2001 Legislative Session: 5th Session, 36th Parliament
HANSARD
The following electronic version is for informational purposes
only.
The printed version remains the official version.
(Hansard)
THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2001
Morning Sitting
Volume 22, Number 2
[ Page 17333 ]
The House met at 10:06 a.m.
Prayers.
Orders of the Day
Throne Speech Debate
Hon. G. Janssen: I call for reply to the Speech from the Throne.
S. Orcherton: I move, seconded by the member for Kootenay, that: "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 which Your Honour has addressed to us at the opening of the present session."
Hon. Speaker, I rise today in support of the throne speech. As you know, and as members of this House know, the throne speech is a mechanism by which the government, through the Lieutenant-Governor, can speak to what has been occurring in the province of British Columbia in terms of the foundation that's been laid by a government and what will be occurring over the coming year in terms of building on that foundation.
I believe that every citizen, irrespective of social or economic circumstance, has the right to opportunity and the right to good government, a government that plays the role as the equalizer -- the equalizer between the elite and privileged and the poor and disadvantaged. There are some in society that believe it has to be a dog-eat-dog world, where the rich survive and the poor fall by the wayside. It does not have to be that kind of world, and this throne speech signals that we are moving on an agenda in the province of British Columbia to support the interests of today's families, to build on the foundation that we've put in place over the last number of years as a government and continue to build on that foundation for the future.
The balanced books in 1999 and 2000 and the announcements that'll be made later today are a signal to the people of British Columbia that we are on track to continue to balance budgets in this province while at the same time continuing to provide the support in terms of resources and services that people in the province of British Columbia require and demand from their government.
This throne speech is a tremendous signal for the people of British Columbia, one that I think people will rally around, recognizing that this government has put in place programs and will be putting in place programs in the province of British Columbia that meet the needs of today's families and ordinary people, not simply pandering to the requests from the elite and privileged. This is a good throne speech.
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You know, hon. Speaker, managing the province's finances under Canada's toughest budget laws, the Balanced Budget Act and the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act, are tremendous accomplishments that have been brought in by this government and have been articulated in the throne speech.
This government has eliminated the deficit. We're paying down the debt, and we've provided new funds where they are needed most: in health care, education and other family priorities. We have to get first things first: stronger health care and education and balanced budgets before tax cuts, hon. Speaker -- before tax cuts. There are some in this House who argue that government should bring in dramatic tax cuts. What is a dramatic tax cut? Let's think about that. Let's think about what a dramatic tax cut is.
A 1 percent tax cut to this assembly is $300 million less revenue. Is that a dramatic tax cut? I don't think so. Perhaps they're speaking of a 5 percent tax cut. That would be $1.5 billion. Is that dramatic? I don't think so. Maybe it's more than that. Maybe they're talking about a 10 percent tax cut. That's $3 billion. How will these people pay for that kind of tax cut? Let me tell you, hon. Speaker, they'll pay for that kind of tax cut by slashing programs in health care, in education, in programs that serve the people of the province of British Columbia. That's what these people are about. That is not what this throne speech is about. That is not what this government is about. This government is about providing services.
Those who argue tax cuts as the panacea and the salvation of the economic issues that face the province of British Columbia are simply wrong. They are simply wrong. Every member in this House knows we need more resources and more support put into our health care system, not less. We need more resources and more support put into taking care of our children and families in this province, not less.
Where will they cut? Who will they cut? Who will provide the services necessary for today's families as we move into the new millennium in this province? Let me tell you who will: this government will. This side of this House will provide those services, not that side. That's what this throne speech is about. It's about building on a foundation of economic planning, economic surety, balanced budgets, balanced-budget legislation -- building on that plan -- while at the same time increasing funding into resource support for health care and education and social services and children and families in this province.
There is much work to be done, and it is not about massive or dramatic tax cuts. What kind of drama is being played on the other side of the House? What kind of drama is being played? Dramatic tax cuts.
We are working hard on this side of the House, and it's been detailed in the throne speech around issues that face us in terms of health care. We're moving to solve the nursing shortage in British Columbia. We're creating more nursing spaces. We're keeping pay and benefits competitive with the rest of Canada. We're ensuring that qualified foreign-trained nurses can fill nursing vacancies. We're providing financial assistance to nurses for getting upgrading and further education. We're opening a 24-hour nurse hotline and supportive web site for the recently released health care guide.
Let me talk about the health care guide, hon. Speaker. What a remarkable investment in terms of the people of British Columbia and today's families. I have received many, many calls in my constituency office thanking this government for providing that document. It's a resource manual for people, particularly those with young children, who are worried about their children when they fall ill. They now have a place where they can look to try and find some solutions at home to deal with their children rather than taking them immediately to the doctor. Oftentimes those solutions are at
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home, and those solutions are found in that wonderful book, the "B.C. HealthGuide Handbook." What it does is provide access via phone to trained nurses to be able to provide information and enhanced opportunity for families to look after their children. These are the kinds of different alternative approaches to our health care system that are required in British Columbia and indeed across Canada.
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We are making remarkable strides in this regard in terms of health care. We're expanding home care services so that more ill people and elderly people can stay in their homes. We're creating 2,000 new residential care beds, which will be coming on line in the next five years.
We're opening new community health clinics. On the community health clinic issue, in my constituency of Victoria-Hillside, I was there with the Premier at Swift Street in December. We announced $900,000 more funding yearly on top of an already $500,000 budget for a new community health centre in downtown Victoria so that people that live on the streets in downtown Victoria and others -- like you and I and other people -- have a clinic where they can go and be treated.
What does that do, hon. Speaker? That does remarkable things. It's a different way to approach health care. It's moving health care out into the communities, and it frees up the long waiting lists in emergency wards, because there are places where people can go to get health care, and they don't have to wait in the emergency ward. It frees that up, and it makes our health care system work better.
We're continuing to move on those kinds of issues. We've created a $110 million health research foundation to provide better health care by working and teaching hospitals, universities and other health organizations and attract world-class health care researchers.
We're ensuring that women have better access to emergency contraceptives, counselling and abortions no matter where they live in the province of British Columbia. It's a matter of human rights. It's a matter of choice. And it's something that this side of the House stands firmly in support of.
We're working hard for today's families. We're increasing early childhood development and health programs for children in every B.C. community. We've started to double the number of kids who benefit from school meal programs. We're investing $8 million in expanding early childhood health and development programs so aboriginal children and their families have a stronger community-based network of services and better resources for them in their communities.
We've established a working group of cabinet ministers to initiate a comprehensive response to these issues facing aboriginal people. It's a tremendous initiative. Everyone in this House knows that aboriginal people suffer greatly in our communities around British Columbia. We are taking steps on this side of the House to make that circumstance go away.
We're taking steps in this House to ensure that aboriginal people have the same opportunity, the same abilities, the same skill levels and the same hope and optimism that every British Columbian has and needs to have and will have when this government continues to move on our agenda, as we've done through this throne speech.
We've increased funding to first nations to document and preserve the languages of B.C.'s first people. For over 100 years a systemic circumstance has occurred in British Columbia where aboriginal people have been forced to lose their cultural identity and their language. We are taking steps through this throne speech to change that, to ensure that aboriginal people have the capacity to be able to preserve their languages. No government has done that. We are the first to do that. That is a tremendous initiative. That is speaking to the families of aboriginal people across this province -- that we are moving on an agenda that supports them in moving from a disadvantaged circumstance to one of equal advantage with all British Columbians.
We're increasing funding to families and communities that are teaching their children Mandarin, Punjabi, German and other heritage languages. We live in a remarkable province. We celebrate our diversity in this province. We don't try to look at our province as some sort of melting pot; we celebrate our diversity. That's why it is so important to ensure that young people who come as immigrants from these other countries and from immigrant families have the capacity and the ability and the support to continue to grow inside of their old cultural identities.
We're one of two provinces that are continuing comprehensive social housing construction programs in Canada. I was at an announcement last week at Rose Manor in Victoria, in the constituency of Victoria-Beacon Hill, where we're putting in place $7.8 million in that constituency, in Rose Manor, to ensure that there are 66 supportive housing units in place for elderly citizens in Victoria-Beacon Hill. We're one of only two provinces that continue to support affordable housing, and we're in the province of British Columbia. The other situation is in Quebec. We're committed to continuing to move on those kinds of issues.
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We are increasing the availability of quality before- and after-school care and saving parents up to $1,100 per child as part of a four-year universal health care program. Well, let me tell you, hon. Speaker, what that program means to people in my constituency. Let me tell you. For before- and after-school care in my constituency right now, effective January 1 of this year, parents are saving, on average, $90 a month. That's $90 a month that they can apply to the welfare of their children and into their own personal economies in their homes.
Next January -- January 1, 2002 -- we're moving on a child care agenda that
provides child care for toddlers and infants in the province of British Columbia
that will see them saving
In this session we are intent upon bringing an amendment to the Human Rights Code to enshrine the right of equal pay for work of equal value. This is not a radical approach. Most provinces in Canada have dealt with this issue some time ago. We're moving on that agenda because it is time that
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women are no longer disadvantaged in our society. Women make 73 cents for every dollar, on average, that men make. And you know, hon. Speaker, that that is wrong. But the supporters of the members opposite think that it is wrong for employers to have to pay equal pay for work of equal value in the province of British Columbia. They think that's wrong.
I was talking to some colleagues of mine yesterday about pay equity issues. It was an interesting argument put forward by the member from Port Alberni. He said that maybe the better argument for those people in the business community who fund and support those members opposite is that men's wages should drop by 27 percent, so that they could be equal to what women are getting now.
I predict that when we bring in that legislation, those members to a number will stand up, and they will vote with their corporate buddies, and they'll say: "You know what? It's not time for women to be paid equally in the province of British Columbia." You watch them. Watch what they do. Will they be standing up for the people of British Columbia, or will they be standing up for the privileged and elite in this province? I predict it will be the latter, not the former. That's been their track record in this assembly. That will be their track record as we go through this session. That will be their track record as we go to an election, as we move out of this session.
You know what? I'd like the members opposite
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Where do they stand on these issues? Why are they not talking about their plans to log and mine in our protected areas and parks? Why don't they tell us about their vision of private auto insurance? Why don't they come clean and start talking about their thoughts on selling B.C. Hydro? Be clear on that. Or where do you stand? Where do those members opposite stand on post-secondary tuition fees? Where do they stand? Tell us how they'll open up logging, increase cuts, scrap the Forest Practices Code and shut down Forest Renewal B.C.
Hon. Speaker, they should be truthful on that side and speak out and tell us about the Liberal labour relations changes in British Columbia that they are contemplating: the Labour Code changes, the employment standards changes, rolling back minimum wage, no pay equity, no child care programs for today's families. They should share with us how they really feel about collective bargaining in the province of British Columbia. On that issue, finally, their leader came out recently, and you know what? He said: "We are going to declare the education system an essential service." They're going to do that, and I predict that they will do that in health care. They will do that with Ferries -- and the members opposite are happy about that.
You can hear them, and you can see them. They're smiling, and they're happy. But what they do not understand is that the recent labour relations changes that were brought in by this government in 1991 have seen less time since the Second World War lost to job disputes, labour disputes, lockouts and those kinds of things. We have a system in place that works in terms of collective bargaining.
But they're happy over there, and they think this is a wonderful thing. What
they do not understand is that they have the capacity, with that kind of
attitude and bringing in those kinds of initiatives if they ever form government
The other day I heard the Leader of the Opposition attending a leadership meeting of first nations people in the province of British Columbia and saying: "You know what? My members of the Liberal Party support referendums on treaties." Referendums by the majority for minority rights is wrong. It is simply wrong. You know what that initiative will do if these people on the other side of the House have their way? You know what that kind of initiative would do? That will drive confrontation in this province like we haven't seen for decades and decades. We have a process in place on this side of the House. We're supporting aboriginal people. We're supporting the people of British Columbia.
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Even on the Nisga'a treaty, these people on the other side of the House hadn't even seen the treaty yet. We move it on this side of the House in first reading, and they vote against even looking at it. Then they don't like what's going on. Now, the Nisga'a people agree to the process they have in place. This Legislative Assembly agrees to it. The government of Canada looks at it and agrees on it. Yet these people are intent on throwing back that agreement, rolling it back. They're taking it to court. These people are about confrontation. They are not about a new era; they are about the new error that could well occur in the province of British Columbia, and the people of British Columbia need to know that.
While I'm on some of these issues that the members opposite have been articulating -- some of them, the ones that are allowed to speak -- why don't they come out and talk to us about what their plans are to assist the poor and aid the disadvantaged in society? Where are they on that issue? Not a peep. Not a word.
Let me go back to the child care program for a moment. I see the member opposite over there, the critic for child care, and I recall her saying on the kind of child care programs that aid working families in the province of British Columbia, programs that this throne speech is intent upon and that this
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government is intent upon bringing in to support those families
These people on the other side of the House have no sense of what it is and what faces working families today in British Columbia and what kind of care is required for our children and our future in British Columbia. On this side of the House we are not talking about tennis lessons. We're talking about looking after children in this province, because they are our hope, and they are our future. And while the member opposite may think tennis is what it's all about, she is wrong.
Here's a big one: exactly what is your plan for health care? What is it? There is no plan. You have no plan other than a two-tiered system -- a two-tiered system that will allow for those with privilege and the economic wherewithal to pay for first-class health care while the rest of us go to the second-class public system that you will create and that you'll then underfund.
There are some in British Columbia who believe that the members opposite have no plan. Let me tell you that they do have a plan, and that indeed is the scary thing. They do have a plan. It's about confrontation. It's about the privileged and elite. It's about supporting their supporters. It's about ensuring that women continue to work for less wages than men.
When these arguments come out to the people of British Columbia, I know that
they will make the correct choice. I know they will choose a government and they
will choose to vote for those in their constituencies who stand up for today's
families, who stand up for working people, who believe in social justice issues,
who can balance a budget, who can bring in balanced-budget legislation and still
deliver the programs that are necessary. I know that when they look at those
kinds of options and when they look at what's being proposed by some on that
side of the House around dramatic tax cuts
We're continuing to make tremendous grounds on improving the minimum wage and taking more action to ensure that working people have opportunities to care for their families.
Every single issue that I've seen in this Legislature since 1996 that has a
capacity to benefit ordinary working people and their families
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I mentioned a few moments ago: where do they stand on tuition cuts? I said at the onset that I believe that every single individual in British Columbia has the right to opportunity, irrespective of social or economic circumstance. We're taking steps to ensure that we move in a measured way to ensure that at some point in the history of British Columbia, we will be the first jurisdiction to provide tuition-free post-secondary education in the province. We're taking measured steps to do that.
We've just reduced tuition fees by 5 percent in the province. Not a word from those people over there. Not a word. One would think that they would think that this is a good thing, but not a word. There are times, members, even when you're in opposition, when you should say: "That was a good thing to do." And you know what? You can't do it, because you don't think it was a good thing to do. That is the only conclusion I can come to: that you do not support tuition cuts. You do not support access to post-secondary education irrespective of social or economic circumstance.
This government and the Lieutenant-Governor spoke about it yesterday through the throne speech. What have we done in education? We've added 5,000 new spaces to universities, colleges and institutes. We're fully funding a tuition cut and new spaces through a new access to education act. We're doubling the number of spaces for apprenticeships, skilled trades and technology training to 50,000 per year over the next four years. We're building new schools at a rate of one every 19 days to eliminate portables and improve the learning environment.
They're happy. They were clapping, and they were happy, hon. Speaker, when I
said the problems and the confrontations that are going to be caused by these
people if they ever get power around labour relations in the province of British
Columbia
We're building new schools. We're maintaining small classes for the best style on learning -- a maximum of 20 students in kindergarten and 22 students in grades 1 to 3. This is remarkable progress in the K-to-12 system. We committed $46 million to ensuring that post-secondary libraries, labs and research facilities keep pace with enrolment and technological change.
We're establishing a sex offender registry to require sex offenders to register with the government and to compile better information on sex offenders for the use of law enforcement agencies.
They're quiet again, hon. Speaker.
We're creating and enforcing a provincial classification system on violent videos and video games to help parents make informed choices and regulate the sale and rental of violent video games to minors, and we're establishing a drug court pilot program in Vancouver.
These are tremendous initiatives. This is building on what our government has done over the last decade and continuing to move on an agenda to deal with the issues that face today's families in British Columbia. And you know, hon. Speaker, you can't do these things at the same time as you bring in these so-called dramatic tax cuts. You can't continue to build new schools. You can't get rid of portables. You can't continue to fund health care at the level that we fund it at.
It would be a wonderful thing, I think, if those members opposite -- whenever they're told that they can talk, whenever they're told that they can actually get up and expound on
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their views, whenever they're told that they won't be chastised when they do so, whenever they're able to do it -- could get up and start talking about what they do support for the people of their constituency and what they don't. It's time to take the muzzle off those members. The public demands no less. It's time to engage in a debate and a discussion about the future of the province. That's what this throne speech is doing. It's setting a tone for the discussion and debate.
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You know, in my constituency of Victoria-Hillside, we've made remarkable progress. Since I was elected in 1996, we have put in place at Oaklands School a new school and a new community centre.
The Gorge waterway. When I was a young person growing up in Victoria, living in this community that I'm now privileged to represent, you could swim in the Gorge. When I was in my teens, you could not. That waterway was so polluted that no one thought we could ever reclaim it. In ten years of good environmental policy, we have reclaimed the Gorge waterway. Young people in Victoria could swim in that waterway. That is a tremendous legacy that we can build on in this community that I represent. It is a wonderful achievement. We can mirror that all across the province. And that came through initiatives from this side of the House that were pooh-poohed by those people on the other side of the House.
Interjection.
S. Orcherton: And, hon. Speaker, yell as they want
I think the people in my constituency are very happy indeed to see that the Gorge waterway has been cleaned.
Post-secondary education in my community. In 1991 we effectively had one community college location in Victoria -- Camosun. Today we have two full campuses of community college -- the Interurban campus and the Lansdowne campus -- fully funded, with more young people going in for training, on the academic side, in nursing and in trades training. These are remarkable achievements that benefit the community and the island on which I live, and they're also remarkable achievements that benefit the hope and opportunity for young people that live in British Columbia.
We are moving on a new school, and we're in the planning phase of a new school at the north end of my constituency at Colquitz. We have been supporting and funding community associations throughout the area I represent. We continue to fund Blanshard Community Association. We have the Burnside-Gorge Community Association, which does remarkable work in their communities. We now have the Oaklands Community Association; we've got the Fernwood Community Association. In every area of my community there are community associations that have been supported by this government, by this side of the House, because that's where the solutions lie to so many of the issues facing today's families. It's in building solid communities and solid neighbourhoods that our families in British Columbia can rely upon for support and assistance. And let me tell you that the families in my constituency can rely upon this government for support and resources necessary for their communities.
In Victoria, according to Maclean's magazine, we are No. 3 in health
care in the constituency I represent. We have got over $200 million in capital
going into health care right now in the community I represent. We are building a
new diagnostic and treatment centre at the Royal Jubilee Hospital site. We're
putting, along with that
We just recently announced that we're putting in place a renal dialysis unit
as well. It doesn't stop there. In addition, on that site
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It doesn't stop there. Not only will this new cancer centre offer radiation therapy and treatment, it also, on the third floor, has a research facility. And let me tell you, members, that that research facility will be filled with the best and brightest from all over Canada. People are vying to come and work at that cancer research facility at the Royal Jubilee Hospital site. That is a credit to the planning, the forward-thinking, the commitment and the due diligence that's been necessary to build on our health care system in the province of British Columbia. These are remarkable achievements.
We've been talking lately in the constituency I represent about the greenprint for greater Victoria. The greenprint talks about how we can continue to build on our legacy in Victoria. There are three prongs to that plan. There is economy, there is education, and there is environment.
Let me tell you that on the economy side, this community has changed over the
last two decades. In fact, the last mill
People from all over the world are locating here on the high-tech side. Our film industry is booming in Victoria. We're doing tremendously well in terms of film. We're working hard on the economy. We've gone through a remarkable shift in terms of the economy over the last two decades.
The Speaker: Thank you, member. Your time has expired.
S. Orcherton: Hon. Speaker, I apologize. I was under the impression I
had a longer time to speak if that was my wish. I was under the impression I had
up to two hours, but
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The Speaker: Thank you, member. Your time has expired.
S. Orcherton: Okay. Thank you, hon. Speaker. I hope that the members opposite will finally articulate their plans so that we can put ours up against theirs, because when they do, we will win.
Hon. U. Dosanjh: Hon. Speaker, I ask leave for an introduction.
Leave granted.
Hon. U. Dosanjh: Fresh from his re-election victory is the leader of the Alberta New Democats, Raj Pannu, and his spouse Swinder Pannu in the gallery, and I would ask the House to please make them welcome. That's a sign of re-election for us too.
E. Walsh: I'd like to extend that welcome to the hon. member for the New Democrat Party in Alberta who was so successful in their last election, and I would like to actually congratulate the other New Democrats, also, who were successful in that election.
It is with great pleasure that I stand here today and that I rise in support of and to second the motion that was given by my colleague for Victoria-Hillside. I have to ask: aren't we all just so thrilled and happy to be back today? I don't hear anything, hon. Speaker.
I am pleased to second the Speech from the Throne. Some of the reasons I am so pleased to second this is because this speech shows that our government is in touch with families in British Columbia today and with working families of British Columbia -- and not only with the working families but with the priorities of the working families who live in this province. I'm also pleased because this speech reflects that this government has a commitment, and it reflects this government's whole-hearted commitment to families across B.C.
[1050]
This also includes those members that live in my riding -- my constituents, those people that live in the southeastern corner of this province, the most beautiful part of this province, I might add. This throne speech has touched on many issues. They've touched on issues that are important to people not only throughout this province but throughout my area.
The discussions that we're going to be having in the next few days are, I believe, extremely salient to people all over British Columbia. They talk about the top-quality health care that's close to home -- health care is an issue throughout this whole province -- post-secondary opportunities for the new economy that everyone in this province is facing and affordable child care to help balance the needs of working families and also for those families that are engaged in looking for work.
It also acknowledges that forestry and mining, which is the heart of the
Kootenay economy, the riding which I represent
An Hon. Member: You're being too darned nice about this.
E. Walsh: That's because I'm a nice person.
Issues like health care. Communities in my riding were among those directly affected by the rural dispute that we had last year by the physicians in the province. Families in my riding are also acutely aware of the impacts of the nursing shortages and the need for updated equipment. Most of all, families in my riding know that our publicly funded health care system would suffer greatly from dramatic tax cuts, those tax cuts that we hear of from the other side. They know that a two-tiered medical system is definitely not the answer.
Despite consistent increases in our health care budget, our system is still
facing tremendous challenges. But under the strong leadership given by this
government and with the current Minister of Health's unparalleled commitment
There has been remarkable progress made this year in the community of Cranbrook. This community particularly was under a great deal of strain. The Minister of Health has recognized the need for the Cranbook Regional Hospital to be funded as a true regional hospital. He has made a commitment to support the recruitment of additional specialists in core specialities, to fund the replacement of equipment and to work with the physicians and those people at the health councils and in the hospitals. Last fall, as outlined in the throne speech, health care spending increased. It increased significantly. And the people of British Columbia were the benefactors of these increases.
The Elk Valley and the South Country health council received a $1.3 million funding increase. This included $300,000 for diagnostic imaging equipment. They also received $357,000 to recruit and retain doctors. The East Kootenay Community Health Services Society received a funding increase of over $680,000, while the Cranbrook health council received over $3 million. Over $620,000 of this money was spent on vital equipment like a CT upgrade, an anaesthetic gas machine upgrade and an ultrasound upgrade. In addition to this they received over $3.2 million to recruit and retain doctors.
Earlier this week I had the pleasure -- and this was a great pleasure -- of announcing renovations to the Sparwood General Hospital. These are renovations that will be accommodating two new renal dialysis units. What an incredible difference this funding will be making to patients in the Elk Valley! Currently these patients have to travel to Alberta for these life-sustaining treatments.
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The shortage of nurses here and across Canada is a major problem. It's not just a problem in British Columbia; it's a problem across Canada. But this government has put a plan in place for this issue. Last month we announced rural nursing grants designed to recruit, retain and educate nurses and other health care providers in rural communities. The Cranbrook hospital received $235,000 under this program, while the Elk Valley and South Country health council received $137,000.
We also announced nursing workplace grants. The Cranbook health council received $122,000, while the Elk Valley and South Country health council received $663,000 to deal
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with staffing issues. The East Kootenay Community Health Services Society received $284,000 to fund community nurse clinicians.
The last category of grants available to health authorities to support B.C. nurses is the nurse mentoring problem. I am so pleased -- in fact I'm very pleased -- that the Elk Valley and South Country health council will receive $74,000 to provide new nurses with mentors.
In Kootenay we are working together to find real solutions to get our public health care system back on track, because we do not want our health care system to deteriorate into a two-tier, American-style health system -- and I might add, a system that only the most wealthy and elite would be able to afford. Being a health care provider myself, I know how expensive it is to access health care and what the cost is to many families should they not be able to access health care.
I am pleased that the Speech from the Throne also mentioned post-secondary education and this government's commitment to ensuring that all British Columbians have an opportunity to get the education and the training that they need to succeed and to prosper.
This too is an issue of great importance to the people in my riding. In the past, students have had to travel to various places not only within the province but into the province of Alberta. Being on the border with Alberta, many students headed for Lethbridge, Calgary or Edmonton for training. But through our funding and our commitment, we're seeing the change. We're seeing more students go to our colleges and to our universities.
In fact, the steadily rising cost of post-secondary education in Alberta now makes it extremely difficult for British Columbians to access education in Alberta. There is no longer an Alberta advantage for education. That advantage disappeared, and with it disappeared many hopes and dreams for those students in Alberta, who now are looking at British Columbia and our colleges and our universities.
But thanks to the many innovative programs that have been introduced by our government, students can now get their training at home through College of the Rockies. Last year the College of the Rockies was given 52 new spaces, including eight in nursing. Over a million dollars was spent on campus improvements, including an adult learning centre in Fernie. And in Kootenay, where our economy continues to diversify, the college has had to provide training that prepares students for employment in the emerging fields.
Thanks to government programs such as Quick Response training, the college has done an excellent job of responding to the needs of the community. These needs included casino workers, home support workers, tour guides and log structure construction workers, who have all received training through College of the Rockies. The skills for employment program allowed 32 students in Sparwood to study oil and gas exploration. Twelve students in Fernie took courses in microcomputers; 26 students in Fernie and Cranbrook studied hospitality basics.
There are opportunities, hon. Speaker. There are opportunities for young people in this province -- opportunities for them in every community, in the very communities that they live, to grow up in. But they need to be trained, and government has a role to play in supporting that training.
Dramatically reduced taxes. What would that mean? It would mean reducing that support and placing the future of our young people, of our students, at risk.
[1100]
I am pleased by our new before- and after-school child care program. It was
mentioned in the throne speech. The reason I'm so pleased is because the issue
of child care is so important to people in my riding. Students who are parents
have indicated that the number one obstacle for them to ensure that they can
pursue post-secondary education, so they can ensure that they can in fact go to
work and find a job
In the Kootenays, this government recently committed $1 million to the College of the Rockies for the construction of a child care facility. And, hon. Speaker, the community, the college and myself and my predecessor also worked very hard to make this a reality for the students and for the young working people and for all working people in Cranbrook and their entire area.
Parents worry about the quality of care for the children -- the quality of care that they receive while they are out working. No parent should worry about the quality of care that they are receiving while they're working or going to school. No parent should have to worry about that.
Some people have criticized our before- and after-school child care program, referring to it as a cheap babysitting service, as my colleague from Victoria-Hillside has said, for people who want to play tennis. I say, hon. Speaker, shame. Shame on those people that refer to this service and this program as a cheap babysitting service. I believe that they are out of touch with working people of British Columbia. In fact, they are out of touch with students that need this kind of support and help, and they should be ashamed of themselves.
But this government knows better. This government is in touch with families where both parents must work to make ends meet. And this government is in touch with single-parent families. This government is on the right track by promising to take further steps to implement our four-year universal child care plan. That is terrific, and it's wonderful good news.
The forest industry is another issue of importance to people in Kootenay. As I said, it is one of the industries that are the heart of the people of Kootenay and the people that work there. I am pleased that the throne speech included government's commitment to land use planning, planning that provides balance and economic needs to communities and that also addresses those environmental values that many, many people feel very strongly about. We need to in fact ensure that they're maintained and sustained for the future of our communities and the future of our children.
Late last year a higher-level plan was approved by the Kootenay-Boundary area. This plan increases the protection for some ecological, aesthetic and wildlife values, but it also includes the economic objective asked for by the forest industry. The Kootenay-Boundary land use plan took many years of hard work to develop, but the plan and the process of developing it demonstrate this government's commitment to building a modern economy where environmental and economic values are in fact protected. The higher-level plan provides economic certainty in our forests -- far more certainty than allusions to lower standards and promises of dramatic tax cuts.
Hon. Speaker, this throne speech is about choices. It is about choices. It's about the choice where the people in British
[ Page 17340 ]
Columbia want to see continued funding for health care, continued funding for education, social programs and social justice. I know that many members across the way aren't interested in hearing what I have to say about this, but this is important to people in British Columbia. Funding for social programs, health care, education -- those are programs that you cannot fund, that no one can fund, by dramatic tax cuts.
What they're not telling the people of British Columbia is that these dramatic tax cuts will do nothing for the poorest of the poor. Who they will help are the most elite, the wealthiest of the people of British Columbia. There is a major difference between dramatic tax cuts for somebody that is making a six- or seven-figure income as compared to and opposed to a person that is in a lower income bracket, hon. Speaker.
These major tax cuts
[1105]
People look for certainty. They are saying: "What is going to happen here? What is our future?" The opposition has not told the people of this province what they're going to do. They tell people one thing, and then they turn around and tell them another thing. Well, you can't be all things to everybody; it is impossible. By trying to do that, you're doomed to failure.
The people of British Columbia deserve more than that. They need to know the answers. They need to know that the plan that's in place will look after their needs. The working people of British Columbia need to know that the plan is going to be a plan that provides them health care, that provides them education, that provides them the social services, that provides the social justice programs that they need and that they rely on. Tax cuts will not provide the people of British Columbia with those services.
Hon. Speaker, it's like taking your own paycheque. Take off a third of your paycheque, and can you live the same way you did the day before you lost a third of your paycheque? It's impossible. If anybody thinks they'll live the same way by taking a third of their paycheque off, well, I think that the people really have to take a good look at their living standards. They will not be the same; it is impossible to live the same way.
I would also like to say that when we hear the same rhetoric about putting money into people's pockets, well, then why would people vote against the minimum wage? Why would they vote against increasing the minimum wage, which would put money into -- not the most elite, except by the people spending -- their pockets? Why would they vote against minimum wage? That too is a shame.
Being paid the same amount for work that's being done, being paid for what you're worth -- is that such a foreign concept? That's not a foreign concept. People should be paid for what they're worth, and I challenge the opposition to vote in favour of our pay equity legislation.
I would just like to end, again, and reiterate
And the government of today has committed to ensuring that the future of our children is in fact going to be a future that they can look on and say: "Yes, this government was serious about looking after the social fabric of the people of British Columbia. It was about looking after the needs of the people of British Columbia. It was about educating people so they are ready for the new economy. It was not about looking after those people that can look after themselves, but it was about those people with a lower income and the people with the middle income being able to look after their families, being able to work and having a place to live -- and not only that but an environmentally sustainable province in which to live."
I am proud to second this motion from the throne, because it clearly identifies our goals. It clearly identifies our accomplishments, those accomplishments that would not have been accomplished with tax cuts. Those very issues -- the funding that I have mentioned in my riding -- would not have been able to be funded with dramatic tax cuts.
This government is committed to serving the people of British Columbia -- the needs of British Columbians and their families -- and I am, as I've said, honoured and pleased to have seconded my hon. colleague's motion.
[1110]
[D. Streifel in the chair.]
G. Campbell: Every year when we have a throne speech, there's an opportunity for renewal. There's an opportunity to restore people's sense of hope and confidence in the government and in their future in the province of British Columbia. Unfortunately, this year I think the throne speech could best be entitled "Nine Years of Negligence, Nine Years of Neglect, Nine Years of Lost Opportunities in British Columbia."
We have an NDP government in this province that has taken us from the best economy in the country to the worst economy in the country. We have an NDP government that has led a decade of decay in our economic infrastructure, decay in our health care system, decay in our educational system, decay in people's sense of hope, in people's sense of opportunity for the future.
Hon. Speaker, this is a government whose time has run out, as their throne
speech showed. This is a government that has no moral mandate to govern. This is
a government whose own caucus doesn't support it anymore. This is a government
that has had more than half of its caucus members saying they can't stand to run
on a record of negligence and incompetence that we've seen in the province of
British Columbia. This is a government whose entire program and entire throne
speech could have had a label: "Made by the minister responsible for health
care in British Columbia today." The minister from the Kootenay who said:
"We made announcements about things we weren't even going to do
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This throne speech is 29 pages of partisanship, 29 pages of partisanship bereft of substance. It's 29 pages that show that after a decade of decline, this government still doesn't get it. After a decade of despair, this government still doesn't get it. This government actually thinks you can pay for public services without a private sector economy. This government hasn't noticed that our economy has been growing far below the national average. This government doesn't notice that for the first time in decades, British Columbians are leaving our province in search of opportunities in other parts of our country. This side of the House wants to bring our children home to hope, opportunity and jobs in British Columbia.
This is a government and a Premier that are at the end of their mandate. There is no Premier in the history of British Columbia that has served longer without getting the public's mandate, without getting the support of the public. When Mr. Vander Zalm was forced from office, the Premier that his party elected went to the polls and the public within weeks. Even when the former Premier from the NDP side, Mr. Harcourt, stood aside and the member for Vancouver-Kingsway was made Premier, he went to the electorate within weeks.
We have a Premier that has been running from his record and has been afraid to go to the electorate for over a year. We've had two cabinets sworn in. We have a Minister for Children and Families who's never dared to go to the electorate and ask for support and for a mandate in a ministry that's in dire need of leadership, of support. And we have a government that still hangs on to the last possible moment to give the people of British Columbia a chance to have their say, to give them a chance to have their vote, to give the people of British Columbia a chance to decide the future of this province. That's what a democracy is about, and that's what every member on that side should be standing up for. It's time to have an election.
We heard in the throne speech that this government was very concerned about health care. We have a Premier that's wasting the taxpayers' money on a public servant who's compiling a scrapbook for him. I can tell you: there are no patients in the province that think tax dollars should be going to the Premier's scrapbook. I'll guarantee you this, hon. Speaker: I'll buy the Premier his scrapbook. I'll put all of his clippings in it. I'll do it for free, but let's have an election so that people have a chance to get value for their money again.
[1115]
Hon. Speaker, 29 pages and virtually not a whisper about the economy. We are about to confront a very difficult task in the forest industry -- not a whisper about that. The throne speech says that we should be careful about creating false hope in the forest industry. These are the masters of false hope. Forest Renewal B.C. -- a billion-dollar boondoggle that sold out every resource community in this province. That's what this government has done.
The jobs and timber accord -- you talk about false hope. You were supposed to create 22,000 new jobs in the forest sector. Instead we've lost 9,000 jobs in that sector. In communities like Prince George there's 17 percent unemployment. In communities across the north the problem that people face is that they're being laid off. They don't get their paycheques. They can't pay for their mortgages. False hope, false promises, false goals have been set by this government consistently. They have constantly failed the people of British Columbia. They are at the end of the mandate. They have no mandate -- no mandate for legislation, no mandate for appointments, no mandate from the people. It's time to call an election.
There is one line in the throne speech that I agree with: "What's good for B.C.'s families is good for the economy." What's good for B.C.'s families is to watch their paycheques grow again. What's good for B.C.'s families is to have more money in their paycheque, so they can take care of their children and can build for their future and can think about future prosperity. That's what's good. And what's happened with this government? The average take-home pay for B.C.'s taxpayers has dropped by over $1,700 a year. Just think of that. I ask every member on the other side of this House to think about it.
When they decided in their caucus meeting that they felt like it was a good idea for the taxpayers to maybe add a couple more paycheques before they went to face their judgment, that was more than the $1,700. But they need the $1,700 in their pockets too. The average B.C. taxpayer is exactly the same. This government has stolen their sense of hope. This government has reduced their paycheques. And I can tell you that in British Columbia, people want to have a tax cut so that they know when they work hard, they can get ahead. And when this side of the House is elected, they'll get their tax cuts, and our economy will start moving again.
When you read the throne speech, it's so clear that the government still doesn't get it. After all these years they still haven't got it. After all these years they don't understand that what they've done has created serious damage in our health care system. Here is a government that yesterday said: "Oh, we've finally seen the light. Finally we're going to start worrying about people again in British Columbia." Isn't that nice.
What's the NDP record? Don't tell me you care about health care. Under the New Democrats the number of acute care beds in the province has been cut by over 3,000 beds. Health care cuts from the NDP. And the NDP sits there today, and they say: "Gosh, I wonder why there's an acute care bed shortage." It's because you cut back the number of beds. The NDP says today that the Premier suddenly discovers nurses are important. The nurses are the backbone of the health care system. The NDP cut the number of training spaces for nurses in this province, so we've got a nursing shortage in British Columbia.
We have medical technologists. There's a shortage in British Columbia. I wonder why. I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that the NDP cut the number of training spaces for medical technologists. The NDP themselves know that they deliberately cut back on the funding for machinery and equipment which are essential to health care, to the tune of about $50 million a year for the last five years. And they wonder why there's an obsolescence problem with our equipment. They wonder why our patients aren't getting the care they need.
[1120]
The NDP decided to wage a war on physicians for almost a decade. And they wonder why for every dozen physicians that leave the province, we might be able to attract one.
And the mental health plan. For this government to have the temerity to say
yesterday that they're going to fund the mental health plan
[ Page 17342 ]
This government has consistently made promises they don't intend to keep. That's why this government has no mandate. It's a government that's been wracked by scandal after scandal after scandal. It's a government that's betrayed the trust of British Columbians day in and day out, week in and week out, year in and year out. It's a government whose mandate is up. It's time to call an election.
This government claims it cares about education. They've underfunded our universities to the tune of about $35 million a year for the last four or five years. We know in our universities that access to universities isn't just a question of tuitions. It's a question of spaces. It's a question of professors. It's a question of funding. If you talk to students right now, they'll tell you it's taking them five to five and a half years to get a degree that used to take them four years. That costs substantial additional dollars, substantial additional student loans.
This is a government that has allowed our young people in this province to be blocked out of classrooms for four million student-days of learning, because they always put their supporters' interests ahead of students in the province of British Columbia. This government has no mandate. This government has no moral authority to rule. It is time to call an election.
There has not been a Premier that has sat in this Legislature unelected, without the support of the people of British Columbia, any longer than this Premier has. It is time for the members opposite to restore the legitimacy of this Legislature. There's only one way to do it. It's not to say: "Let us vote." It's not to say: "Let's have the MLAs speak." It's to say: "Let's let the people speak." Let's let the people vote. Let's restore the legitimacy of this Legislature as a body that can move forward with the public interest at the top of the priority list, with the public's interest as the number one concern of this body -- not political interest, the public interest.
I say again, as the Lieutenant-Governor said yesterday, that everyone who seeks public office seeks to serve the people of British Columbia. It's time for the New Democrats and this government to truly put the public interest first. It's time for them to truly serve the people of this province. It's time for them to decide for accountability. It's time for them to allow the people into the debate. It's time for them to call an election.
Hon. Speaker, I will have a great deal more to say about this at a later date, but I would like to move adjournment now of this debate.
G. Campbell moved adjournment of the debate.
Motion approved.
Hon. G. Janssen: I move that the House do now adjourn.
Motion approved.
The House adjourned at 11:24 a.m.
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