunday morning -- actually, just down on the new Island inland highway outside of Courtenay -- and I had seen a young guy standing beside the road hitchhiking. I don't generally pick hitchhikers up, but I thought to myself, hey, this looks like a young student, and I will give him a ride. Sure enough, he was coming to Victoria. He attends the University of Victoria. He is studying chemistry there.
We talked about the programs that our government has supported over the last few years, like tuition freezes. He was really clear. He works at a job -- and he works all summer long at two jobs -- to put himself through school. He comes from a working-class family. He is a really bright, hard-working young individual. He was really clear that if we do not keep freezes on tuition fees, students like himself will not be able to participate in post-secondary education. We talked about the Premier's Youth Options creating 17,000 jobs in British Columbia for youth. He participated in that program and thought it was excellent.
We talked about the minimum wage and the fact that he had to have a decent wage to make money to go to school and supported that. I also asked him: "What advice have you got for our government?" What he said was: "Keep doing the things you're doing, because that's important to the students from working-class families throughout this province." We had a really good conversation, and it was a pleasure giving the young gentleman a ride.
Of course, our investments in our children don't stop just with their education. It also means taking the pressure off working families by increasing access to child care in this province. This budget invests $14 million for a new before- and after-school child care program to support moms and families by taking the first steps towards building a publicly funded child care program. British Columbia's total funding for child care this year will be $144 million.
We've heard a lot from the opposition as to what they feel about this budget -- how it should be balanced. But what we haven't heard from them is how they would do this. I think that's important. I think they're getting a free ride, and I'll tell you why. In this province today, 80 cents on every revenue dollar goes to Health, Education, Children and Families, and Social Development -- 80 cents of every revenue dollar. That leaves 20 cents of every revenue dollar to run 17 other ministries and fund every other program that we have in this province.
I've listened to what the members of the opposition have had to say this morning with respect. I think it's incumbent upon them to tell us and to tell British Columbians where they would cut. Would they cut out 17 other ministries? Or would they cut in Health, Education, Social Development and Children and Families? If they would, what particular programs would they cut? Would they cut programs like child care?
Interjection.
[1120]
G. Robertson: I understand. Would they cut programs like child care for working moms -- $144 million? I think these are good questions. I think investments in our children are important. These are investments in our schools and our children -- investments that I think as a government we can be really proud of.However, in order to build truly sustainable economies, we also need to focus on our resources and our environment. Another area where our government is working to protect our natural resources is our fisheries. Fisheries Renewal B.C. has been a great success throughout our province, in particular in coastal British Columbia and on the North Island. This budget provides $7.5 million to renew our fish stocks and expand shellfish aquaculture. It also provides $1 million to further develop our freshwater and shellfish fisheries. Through this program, Fisheries Renewal B.C. has invested over $1.2 million on the North Island through projects like enhancing fisheries stocks and habitat, providing funds for diversifying our fish markets, adding value to fish products and supporting small businesses like Hardy Buoys in Port Hardy. This company is a great example of what an entrepreneur -- and a little bit of help from Fisheries Renewal B.C. can do. They expanded their plants, quadrupled their production and upgraded their facilities at the plant to national standards so that they would have access to international and national markets.
Fisheries Renewal B.C. and our government are also exploring new sectors within the fishing industry, giving communities a chance to grow and diversify. We have several new shellfish pilot projects underway in the province, including a number of tenures on the North Island. The Quatsino band was recently awarded two shellfish tenures earlier this year, and there is more to come. Fisheries Renewal B.C. has also funded a number of land-based fish projects at the BHP Utah mine in Rupert Arm on the North Island. These projects are a first-ever in our province, farming crayfish and sturgeon. Fisheries Renewal has done a good job to help strengthen and diversify our communities on the North Island and throughout coastal British Columbia.
Another innovative program that has helped these communities is the small business forest enterprise program,
[ Page 14762 ]
which has worked very well on the North Island over the course of the last two or three years. I'm really pleased that the individual who was responsible for much of that forest policy development work, the member for Cariboo South, is sitting beside me today. He did a fantastic job over the last two or three years, helping our communities have access to wood and really making a difference. I'm really happy about that.As a result of this program, almost 60 percent of the wood in the small business program in the North Island has gone to firms located on the North Island, and I'm really happy about that. Communities are getting access to their resources, when traditionally they'd come down to the lower mainland, and that would be the end of it. So there are some very innovative things happening.
There have been a number of small business sales and three renewable forest licences awarded to North Island firms, including Lukwa Mills, LeMare Lake Logging and the Gwa'Sala'-Nakwaxda'xw band. This, as I said, has created jobs and opportunities for North Islanders and their communities throughout the region.
Of course, building strong communities means ensuring that everyone has access to high-quality services and, in particular, access to health care. As a government, we have made a commitment over the last nine years to protecting health care. I'm really pleased that this year's budget builds on that record by increasing health care spending by $549 million. This funding increase will be used to provide 400 new spaces in colleges and universities to educate new nurses, hire an additional 600 nurses this year, recruit and retrain nurses with the best compensation package in Canada, and upgrade hospital equipment. There will be $42 million to open new continuing-care beds and increase continuing-care and community services, $2 billion in this year's budget for doctors' services, $6 million more to attract and retain doctors in rural areas -- and that's working, hon. Speaker. We're getting more doctors coming to rural areas, and our communities are very pleased about that. And $8 million more will be used to reduce waiting lists for children.
[1125]
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 in 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 the Yuculta Lodge, a 100-bed, multilevel continuing-care facility that has been approved for Campbell River and will be under construction this year. This will be a welcome addition to Campbell River and the North Island. We have also installed and funded a new CT scan in the Campbell River hospital, as well as providing hundreds of thousands of dollars for new equipment in the Campbell River hospital.Last year we increased the health care budget for the two community health councils and the Upper Island-Central Coast Community Health Services Society by over $1 million, including providing an additional $200,000 for hip and joint replacement. We've also focused on improving health care in rural communities throughout the North Island.
A few weeks ago the mayor of Tahsis and I broke ground on a new million-dollar health care clinic in Tahsis that will vastly improve health care services for the people in that community. There is also a $2 million expansion to the Port Hardy Hospital that was well underway. I was actually on the 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 Port Hardy area.
Interjection.
G. Robertson: Well, I see that the members of the opposition have problems with that, but I don't. I think we should invest in communities in our rural areas too.
I'm proud of our government's commitment to the North Island and look forward to continuing to build new facilities that will provide state-of-the-art health care not only in the lower mainland and Victoria, where they're building an almost $50 million cancer treatment clinic that will serve my constituents on the North Island. They're also doing a huge addition to Royal Jubilee as well. Those are the kinds of investment that we like in rural B.C., so that when our people come down when they have cancer, they don't have to take a ferry over to Vancouver. So that's the kind of investment I support.
I'm looking forward to what the opposition is talking about when they talk about cutting, because if you're going to cut, you're going to cut in health or education, or you're going to cut Children and Families, or you're going to cut from the working poor in this province. Rather than rhetoric, I'm looking forward to what your policy is, because -- you know what? -- you haven't got any policy other than rhetoric.
Interjection.
The Speaker: Through the Chair, please, members.
G. Robertson: I'm proud of our government's commitment to the North Island.
Interjection.
G. Robertson: I see. No, I know what you'd invest.
Of course, this government recognizes that new funding isn't the only answer when it comes to improving our health care system. 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 out of the province to look for innovative solutions for improving patient care in British Columbia.
In yesterday's Globe and Mail the headline was: "Rural Heartland Queasy about Klein Health Care Plan." Even longtime Tory supporters in Alberta are looking at Bill 11 with disgust and distrust. I'm sure the official opposition understands that well. It was only in 1996, when the B.C. Liberal Health critic suggested that British Columbians get ready with Visa and MasterCard. I continually hear the official opposition give accolades to Alberta and the Alberta government under Ralph Klein. This is not the direction that British Columbians want to go in, and I am proud to say that this is not the direction that this government is going.
Health care is a huge ministry and a huge commitment by any government. I think one of the important things in health care is the people on the ground that work to provide
[ Page 14763 ]
better health care in the constituencies and in regional and local levels. I'd just like to recognize the work of some of the people that are working on the North Island, such as Joyce Wilby, the chair of our health council in Mount Waddington. Joyce has done a wonderful job over the years. The Mount Waddington health council is one of the best health councils in this province, and her leadership and dedication to health care has really made a difference, along with all the members that participate in that board.The other person I would like to recognize is Bill McSeveney, the chair of the Campbell River-Nootka community health council. Bill has done a great job, as well, with all the board members that have participated in this community health council. There is no question that there are 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.
[1130]
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 in British Columbia. 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 an American-style, for-profit system that would leave thousands of people in this province without access to medical services -- not get ready with Visa and American Express or bills like Bill 11.I'm also pleased to say that this budget commits to continuing to provide real economic relief to working families in this province. Over the last few years our government has undertaken a number of important tax cuts. Personal income tax has been lowered by 8 percent since 1996. Our Finance minister has continued to deliver on this initiative by cutting personal income tax by half a billion dollars over the next two years in this budget. B.C. detached our provincial tax schedule from the federal schedule and will be reducing personal income tax this year by $225 million. That will go to middle-class and low-income working families. Over the next two years a single-income family earning $60,000 will see their provincial income tax drop by an additional 9 percent. A family earning $45,000 will get an additional 10.3 percent B.C. income tax cut.
I'm going to be doing some work on the comparison of provincial and federal taxes by province. They are outlined in the schedule in this year's budget document. I look at some of the schedules in here for a two-income family of four making $90,000 a year. The total provincial tax -- I think it's really interesting: B.C.'s is $9,415; Alberta's is $8,309. If you go on to Saskatchewan and across the board, Saskatchewan's is almost $12,000; Manitoba's is $13,600; Ontario's is almost $2,000 more than British Columbia's; Quebec's is close to $8,000 more; New Brunswick's is over $1,000 more; Nova Scotia's is over $1,000 more, and the same with Prince Edward Island; and Newfoundland's is over $3,000 more provincial tax than we pay in this province. That's total provincial tax. It means provincial income tax, net child benefits, property tax, gross and net sales tax, fuel tax, provincial direct taxes, health care premiums and payroll tax. B.C. is positioned better than any other province in this nation, except for Alberta. We keep hearing about Alberta, and we understand that this is where the opposition has positioned themselves.
Interjection.
G. Robertson: The opposition is actually beginning to sound quite loud. I don't think they want to listen, but I'll tell you what. I'm willing to listen. I'm willing to listen when the opposition members tell us not only that they don't agree with this budget but what they are going to cut. My constituents are interested in that as well. Are they going to cut projects like the Island Highway? Are you going to cut Yuculta Lodge in my riding -- maybe new schools? I'm looking forward to that, and I think we'll have time to debate that and go through that during budget debate.
I'm pleased about the tax cuts; I really am. There are a lot of people in my riding, including members of the chamber of commerce, who have been pleased about the tax cuts. You know what? Some of them were a little concerned about the spending. Then I talked to them, and I said: "What do you want to cut?" They don't know. They don't want to cut health care, they don't want to cut education, and they don't want to cut capital projects like the Island Highway. That's the kind of dialogue that I'll continue to have with the chambers and business people on North Island.
[1135]
In the last budget our government lowered the small business tax to 5.5 per cent, which at that time was lower than Alberta's and the second-lowest in this country. This budget continues to provide relief to the small business sector by reducing the small business income tax to 4.75 percent, which is the lowest income tax rate for small business in this country. And 88 percent to 90 percent of our businesses in this province are small businesses, so I was very, very pleased about that, and the small business community in my riding is pleased as well.I'm also happy to say that our government has listened to the concerns of British Columbians and that we are bringing in the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act, probably the most transparent budgeting process in this nation. British Columbians have told us that they need confidence in the budget numbers, and that's why we will be acting on these concerns by incorporating the recommendations of the auditor general, the Enns panel, the official opposition and individual British Columbians, and incorporating those ideas into the budget-making process. That's ongoing. This act will give British Columbians all the facts and information regarding budgeting, as well as make important changes to the budget-making process.
This budget sets forth, I believe, an innovative direction for this province and a division that includes universal health care, improved education, opportunities for our children, reforming governance in the province
The Speaker: Member, your time has expired.
G. Robertson:
The Speaker: Thank you, member.
G. Robertson:
G. Hogg: I seek leave to make an introduction.
[ Page 14764 ]
Leave granted.G. Hogg: Forty-two students from Earl Marriott Secondary School in Surrey-White Rock, along with their teachers Bernadette Pollock and Deanna Grgic, have escaped the construction of Earl Marriott Secondary to visit the Legislature today. They've had many questions and have found it most interesting, and I'd ask the House to please make them welcome.
E. Walsh: I am pleased to rise in support of this budget and speak against the amendment.
I want to talk just a little bit about my most favourite subject first, before I get into the budget, and that is, of course, my riding -- just in case people have forgotten where we are. I know the opposition hasn't, because the opposition member from across has said that he has visited my riding many times, which leads me to believe that either he must be bored with his own riding or he feels he's done everything he could for his own riding.
But my constituency is an exciting, vibrant and hard-working community environment. In case anybody's forgotten where we live, in the East Kootenay, we live in that southeastern part of the province. We border Alberta -- we've heard lots about Alberta -- and we border Idaho, Montana -- two international borders. The communities of Kootenay include Sparwood, Elkford, Fernie and Cranbrook; those are the major ones. These communities work extremely hard in diversifying their communities in this province.
In our communities we have mayors and councils that work very hard with the communities and with me to meet the needs of our communities. Looking after those needs in Elkford is Mayor Bill Wilcox, in Sparwood is Mayor Cal McDougall, in Fernie is Evelyn Cutts and in Cranbrook is Ross Priest. The mayors, together with their councils, do work very hard, and they do look after their communities.
We also have some smaller communities in the East Kootenay constituency. I'll mention some of these because I know that when you drive through my constituency, you wouldn't necessarily see those communities: Hosmer, Elko, Wardner, Bains Lake, Jaffray, Moyie
Interjections.
E. Walsh: Oh, great; they've been there.
We have four major highways -- Highways 3, 93, 95 and 43 -- and we also have two of the busiest international border crossings in B.C. -- Kingsgate and Roosville. These crossings are valuable to our economy and to our way of life in the Kootenays. They are valuable to the trucking industry, transporting goods to the States and to people here in Victoria and Vancouver and the rest of B.C. In fact, we see in excess of 2,000 semis a day go through my riding, and that is a phenomenal number of semis per day.
[1140]
We are flanked by the Purcell Mountains, Mount Baker, Moyie Mountain and of course the majestic Rockies. These are the attributes. When people look to invest, they look to see the people, they look to see the communities, and they look to see what's in the constituencies. They like to know that they are going to be welcome where they are going, and in my constituency I can say they are welcome.We have everything: backpacking, fishing, hunting, skiing, snowmobiling, flying -- you name it. Cranbrook is home to the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel and the Cranbrook Girls Bugle Band. They've been around for many years, and I know that just about everybody here must have already heard the Cranbrook Girls Bugle Band at one point or other in their life. I was also a member of the Cranbrook Girls Bugle Band, at one time, not too many years ago.
In June of this year, hon. Speaker, we will be celebrating Sam Steele Days. Whether you want to take part in the Winter Wilderness Days, Coal Miner Days, Grizz Days, or whether you want to take part in the Baynes Lake community parade, agricultural fair or the rodeo, we welcome everyone in the province. And I want to add that we are still known as the sunshine capital of British Columbia.
An Hon. Member: That's just because of their MLA.
E. Walsh: And that is because of their MLA. Thank you.
The East Kootenay constituency is heavily dependent on natural resources. We have timber, and we have mining -- the forest and the coal industry. They remain a very vital part and very large players in our economy. But our economy is diversifying at a great speed right now. One only has to look to see what is happening in the East Kootenay. I reflect back to some of my earlier statements in the throne speech, where I spoke of the Fernie Alpine Resort and the investment that we're seeing with the ski resort. This ski resort is known internationally, in major ski magazines all over the world. So the East Kootenay riding is in fact booming.
Perhaps, hon. Speaker, as you're travelling through the Kootenays, you may want to -- and I hope you don't just travel through, but stop and really take good stock of where I live
Sparwood also boasts of the Titan. It was actually one of the largest trucks in the world, and now I've heard that there is one somewhere else that challenges that statement. But I will say that it is one of the largest trucks in the world.
Crestbrook Forest Industries, which has been bought by Tembec, is the largest employer in our forest industry in Cranbrook. We also see many smaller mills throughout our area, including Galloway and many up through the Elk Valley. We have five major coal mines: Fording River, Coal Mountain, Greenhills, Line Creek and Elkview Coal. Our economy is very dependent on global market conditions, on commodity prices and on land use. The CPR also continues to be a major contributor to our riding, and to my constituency.
Agriculture and ranching also continue to contribute and be a valuable and important contribution to our constituency.
St. Mary's band and the Tobacco Plains band in the south country
[ Page 14765 ]
people, golfers or not, to come and join with us in this experience. This is a Les Farber golf course design, and the beauty of it in its setting is second to none.I would be remiss in not mentioning the College of the Rockies. The college, in a rural constituency such as mine, is extremely important to the residents that live there and is important to the students that attend. They don't have to travel out of province; they don't have to travel to the coast; they don't have to travel up north. They can attend college in the constituency in which they live and stay at home. The benefits of having a rural college in my constituency are felt by the students that live there -- by their families and by themselves.
[1145]
I just want to reiterate that the East Kootenay is set in a beautiful, beautiful setting. But I want to talk a little bit about the budget that was tabled. I hear that everybody is so excited to hear about that, and I'm really happy about that.
I was interested to note that in fact the TD Bank senior economist, Derek Burleton, in some of his remarks on CKNW on March 30 of this year
That's really good news, and we do see B.C. consumers feeling a little bit better about things. Housing markets have been picking up. So in the broader picture, things are definitely brightening in the economy. That was from the TD Bank senior economist, so I was really happy to read that and to hear that.
I have a couple of other quotes that I thought were really interesting with regard to the budget. Here's one from John R. Winter, president of the B.C. Chamber of Commerce. This was in a new release on March 27: "
I have another quote from the Canadian Federation of Students: "The B.C. budget provides necessary funding to open new classes, reduce wait lists and class size, and increase enrolment. Universities and colleges have been provided the resources we've been asking for and that are needed to improve post-secondary education in B.C. The tuition fee freeze, growth in core funding and capacity, and the maintenance of the B.C. student assistance program are the foundation of an excellent access policy."
Also, Pam Best, from Westcoast Child Care Resource Centre, said on CBC's "B.C. Almanac": "It's not as much as we would like to have seen, but it is certainly good news and it's a beginning."
This budget shows that this government cares about people, and this government has made people a priority. This budget reflects the concerns of private citizens, it reflects the concerns of the opposition, and it reflects the concerns of many organizations in British Columbia. It was people who told us that they wanted us to strengthen health care. People told us they wanted us to strengthen education; they told us that they wanted us to invest in education. And you know what, hon. Speaker? We did just that.
They also told us they wanted us to lower taxes, so we focused on tax cuts. We focused on tax cuts for those middle- and low-income British Columbians. I say this to the opposition: you know those people, those low- and middle-income earners, the people that really need it. Those people put their dollars into local economies. They do not make enough money to go and spend it in Mexico or Hawaii, across the ocean. They put it back into our economies.
We've heard this from various of my colleagues. A single-income family earning $45,000 will have a 9.9 percent tax cut. There are over 100,000 low-income earners in British Columbia that will be freed from paying any provincial income taxes at all.
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Small businesses -- the income tax rate has been cut. My colleague just prior to me has shared that information again with members in the House and people in British Columbia. It has been cut from 5.5 percent to 4.75 percent. As we head into the twenty-first century, we all have to reassess the way we look at ourselves. We also have to reassess the way we look at the economy. We have to look at the global system. One sector that I think we'll see take on much more importance in this economy is the so-called green economy. This is a mixture of environmental opportunities that cut across all areas of the economy. It cuts across all areas from ecotourism to renewable energy initiatives, high-tech, film, the B.C. knowledge development fund and the strengthening of our more traditional sectors, which I just spoke about the importance of in my riding, which has been the backbone of the B.C. economy. The green tax shift points to a modern direction for our economy and poises us for growth in the twenty-first century. Isn't that exciting?I'm going to share some of those highlights of the budget, some of which I've already included in the last little while that I've been talking about. I'll just mention that I talked about the targeted tax cuts to fuel B.C.'s economic momentum, and I know that's something that we're all looking forward to working with. I also want to mention the new 3 percent investment tax credit, which will in fact reduce the cost of new manufacturing and processing assets. It'll reduce capital costs, and it'll encourage investments. This is investing in today's priorities. It's investing in the people of British Columbia.
Let's talk about education for just a moment. Tuition fees for colleges and universities are frozen for the fifth straight year -- five straight years. Now, I would challenge anyone in this House to say: "No, this is not good news for the students of British Columbia." I would challenge any member to say this. This is great news for all students in our great province.
Actually, I have a lot more that I'd like to say, so I would like to reserve my speaking time until after lunch. I now move to adjourn the debate.
Motion approved.
Hon. I. Waddell: I move the House do now adjourn.
Motion approved.
The House adjourned at 11:53 a.m.
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